Re: CSG/ERC Weekly State Action on - Energy & Environmental News Roundup -- Week of April 13, 2020

[Richard Kerver]

The following is a partial list relevant to Massachusetts state action in the legislature; comments:

New Jersey's RGGI plan to focus on electrifying transportation:  I endorse this same action for Massachusetts as part of the TCI - Transportation Climate Initiative.  Since we began RGGI and spent Trust monies into building energy efficiency and closing coal fired plants, the transportation sector has become the #1 source of new GHG emissions.  We must shift dollars into solving our collective dilemma - the internal combustion engine.

To cut carbon emissions, a movement grows to 'electrify everything':  I remain an NGO level activist to do this, to electrify Massachusetts public transportation at the same time improving its reach and service.  RGGI monies spent to bolster the MBTA, WRTA and other RTA's efforts to purchase & deploy hybrid/electric buses and hybrid/diesel/electric locomotives for heavy rail.

2020 expected to be Earth's warmest year on record: What better time to put our foot to the floor and accelerate towards the goal of 100% renewable by 2050.  The RTA's are our transportation sector low hanging fruit, so 100% renewable by 2035 at the latest.  350MA, XRMass, and our NGO's promote the goal of by 2025-2030 because the science tells us that's needed to avert the worst cataclysmic climate catastrophe whereby near term human extinction happens for loss of the biodiversity of the biosphere upon which human survival depends.  OMG!

Wildlife collapse from climate change is predicted to hit suddenly and sooner:  Yea, the mother of all issues.  Would be prudent to stop with GHG emissions completely today ... and hope you do at the personal and household level.

On Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 4:57 PM Rona Cohen <rco...@csg.org> wrote:

Top energy and environmental news stories this week. Please email your questions or comments to me at rco...@csg.org.   REGIONAL NEWS   New Jersey's RGGI plan to focus on electrifying transportation: New Jersey has released a plan to spend most of the estimated $80 million in annual revenue from the state's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) towards electrifying the transportation sector, the state's largest source of emissions, and will also create a green bank to finance clean energy projects. Politico (4/17) Should Massachusetts cities and towns ban new natural gas hook-ups? Two Massachusetts residents - a physicist and a natural gas industry leader - face off on the issue in The Boston Globe. CLIMATE CHANGE Virus spending fuels windfall for climate projects: A federal program aimed at improving the nation's resilience to natural disasters could receive a massive influx in funding because of the pandemic, giving states billions of dollars to protect their communities against extreme weather and other catastrophes. ClimateWire (4/16 - Subscription required) To cut carbon emissions, a movement grows to 'electrify everything': In the past year, gas bans or all-electric mandates for new construction have spread with considerable speed in communities from California to Massachusetts. Yale Environment 360 (4/14) The western U.S. is locked in the grips of the first human-caused megadrought, study finds: The study, published in the journal Science, finds that warming temperatures, increasing evaporation, and earlier snowmelt have plunged an area extending from California, Arizona and New Mexico north to Oregon and Idaho, into its second-worst drought in more than a millennium of observations. The Washington Post (4/16) Wildlife collapse from climate change is predicted to hit suddenly and sooner: Sudden die-offs of large swaths of ecosystems could start to occur in the next decade if greenhouse gases are not lowered, which would be catastrophic not only for wildlife, but for the humans who depend on it, says a new study published in the journal Nature. The New York Times (4/15) 2020 expected to be Earth's warmest year on record: Already through the first three months of the year, 2020 is the second-warmest year on record. NASA scientists said there is a75% chance this year will be the warmest ever for the planet. USA Today (4/16) Shell plans to go carbon neutral by 2050: The oil and gas supermajor said it would achieve carbon neutrality by midcentury by cutting carbon emissions from its energy and chemicals products by at least 65%, and compensate for the remaining emissions through offset activities or carbon capture and storage technology. Greenwire (4/16 - Subscription required) *CSG/ERC does not endorse the editorial content of the pages to which it links. This is a free weekly service provided by CSG/ERC. To unsubscribe from this list, please send an email to rco...@csg.org. The Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference  22 Cortlandt Street, 22th Floor New York, NY 10007 Tel.: (212) 482-2320 http://www.csgeast.org

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