A coalition of environmental groups from across the country is taking the Postal Service into court. Republican AGs want a climate measurement blocked, and California accuses Big Oil of causing plastic pollution.
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Postal Service sued over gasoline-powered trucks
On Thursday, sixteen states and a coalition representing environmental groups announced a lawsuit against U.S. The decision by the Postal Service to replace most of its fleet with fossil fuel-powered vehicles was a major victory for the Postal Service.
Environmental groups and climate hawks in Congress have blasted Postmaster General Louis DeJoys decision to buy new gas-powered vehicles with mileage of 8.6 miles per gallon.
The Postal Service has committed to electricizing only 10% of the 165,000 vehicles. In December, President Biden signed an executive order establishing a goal of carbon neutrality across the federal government. This would be very difficult if the Postal Service, the largest federal fleet, does not switch to renewable energy.
Who’s on board? The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are EarthJustice, Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
New York City and Bay Area Quality Management District joined the challenge.
The Postal Service has an historic opportunity to invest in the future and our planet. Instead, it is doubling down on outdated technologies that are bad for our environment and bad for our communities, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in a statement.
Once the purchase goes through, we’ll have more than 100,000 gas-guzzling vehicles serving our neighbors for the next thirty years. There won’t be a reset button. We are going to court to ensure that the Postal Service follows the law and considers other environmentally friendly options before making this decision.
What are they claiming? Plaintiffs accuse DeJoy, in a lawsuit, of using seriously flawed techniques for the environmental analysis that led the order.
The lawsuit claims that the Postal Service inflated the cost of batteries to justify a lack of electrification, and underestimated gas prices. The analysis was performed before recent gas price increases and was based at a projected gas cost of $2.19 per gallons.
The lawsuit claims that the Postal Service underestimated the mileage per electric vehicle charge, projecting 70 miles per recharge, despite the fact that current vehicles can get up to 200 miles per charge.
Adrian Martinez, a senior lawyer on Earthjustices Right To Zero campaign, stated that DeJoys’ environmental process was so inefficient and riddled by error that it failed the basic standards of National Environmental Policy Act.
We are going to court to protect millions of Americans living in areas overburdened by tailpipe pollution. This country should have electric mail delivery for our health and future.
Learn more about the lawsuit.
Red states want climate accounting measures to be blocked
A group of Republican-led states on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a court order blocking a key climate accounting measure put in place by the Biden administration amid a legal dispute with potentially high stakes for climate change regulation.
Louisiana led the GOP-led states in urging the justices to resuscitate a February federal judges ruling which temporarily stopped the Biden administrations from using a metric known to as the social cost of planet-warming gaz to quantify the climate impacts and benefits of regulatory action.
Trump-appointed U.S. Court Judge James Cain in Louisiana halted the ruling last month by a New Orleans federal appeals court.
What are they trying to argue? In court papers filed Thursday by Republican attorneys general from 10 US states, they focused their attention on the metric in question, also known as the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gas Estimates. This metric was first implemented under former President Obama.
The Estimates is a power grab that aims to manipulate Americas entire federal regulatory system through speculative cost and benefits, so that the Administration may impose its preferred policy outcomes onto every sector of American society, according to the briefing of GOP-led States.
The Obama-era figures gave much more weight to climate damages than figures used under the Trump administration. These social costs were used to quantify the climate benefits of regulation and, conversely the climate costs associated with deregulation in agency rulemaking. To justify stricter regulations, higher greenhouse gas costs can be used.
Learn more from The Hills John Kruzel
California AG investigates fossil fuel companies
Rob Bonta, the California Attorney General (D), stated on Thursday that he plans to launch an investigation into fossil fuel and petrochemical industries in regard to their contribution to global plastic polluting.
Bonta also indicated that he will subpoena ExxonMobil to aid in this process.
Bonta stated at a Thursday press conference that the public was being aggressively deceived and manipulated by some of the most powerful corporations in the world.
He added that the deceitful activities of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry have been ongoing for half a century. This has caused harm to our environment, our people, and our natural resources.
The investigation will seek to identify companies that contributed to or exacerbated the crisis of plastic pollution. Bonta indicated that his office would examine the industry’s historical and ongoing efforts to deceive public opinion and whether or not these actions might have violated law.
He said that if the law has been broken, we will not hesitate in holding these companies responsible.
Bonta spoke to reporters at Dockweiler State Beach, Los Angeles. He stated that plastic and other waste must all be removed daily from the sands. This was a small part of a larger problem.
Learn more at The Hills Sharon Usadin.
TOMORROW’S TAP
EPA Administrator Michael Regan will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the agencys budget
WHAT WE’RE READING
- The Permian Basin Oil Field is Running Out Of Workers, Materials, and Cash (The Wall Street Journal).
- Florida governor vetoes net-metering bill that is opposed by rooftop solar proponents (Tampa Bay Times).
- Shell tightens restrictions for Russian oil purchases (Reuters)
- Lake Mead plunges to an unprecedented low, exposing the original 1971 water intake valve (CNN).
ICYMI
And finally, something offbeat and off-beat: Bake up for lost time
This is it for today. Thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We hope to see you again tomorrow.
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