“I said it was a brutal thing. "No, it was a human thing. You should not insult the brutes by such a misuse of that word; they have not deserved it.” ― Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger
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| DAILY SPECIALS |
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| ELECTIONS |
THAT'S
THAT: The
Senate voted 92-6 to pass its Transportation-HUD spending bill on Wednesday as
a part of a package of fiscal 2019 funding measures, H.R.
6147 (115).
Pros can read about the amendments made to the THUD bill here, here, here and here .
Rollin': One of those
amendments, by Sen. John
Cornyn (R-Texas),
would prohibit the use of certain fiscal 2019 transit funding for the
"procurement of rolling stock for use in public transportation if the
manufacturer of the rolling stock is incorporated in or has manufacturing
facilities in the United States and receives support" from China. As Jeff
Davis at the Eno Center for Transportation explains, the Senate's
provision is more specific than the House's.
The
power of appropriations legislation compels you! Sens. Tom
Udall (D-N.M.)
and Jerry
Moran (R-Kan.)
cheered the adoption of their amendment related to the Southwest Chief
long-distance route, saying in a statement that it would "compel Amtrak to
fulfill its promise of matching funding" for a TIGER grant and
"effectively reverse Amtrak's decision to substitute rail service with bus
service over large segments of the route through" fiscal 2019. [POLITICO's Morning Transportation, August 2, 2018]
SOUR GRAPES: Americans for Modern Transportation, a coalition dedicated to
legalizing the widespread use of twin 33-foot truck trailers, shot back Tuesday
at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's most recent
economic impact report, which came out two weeks ago. That report showed short
line transportation services provided 478,820 jobs, $26 billion in labor
income, and $56 billion in value added to the U.S. economy in 2016. AMT
Executive Director Randy Mullett said the industry's strength "is due to
in no small part to special interest tax breaks" ASLRRA has won in the
past and charged the group with pressuring Congress to block new permissions
for twin 33-foot trailers. [POLITICO's Morning Transportation, August 8, 2018}
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| SCREEN |
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| CANDIDATES |
YOU OUGHTA KNOW: The November midterms
are seeing a wave of first-time House candidates with environmental and energy
backgrounds. Pro's Anthony Adragna breaks down who to keep an eye on as Nov. 6
nears:
— Sean Casten, Democrat, Illinois' 6th District: Casten
is a clean-energy entrepreneur who's challenging five-term Republican
Rep. Peter Roskam. He founded Recycled Energy Development LLC in 2007 with
the goal of capturing and converting industrial waste energy into electric and
thermal power, and previously served as chairman of the U.S. Combined Heat and
Power Association. The race is currently rated a toss-up by the Cook Political
Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball.
— Kelly Armstrong, Republican, North Dakota's at-large
seat: This one's flown a bit under the radar with the state's
high-profile Senate contest between Rep. Kevin Cramer and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp sucking up all the oxygen. Armstrong is vice
president of his family's oil and gas company, the Armstrong Corporation. He
also previously chaired the North Dakota Republican Party, in the race
currently rated as Safe Republican.
— Mike Levin, Democrat, California's 49th
District: Levin's an environmental and energy lawyer eyeing retiring
Rep. Darrell Issa's seat. He previously worked as director of government
affairs for FuelCell Energy and served on the board of directors at the Center
for Sustainable Energy. Read the full list here. [POLITICO's Morning
Energy, August 9, 2018]
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| TECHNOLOGY |
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| READ |
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| HEALTHCARE |
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| NATURE & OUTDOORS |
Burying beetles mix a special growth potion for their young: one part dead mice, many parts bacteria
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| ENVIRONMENT |
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| CLIMATE CHANGE |
INSIDE TRUMP'S CLIMATE PLAN: EPA's plan to undo
the Obama-era climate rule for coal-burning power plants is widely expected to
include a far less stringent replacement rule, but the new climate proposal
would also boost states' latitude to write their own regulations for coal
plants or pave a path for seeking permission to opt out, according to
POLITICO's review of a portion of the unpublished draft and a source who
reviewed other sections of the document.
The draft offers the first look at
the specifics of the Trump administration's proposal to undo the Clean Power
Plan since EPA released a broader notice that it would reconsider the rule in April,
POLITICO's Emily Holden reports. The White House Office of Management
and Budget has reviewed the draft and sent it back to EPA this week, meaning
the plan will likely be unveiled in the coming days. Legal experts say a
replacement rule could stall a future president from quickly writing carbon
regulations.
Under the new regulation, states would be allowed
to write rules to make coal power plants more efficient, enabling them to burn
less coal to produce the same amount of electricity. But critics say that could
be bad for the planet by making it cost-effective for companies to run those
plants more often, Emily reports. According to the draft, EPA intends to argue
that the Obama administration's rule illegally sought to regulate the broader
power sector, beyond coal plants, and that the compliance costs would have been
high and the climate benefits negligible.
Other details of the proposal include:
— State plans could be in effect before 2025
— Coal plants upgrades could avoid triggering New Source Review requirements
— EPA expects the average power plant heat rate improvement would be 1-3 percent and cost $30 to $60 per kilowatt
— Retail electricity prices could be similar or somewhat higher than if EPA repealed the Clean Power Plan
— EPA would only count the domestic benefits of curbing greenhouse gas emissions
— In comparing costs and benefits of replacing the rule, EPA assumes states would have capped emissions and would not have used interstate trading — which would have decreased the expected costs of the Clean Power Plan [POLITICO's Morning Energy, August 15, 2018]
— State plans could be in effect before 2025
— Coal plants upgrades could avoid triggering New Source Review requirements
— EPA expects the average power plant heat rate improvement would be 1-3 percent and cost $30 to $60 per kilowatt
— Retail electricity prices could be similar or somewhat higher than if EPA repealed the Clean Power Plan
— EPA would only count the domestic benefits of curbing greenhouse gas emissions
— In comparing costs and benefits of replacing the rule, EPA assumes states would have capped emissions and would not have used interstate trading — which would have decreased the expected costs of the Clean Power Plan [POLITICO's Morning Energy, August 15, 2018]
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| TRUMP |
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| WHIMSEY |
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| TANZANIA |
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| ASIA |
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| PAKISTAN |
NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as a "community service" announcement. These again are shared for their varying perspectives.
Any commercial or business interest information shared is purely informational, not an endorsement. I have no connection with any such commercial or business interest.
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