Free Republic

Spain and Portugal achieved net zero on Monday, but not the way anyone would want to achieve net zero: By going back to the cavepeople times with no electricity. According to the New York Times:A major power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday afternoon, abruptly shutting down daily activities, halting trains and subways, cutting off traffic lights, closing stores and canceling or delaying some flights.Hours after the power shut off around 12:30 p.m. Central European time, stranding tens of millions of people across the Iberian Peninsula, officials remained at a loss as to the cause, though several denied any...

The EPA’s plan to roll back regulations and cut climate programs will increase the cost of living for millions of people and bring about hundreds of thousands of premature deathsRepealing key protections could erase $254 billion in annual benefits for public health and the environment, compared with $39 billion in savings for regulated industriesLooser rules around air and water quality could also lead to worsening asthma attacks, increased ER visits and other adverse health outcomes The Trump administration’s slash-and-burn approach to federal programs has delivered a considerable hit to the nation’s environment, but experts say its plans to repeal hard-won...

California’s eco-bureaucrats halted a wildfire prevention project near the Pacific Palisades to protect an endangered shrub. It’s just the latest clash between fire safety and conservation in California that is coming under scrutiny following the devastating outbreak of the Palisades Fire — the most devastating blaze in Los Angeles history, which has consumed the very same area. In 2019, the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) began replacing nearly 100-year-old power line poles cutting through Topanga State Park, when the project was halted within days by conservationists outraged that federally endangered Braunton’s milkvetch plants had been trampled during the...

Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) said Friday on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that the changing climate is causing hurricanes to become more severe when discussing the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Host Dana Bash said, “This storm was 420 miles wide at one point, which appears to be part of a trend where storms are simply bigger than they once were, perhaps because of the changing climate. What are your thoughts on that?” Scott said, “Who knows but you’re right. Irma was bigger than our state. This was gigantic. And do you know, the other thing that it seems like what’s happening, is...

Workers at Tara Mines in County Meath have been asked by the company to express their interest in a proposed voluntary severance scheme. Staff at Europe’s largest zinc mine were today updated by management on its plans to reopen the facility outside Navan in the second quarter of this year. The site was placed under care and maintenance last June, with 650 workers temporarily laid off. At the time, the company said it took the decision in response to unsustainable losses, and cited a decline in the price of zinc, high energy costs and inflation as some of the reasons...

The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to stop using a chemical added to almost every tire because it kills migrating salmon. Also found in footwear, synthetic turf and playground equipment, the rubber preservative 6PPD has been used in tires for 60 years. As tires wear, tiny particles of rubber are left behind on roads and parking lots, breaking down into a byproduct, 6PPD-quinone, that is deadly to salmon, steelhead trout and other aquatic wildlife when rains wash it into rivers. “This is the...

A panel of independent experts who annually assess delivery of the climate commitments in the Program for Government have awarded the Government a “C+” grade this year and warned that overall performance on environmental issues is still a long way off where it needs to be. The assessment, which was commissioned by Friends of the Earth, noted progress in some areas such as renewable energy but said these were a cause for hope rather than celebration and that the Government now needs to deliver transformational change. The Coalition leaders need to be upfront with people that a certain amount of...

ROME — Pope Francis has doubled down in his personal war on fossil fuels while condemning “extreme practices” such as fracking. It is time world leaders to “listen to science and institute a rapid and equitable transition to end the era of fossil fuel,” the pontiff urges in his message for the Feast of Creation, to be celebrated on September 1. It is “absurd to permit the continued exploration and expansion of fossil fuel infrastructures,” he insists. “Let us raise our voices to halt this injustice towards the poor and towards our children, who will bear the worst effects of...

Caution: Strong language.....................

Plant-based meat substitute maker Beyond Meat said its revenue plunged 30.5% in the second quarter as consumer demand for its burgers, sausages and other products fell despite price cuts. The El Segundo, California-based company lowered its full-year revenue forecast as a result. Beyond Meat now expects revenue between $360 million and $380 million for the year. That’s down from the $375 million to $415 million it forecast at the end of the first quarter. Beyond Meat’s shares fell 10% in after-hours trading Monday. In a conference call with investors, Beyond Meat President and CEO Ethan Brown said the company faced...

On a Panamanian beach long after dark, a group of undergraduate students dug into the sand to excavate a sea turtle nest, their lamps casting a soft red glow as they studied eggs, inventoried the success of the hatch and checked for any surviving hatchlings stuck at the bottom of the nest. Nearby, armed members of the National Border Service stood watch for protection in an area known for drug trafficking. The students worked under the guidance of Callie Veelenturf, who founded a group that works to protect leatherback turtles and pushed for a new law in Panama that guarantees...

A new report by the Climate and Health Alliance has suggested the Irish diet and food system is like a slow-motion disaster, fueling premature death and disability due to diet-related chronic diseases. The report calls for the ending of the junk food cycle and a switch away from processed foods to more plant-based diets. The report said the global food system can feed the world, but it has also made people heavier and sicker. The report also said it destroys wildlife, pollutes rivers and air, and is responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions. The report is concerned that...

Berlin said it would oppose the plan unless Brussels agrees to allow so-called synthetic fuels that can burn like gasoline and diesel but spew fewer climate-damaging emissions alongside fully electric vehicles. Italy’s Environment Ministry said that environmental targets should be pursued in a way that avoids harming jobs and production and that electric vehicles shouldn’t be seen as the only route to zero emissions. Meanwhile, Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis NV, whose brands include Fiat, Peugeot, Jeep and Chrysler, warned on an earnings call with reporters last month that the industry may be getting ahead of its customers. “I...

A helicopter with a shooter will fly over a portion of the vast Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico next week, searching for feral cows to kill. U.S. Forest Service managers approved the plan Thursday to protect sensitive spots in the nation’s first designated wilderness area. The move sets the stage for legal challenges over how to handle unbranded livestock and other stray cows as drought deepens in the West. The Gila National Forest issued the decision amid pressure from environmental groups who raised concerns about nearly 150 cattle whose hooves and mouths are damaging streams and rivers.Ranchers, meanwhile, have...

The EPA is considering a new label for parts of the Permian Basin that could deter or slow oil and gas drilling in certain parts of the prolific Permian Basin. According to a regulatory notice, the EPA could label parts of the Permian Basin as violating federal air quality standards for ozone. If the EPA does indeed label parts as violating the standards, state regulators would need to find a way to clean up the air quality—and they would have three years to come up with a plan to do that. Their plans could include keeping new industrial facilities from...

The 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown in central Pennsylvania was and remains the worst accident of its kind in the United States, but, as a new documentary shows, it could have been so much worse. In the four-part Netflix docuseries “Meltdown: Three Mile Island,” which debuted Wednesday, May 4, Rick Parks — a former leading engineer at the facility — reveals how cover-ups, falsifications of safety tests and downright dangerous corner-cutting caused the terrifying nuclear event and could have potentially triggered a second, bigger one that would have affected a huge chunk of the Eastern Seaboard. What Parks found...

A climate activist who died after setting himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court on Earth Day is a buddhist who hinted at his future self-immolation with a fire emoji under a Facebook post from 2020. Wynn Bruce, 50, of Boulder, Colorado, lit himself on fire on the court's plaza at around 6.30pm Friday. He suffered critical burns and was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Saturday. On October 30, 2020, he shared a link to an online class on climate change offered by edX, a free online course platform created by Harvard and MIT. Last April,...

The Department of Education revealed in a recent report that it will consider grant applications, in part, based on how "equity" is incorporated into grant proposals. The "2022 Agency Equity Plan related to Executive Order 13985," published Thursday, is part of one of President Joe Biden's first executive orders, the "Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government." The "executive summary" of Thursday's 19-page report reads, "As we enter a new era of possibility for our nation, education must be at the forefront of our recovery, rebuilding and resiliency efforts. To meet this...

A group of climate change protesters boasted about blockading Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's car on Thursday, accusing the moderate lawmaker of trying to run them over in his attempt to drive through a parking garage.... ...The clip shows a group of protesters standing in front of and behind a luxury vehicle in a parking garage, holding a banner while at least one person leaned on the vehicle's hood. Others filmed themselves while yelling at the driver. The constant sound of a car horn can be heard throughout but it was not clear if it was Manchin honking.

Since the German government started handing out big subsidies for the purchase of battery-electric vehicles, sales figures have increased significantly. But electric cars only make up 1.2% of the country’s total registered stock of around 48 million vehicles. An important reason for this, in addition to high prices and a shaky charging infrastructure, are considerable doubts about the much touted environmental friendliness of electric vehicles. […] Even among experts though there is often a dispute about the actual carbon footprint of electric cars. Just last week an aggressive exchange of blows was on display. In an open letter to the...