AIRLINES: The EPA proposed Wednesday to regulate aircraft emissions in much the same way as power plants, declaring them a threat to human health because they contain pollutants that cause global warming. (Associated Press)

CONGRESS:
• Two Senate Democrats sponsored a bill Wednesday to institute an economy-wide tax on carbon emissions, from which revenue would be returned through rebates and tax cuts. (The Hill)
• Presidential hopeful Senator Paul Ryan late Tuesday proposed an amendment to a customs bill that would limit the ability of the Obama administration to make climate deals. (National Journal)

TAR SANDS: More than 100 North American scientists united Wednesday in a consensus statement that says expanding oil extraction from Canada’s tar sands will be catastrophic for the local environment and global climate. (InsideClimate News)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: The sprawling area of the Midwest served by the MidContinent Independent System Operator should not suffer reliability problems under the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, according to a report from the Analysis Group. (EnergyWire)

BATTERIES: The home energy storage product Tesla Motors unveiled a month ago is getting an upgrade and now will have twice its original capacity, CEO Elon Musk said this week. (EnergyWire)

FRACKING:
• The American Medical Association voted this week to seek more information about the the chemical compounds pumped underground during fracking operations. (FuelFix)
• ExxonMobil told Texas regulators Wednesday that a string of earthquakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area originated far deeper than a well the company used to inject wastewater from oil-and-gas operations. (Dow Jones Business News)

OFFSHORE DRILLING: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday more than doubled the size of two California marine sanctuaries, permanently banning offshore oil drilling along that stretch of coast. (San Jose Mercury News)

ONSHORE DRILLING: Environmental groups on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s plan to open large tracts of federal land in central California to oil drilling. (Reuters)

OIL SPILL: The cost of cleaning up last month’s oil spill on the California coast has reached $62 million, with costs continuing to add up at $3 million a day and about 76 percent of the spill area cleared of oil. (Associated Press)

CLOUD: Amazon announced Wednesday a solar farm project in Virginia that will advance the company’s progress towards its commitment to power its data centers with 100 percent renewable energy. (Sustainable Brands)

GRANTS: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday announced 544 grants totaling $6.7 million through Rural Energy for America Program to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy. (Associated Press)

AGRICULTURE: Unilever, Walmart and other large companies reliant on agriculture have agreed to encourage farmers who supply them to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, the White House said Wednesday. (Bloomberg)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Volta believes charging an electric car in public should be free for drivers, so the startup’s San Francisco charging stations are all sponsored by companies seeking a little green publicity. (San Francisco Chronicle)

REAL ESTATE: California has launched an effort to create a self-sustaining market for all new homes in the state to be net-zero energy by 2020. (GreenTech Media)