BENEFITS: Climate action would prevent nearly 70,000 premature American deaths, while saving the country hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses, according to a major government study on the costs of climate change. (The Washington Post)
STORAGE TANKS: The EPA on Monday issued new safety requirements for underground storage tanks to protect water sources from petroleum leaks. (The Hill)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: With the EPA planning to finalize its Clean Power Plan in August, top Texas officials still won’t say whether the state will flout the rule—an option some critics call risky. (The Texas Tribune)
ARCTIC DRILLING: As one of Shell’s Arctic drilling rigs makes its way to Alaska, a second waiting in Washington state waters has received a critical “certificate of compliance” from the U.S. Coast Guard. (FuelFix)
CITES: Phoenix, Arizona, and Blacksburg, Virginia, top this year’s U.S. Conference of Mayors’ list of cities for innovative programs that increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Planetsave)
OZONE: Regulators should write a stringent new surface-level ozone rule, five Democratic governors said Friday in a letter to the EPA. (The Hill)
CAP-AND-TRADE: A mixed-use project in West Sacramento is set to win $6.5 million in California cap-and-trade grants earmarked for affordable housing projects. (Sacramento Business Journal)
DIVESTMENT: The divestment movement is giving colleges credit for largely empty gestures, when it should be focused on energy conservation or a carbon tax, some academics and environmentalists say. (Bloomberg)
EFFICIENCY: Oglala Tribe members joined federal officials in South Dakota Monday to break ground on a new energy-efficient community of affordable housing and sustainable agriculture. (Keloland Television)
SOLAR: A commercial solar installer majority-owned by Duke Energy has expanded its operations by purchasing a rival for an undisclosed sum. (Charlotte Business Journal)
WIND: A new type of coating for wind turbines inspired by the shape of owl wings may dramatically cut noise associated with onshore wind farms, according to researchers. (e360 Digest)
GULF SPILL: A major credit ratings agency says BP’s impending fines for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, combined with cheap crude, could weigh heavily on its balance sheet for years. (FuelFix)
TRANSITION: Experts opine on whether renewable energy will surpass fossil fuels as our main source of energy by 2035. (Discovery News)
POLITICS: The way inland California lawmakers see it, the only benefit to their constituents from proposed strict carbon limits will be cleaner air to breathe as they wait at the unemployment office. (Bloomberg)
PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Former Texas governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry remains on the payroll of a pipeline company that transports natural gas and crude oil. (Mother Jones)