Free Republic

The final coal-fired power plants in New England are slated to shutter in the coming years, making it the second region to phase out the energy source that powered the U.S. economy for decades.

Limiting how much coal countries can burn is considered an urgent priority for restraining global heating. After all, coal is the most carbon-rich of all fossil fuels and its combustion has contributed the most to planetary warming. For the first time in international talks, negotiators agreed to "phase down" coal use to prevent global temperature rise exceeding 1.5°C in the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact. Coal's primacy in climate negotiations is partly because of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has devised pathways to halting warming at 1.5°C. These scientific assessments prioritize the rapid phasing out of coal burning...

California’s power grid will be pushed to near its limit Monday as the state wilts under a blistering and sustained heat wave. With millions of homes and businesses cranking air conditioners to cope with temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit, electricity use in the largest US state is forecast to hit 48.9 gigawatts Monday, the most since 2017. The state’s grid operator has asked residents to conserve as much as possible, warning the system could be short up to 4 gigawatts. “California has been ridiculously hot and will be hot for a good part of the week,” Bob Oravec, a senior...

In Dayton Ohio, you can get the same as a D or F on the police exam and still become a cop. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division run by Tom Perez (the same unit that dismissed the New Black Panther voter intimidation case) is requiring Dayton to lower police exam scores to 58 and 63 percent so enough black applicants can join the force.  The Obama administration mandate is too much for even the NAACP: “‘The NAACP does not support individuals failing a test and then having the opportunity to be gainfully employed,’ agreed Dayton NAACP President Derrick Foward.”...