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Today’s news focuses on the Biden administration’s crossroads. After a court halted drilling lease sale, the EPA asked the Postal Service for a reconsideration of its gas-powered vehicle order, and New England senators called for further study into offshore wind.
Rachel Frazin was the editor of The Hill. Zack Budryk was the vice-president. Send us tips: [email protected]And [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter: @RachelFrazinAnd @BudrykZack.
Lets jump in.
Interior under pressure after drilling sale nixed
The Interior Department is under fire from both the fossil fuel and environmental industry over the assessment of an offshore drilling lease that was approved by Trump’s administration.
The Biden administration won the cancellation of the lease in the Gulf of Mexico offshore by a federal judge. However, the Interior Department must now decide how to proceed.
The agency will have to decide whether to cancel or change the sale, without being able to blame Trump-era calculations.
This is the story so far This is the latest in a series of court challenges related to this particular offshore drilling lease sale.
The original approval for the lease sale, Lease Sale 257, came at the end of former President Trump
Donald TrumpTrump: RINO Graham wrong on Jan. 6 rioters Jan. 6, panel probing Trump’s involvement in effort to seize voter machines: report Overnight Energy & Environment Virginia panel votes Down Wheelers tenure. After a June ruling against the Biden administration’s pause on new oil-and gas leasing, it was finally implemented by the Biden administration.
Judge Rudolph Contreras (an Obama appointee) invalidated the sale and all leases awarded during it. He stated last week that the Trump administration’s assessment had failed in its responsibility to account for how the sale would affect global fossil fuel demand. This could potentially lead to climate change.
What does this leave for the government? Contreras gave the Biden Administration a lot of freedom in his decision. He wrote that he would vacate Lease Sale 257 and give the agency the opportunity to correct its… error.
The Court does not give any instructions to BOEM on how to do it, in what timeframe, or at what point.
Continue reading to learn more about this ongoing story.
EPA PRESSES USPS TO HALT VEHICLES POWERED BY GAS
Wednesday’s request by the Environmental Protection Agency and White House Council on Environmental Quality to the U.S. The Postal Service asked the U.S. to reconsider plans to buy a predominantly gasoline-powered fleet with up to 165,000 trucks.
In letters to PostmasterGeneral Louis DeJoy
Louis DeJoyBiden stifles progressives on Postal Service. It takes green for it to go green: President Obama’s plan to decarbonize the government Biden’s ambitious climate goal faces challenges from federal workers MORESourced by The Hill, Vicki Arroyo, EPA Associate Administrator for Policy Vicki and the CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory
Brenda MalloryOvernight Energies & Environment Biden tries to reverse Trump’s Arctic drilling Biden environmental aide has left the White House. Overnight Energy & Environment – White House to restore portions of Trump-lifted environment protections lawNotably, the USPS fleet is the largest federal government fleet.
What is the problem? Trump appointee DeJoy was a long-time donor to the ex-president. He approved the current plan for vehicle purchase, which only requires one tenth of new Postal Service trucks be electric. Oshkosh is the USPS vehicle contract recipient. It is estimated that Oshkosh will reduce fuel consumption by 18% and use approximately 110 million tonnes of gasoline annually.
Arroyo stated that the current proposal for the Postal Services is a missed opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint and accelerate the reduction of one of the largest fleets of government vehicles in the world. A ten percent commitment to clean vehicles with almost no fuel efficiency gains for the remaining 90 percent is clearly inconsistent with international, state, and national GHG emission reduction targets.[.]
Find out more about the letters.
Senators request economic impact study
Sen. Angus King(I-Maine) led a group of senators representing the Gulf of Maine who sent Wednesday a letter asking the Biden administration for thorough research on the effects of planned offshore wind power projects.
Sens. King joined King in signing the bipartisan letter. Ed Markey
Ed MarkeySenate Democrats demand DOJ crackdown against counterfeit masks Lawmakers argue for Nobel Peace Prize to honour Opal Lee. The new bill would end US energy poverty and help families adapt to rising temperatures. (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth WarrenSenate Democrats call on the DOJ to crackdown counterfeit masks. Joe Rogan can save free speech More on the approval of COVID-19 vaccine by Overnight Health Care Moderna (D-Mass.), Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsGOP can’t avoid Trump-fueled election controversies McConnell & Biden discuss Supreme Court Pick Senate Democrats unveil proposal for reforming Electoral Count Act (R-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen
Cynthia (Jeanne), Jeanne ShaheenOvernight Defence & National Security Governors are on notice about vaccine mandate This week: Democrats back to Russia tensions, looming Supreme Court battle Senators close in on Russia sanction deal(D.N.H. Maggie Hassan
Margaret (Maggie?) HassanDemocrats press cryptomining firms on energy consumption Swing state voters worried about Build Back Better’s effect on inflation: poll Democrats believe it is only a matter of time for them to change to filibuster (D-N.H.).
The senators sent a letter to Amanda Lefton, Director of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), acknowledging the potential of our states to produce significant, clean, renewable energy.
BOEM stated that it is important to conduct additional outreach and research before the agency plans to sell leases. They also added that this will help improve the agency’s ability assess, predict, monitor and manage the potential environmental effects of offshore wind in Maine.
The senators pointed out additional data gaps about the projected economic effects of the offshore development plans. This calls for regionally-specific research into these effects.
The Biden administration set a goal to have 30 gigawatts of offshore power available by 2030. There are also plans for larger leases along the east and western coasts of the Gulf of Maine and Gulf of Mexico. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland Interior weighs fee hike for upcoming public lands drilling auctions Overnight Energy & Environment Lummis holds up Biden EPA picks Overnight Energy & Environment Biden officialsannounceclean energy plans MOREIn October, the department stated that it could have seven offshore wind lease sales by 2025. Only two offshore wind farms in the United States are currently operational and have 42 megawatts of wind power.
Learn more about the letter by clicking here
WHAT WE’RE READING
- Texas is about to be hit by a winter storm. This means that the power grid will be affected. (The Texas Tribune)
- U.S. to List Nevada Flower as Endangered, Dealing blow to Lithium Mine (Reuters)
- Climate campaigners are resentful at Europe’s plan for natural gas to be called “sustainable”CNN)
- Biden admin. Bets on renewable energy to revitalize Puerto Rico’s electric grid (NBC)
Let’s not forget something fun, but it is ON-beat. IIs there anything that isn’t an NFT these day?
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading. Check out The HillsEnergy & Environment PageFor the most recent news and coverage. We will see you tomorrow.