Jun 12, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Agriculture secretary directs national forests be used for more mining, oil and gas

Sun Mountain Logging employee Jeremy Lott operates a stroke boom delimber in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in September 2019. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue directed the USDA Forest Service on Friday to prioritize resource extraction in national forests and grasslands, particularly for grazing, mining, oil and gas development.

Our thought bubble via Axios' Amy Harder: The move shows how deep into the federal bureaucracy the Trump administration is reaching to remove regulations and, it argues, help the economy recover from the pandemic-induced recession.

Yes, but: The memo isn't a new direction, per Bloomberg Law: "The directive encapsulates efforts already underway at the Forest Service, which is working on revamping its oil, gas, and mining regulations in a way that would promote faster decisions on oil and gas drilling and mining."

Details: Perdue is directing the Forest Service to expedite broadband development, allow for more grazing on national grasslands, and use the land to "identify new opportunities to increase America's energy dominance."

Go deeper: USDA Forest Service plans to expand logging in Tongass National Forest

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Amy Harder, author of Generate
Sep 17, 2020 - Energy & Environment

How sudden geopolitical events bring about long-term changes in oil use

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Reproduced from Morgan Stanley; Chart: Axios Visuals

Sudden changes in world politics can bring about permanent changes in oil-and-gas use, per a recent Morgan Stanley report.

Driving the news: Geopolitical unrest in the late '70s and early '80s — the Iranian Revolution and start of the Iran-Iraq war — disrupted a lot of oil supply that, in turn, sent prices skyrocketing. That sudden jolt to the global oil system permanently cut oil consumption per capita that’s stayed with the world ever since, says Martijn Rats, managing director for equity research for Morgan Stanley.

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Axios
Updated 8 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 32,471,119 — Total deaths: 987,593 — Total recoveries: 22,374,557 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 7,032,524 — Total deaths: 203,657 — Total recoveries: 2,727,335 — Total tests: 99,483,712 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
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Mike Allen, author of AM
11 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

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