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Today we are looking at the Biden administration’s sanctions against Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The Postal Service officially making its fossil fuel-powered trucks order and a White House reversal on the Trump administration’s mining road in Alaska.
Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk were the Hill’s editors. Send us your tips: [email protected]And [email protected]. Follow us on twitter: @RachelFrazinAnd @BudrykZack.
Lets jump in.
Biden imposes Nord Stream 2 sanctions
President Biden
Joe BidenPentagon approves request for National Guard deployment before DC trucker convoy Lee Harris talks about the past of Development Finance Corporation’s CEO Defense & National Security – US allies hit Russia via sanctions MOREWednesday’s announcement of sanctions against the company behind a controversial Russian pipeline was in response to Moscow’s decision not to send troops to eastern Ukraine.
Biden stated that his administration would impose sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, which is the parent company of Nord Stream 2’s pipeline, as well as its corporate officers in a statement.
“These steps are yet another part of our initial tranches of sanctions in response Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Biden stated that, “as I have made clear,” we will not hesitate in taking further steps if Russia continues its escalated actions.”
The story so far: The Biden administration lifted sanctions on the pipeline last year. This prompted a backlash from both Democrats and Republicans who felt it should be more aggressive with Russia.
After the Trump administration’s disastrous relations with Germany, the decision by the administration to lift sanctions on the pipeline was widely seen as an attempt to appease Germany.
Germany turned against the pipeline this week after Russia’s incursion into Ukraine’s separatist regions. It was shut down Tuesday. It announced that it would not allow its certification.
What’s next? Although the pipeline is complete, it still needs regulatory approval before it can be made operational.
Biden had vowed to stop the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline in the event that Russia invades Ukraine in recent weeks. However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz didn’t promise to stop the pipeline when he made an appearance at The White House earlier this month.
Biden announces Tuesday Other sanctionsRussian financial institutions, elites and sovereign default
The administration also Additional troops were sentGermany, Poland, and Romania
Officials from the Biden administration have stated that the U.S. is ready to impose tougher sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine.
Domestically, the new sanctions against Nord Stream 2 have helped some of Biden’s State Department nominees, such as Sen. Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted), Edward CruzMcConnell claims he didn’t think Biden’s announcement that he would nominate a Black woman to SCOTUS was “inappropriate”. Missouri Senate candidate Eric Schmitt will host a fundraiser at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago The Hill’s Morning Report: Russia aggression triggers US, EU sanction MORE (R-Texas) He said he would liftHe placed a hold on them in response last year’s waiver.
You can read more about the announcement here.
Postal Service finalizes gas powered trucks
The U.S. The U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday that it has finalized plans for a new fleet of majority-fueled vehicles, despite opposition from congressional Democrats who claimed this would violate the Biden administration’s emissions goals.
In a statement Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
Louis DeJoyIllinois Democrat requests details on the new chairman’s vision of Postal Service Overnight Energy & Environment Biden claims Russia attack could spike oil price Biden administration announces green manufacturing pushThe Postal Service said it had completed its required environmental impact assessment under the National Environmental Protection Act. DeJoy argued that the agency did not have the financial resources to make the transition to an electric fleet.
DeJoy, who gave the vehicle contract to Oshkosh on February 20, 2021, has only committed that 10 percent of the new vehicles be electrified despite an executive order. President BidenWe are calling for the federal government’s goal to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Postal Service is the nation’s largest civilian fleet.
What is the DeJoys argument. We will continue to look for additional BEVs as our financial position improves due to the continual implementation of Delivering For America, our 10-year plan. [battery electric vehicles]DeJoy said that as additional funding becomes available from congressional or internal sources, DeJoy will let you know. The process must continue to move forward. The men and women of America. The Postal Service has waited too long for safer, cleaner vehicles in order to fulfill its universal service obligation to deliver to 161,000,000 addresses in all climates.
The move was strongly opposed by congressional Democrats, the Biden administrations Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency. They also sent a letter asking for clarifications earlier in the month. Environmental groups also strongly opposed the move.
Learn more about the order.
Officials to revisit approval of mining road
Late Tuesday, the Biden administration said that it plans to revisit a road that would allow for access to Alaska’s mining areas.
Tuesday’s request by the administration to a federal court was to have its decisions regarding approval of the road, which would have allowed access to the Ambler Mining District (northern Alaska), reexamined.
This area is home to large deposits of minerals like copper and zinc. Supporters of the project sought to increase mining of these minerals.
But, opponents raise concerns about potential impacts on wildlife and indigenous communities.
Melissa Schwartz, spokeswoman for the Interior Department, stated Tuesday that the department is interested in reexamining the project to fix significant flaws in its underlying analyses.
Schwartz stated that the department will suspend its approval during the review to make sure that there is no ground-disturbing activity that could potentially affect the resources in question.
This announcement follows other mining announcements made Tuesday by the Biden administration.
You can read more about the announcement here.
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FACE THE MUSIC
According to a Center for Countering Digital Hate report, Facebook identified half of climate change denial posts that were linked to content from the top publishers of such disinformation.
The CCDH is one of the advocacy groups pushing Facebook under the parent company Meta to do more than just apply labels to combat misinformation. Advocates claim that labels have not been proven effective in mitigation.
However, Facebook’s failure to fulfill its pledge to take minimal action in applying the labels underlines their reluctance towards combating climate denial, stated Imran Ahmed, chief executive officer of CCDH.
They are aware of the problem. They are aware that misinformation is being spread via their platform. Ahmed stated that they have announced that they will do certain things to address the labels.
He added that while they have admitted that harms were caused by their platform, they still fail to keep their promises.
The new report is based on CCDH’s research into climate disinformation. It also adds to a November report that identified ten publishers, the Toxic Ten as the root cause of 69 percent digital climate change denial.
Learn more about the report.
WHAT WAS READING
- Ex-ERCOT chief: He was following Abbott’s instructions when they ran into billions in bills during the freezeThe Houston Chronicle)
- The One Group of People Americans Really Trust on Climate Science (The Atlantic)
- Residents of D.C. claim that solar panels are not affordable because of Pepco’s fees (The Washington Post)
- Tesla and EPA reach a settlement following violations of Clean Air Act by automaker.CNBC)
ICYMI
Finally, something a little offbeat and unorthodox: Teamwork!
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading. Check out The Hills Energy & Environment Page for the latest news and coverage. Well see you Thursday.
