• Energy

Oil and Gas Companies Use Tax Cuts in Stimulus, Renewables Promised Tax Credit Extension

• #climatechange
• bailout
• CARES Act
• conservation
• environment
• oil and gas
• renewable energy
• taxes

In what one tax watchdog called a “stealth” bailout, dozens of oil and gas companies are taking advantage of provisions in the CARES law to write off losses right away and get an immediate tax refund against prior years’ earnings going back to 2018, according to Bloomberg News. 

Why This Matters:  These refunds also carry forward – so oil and gas companies can expect to pay zero taxes for years to come, according to Bloomberg.

• Energy

Interior Department Approves Largest Solar Project in the U.S.

• #climatechange
• #renewableenergy
• Bureau of Land Management
• conservation
• environment
• solar energy

Earlier this week the Trump Administration took a break from its boosting oil and gas (they announced yesterday they are going to buy 1 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a “test”) to give final approval to the Gemini Solar Project – a massive $1B solar array and battery storage project situated on federal land near Las Vegas.

Why This Matters:  The project went through a streamlined environmental review process, but the final development and operations plan will minimize and mitigate impacts on visual resources, cultural and tribal resources, recreation access, air quality, native vegetation and wildlife such as the desert tortoise, a “threatened” species.

• Sustainability

Earth Day at 50: Pathways to a Sustainable Future

• #climatechange
• #EarthDay2020
• Carbon pricing pays
• pollution

By Daniel C. Esty Tens of millions of Americans took to the streets 50 years ago this week to demand ramped-up environmental protection in the face of choking smog in cities across the country, fouled waterways (including the drama of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catching on fire), and a terrible oil spill that blackened the California […]

• People

Interview of the Week: Richard Lazarus on Earth Day and Environmental Law and the Courts

• #climatechange
• Clean Air Act
• Clean Water Act
• environment
• SCOTUS

Richard is the Howard and Katherine Aibel Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and a leading expert on U.S. environmental laws. ODP:  In less than a week, it will be the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, which led to landmark laws like the Endangered Species Act, NEPA, and the Clean Water Act.  Leaving aside […]

• Climate Change

Pandemic Causes Gap In Data Collection That Could Impact Weather Forecasts

• #climatechange
• atmosphere
• ocean
• science
• weather

In yet another painful ripple effect of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Scientific American, scientists are being forced to pause critical data collection and research that could reduce the quality of weather forecasts in the near term, and threaten long-standing climate studies.

Why This Matters:  There’s that word again — unprecedented.  The loss of water and air data that is critical for use in weather forecasting models is unprecedented.

• Energy

Virginia To Greatly Expand Renewable Energy Under New State Law

• #cleanenergy
• #climatechange
• conservation
• environment
• frontline communities
• renewable energy
• solar energy
• Virginia
• wind energy

Virginia will close all its coal-fired power plants by 2024 and its electricity will all come from renewable sources by and be 100 percent carbon-free by 2050 under a new law the Governor signed yesterday, with penalties imposed on the utilities that fail to meet these deadlines.

Why This Matters:  State government elections matter too. This is the most ambitious clean energy program enacted by a Southern state (yet).