Climate Change

Orlando’s Fox affiliate reports: The Florida heatwave continues as a massive so-called “heat dome” brings dangerously hot temperatures to Orlando and Central Florida, and the rest of the Sunshine state. An extreme heat warning has been issued for Volusia, Lake, Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties, indicating heat index values between 108 and 112. How often does Orlando hit 100 degrees? …

The New York Times reports: Lee Zeldin said on Tuesday the Trump administration would revoke the scientific determination that underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change. Speaking on a conservative podcast called “Ruthless,” Mr. Zeldin said the E.P.A. planned to rescind the 2009 declaration, known as the “endangerment finding,” which concluded that planet-warming greenhouse gases pose a threat …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration has drafted a plan to repeal a fundamental scientific finding that gives the United States government its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions and fight climate change, according to two people familiar with the plan. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule rescinds a 2009 declaration known as the “endangerment finding,” which scientifically established …

The Florida Phoenix reports: U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins met with agriculture leaders in Florida Monday and announced that her agency has signed a $675 million block grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide recovery assistance for Florida farmers following the last two hurricane seasons. “I want to thank President Trump, Secretary …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration on Monday took another step to make it harder to find major, legally mandated scientific assessments of how climate change is endangering the nation and its people. The official government websites that hosted the authoritative, peer-reviewed national climate assessments went dark. Such sites tell state and local governments and the public what to expect …

The New York Times reports: The Energy Department has hired at least three scientists who are well-known for their rejection of the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, according to records reviewed by The New York Times. The scientists are listed in the Energy Department’s internal email system as current employees of the agency, the records show. They are Steven …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) privately asked the Trump administration on Tuesday to release funding for a Mercedes-Benz plant to convert to the production of electric vehicles, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. In a two-page letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Mace asked the administration to disburse roughly $285 million for the …

The New York Post reports: Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday declared a state of emergency for the Big Apple and much of the rest of New York thanks to a suffocating heatwave set to shatter 125-year-old records. Deadly thunderstorms and flash flooding were already rocking upstate over the weekend, and a days-long heatwave stretching across the Northeast could push temperatures …

CNN reports: The hottest temperatures of the year so far will soon reach the eastern half of the United States as a brutal heat dome starts to build over the weekend. Dangerous, record-breaking heat will impact millions next week. Tens of millions of people from the Midwest to the East Coast will face a level 4-of-4 extreme heat risk Sunday …

The Guardian reports: A major US government website supporting public education on climate science looks likely to be shuttered after almost all of its staff were fired, the Guardian has learned. Climate.gov, the gateway website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)’s Climate Program Office, will imminently no longer publish new content, according to multiple former staff responsible for …

The Associated Press reports: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Biden-era fuel economy standards for gas-powered cars and trucks were illegal and moved to reverse them. Combined with Senate language in the pending budget bill to eliminate penalties for exceeding standards regulating how far vehicles must travel on a gallon of fuel, automakers could come under less pressure from regulators to …

Axios reports: Scientists at an iconic NASA research center in New York City have been told they have until the end of the month to vacate their building and everything in it— with nowhere else to go. The closure of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, a building owned by Columbia University and made famous for housing the diner …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate voted Thursday to overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting the seven most hazardous air pollutants emitted by chemical plants, oil refineries and other industrial facilities, reversing one of President Joe Biden’s major environmental regulations. The 52-46 vote delivers a key victory to major companies and trade groups in the fossil fuel and petrochemical …

Politico reports: The State Department is eliminating the Office of Global Change, which oversees international climate change negotiations for the United States. Staff were told about the move verbally Thursday afternoon, according to three people who were granted anonymity to speak about the decision to avoid reprisal. The news thrust the office into chaos and raised questions among staff about …

The Telegraph reports: A protester has defaced Donald Trump’s presidential plaque inside Trump Tower. Footage shared on social media showed a man in a black T-shirt spray painting “USA” in bright green over a gold plaque marking Mr Trump’s first term. Other clips showed the man then sitting cross-legged in front of the “45th president of the United States” sign, …

Bloomberg News reports: White House officials are preparing executive orders that would strip some environmental nonprofits of their tax-exempt status, setting up a possible Earth Day strike against organizations seen as standing in the way of President Donald Trump’s push for more domestic oil, gas and coal production. The effort, described by people familiar with the matter, comes alongside other …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration has granted nearly 70 coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. A list quietly posted as of Tuesday on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website lists 47 power providers — which operate at least 66 coal-fired plants — that are …

The Washington Post reports: A new Trump proposal would eliminate nearly all National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration labs focused on studying the world’s weather, climate and oceans and would slash much of the agency’s budget — part of what the White House document describes as an effort to sever all “climate-related programs” from the agency. Documents detailing the administration’s proposal, …

“I’ve been very outspoken about this. It’s a sham – this whole climate change is a sham. First of all, God controls the climate because he controls the sun and the sun controls the weather, primarily.” – GOP Rep. Mary Miller, speaking to an apparent Christian nationalist podcaster. Last year Miller earned national headlines when she declared that climate activists …

Axios reports: The Trump administration is pulling nearly $4 million in funding from Princeton University, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday. The cuts come days after the administration already paused dozens of Princeton’s research grants following similar federal funding reviews or revocations at other Ivy League schools like Columbia and Harvard. The Department of Commerce said awards, including those …