Democrats call on House leadership to use spending plan to repeal fossil fuel subsidies: This is the kind of leadership we need.

Democrats call on House leadership to use spending plan to repeal fossil fuel subsidies

"The group, led by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), penned a letter to the Democratic leaders Monday asking that the repeal of fossil fuel subsidies be included in Democrats’ Build Back Better Act because they do not bolster U.S. energy independence or create new jobs.

“Fossil fuel subsidies should be repealed because, instead of enhancing American energy independence or creating jobs, they simply enhance the profits of fossil fuel companies,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We should not fall for the industry myth that these subsidies are necessary for good job creation,” they later added."

We will be arguing that hydrogen - especially that backed by the fossil fuel industry - is a non-solution. Earthjustice agrees: Hydrogen industry must clean itself up before expanding into new uses, report finds

Hydrogen industry must clean itself up before expanding into new uses, report finds

"The hype around hydrogen as a clean fuel has reached the point where it threatens funding for genuinely clean energy, according to a new report by the environmental legal group Earthjustice.

Roughly 75 million metric tons of hydrogen are now being produced annually in ways that contribute to the climate crisis rather than help solve it. If hydrogen backers in the oil and gas industry want to make the case that hydrogen is a climate solution, they should start by decarbonizing these production processes, the report says."

Some people out there making sense (doesn't say anything about fossil fuels, but the two are closely linked): Opinion | History Is Clear. America’s Military Is Way Too Big.

Opinion | History Is Clear. America’s Military Is Way Too Big.

At home, the growth of the armed forces means that American society has become more militarized. Police departments are now equipped with battlefield gear and military equipment, some of it surplus from the Army. Former soldiers have joined the violent extremist groups that have multiplied over the last decade. Less than 10 percent of Americans have served in the military, but 12 percent of those charged in the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6 had military experience.

Of course, the U.S. military is one of the most professional and patriotic parts of our society. Our uniformed leaders have consistently defended the rule of law, including against a president trying to undermine an election. The trouble stems from how bloated their organizations have become, and how often they are misused.

We must be honest about what the military cannot do. We should allocate our resources to other organizations and agencies that will actually make our country more resilient, prosperous and secure. We will benefit by returning to our history as a big country with a small peacetime military.

The fossil fuel industry has never been on the side of labor, despite what they say.

 One of thousands of times the state used military (police) force against coal miners in this country.  Turned on a little Hazel Dickens to get psyched up for my first lecture and found this gem.  Watch it all the way through.

Dear WUSTL students, this is the utility that provides power to WUSTL - in many ways they can be seen as an organized criminal enterprise, given how they have systematically fought environmental cleanup (and WUSTL takes money from them to sell us the lie of 'clean coal'): Experts tell Ameren to dump the scrubbers, close the coal plant

Experts tell Ameren to dump the scrubbers, close the coal plant

The question is:  when they shut down the coal plants are they going to try to sell us natural gas, or do what we really need, transition to renewables at a large scale?

“I would bet my bottom dollar that it would be replaced with renewables,” said David Woodsmall, a Jefferson City-based attorney who represents the Midwest Energy Consumers Group, which advocates for large commercial and industrial power customers — from AT&T and Tyson Foods to Walmart. “The current trend in the industry is that renewables have much better economics than building gas, coal or nuclear.”

Others, though, aren’t treating renewable replacements as an inevitability.  

Owen, for instance, is bracing for a public and political debate. He thinks “all options will be on the table” if a major coal plant is shut down, and he expects to see “a lot of people pushing for natural gas.”

In 2019, when Ameren was first ordered to outfit Rush Island with scrubbers, the company was given a 2024 deadline to comply. The Sierra Club, an intervenor in the case that was originally filed at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said that deadline hasn’t changed.

If you think we need to "harden" our existing fossil-fuel based grid, you are wrong. We need decentralized energy production, distribution, and storage, as well as resilient means of producing renewable energy in situations like this. New Orleans lost power in Hurricane Ida after tower collapsed in river; fix could take days, longer

New Orleans lost power in Hurricane Ida after tower collapsed in river; fix could take days, longer

Opinion | Let’s Not Pretend That the Way We Withdrew From Afghanistan Was the Problem

Opinion | Let’s Not Pretend That the Way We Withdrew From Afghanistan Was the Problem

Schumer: Infrastructure bills would curb emissions 45 percent

Schumer: Infrastructure bills would curb emissions 45 percent

Solar could be 40% of U.S. power by 2035 -Biden administration

Solar could be 40% of U.S. power by 2035 -Biden administration

Climate scientists have a message for the world: Don’t give up

Climate scientists have a message for the world: Don’t give up

Oil Groups React to USA Call for OPEC to Do More

Oil Groups React to USA Call for OPEC to Do More

(Translation, the oil industry wants prices to stay high and does not want the frackers to go bankrupt if prices come down and stay lower).

Winona LaDuke Feels That President Biden Has Betrayed Native Americans

Winona LaDuke Feels That President Biden Has Betrayed Native Americans

Twenty or Thirty years too late, but ok: WUSTL taking baby steps on climate. Contribute to WashU's Strategic Planning Process: Share Your Input

Contribute to WashU's Strategic Planning Process: Share Your Input

Hope for the future: Gen Z climate tik tok

 

As a climate reporter I am often asked, what gives you hope? And the answer is, unequivocally, Gen Z climate tik tok pic.twitter.com/HYiC193zVZ

— Emily Atkin (@emorwee) August 10, 2021

9/11 families want President Joe Biden to declassify documents or stay away from 20-year memorials

9/11 families want President Joe Biden to declassify documents or stay away from 20-year memorials

A pro-Saudi Arabia ad precedes the video.  

An Oil Company Paid Police $2 Million to Defend Its Pipeline From Protests

An Oil Company Paid Police $2 Million to Defend Its Pipeline From Protests

Shot with Rubber Bullets, Hospitalized, Jailed: Line 3 Protester Tara Houska Decries Police Attack

Shot with Rubber Bullets, Hospitalized, Jailed: Line 3 Protester Tara Houska Decries Police Attack

Indigenous TikTokers say they've been banned after speaking out against oil pipeline

Indigenous TikTokers say they've been banned after speaking out against oil pipeline

Biden calls for half of new cars to be electric or plug-in hybrids by 2030

Biden calls for half of new cars to be electric or plug-in hybrids by 2030

Infrastructure bill includes wins for Bakken energy, agriculture in MonDak

Infrastructure bill includes wins for Bakken energy, agriculture in MonDak

Bipartisan deal attracts energy, environment amendments

Bipartisan deal attracts energy, environment amendments

Hydrogen Plan Isn’t Very Green Under U.S. Infrastructure Deal

Hydrogen Plan Isn’t Very Green Under U.S. Infrastructure Deal