WIND: The developer of a wind energy project planned for Southern Maryland has abandoned the proposal, citing the continued opposition of lawmakers concerned about protecting the work of the naval air station in their region. (The Baltimore Sun)
EMISSIONS:
• A major push in cities like Denver to build dense housing, better transit systems and more bike lanes in their core won’t necessarily lead to lower per-capita carbon emissions because of urban sprawl, according to a new Boston University study. (Climate Central)
• While President committed to reducing greenhouse gases within the federal government by 40 percent over the next decade, he completely ignored emissions from fossil fuel produced on public lands. (U.S. News & World Report)
FRACKING:
• A study that found drinking-water wells in Pennsylvania close to natural gas sites do not face a greater risk of methane contamination is being called into question on its methodology and authors’ undisclosed ties to an energy giant. (InsideClimate News)
• Texas lawmakers have introduced competing bills to encourage the conservation of water used in fracking, particularly in those areas where drought conditions are the most severe. (Dallas Business Journal)
BIOFUEL: Biofuel crops expanded onto 7 million acres of new land in the U.S. over a recent four-year period, replacing millions of acres of grasslands, according to new research from the University of Wisconsin. (Yale Environment 360)
EPA RULE: The North American Electric Reliability Corp. is two weeks away from revealing a new mechanism to prevent electricity generating capacity from being jeopardized when states move to comply with U.S. Clean Power Plan. (EnergyWire)
ATTITUDES: Researchers at Yale have unveiled a new interactive map that estimates public opinion on climate change and emissions cuts down to the county level. (Bloomberg)
POLITICS:
• Billionaire Tom Steyer hopes to shame GOP presidential candidates over their climate skepticism and tie them to the Koch brothers, who spent more than $100 million in the 2014 midterms on GOP candidates opposed to environmental regulations. (The Hill)
• Many in the Obama administration and at Harvard are bewildered and angry that Laurence Tribe, who was once president’s mentor and Al Gore’s defender, has emerged as the leading legal opponent of the Clean Power Plan. (The New York Times)
UTILITIES: Southern Company, which generates power for nine states, largely from coal, will no longer fund the work of Harvard-Smithsonian scientist Wei-Hock “Willie” Soon, who claims the sun is the primary driver of climate change. (InsideClimate News)
ARCTIC DRILLING: Greenpeace activists boarded the Polar Pioneer drilling rig Monday as it was being transported to Seattle to protest Shell’s plans to resume exploration oil drilling off Alaska’s North Slope this summer. (The Seattle Times)