Trump names former coal executive David Zatezalo to top mining safety post – Company received “pattern of violations” letters while Zatezalo was chairman

By Jacqueline Thomsen 2 September 2017 (The Hill) – President Trump has nominated a former coal executive whose company clashed with federal officials over mining safety rules under President Obama to the top mining safety post in his administration.Trump on Friday named David Zatezalo, the former chairman of Rhino Resources, to be an assistant secretary […]

Coal mining health study is halted by Trump’s Interior Department – “Stopping this study is a ploy to stop science in its tracks and keep the public in the dark about health risks as a favor to the mining industry”

By Lisa Friedman And Brad Plumer 21 August 2017WASHINGTON (The New York Times) – The Interior Department has ordered a halt to a scientific study begun under President Obama of the public health risks of mountaintop-removal coal mining. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which was conducting the study, said in a statement […]

Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 trillion per year

By John Abraham 7 August 2017 (The Guardian) – Fossil fuels have two major problems that paint a dim picture for their future energy dominance. These problems are inter-related but still should be discussed separately. First, they cause climate change. We know that, we’ve known it for decades, and we know that continued use of […]

Asset management company Schroders forecasts global warming of more than 4°C by the year 2100

17 July 2017 (Schroders) – Global temperatures are on course to rise by up to 4°C, twice as far as safe levels, according to a Climate Progress Dashboard developed by the Schroders Sustainability team.The unique dashboard tracks the progress governments and industries are making towards meeting the 2°C temperature rise commitment global leaders made in […]

How fossil fuel money made climate change denial the Word of God

By Brendan O’Connor 11 August 2017 (Splinter) – In 2005, at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Evangelicals was on the verge of doing something novel: affirming science.Specifically, the 30-million-member group, which represents 51 Christian denominations, was debating how to advance a new platform called “For the Health of a Nation.” […]

Trump Interior Department could cost taxpayers at least $60 million by rolling back Obama rule

By Dino Grandoni 9 August 2017(The Washington Post) – During his confirmation hearing for the job of running the Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke told the Senate he wanted taxpayers to get “fair value” on resources extracted from public lands by private companies. But a recent move by him means taxpayers will get millions […]

The ACLU filed a comical brief in defense of free speech and John Oliver’s satire – “Coal: basically cocaine for Thomas the Tank Engine”

By Ephrat Livni 1 August 2017 (Quartz) – The American Civil Liberties Union isn’t exactly known for its sense of humor. But on 1 August 2017, the defenders of free speech filed a jocular amicus brief in perhaps the most comical case of 2017, a year that’s proving pretty amusing for US courts.Still, the organization […]

Top EPA official resigns over direction of agency under Trump – “The truth is there is NO war on coal, there is NO economic crisis caused by environmental protection, and climate change IS caused by man’s activities”

By Jacqueline Thomsen 1 August 2017 (The Hill) – A top Environmental Protection Agency official resigned Tuesday in protest of the direction the EPA has taken under President Trump.Elizabeth “Betsy” Southerland ended her 30-year run at the agency with a scathing exit letter in which she claimed that “the environmental field is suffering from the […]

Xi Jinping is set for a big gamble with China’s carbon trading market – “One of the problems they have had is getting realistic numbers”

By Chris Buckley 23 June 2017 BEIJING (The New York Times) – As other countries look to China to take the lead in fighting global warming after President Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate agreement, President Xi Jinping is pushing ahead with an ambitious plan to build the world’s largest market for carbon emissions permits. […]

Trump to tap longtime coal lobbyist for EPA’s No. 2 spot – “Trump is once again catering to his polluter allies and prioritizing their profits over our kids’ health”

By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis 21 July 2017 (The Washington Post) – President Trump will nominate a prominent coal lobbyist and former Senate aide, Andrew Wheeler, to serve as the Environmental Protection Agency’s deputy administrator, according to two senior administration officials. Wheeler, a principal at Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, is a lobbyist for coal […]

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