EnviroPolitics Blog

Biden bans logging roads in much of Tongass National Forest in Alaska

*A truck carrying old-growth trees that were recently cut drives on North Island Road in the Tongass National Forest on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)*

From the Washington Post

The Biden administration on Wednesday restored protections for more than half of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, safeguarding one of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforests from new roads and logging.

As Timothy Puko reports, the Tongass is a relatively pristine expanse in the state’s southeast that has been the focus of a long fight between environmentalists and Alaskan timber interests. State leaders had persuaded the Trump administration in 2020 to open it up to new roads and logging, reversing protections dating to the Clinton era, in a bid to boost economic development.

Biden restores protections for Tongass National Forest after Trump rollback
Biden restores the ‘roadless rule’

Biden administration officials said Wednesday the forest is too important to wildlife habitat — especially fish — and to fighting climate change to go without protections. Its decision, through the Agriculture Department, will repeal the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule, now making it illegal again for logging companies to build roads and cut and remove timber throughout more than 9.3 million acres of forest.

The rule is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Friday and goes into effect immediately.

Biden Coming To New York And Baltimore To Tout Tunnel Projects Under Hudson And Potomac Rivers

From NJ Spotlight

President Joe Biden will travel to New York City next Tuesday to show support for the Gateway tunnel project, under which two new tubes are to be added to the century-old pair already in place, the White House said today.

Full funding for the project has yet to be identified, and it was not clear from press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s remarks today whether the president would make any news on that front.
The visit is to be preceded by a Monday trip to Baltimore, where Biden will appear in support of the plan to replace the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac tunnel complex, also on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
Under Gateway, construction of the two new tunnels under the Hudson River would allow the original tubes to be taken offline for wholesale restoration.
The expanded Gateway project also includes N.J.-based components, including a fully funded replacement of the Portal Bridge that’s currently underway in Secaucus.

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Three more Republican lawmakers call for a pause to NJ’s offshore wind projects

Assembly Republican News

SOUTHERN SHORE LAWMAKERS SAY UNPRECEDENTED WHALE DEATHS WARRANT SUSPENSION OF OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS

TRENTON, N.J. – Sen. Michael Testa and Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan are intensifying calls to suspend offshore wind projects following an unprecedented number of whale deaths along the coasts of New Jersey and New York. They join a chorus of concerned elected officials and environmental and commercial fishing groups who are worried the push for more offshore wind development has contributed to the death of seven whales in a little over a month, including two on the endangered species list.

Despite the opposition, Gov. Phil Murphy continues his aggressive green energy goals, which call for increasing offshore electric wind generation to 11,000 megawatts by 2040. To date, three offshore wind projects have been approved by the state Board of Public Utilities. One would add 98 wind turbines in Ocean and Cape May counties and others could produce as many as 350 along Atlantic County’s shoreline.

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“It has been clear for a long while that the wind projects as proposed may pose significant impact risks to the local environment,” said Testa (R-Cumberland). “Our coastal communities and the thriving commercial fisheries and recreational fishing activities rely upon a healthy and safe ocean and these projects unnecessarily imperil that which is unacceptable. Until the proponents can assure our region that these projects are not playing a part in these incidents, it would be wise to suspend the work.”

The South Jersey state lawmakers have spoken out against Murphy’s energy plans alongside fishermen and entrepreneurs whose jobs depend on the coastline.

“We believe that the work related to offshore wind activities is the primary difference in our waters and an investigation should be done as to why these magnificent marine mammals are dying in alarming numbers,” McClellan (R-Cape May) said.

Simonsen echoed calls for an investigation, saying, “It is essential that there is transparency and accountability for what has been such a tragic loss of sea life. Our whales must be safeguarded before any further progress can be made.”

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Cape May County), state Sen. Vincent J. Polistina, Assemblyman Don Guardian, and Assemblywoman Claire Swift (R-Atlantic County) have also demanded a halt to offshore wind activities at the Jersey Shore.

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NJ Gov. Murphy pulls back on state’s new Energy Master Plan

The latest delay highlights the bumpy road the administration faces trying to reach its clean-energy future

By TOM JOHNSON, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT WRITER, NJ Spotlight

Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday unexpectedly shelved public hearings slated to begin this week on the state’s Energy Master Plan, adding to the uncertainty about his ambitious clean-energy agenda as it moves forward.

In a press release issued by his office, the governor announced stakeholder meetings that were to begin Thursday would be put off until later this year. The aim was to update the plan, which lays out a detailed blueprint for reaching Murphy’s target of a 100% clean energy economy by 2050.

The plan, broadly supported by the environmental community and clean-energy advocates, is facing its most sustained questions yet, with a particular focus on proposals to develop a robust offshore wind industry along the New Jersey coast and electrify buildings by phasing out the use of natural gas.

Avoiding potential political fallout

With all 120 legislative seats up for election this November, the delay of any updates to the plan could avert tough election-year decisions for the administration that have the potential to further increase energy bills for consumers, who already have been hit with higher heating costs this winter.

“After five years of bold climate action in New Jersey, we must not only assess our progress to date, but renew our commitment to a clean-energy economy while taking stock of the breadth of resources at our disposal,’’ Murphy said.

The current master plan, adopted in 2019, set a strategic decision to overhaul New Jersey’s energy system and its associated greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants while building a new green economy and creating jobs.

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Maine’s honeybees climate’s latest victims

A bee works on collecting nectar from a fruit tree in West Bath, Maine on Monday, April 30, 2012. Honey bees in Maine are increasingly under pressure from parasitic mites and climate change, which has led to more colony collapses. Credit: Pat Wellenbach / AP

By Julia Bayly, Bangor Daily News

Maine honey bees are dying at an alarming rate thanks to climate change. Over the last two years, beekeepers in the state have reported losing up to 50 percent of their bees annually. And it’s going to get worse, according to a top bee expert in Maine.

Drought, extreme weather events and drastic winter temperature swings helped put starvation and hive robbing as two leading causes of bee deaths last year for the first time, according to Jennifer Lund, state apiarist with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Honey bees in Maine and around the country were already in trouble due to the invasive parasitic Varroa destructor mite, the number one killer of bees. Now beekeepers have to contend with wild weather.

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Facing competition, Tesla cuts prices

From Industry Week

Tesla on Friday announced it will cut the price of its best-selling electric vehicle models up to 20% in Europe and the United States, launching a price war as more rivals hit the market.

Shares in the Elon Musk-led company have plummeted for more than a year and fell as much as 4.5% in early trading on Friday, before recovering some lost ground.

“It’s no secret that demand for Tesla is starting to see some cracks in this global slowdown for 2023,” said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

However, Ives said the price cut was the “right move” and “a clear shot across the bow at European automakers and U.S. stalwarts (GM and Ford) that Tesla is not going to play nice in the sandbox.”

Tesla has already lowered prices twice in China in recent months and offered rare promotions in North America late last year.

Read the full story here

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