A record-breaking heat wave has enveloped much of Europe over the past week, with temperatures reaching as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit in southern Spain. Scientists say this is the new reality of climate change. France, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. have all issued high-level “red” heat alerts, with more than half of France under red alerts. Tuesday’s temperature topped 112 degrees…
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Right-wing businessman Abelardo de la Espriella holds a razor-thin lead in Colombia’s preliminary presidential vote count, positioning the Donald Trump ally to clear the way for expanded fossil fuel extraction, including controversial fracking projects. A de la Espriella presidency would mark a sharp reversal for one of the world’s most ambitious experiments in fossil fuel phaseout.
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The oceanic phenomenon known as El Niño, which increases temperatures worldwide, has officially begun, according to U.S. weather forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meteorologists have warned that this could be the strongest El Niño this century. It is expected to drive extreme weather events around the world, including both severe droughts and heavy rainfall…
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As the war with Iran moves toward a possible end, one of the many takeaways of the conflict is that it’s clearly in Americans’ interest to embrace renewable energy, not only because it’s cleaner and cheaper, but also to help shield U.S. consumers from international turmoil.
It’s a basic idea the Trump administration doesn’t want to understand.
In March, the Republican administration announced it had agreed to pay a foreign company almost $1 billion in American taxpayer money to abandon two wind farm projects that would have produced enough electricity to power more than 1.3 million homes and businesses across New York, New Jersey and North Carolina.
At the administration’s insistence, the company will instead proceed with different energy projects that will cost more and pollute more. Or put another way, thanks to a model imposed by President Donald Trump, many American consumers will pay for the privilege of paying more to turn on the lights, all while polluting our own air.
In April, it happened again, when the Republican administration announced plans to pay energy companies nearly $900 million to abandon plans for two offshore wind farms.
The pattern is ongoing. The Associated Press reported this week:
The Trump administration said Wednesday it’s buying back another energy company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four more wind projects, as it seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.
The latest deal brings the total amount spent on these agreements to nearly $2.6 billion.
This latest move, which came with a $765 million price tag, affects plans for planned projects off the coasts of New York, California and Maine.
I’m mindful that the president has
The Central California Women’s Facility, the nation’s largest women’s prison, is in Chowchilla, where temperatures reached past 90 degrees by the second week of May. The prison lacks air conditioning or any facility-wide cooling system, turning cells into saunas. “I dread going to my groups at night because we have to wait forever at the gates and we cannot bring water with us. We can’t take…
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