CLIMATE: California researchers find achieving net-zero emissions in the Western U.S. via widespread electrification is technologically and economically feasible and can be environmentally sustainable. (Anthropocene)
ALSO:
• New Mexico lawmakers advance a bill that would require a statewide plan to address climate change and related extreme weather events. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Environmental attorneys predict the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a suit challenging California’s right to set automobile emissions standards stricter than the federal government’s. (E&E News)
• University of New Mexico researchers find the state’s largest polluters are not required to cut emissions at rates necessary to meet climate targets. (news release)
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OIL & GAS:
• A public lands advocacy group says oil and gas development threatens air quality, cultural resources and wildlife migratory paths at four national parks in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. (KUNM)
• U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert introduces amendments to a Republican bill that would block the Biden administration’s bid to ban oil and gas drilling on the Thompson Divide in western Colorado. (Daily Sentinel)
• A study finds New Mexico oil and gas facilities lost about 62 billion cubic feet of methane, or natural gas, to venting, flaring and leaks in 2019. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• An environmental group says significant variation in emissions between different oil and gas operators in the Permian Basin underscores the need for increased federal oversight. (news release)
• Democratic U.S. lawmakers introduce a bill that would permanently halt new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by designating the Coastal Plain as wilderness. (news release)
UTILITIES:
• Oregon regulators find natural gas utilities risk incurring significant fines and will stall state efforts to address climate change if they don’t move faster to cut greenhouse gas emissions. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• Southwest Gas recruited local officials in Arizona to urge regulators to approve the utility’s proposed rate increase and to retain subsidies for natural gas hookups. (AZ Mirror)
• California regulators say utilities can grant climate credits to customers early to offset historically high natural gas and electricity prices. (KPBS)
• Colorado regulators approve Xcel Energy’s plan to reduce natural gas prices following criticism over the utility’s high costs and record profits. (CPR)
• A Washington state program that assists low-income residents with utility bills saw a 10% jump in applications in 2021 and 2022. (KING5)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: California prepares to launch a program offering up to $2,000 toward the purchase of electric bicycles. (KPBS)
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GRID: A damaged transmission line in southern Arizona leaves about 20,000 households without power. (Arizona Daily Star
COMMENTARY:
• A California energy journalist recounts how land art enthusiasts defeated a proposal to build the nation’s largest solar power facility in the Nevada desert. (Los Angeles Times)
• A Western journalist says playing the federal oil and gas drilling permit “numbers game” is an inaccurate way of assessing the Biden administration’s record. (High Country News)
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