Axios

President Biden's attempt to salvage his faltering clean energy and social spending plan could bring new efforts to revive climate-related measures separately or within a slimmed-down package.

Driving the news: Biden on Wednesday publicly endorsed the prospect of splitting up the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan. Biden suggested there's agreement possible on the roughly $550 billion in climate and provisions.

Bank of America analysts see 2022 as a "major year of commercialization" for the electric vehicle market amid a slew of new vehicle launches and many more on the horizon.

Driving the news: Over 85 new models are slated to launch in model years 2022-2025 (calendar 2021-2024), they said in a note that says a "tsunami" of new cars are coming.

The first emergency supply aircraft landed in Tonga on Thursday, days after an undersea volcano erupted and triggered tsunami waves across the nation's islands.

Driving the news: A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules landed in Tonga after volcanic ash was cleared off the runway, according to a statement from the New Zealand government.

Consumer Reports tested the driver monitoring systems in today's cars and "uncovered some serious flaws," finding that most "don’t do enough to encourage safe driving."

• Only GM and Ford are getting it right, according to CR, which comes out with its annual car rankings on. Feb. 17 — and will, for the first time this year, factor in these particular safety features.

Why it matters: Driver monitoring systems are new features that carmakers are adding alongside assisted-driving technology like adaptive cruise control and lane-centering. These camera-based systems are intended to make sure drivers who use the automated features are still paying attention.

• Only five companies have driver monitoring so far, but it'll soon be commonplace in most cars with assisted driving tech.

What they're saying: “We believe it's time to recognize vehicles that have found a safer way to deploy this technology,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of CR’s Auto Test Center.

• “GM's Super Cruise and now Ford's BlueCruise both have the right combination of helping drivers enjoy the convenience of automation while verifying that they're keeping their eyes on the road."

Where it stands: About half of new models now offer active driving assistance systems, per a CR analysis.

• But only five automakers—BMW, Ford, GM, Tesla, and Subaru—have added driver monitoring alongside the technology.

How it works: Most driver monitoring systems use infrared cameras that can track head or eye movements.

• If the driver turns away for a certain amount of time, they may sound an audible alarm.
• Ford’s BlueCruise will tap the brakes to “jolt” an inattentive driver. In GM vehicles, a light on the steering wheel will flash.
• If, after multiple alerts, the driver doesn't react, the system will bring the vehicle to a safe stop.

Details: In tallying its rankings, Consumer Reports gave extra points to GM and Ford — the only automakers whose monitoring systems prevent use of the technology if drivers aren't paying attention.

• The systems from BMW, Subaru and Tesla all allowed drivers to keep using assisted-driving features even if the monitoring camera was blocked, or shut off, CR found.

What to watch: Beginning with the 2024 model year, CR said it will deduct points from cars with assisted-driving features that lack adequate driver monitoring.

The bottom line: The Biden administration is stepping up its scrutiny of assisted-driving systems, too.

• NHTSA has also opened a formal investigation into Tesla Autopilot after a series of crashes involving emergency vehicles.

The International Energy Agency's latest oil market analysis warns of a potentially bumpy ride ahead.

Why it matters: "If demand continues to grow strongly or supply disappoints, the low level of stocks and shrinking spare capacity mean that oil markets could be in for another volatile year in 2022," IEA said.

Global sales of electric passenger vehicles are projected to surpass 10.5 million this year, about 4 million above 2021 levels, as the tech grows more mainstream, the research firm BloombergNEF said in a new report.

Driving the news: Its 2022 outlook for battery-electric and plug-in hybrids sees a number of forces rowing in the same direction.

A new memo from House Energy and Commerce Committee Democratic staff lays out why the panel is exploring cryptocurrency-related energy demand and carbon emissions.

Why it matters: It cites estimates that the 2021 CO2 emissions from digital mining for Bitcoin and Ethereum is "equivalent to the tailpipe emissions from more than 15.5 million gasoline powered cars on the road every year."

NASA scientists estimate that the power of Tonga's volcanic eruption over the weekend was equivalent to 5-6 megatons of TNT.

Threat level: Saturday's eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano and subsequent tsunami killed at least three people. Scientists warn an "ash-seawater cocktail" poses a potentially toxic health threat, and drinking water could be contaminated.

Even as firefighters reported some overnight success, the Rolling Pines Fire east of Austin remains a threat Wednesday morning to residential communities, forcing more than 250 families to evacuate.

Driving the news: Officials said it was too early to draw conclusions about the cause of the wildfire, which is running roughly along the same burn scar of a record 2011 blaze. But it was likely linked to a planned, 150-acre burn in Bastrop State Park, they added.

• "We do think that it is likely that embers from the prescribed fire were the cause of the fire outside the park," Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said in a Tuesday evening press conference.