NATURAL GAS: A new study finds using a gas stove on average accounts for 75% of people’s exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant also found in car exhaust and other sources, which can trigger asthma attacks. (Guardian)
ALSO: Efforts by Republicans and a building industry group to launch ballot initiatives aimed at blocking the state’s transition away from natural gas are facing multiple legal hurdles. (Washington State Standard)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
- While global demand for gasoline is still growing, analysts expect the rate of growth to slow by more than half this year as electric vehicle sales surge in the U.S., Europe and China. (Reuters, Canary Media)
- An analysis finds political polarization over electric cars escalated amid media reactions to California’s 2022 rule to phase out gasoline vehicles. (Washington Post)
- Experts say Tesla’s pullback from installing charging stations isn’t likely to cause a major disruption, as technology is becoming more standardized and more companies have entered the market. (New York Times)
TRANSPORTATION:
- Congressional Democrats are set to introduce a 10-year, $500 billion spending package to improve transportation infrastructure and help reduce emissions. (Inside Climate News)
- As the Biden administration seeks to incentivize ethanol-based aviation fuel, some analysts are skeptical it will help with reducing emissions. (Canary Media)
CLEAN ENERGY:
- Microsoft last week announced a plan to spend more than $10 billion on renewable energy to power its data centers, amid concerns AI demand could drive a surge in emissions. (CNBC)
- A series of charts from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory illustrate the grid bottlenecks holding back deployment of new solar and storage. (Canary Media)
SOLAR: A new Virginia law will expand community solar into the state’s western coal country, and create an opportunity for regulators to revisit how utilities charge customers for it. (Energy News Network)
PIPELINES: A section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia ruptures during hydrostatic testing with water, damaging a section of pipe and leaking into a nearby stream just weeks before its in-service date. (Roanoke Times)
OIL & GAS: Injection wells owned by an Ohio state senator leaked fracking waste deep underground before releasing at the surface, prompting a $1.3 million cleanup paid for by the state in 2021. (Cleveland.com)
COAL: A deal with grid operator PJM to keep two Maryland coal plants open past 2025, when they’re slated to be replaced with natural gas or oil, could cost ratepayers an extra $5 a month. (Baltimore Banner)
CLIMATE: Vermont’s House sends a bill to the governor that would aim to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate disasters in the state, like last year’s extreme flooding. (NBC5)
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