The White House has said the “war on coal” is over, but policy experts argue President Donald Trump’s legacy won’t be preserved unless the U.S. withdraws from the Paris climate agreement. Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) senior fellows Chris Horner and Marlo Lewis published a paper Wednesday arguing President Barack Obama joined the Paris agreement in 2016 by ignoring the U.S. Constitution to make his climate policies immune to legal challenges. “President Obama didn’t honor his [Read more]
Inside the Coal Industry’s Split Over The Paris Agreement
Members of the mining industry’s largest lobbying group voted in late April against staying in the Paris climate accord, sending a signal to the Trump administration that miners don’t support the global warming agreement. The National Mining Association (NMA) vote also highlighted the sharp divide among miners on the Paris agreement: U.S.-based, privately-held coal companies opposed Paris, while multinational hardrock mining corporations supported staying in the deal. “It was by no means [Read more]
Congress Bucks Trump, Only Cuts EPA’s Budget 1 Percent
Congress’s spending bill only cuts the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget a fraction of what the White House called for in its proposal. The $1.1 trillion spending bill only reduces EPA’s budget 1 percent to $8 billion and requires no staffing cuts. President Donald Trump previously called for cutting EPA’s budget 31 percent and eliminating 3,200 staff positions. Trump also called for eliminating dozens of global warming programs and pushing some environmental clean-up efforts back [Read more]
Keystone XL Could Yield Taxpayers $44 Million A Day
The Keystone XL oil pipeline could generate about $44 million in tax revenues a day once it’s fully up and running, according to a new report. “The expected economic, environmental, and strategic benefits of the Keystone pipeline outweigh its costs,” Kimberly VanWyhe, energy policy director at the American Action Forum, wrote in the report. “After nearly 9 years and more than $180 billion in lost economic activity, the Trump administration has demonstrated a commitment to move it forward.” The [Read more]
Trump Signs Sweeping Order To Dismantle Obama Climate Policies, Promote ‘Energy Independence’
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to rescind a slew of Obama administration policies aimed at tackling global warming and promote “energy independence.” “The miners told me about the attacks on their jobs and their livelihoods,” Trump told those gathered at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters where he signed the executive order Tuesday, also thanking career employees at EPA and coal miners who attended the signing. “My administration is putting an end to the [Read more]
Trump Will Reconsider Obama’s Fuel Economy Mandate
President Donald Trump heads to Michigan Wednesday to announce he’s reconsidering the Obama administration’s last-minute fuel efficiency regulations. Trump will order the EPA to redo a mid-term review of its greenhouse gas standard for new cars the Obama administration hurriedly finished to keep the program in place. The administration is also expected to give the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a greater role in determining if stricter fuel economy standards still make [Read more]
‘A Big Priority’: Spicer Suggests Keystone XL Approval Is On The Way
President Trump is “very, very keen” to promote the energy sector, including approving oil pipelines that could spur economic growth, according to the White House. Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during his press briefing Monday that Trump “has been very clear” in supporting the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. Both pipelines were blocked by the Obama administration. Spicer wouldn’t say when to expect an executive order related the pipeline projects, but he referred to Trump’s [Read more]
Obama Credits Green Energy For Cutting Foreign Oil Imports — He’s Wrong
President Barack Obama is making a major public relations blitz to highlight his legacy, including tying falling reliance on foreign oil to his green energy policies. Obama claimed the U.S. “traded foreign oil for clean energy,” but what he should have said is the U.S. traded foreign oil for hydraulic fracturing. Green energy had little to do with it. We traded foreign oil for clean energy, we doubled fuel efficiency standards, & we acted on a global scale to save the one planet we’ve [Read more]
Al Gore’s Film Sequel Needs To Address Several Inconvenient Facts
Former Vice President Al Gore will debut a sequel to his global warming film at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival about 10 years after “An Inconvenient Truth” hit theaters. “Now more than ever we must rededicate ourselves to solving the climate crisis,” Gore said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “But we have reason to be hopeful; the solutions to the crisis are at hand,” Gore said. “I’m deeply honored and grateful that Paramount Pictures and Participant Media have once [Read more]
Obama Admin. Blocks Dakota Access Pipeline Months After Approving It
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not be granting the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) the easement it needs to cross the Missouri River, despite the project being nearly complete. American Indians and environmentalists camped out at the project’s construction site hailed the decision a victory, while Energy Transfer Partners and pipeline supporters are bashing the Corps for reversing its stance on the project. Army Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy [Read more]