Pennsylvania Energy Policies Exacerbating Reliability, Blackout Concerns

Gene Yaw

Pennsylvania’s energy future isn’t only a question of renewables versus fossil fuels — it’s a question of whether the state can reliably provide enough energy to meet growing demand.

One problem is that power plants retiring is happening quicker than new, cleaner ones get built. The shuttering has been driven by state and federal rules to mitigate pollution, but getting projects approved and built takes years and years.

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Commentary: Private Property Can Solve Ocean Pollution

The problem of ocean pollution is not new. This past year, a survey conducted by the World Wildlife Fund found that more than three quarters of Americans are “increasingly frustrated that plastic waste generated in the United States ends up in oceans.” Today, the mass of plastic debris in the ocean continues to grow year over year, with only about 269,000 tons of the over 4 billion tons floating to the surface to be cleaned up (less than 0.006%.) In addition to the outrage, the survey revealed a desire for increased government intervention to fix the problem, but there is a far more effective way to decrease and prevent ocean pollution that is barely recognized amongst the public: private property rights.

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Debate: Ann Arbor to Traverse City Passenger Rail Feasibility

Two prominent Michigan economists, a county zoning administrator, and a nonprofit program manager scrutinized the details of a proposed Ann Arbor to Traverse City passenger rail system for The Center Square.

The feasibility of the A2TC project was discussed in separate conversations with University of MI-Flint economics professor Chris Douglas; Mackinac Center for Public Policy Fiscal Policy Director James Hohman; certified land use planner Kevon Martis, a zoning administrator in Deerfield Township, Lenawee County; and Caroline Ulstad, transportation program manager at Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.

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Governor Tony Evers Files Lawsuit Against Multiple Companies, Alleges Water Pollution

Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit against multiple manufacturers and chemical companies for alleged water pollution in the state.

According to Evers and Kaul, the companies knew or should have known that they were polluting the environment with PFAS contamination, which is a synthetic chemical that is made for multiple products.

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Committee Passes Bill to Adopt California Emissions Standards for Connecticut Trucks

Legislation to align Connecticut’s emissions standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks with California’s stringent regulations passed the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee on Monday and awaits consideration by the state House and Senate.

The regulations chiefly concern the discharge of nitrogen-oxide which is associated with worsening acid rain and smog as well as respiratory and cardiac ailments.

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Retired General Picked by Nancy Pelosi to Review Capitol Security Appears on Chinese Propaganda Network

Russel Honore

Chinese government officials and state-controlled media agencies have recently ramped up their rhetoric against the United States on the issue of climate change, portraying the U.S. as not doing enough to limit greenhouse emissions even though China is by far the world’s biggest polluter.

One shot fired in the propaganda war came this week in the form of an interview that CGTN America, the U.S. affiliate of the Beijing-controlled China Central Television (CCTV), conducted with retired Army Lt. General Russel Honoré.

Honoré, who is founder of the environmental group Green Army, decried in the CGTN interview that a “large part” of the population in his native Louisiana denies the existence of climate change.

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Coal Fund Raid Could Cost Ohioans Millions

In a rare display of unity, members of the coal lobby joined with environmental advocacy leaders to raise concerns following Gov. John Kasich’s (R-OH) decision to raid the state’s coal mining reclamation fund. In 2017, the state of Ohio was facing a heavy tax shortfall as a result of decreased tax revenues. In response, Kasich withdrew over $114 million dollars from 16 separate state agencies in order to fund more essential government functions. The Ohio coal mining reclamation fund was among these and lost more than $5 million. Currently, there are no plans or provisions in place to replace the funds. The fund is paid for by taxes collected from state coal mining companies, intended to reverse the damage done by mining over the past two centuries. For over 200 years, Ohio has been a major center of coal mining in America. Mining was essential to the development of Ohio’s economy. While surface mining can be done responsibly, the depleted land often requires significant investment to repair. Should this not occur, environmental damage can extend well past the intended areas. According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’s Division of Mineral Resources, as of 1972, the problems included: 1,300 miles of streams polluted by…

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A New Report Shows Paris Climate Accord Backers Are Just ‘Outsourcing’ CO2 Emissions To China

China

by Michael Bastach   When President Donald Trump unveiled plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord last year, he voiced his concern the Obama-era deal would amount to an international wealth transfer. Trump pointed out the Paris accord “doesn’t eliminate coal jobs, it just transfers those jobs out of America, and ships them to other countries,” he said in a Rose Garden speech last year. A new report shows Trump’s broader argument that emissions-intensive activities would not be eliminated, but moved overseas was probably correct. Industries have been moving operations overseas to poorer countries with fewer regulations. The report, funded by the ClimateWorks Foundation, found that countries are increasingly “outsourcing” their emissions to other countries, like China and India. Indeed, it’s a problem conservatives have warned about for years when it comes to climate policies — regulations emissions in, say, the U.S. will only encourage carbon dioxide-heavy industries to relocate overseas. That’s exactly what’s been happening, according to the new report. If those outsourced emissions were included “many promising climate trends would be negated or reversed,” reads the report by researchers with KGM & Associates and Global Eciency Intelligence LLC. “It is estimated that 20-30% of global CO2 emissions are part…

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