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OHIO: Clean-energy companies reconsider plans to expand in Ohio following new legislation altering the state’s energy landscape. (Toledo Blade)
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EPA: The state-by-state flexibility of EPA carbon rules may also make them more vulnerable to legal challenges. (ClimateWire)
ALSO:
• Some states have already made a 30 percent emissions cut since 2005. (New York Times)
• Ohio experts say the coal industry will adapt and survive new regulations. (Columbus Dispatch)
• Indiana will still be among the top carbon emitters under new rules. (Indianapolis Star)
• Despite vocal protests, Kentucky “is already taking hardheaded steps toward a post-coal economy.” (New York Times)
• Missouri lawmakers cite impending EPA rules in supporting tax breaks for transmission equipment. (Associated Press)
• A new interactive map shows U.S. fossil fuel power plants and how they’ll be impacted by new EPA regulations. (Climate Central)
FRACKING: Michigan files fraud and racketeering charges against Chesapeake Energy over its land-leasing practices. (Reuters)
FRAC SAND: How sand mining companies are bypassing a county ban in Illinois through annexation deals with towns and villages. (Chicago Tribune)
OIL: North Dakota’s oil boom poses a new threat to Minnesota’s wetlands; a pipeline trenching operation causes a 300-barrel spill in North Dakota; and the State Department updates figures in its Keystone XL assessment, projecting greater risk from increased rail shipments. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Associated Press, Reuters)
WIND: Uncertainty over federal tax credits delays a South Dakota wind farm. (Associated Press)
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POLITICS: Why Tom Steyer became a climate activist. (Washington Post)
COMMENTARY: Indiana needs to wean itself from an over-reliance on coal, and the real obstacle to climate action is “economic ideology reinforced by hostility to science.” (Indianapolis Star, New York Times)