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Volkswagen says it’s cleaning up its emissions, this time for reals

Sorry (I Ain’t Sorry)

Volkswagen says it’s cleaning up its emissions, this time for reals

By on Aug 4, 2016Share

What’s a car company to do when its name becomes synonymous with dirty emissions? If you’re Volkswagen, seek redemption.

This week, the German auto manufacturer announced the rollout of air pollution-cutting filters on 7 million of its new cars. The particulate filters, which should cut soot by 90 percent by 2022, will cause “significant reduction” in vehicles’ emissions, according to the company. Beginning in 2017, the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Audi A5 will sport the new filters.

This is a change — or, at the very least, a mea culpa — for the company whose environmental track record was demolished in the wake of a massive emissions regulations cheating scandal uncovered in 2015. The rigged emissions tests that Volkswagen programmed for 11 million cars released as much as 41,000 tons of nitrogen oxides (a group of gases that contribute to air pollution) into the air annually. They also earned the company multiple investigations into its emissions practices, a drop in stock prices, and, most recently, a lawsuit brought by the German state of Bavaria.

With the new filters, can we believe that Volkswagen is really turning a new, greener leaf? It’s a possibility — but not a guarantee.

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Volkswagen says it’s cleaning up its emissions, this time for reals

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Desperate for cash, Trump turns to the coal industry

Black gold

Desperate for cash, Trump turns to the coal industry

By on Jun 21, 2016Share

What’s a candidate to do when he’s strapped for cash and still 139 days out from election day? If you’re Donald Trump, and you don’t want to entirely self-finance, the answer to that question might lie in a business whose product has been called “black gold.”

Trump pulled in just $3 million in individual contributions and reported having only $1.3 million in the bank at the end of last month, meaning he’s got less cash on hand than either of his former rivals Ted Cruz or Ben Carson. Clinton’s fundraising, meanwhile, dwarfs Trump’s by nearly 40 times.

But Trump’s got a plan. His first move after the abysmal fundraising report was to announce that he’s holding an invitation-only fundraiser in West Virginia coal country next Tuesday, hosted by mining magnate CEO Robert Murray. Murray, one of the largest independent coal operators in the U.S., only endorsed Trump after his first-choice candidate Cruz dropped out. His ringing endorsement of Trump was to say he’s “all we’ve got.”

Despite his absolute lack of knowledge about the coal industry, Trump feels comfortable enough to turn to the coal industry after a barrage of bad press. The magnates are looking to boost Trump’s coffers, even though he can’t do much to stop the industry-wide free fall.

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Desperate for cash, Trump turns to the coal industry

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Charles Koch really wants us all to believe he’s pro-science

Charles Koch really wants us all to believe he’s pro-science

By on Jun 6, 2016Share

Charles Koch isn’t a climate scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but he sure has a lot to say about it.

During the course of a lengthy interview this week with The Washington Post, Charles Koch touched on his views on climate change science, which have fluctuated quite a bit over the years.

What’s more, the petrochemical billionaire, whose foundations funneled more than $70 million to front groups that oppose climate change action, condemned the “climate lobby” while ignoring the work his massive network has done — one that exists in large part because of his own contributions.

In a conversation with The Post’s Jim Tankersley, Koch responded to the recent confusion about exactly what his stance on climate change is:

Yeah, I say that a lot of what is done by the climate lobby is anti-science. But there is some science behind it. Like, there are greenhouse gases, and they do contribute to warming. But if you look at the last, say, 160 years, the first 80 of that period, they went up four-tenths of a degree. And now, the second 80 that CO2 has gone up, what, 30 percent or something, it’s gone up five-tenths of a degree. And there’s been in the last 30 or 40 years, there’s been no real increase in storms or bad weather. So, let’s use the part that’s real science and then apply the Republic of Science to the rest of it.”

Koch referenced the “Republic of Science” 23 times over the interview, according to the Post. That references a theory, by Michael Polanyi, that market economics should govern science, particularly when it comes to funding academic research.

Funding science is one thing, but Koch steers his funds to elevate select conservative voices who advance confusion and anti-climate policies — ones that just happen to help his bottom line.

The interview is worth a read, if you can stomach it.

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Charles Koch really wants us all to believe he’s pro-science

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Oil and gas are a bad bet, warns Canadian government group

Oil and gas are a bad bet, warns Canadian government group

By on May 31, 2016 5:40 pmShare

One of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers is on the verge of cleaning up its act.

In coming years, Canada can expect a switch from oil and gas to renewables, according to a draft policy report from a government group. Even more importantly, the report notes, Canada should expect some of its oil to likely “remain in the ground.”

Sound familiar? That phrase just so happens to mimic the rallying cry of the U.S. environmental movement.

The dose of reality for Canada’s tar sands industry comes from Policy Horizons Canada, which provides advice to the federal government on emerging policy issues. CBC News obtained the report via an access to information request.

“It is increasingly plausible to foresee a future in which cheap renewable electricity becomes the world’s primary power source and fossil fuels are relegated to a minority status,” the report reads. It urges against investment in new oil and gas infrastructure projects, calling them “high risk” for becoming unprofitable. Electric cars like Tesla even made an appearance in the report, with forecasts showing that cars that use lithium-ion batteries would become affordable sooner than previously expected.

If the report’s takeaways stand, it means a big turnaround for a country that was until recently all-in on fossil fuels. Canada is the world’s fifth largest producer of oil, providing an estimated 6 percent of global energy supplies.

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Oil and gas are a bad bet, warns Canadian government group

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Gates Foundation quietly dumps all of its BP stock

Gates Foundation quietly dumps all of its BP stock

By on May 12, 2016 5:16 pmShare

Has the world’s largest charitable foundation started shifting away from fossil fuels?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sold off its $187 million stake in the oil giant BP sometime between September and December of 2015, according to a recent filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move came after the foundation sold off $824 million in ExxonMobil stock, as disclosed last fall.

The foundation has been under pressure from climate activists demanding that it drop all investments in fossil fuel companies. The Guardian’s “Keep It in the Ground” campaign and the Gates Divest campaign have both been particularly dogged in focusing on Gates.

But the foundation has refused to comment on its investment decisions, so the significance of these recent oil-stock sell-offs is unclear. Bill Gates, the billionaire cofounder of Microsoft, has been skeptical of the fossil-fuel divestment movement and last year called it a “false solution.”

According to public records, the Gates Foundation held about $1.4 billion of investments in coal, oil, and gas companies at the start of 2014. Now it holds only about $200 million of those stocks, according to the Guardian — though it may have made new fossil fuel investments that haven’t been publicly disclosed.

Given the big troubles the coal industry is facing right now, and the volatility in the oil and gas sector, it’s the perfect time for investors like Gates to get out.

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Gates Foundation quietly dumps all of its BP stock

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The bison is back and better than ever

The bison is back and better than ever

By on Apr 26, 2016Share

Congratulations to the lumbering, humbling bison. It’s set to become America’s new national mammal.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the National Bison Legacy Act, the rare truly bipartisan bill that’s earned endorsements from Native Americans, conservationists, and ranchers. Since the Senate passed the bill in December, it only takes President Barack Obama’s signature to become official.

The bill launches the 10,000-year-old species to a distinction only held by the bald eagle. It’s a big upgrade for an animal that was once nearly hunted to extinction, but has recovered to a population of about 500,000 in North America.

Despite all this attention, it doesn’t mean that bison are getting special treatment. On the contrary, national designation won’t keep them from being used for food, so the mighty animal will still face hordes of jerky-hungry hipsters.

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Map: 116 environmental activists were killed in just one year

Map: 116 environmental activists were killed in just one year

By on 4 Mar 2016commentsShare

The death of Honduran environmental and human rights activist Berta Cáceres this week is an unspeakable tragedy — but it’s not unique. In fact, environmentalists have historically been targeted for their actions, and for speaking out about environmental injustice.

Last April, a report found that in 2014, at least 116 environmental activists were murdered. Of these, the largest percentages were protesting the activities of hydropower, mining, and agribusiness companies. Global Witness compiled the killings into a map by country, giving a startling picture of the dangers facing environmentalists around the world:

Global Witness noted in a statement that many of the murders catalogued “occurred in remote villages or deep within the jungle, where communities lack access to communications and the media.”

Like Cáceres, who was cofounder of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras, 40 percent of the victims were from indigenous communities. Also like Cáceres, who was fighting a grassroots campaign against proposed hydroelectric dams on land belonging to indigenous people, many of them were battling for the right to keep the land that already belonged to their people.

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Map: 116 environmental activists were killed in just one year

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“Global warming is now in overdrive”: We just hit a terrible climate milestone

“Global warming is now in overdrive”: We just hit a terrible climate milestone

By on 4 Mar 2016 9:25 amcommentsShare

We’ve just surpassed a historic climate threshold — and the world is still heating up.

As of Thursday morning, for the first time in recorded history, average temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere briefly crossed the threshold of 2 degrees Celsius above “normal.” Eric Holthaus picked up on the momentous occasion over at Slate, adding that global warming is now “going into overdrive.”

A few degrees warmer since preindustrial averages may not seem like much, but in the grand scheme of things, it matters. Countries around the world formally agreed years ago to hold warming under the 2-degree mark, and the respected Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned of the dangerous impacts of 2 degrees of  global warming.

The news comes in the wake of a parade of record-shattering temperatures. Last year was the hottest on record for the globe, and last month is looking pretty warm, too:

Despite the enormity of the moment, not everyone is paying attention, as Holthaus pointed out. Maybe people will pay attention at 3 degrees, or 4 degrees … or … 5 … ?

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“Global warming is now in overdrive”: We just hit a terrible climate milestone

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