| Fossil Fuel Influence & Climate Conspiracies in Transition Team: The Trump camp added fracking enthusiast, EPA critic and ALEC-linked Amy Oliver Cooke to the EPA landing team on Thursday. Cooke once co-authored an op-ed titled “Clean Energy’s Dirty Secret: Cancer.” NBC’s Joe Scarborough tweeted that Trump is considering ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for the Secretary of State position, following pushback against Mitt Romney’s possible nomination. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post has unearthed audio of Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions arguing that investing in clean energy “is a conspiracy to afflict poor people.” (Cooke: Greenwire $, E&E News $, The Hill, Tillerson: The Hill, Climate Home, Reuters, Dallas Morning News. Sessions: Huffington Post)
Energy Secretary Musical Chairs: Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm, long considered a top pick for energy secretary, denied he was a contender and told CNBC he suggested Trump instead nominate Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-ND. Cramer, who has receivedhundreds of thousands of dollars from oil and gas interests, has stated he believes the world is cooling and that carbon dioxide is not a greenhouse gas. Red-state Democrats Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota may also be in the running for the DOE job. Heitkamp, who opposes the Clean Power Plan, meets with Trump today. (Hamm: CNBC, Fox Business, OilPrice. Heitkamp: Politico, Reuters, The Hill, E&E News $. Manchin: Politico, Washington Examiner, Reuters)
Cities Must Lead on 1.5 Goal: As dozens of mayors gather in Mexico City for the C40 Mayors Summit, a new report highlights the need for significant leadership from cities to keep warming below 1.5 degrees. The report finds that cities around the world need more than $375b of investments to avoid “locking in” catastrophic warming by the end of the decade. The summit, which ends today, includes mayors from major US cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, and will highlight the participation of female mayors at sessions later today. (AP, LA Times $, Citylab, Christian Science Monitor,GreenBiz, ThinkProgress, Xinhua, NDTV)
Death Toll Rises in Tennessee Wildfire: The ferocious ‘Chimney Tops Fire’ in Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park has killed at least 11 people, destroyed 700 structures and led to mass evacuations in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Nearly 24 hours of incessant rain since Wednesday helped douse the flames (leading to flooding concernsin the previously dry region), but not before the fire spread to more than 17,000 acres. Unusually parched conditions in the Southeast have created the “perfect storm” for wildfires, with as many as 20 wildfires blazing across an estimated 142,000 acres. Current science is not strong enough to link climate change to increased wildfire risk in the region, but long-term trends point to increased risk by the end of the century. (News: ABC News, AP, EcoWatch, BBC, Reuters, USA Today, The Week, CNN, Popular Science, Chicago Tribune. Commentary: MinnPost, Ron Meador analysis; Guardian, John Abraham column; Forbes, Marshall Shepherd op-ed; Observer, Michael Sainato & Chelsea Skojec op-ed)
Trump Supporters Love Renewables: Two-thirds of Trump voters support faster clean energy deployment and use, according to a new post-election survey of 1,000 voters by a Republican polling firm. A majority of Trump voters want to see more development of solar, wind and natural gas while they also rank energy efficiency, community renewable projects and net-metering as important policies. (Greentech Media,Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel) |
