A forthcoming U.S. National Climate Assessment, due in 2022, faces delays, thanks to Trump administration foot-dragging, according to the new WatchDog Opinion column. And the Supreme Court, possibly with a new Justice Amy Coney Barrett aboard, is about to hear arguments on a freedom of information case involving the Endangered Species Act.
Amid the frenzy of Election 2020 comes a quieter development: The emergence of Big Climate money. Green groups and climate-focused fundraisers are now starting to take their place as major players alongside Big Oil as campaign contributors. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests databases and other resources to help track climate (and other election) money.
"A federal judge in Montana has once again handed the Bureau of Land Management and its embattled former de facto acting chief, William Perry Pendley, another major legal defeat. Chief Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana late yesterday [Friday] issued an order invalidating three major land-use plan revisions in Montana as a result of Pendley "unlawfully" leading BLM for more than a year."
"U.S. coronavirus cases are rising again, driven by rapid transmission in Midwestern states and sparking fears that a forewarned wave of infections this fall and winter has begun."
"William Perry Pendley’s “acting” status as head of the Bureau of Land Management calls into question his rulings on energy leases, monuments and conservation plans."
The narrative around the ocean should become a more hopeful one, argues former NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco. As evidence at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ recent virtual conference, Lubchenco cites a top-level international analysis that suggests the ocean can play a positive role in everything from reducing climate change to securing the future of food. Find out more.
If oddsmakers are right and the Dems sweep the White House and both houses of Congress next month, one significant outcome could be the rollback of prominent Trump administration deregulatory moves. The latest TipSheet explains how an arcane law might make such reversals possible, and then spotlights half-a-dozen potentially vulnerable Trump regulatory actions.
"A controversial environment chief in the Trump administration has said he has no intention of leaving his post after a US district court judge deemed his tenure and ongoing occupation of the position illegal."
"Retiring Senator Tom Udall is leading a short list of candidates to run the Interior Department if Joe Biden wins the presidency next month -- a role that would put him to work in a building named for his father."
"Joe Biden's transition team is considering appointing a climate and energy “czar” to help direct sweeping changes across federal agencies if he wins next month's election, according to people familiar with the discussions."
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