A punishing and long-enduring heat wave is intensifying in parts of the West and Southwest, with heat warnings and advisories in effect across seven states Wednesday. The heat will not relent until late in the weekend.
Threat level: In the coming days, 40 million are likely to see temperatures reach or exceed 100 degrees.
It's the end of the beginning for Democrats' bid to steer climate legislation through the Senate with the narrowest possible majority.
Catch up fast: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday will trigger the next "reconciliation" process — that is, crafting spending and revenue measures immune from Senate filibuster.
General Motors plans to boost its cumulative investment in electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion from 2020-2025, a significant jump from a $27 billion target.
Driving the news: GM said this morning that the initiative will include building two new battery cell manufacturing plants in addition to the two already under construction in Tennessee and Ohio.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to formally trigger the budget reconciliation process on Wednesday, setting Democrats up to ram the White House's American Jobs and Family Plans through the Senate via a simple majority vote in July.
Why it matters: Announcing this strategy now could be dangerous to the group of 20 bipartisan lawmakers trying to hash out a deal on the "hard" infrastructure portion of President Biden's package.
A dangerous and widespread mid-June heat wave is bringing blowtorch-like heat, skyrocketing power demand, and “critical” wildfire danger to much of the West Tuesday through this weekend.
Why it matters: The heat is building in a region that is experiencing a record drought, leading to dangerous fire weather conditions, straining electrical grids, and causing water supplies to dwindle further. The heat itself may prove deadly.
New industry data shows the first three months of 2021 saw the addition of over 5 gigawatts of new U.S. solar power generating capacity, the largest first quarter ever.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign of the sector's expansion. The analysis projects that annual solar growth will set fresh records this year through 2024 when current tax incentives fully phase out.
A new study finds a strong chance that climate change helped trigger the recent catastrophe that hit France's wine industry.
Driving the news: An extraordinary cold snap that gripped France in early April, just after a record-warm early spring, devastated grapes and other fruit crops.
With financial regulators marching toward rulemaking on the disclosure of risks associated with climate change, scientists have identified some ways new requirements could fall short.
Why it matters: Right now, large institutional investors, such as overseers of pension funds, and ordinary individuals lack a full picture of how much climate change risk is contained in their portfolio.
The clean, green, connected world that's right around the corner will require dirty, dangerous work to build.
Think: Hauling solar panels up to high roofs. Digging trenches for fiber-optic cables along busy highways. Climbing towering masts to rig cellular antennas.
Texas' power grid operator has asked people to "reduce electric use as much as possible" until Friday following days of searing heat and a "significant number of forced generation outages."
Why it matters: The request by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) comes months after a deadly winter storm blew out the state's power infrastructure and left millions of Texans without power for days.
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