Nevada’s governor said on Monday his state plans to adopt California’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate and tailpipe emissions rules even as the Trump administration has moved to strip states of the right to implement such requirements.
Nevada will be the latest state to adopt California’s low-and zero-emission vehicle rules following similar announcements by Washington in March and Minnesota and New Mexico in September.
Governor Steve Sisolak said the “new regulations will not require anyone to give up their current vehicle or choose one that does not work for their lifestyle or business needs.”
California’s vehicle emissions rules, which are more stringent than rules advocated by the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump, are currently followed by states accounting for more than 40% of U.S. vehicle sales.
In September, a group of 23 states sued to block the Trump administration from undoing California’s authority to set strict car pollution rules and require more electric cars.
John Bozzella, who heads an auto trade group representing General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp and other major automakers, noted that by 2025, the industry’s investment in electric cars will exceed $200 billion.
Automakers “are committed to working with Governor Sisolak and state regulators toward a smoother transition to ZEV adoption that includes expanded consumer awareness, infrastructure, incentives, fleet requirements, building codes, fuel requirements, and more,” Bozzella said in a statement.
In March, the Trump administration completed a rollback of vehicle emissions rules instituted under former president Barack Obama that had required 5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, and reduced those requirements to 1.5%.
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A former pipeline technician admitted Monday that he falsified documents indicating welds on the Mariner East pipeline in Westmoreland County had been properly X-rayed when they had not been.
Joshua Springer of Scottdale, Westmoreland County, had worked on Energy Transfer’s Mariner East 2 pipeline between May 2017 and June 2018, mostly responsible for a 20-mile segment between Houston, Pa., and Delmont.
His job was to take X-rays of welds and interpret the data to make sure the welds were good, then record the findings in reports sent to Energy Transfer, a Texas-based energy company.
Energy Transfer had previously said that the company’s outside auditors discovered the falsified records in 2018, before the pipeline was put into service. The company said it immediately reported the fraud to regulatory authorities and Mr. Springer was fired by his employer.
A total of 510 new cases were reported by the state Department of Health on Tuesday. That’s up slightly from Monday when 456 new cases were reported.
To date, there have been 82,696 infections statewide since the start of the pandemic.
Deaths 38 new deaths, bringing the total to 6,464. On Monday, 3 deaths were reported.
Long-term care homes: 17,294 resident cases of COVID-19, and 3,082 cases among employees, for a total of 20,376. Out of the state’s total deaths, 4,410 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.
Hospitalizations 743 people are currently hospitalized Tuesday afternoon, a decrease of three from Monday. Of those, 146 patients are on ventilators.
Testing: There were 11,255 new tests, for a positive-test rate of 4.5%, compared with 4.2 percent positive the day before. In addition to the 82,696 positive-test cases to date, there have been 596,407 negative test results. This puts the overall positive test rate at 12.2 %.
The city of Cleveland at the edge of Lake Erie. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
By Dino Grandoniwith Paulina Firozi, Washington Post, The Energy 202
As Zachary Lewis reports for The Post, what would be the nation’s first freshwater wind farm is in limbo after regulators in Ohio told wind developers that they need to do more work to understand how their turbines will impact migrating birds.
That the pilot project may have to be scuttled highlights how renewable energy projects — pursued to combat climate change — can hit some of the same environmental snags as that oil, gas and coal companies.
At issue are a half-dozen turbines developers want to build northwest of Cleveland.
They would produce enough power for about 7,000 homes in a region largely reliant on coal and gas for electricity.
But wildlife activists had argued millions of warblers and waterfowl that fly over the lake every spring and fall are at risk of getting killed by them.
Icebreaker Wind, as the project is called, officially has the blessing of the Ohio Power Siting Board to go forward.
But last month, the board surprised proponents and opponents alike by requiring the developer, the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., to conduct radar studies of bird and bat traffic over the proposed site.
Crucially, the board said operators cannot run the turbines at night during months-long migration periods until the research is completed.
“Of what value is a permit to build the project if you don’t have authority to operate it in a commercially viable manner?” Dave Karpinski, president of LEEDCo, told Lewis.
Icebreaker isn’t the only offshore wind project tied up with wildlife concerns.
A massive 84-turbine project near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts hit head winds last year after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management unexpectedly required more study on how the towers anchored to the sea floor could disturb fish.
In a draft report released this month, the agency concluded the project would have “major impacts” on both the fishing industry and on poor and minority communities in southeastern Massachusetts that may have to contend with the extra noise and air pollution.
Another problem is President Trump, who often rails in speeches about the “bird graveyards” created under turbines. His administration, in turn, has leaned heavily into reducing regulations on the fossil fuel companies.
HAMILTON — Former lawmaker Paul Kramer, a longtime Hamilton resident who dedicated his life to public service, died Tuesday of natural causes.
He was 86.
The late Kramer, a U.S. Air Force veteran who previously operated a popular bagel shop, built a solid career serving his community, state and nation.
“Saddened by the loss of a lifelong public servant, Assemblyman Paul Kramer,” Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday on social media. “He was the sponsor of Megan’s Law, which became a national model for protecting kids. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends, family, and loved ones.”
Kramer’s résumé lists an extensive record of public service: He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1956; served as a Mercer County freeholder from 1985 to 1992; served as a Republican state assemblyman from 1992 to 2000; and served as Hamilton Township’s finance director for 24 years under former GOP mayor Jack Rafferty, who famously led the township from 1976 to 2000.
New Mayor Jeff Martin, a fellow Air Force veteran who became Hamilton’s chief political leader on Jan. 1, described Kramer as a “great and well-respected man who was never afraid to work across the aisle.”
Martin, a Democrat, highlighted Kramer’s political career in a statement posted on the township’s Facebook page.
“Today, as Mayor of Hamilton Township, and on behalf of our entire community,” Martin said Thursday, “I wish to express my deepest sympathies and condolences to the entire Kramer family during this difficult time. I trust his family, friends and loved ones will find comfort in knowing Paul’s legacy of service and dedication to our community will live on throughout Hamilton Township, Mercer County and New Jersey.”
Former Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman signed the Kramer-sponsored Megan’s Law on Oct. 31, 1994, establishing a sex offender registration and notification system.
Kramer represented New Jersey’s 14th Legislative District covering parts of Mercer and Middlesex counties. One of his biggest political rivals was former Democratic assemblywoman and current State Sen. Linda Greenstein of Plainsboro.
“I was saddened to hear about the death of former Assemblyman Paul Kramer, and I send my sincere condolences to his family,” Greenstein said Friday in a press statement. “Paul led a life of service that will always be remembered. He was responsible for major legislation, including Megan’s Law. A small businessman from Hamilton Township, he was loved throughout the community. He will be missed.”
Kramer used to serve as chairman of the powerful Mercer County Improvement Authority, and he previously served as a member of Hamilton’s Redevelopment Agency and Zoning Board of Adjustment.
After former Republican Mayor John Bencivengo appointed Kramer to the zoning board in 2009, the Air Force veteran in 2012 received a summons to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Bencivengo’s alleged corruption.
“I frankly don’t know why I was called there,” Kramer said in a June 2012 interview with The Trentonian not long after he left the federal courthouse. “I had a grand jury summons, no secret about that. And they asked me questions about my relationship with John Bencivengo and the cooperating witness. I don’t know why my name was even there, you know?”
A trial jury in November 2012 found Bencivengo guilty of each count in the indictment, including money laundering on allegations he accepted $12,400 in bribes from a cooperating witness, Marliese Ljuba, the former health insurance broker for the Hamilton Township School District.
Many area residents expressed their condolences on Facebook upon learning of Kramer’s passing, including Trenton Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson, former Ewing GOP Mayor Jack Ball and Democratic Freeholder Nina Melker of Hamilton.
“Paul was a great man. Best known for his bagels,” Robin Multop Melone said on Hamilton’s Facebook page. “‘Kramer’s Bagels’ on Tyler St. 2 am waiting outside in Trenton, NJ.”
We remember former Assemblyman Paul Kramer as a modest gentleman who was willing to listen to all sides of political debates and eager to help whenever he could. If you’d like to share your memory, click on the ‘comment’ link below the headline at the top of this post.
Environmental lawyer Zhang Jingjing has worked in 20 countries since 2015 to help clean up or shut down Chinese-owned mines, power plants or industrial projects.
In Guinea, Zhang Jingjing works with Mamady Koivogui and other local environmentalists to decrease the pollution and social disruption caused by Chinese bauxite mining. Courtesy of Zhang Jingjing
The forests of northwest Guinea are scarred by rust-red earth—a product of the West African country’s recent bauxite mining boom. Even amidst Covid-19, the mining continues.
River barges laden with ore snake from the city of Boke toward a port where cargo ships carry the mineral to China. There it is refined into the aluminum used in everything from airplanes to soda cans.
Two years ago, people living near the mines in Boke began encountering a curious sight: a diminutive Chinese lawyer holding community meetings in their villages. Zhang Jingjing had traveled alone to Guinea to help communities fight the environmental and social impacts of a new Chinese mining consortium operating in the region.
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On that first trip to Africa, she said, lawyers in the countries she visited asked her, “‘Why did you come here to help us against your home country?'”
Zhang—who considers herself a global citizen—said that she replied, “‘I’m not against my country. I am against polluters.'”
Wherever Chinese companies go, Zhang follows. She has been to more than 20 countries just since 2015, seeking always to help clean up or shut down Chinese-owned mines, power plants and other massive industrial development projects.
“The ultimate goal is to help the community get justice and to improve the country’s rule of law. That has been my goal from China to Guinea and Ghana,” she said. “I always believe in the law.”
With the coronavirus affecting countries around the world, the pace of Zhang’s travels—and of Chinese overseas development—has slowed. But Zhang, who seems naturally caffeinated, is already adapting her strategy to the times. Since she can’t meet with African activists in person due to the pandemic, she plans to arm their resistance through online courses about Chinese laws and business practices.
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“NGOs have no information about Chinese companies. So that is why Jingjing is very important for us,” said Pascal Tenguiano, who has collaborated with Zhang in his role as the director of CECIDE, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works on mining issues in Guinea.
The language barrier alone is a challenge for organizations like Tenguiano’s, but they find Chinese business practices to be just as cryptic. China is the largest public financier of coal-power development globally, and Chinese companies often dominate natural resource extraction in developing countries.
Unlike the World Bank and other international lenders, China’s main overseas development banks do not require the projects they fund to meet an independent set of social and environmental standards, just local laws. And those are not always enforced in countries with weak legal systems. Unless they’re prodded to do so, Chinese companies often do not consult the local communities affected by their projects.
“I think that Chinese companies are really different from other companies,” said Mamady Koivogui, the director of the Association for Mines without Poverty, another NGO focused on mining issues in Guinea. “They are not so respectful to the human rights and environmental issues.”
Zhang Jingjing meets with community members in Boke, Guinea in June 2019. Courtesy Zhang Jingjing
While China has been a major player globally in environmentally destructive industries like mining and logging for more than a generation, local NGOs still struggle to find a foothold to engage them. “We are not against the Chinese or Chinese companies, they are welcome, but if they are welcome, they have to respect our laws,” said Tenguiano.
That is where Zhang comes in. Before she went global, Zhang built her career taking polluters to court in her native China, where she earned the moniker “China’s Erin Brockovich” from international media. Growing up in China’s western Sichuan province in the 1980s, her parents worked at a state-owned chemical company. “I saw the discharged yellow and orange air from the factory,” she said, “I saw the water that came from the factory to the rice fields.”
As a young lawyer she briefly worked for the same chemical company that employed her parents before changing sides. In high school, a news article detailing the bombing of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior ship before an anti-nuclear testing protest in the South Pacific had planted the idea of environmental advocacy in her mind.
In 1999, she joined the newly founded Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims (CLAPV), China’s first nongovernmental environmental law clinic. She won a class-action lawsuit involving over 1,700 plaintiffs against a chemical company for water pollution in Fujian province.
Her work in China wasn’t without risk. “At times she has had to deal with threats, mainly from local officials,” said Robert Percival, the director of the Environmental Law Program at the University of Maryland, where Zhang is a lecturer.
Her global work sprang from a 2016 fellowship at the Open Society Foundations in Washington, D.C. As Chinese companies expanded their business overseas, Zhang began to field requests from lawyers around the world for help. “It suddenly dawned on her—some of these were the same companies generating the same types of pollution that she had been litigating over in China,” Percival said.
Around 2018, Zhang decided to form a new non-profit, the China Accountability Project, to pursue this work. The non-profit seeks to increase transparency around Chinese companies’ overseas operations and demand accountability for their human rights and environmental violations, according to Zhang.
After years of travel to assist with cases around the world, she scored a major victory in 2018, helping to halt a silver and gold mining project in Ecuador. A Chinese company planned to mine within a nature reserve high in the Andes, but cyanide pollution from the mine could have contaminated water and soil in the area, which is home to indigenous communities.
Local groups sued to try to stop the project, and a judge in Cuenca, Ecuador revoked the company’s permit due to its failure to obtain consent from the affected indigenous communities, as required under Ecuadorian law. Zhang delivered an amicus brief in the case, explaining China’s commitments under international law to consult indigenous people before development.
When countries have strong legal systems, as in Ecuador, success is more likely, Zhang said. But she is also trying to support communities in countries where the rule of law is weaker.
