The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it will provide $50 million to help low-income and communities of color impacted by pollution, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why it matters: This move represents the Biden administration’s first major investment in environmental justice — a key element of his climate policy. The issue was largely dismissed by the Trump administration.
The House voted Friday to reverse a Trump-era rule that thwarted the Environmental Protection Agency's power to directly regulate methane emissions from the oil-and-gas sector, sending the measure to President Biden's desk for a signature.
Why it matters: Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas, and wells, gas compressors and other industry equipment are a significant source.
Capitol Hill infrastructure negotiations have taken on a complexity that matches their planetary and political stakes.
Driving the news: President Biden and a bipartisan Senate group yesterday unveiled the bare bones of an eight-year, $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that includes energy and transit provisions.
A heat wave is bringing unprecedented high temperatures to the Pacific Northwest — a region of the country typically cooled by the ocean, rather than central air conditioning. The heat will begin Friday and last into early next week.
Why it matters: The heat wave will shatter monthly and all-time temperature records in the Pacific Northwest. Some of the records could break the old milestones by several degrees.
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Thursday saying that efforts to clean a reservoir that dumped tens of millions of gallons of potentially hazardous wastewater into Tampa Bay must be overseen by a federal judge to prevent ongoing mismanagement, AP reports.
The big picture: More than 215 million gallons of wastewater leaked into Tampa Bay this year, which some scientists say has contributed to algae blooms and exacerbating an outbreak of fish-killing toxic red tide along the Gulf coast.
Greenlots, Chargepoint and several other electric vehicle charging companies will allow roaming access across their networks, a move that could help speed EV adoption.
Why it matters: Your phone works on any mobile network, no matter which provider you use. And you can use any bank's ATM machine, regardless of where you keep your money. Now the same will be true of EV charging.
Sealed, a startup that helps homeowners overcome cost barriers to efficiency upgrades and electrification, just raised $16 million to fuel its expansion into more states.
Why it matters: Many important climate tools rely on the far wider deployment of well-known methods and concepts — in this case upgrading homes to waste less energy.
The Biden administration on Thursday banned imports of solar materials from a Chinese firm accused of using forced labor in China's Xinjiang region.
Why it matters: It represents an escalation of pressure against China over allegations of forced labor and genocide in a region that produces large amounts of silicon-based materials.
Lego unveiled toy building bricks made from recycled plastic on Wednesday and pledged to begin selling the prototypes within two years.
Why it matters: It's the first time Lego has made bricks from a recycled material, per a statement from the Danish toymaker. Lego used PET plastic from discarded bottles to make the bricks.
Congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed at a meeting with White House officials Wednesday to address President Biden's goals on job creation and addressing the climate crisis.
Details: They agreed that "Congress must meet Biden's goal of "investing in creating a generation of good paying jobs, addressing the climate crisis, and ensuring American workers and businesses can compete globally, while not raising taxes on anyone who makes under $400,000," per a White House readout.
