Energy and the environment

FILE - In this March 23, 2017, file photo President Donald Trump honks the horn of an 18-wheeler truck while meeting with truckers and CEOs regarding healthcare on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. Trump publicly acknowledged that humans bear some blame for climate change, but scientists say the president still isn't dealing with the reality of our primary role. Trump said Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, that humans — their tailpipe exhaust, oil and gas production, and smokestack fumes — are just one of many culprits for the weather-disrupting deterioration of Earth’s atmosphere. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Getting warmer: Trump concedes human role in climate change

Sep. 30, 2020 6:26 PM EDT

President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged that humans bear some blame for climate change, but scientists say the president still isn't dealing with the reality of our primary role. Pressed repeatedly in Tuesday night's debate, Trump gave one of his fullest accountings yet of what scientists say is an...

This photo provided by Toyota shows the 2020 Toyota Yaris, a small, fun-to-drive sedan or hatchback with Mazda underpinnings. It will be discontinued after the 2020 model year. With the rampant popularity of SUVs, small, cheap cars are riding off into the sunset. If you need an efficient and low-priced vehicle, we suggest getting one of these sub-$25,000 models now before they’re gone for good. (Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. via AP)

Edmunds highlights small cars under $25k

Sep. 30, 2020 6:00 AM EDT

Small sedans and hatchbacks were once the entry point to new car ownership for many people. But consumers’ increasing preference for small SUVs has led to lower sales. As a consequence, a number of automakers have discontinued their small sedans and hatchbacks. This year, the Honda Fit, Hyundai Elantra GT...

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden gives a speech on the Supreme Court at The Queen Theater, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Iowa again a battleground, sign of Trump's Midwest obstacles

Sep. 29, 2020 5:20 PM EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Scott Brennan stood powerless in the Iowa Democratic Party's war room in the wee hours of Feb. 4 as efforts to report 2020's first presidential caucuses results failed spectacularly. But the Des Moines lawyer had been worried for years. He had been the Iowa Democratic chairman when...

Ameren announces new plans to emphasize renewable energy

Sep. 28, 2020 1:49 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Ameren plans to invest $8 billion in renewable projects during the next two decades, with a goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 across Missouri and Illinois, the energy company announced Monday. The St. Louis-based company said it plans to reduce carbon emissions 50% by 2030...

This Sept. 14, 2020 photo shows shows a Duke Energy natural gas-fired electric power plant on Sutton Lake in Wilmington, N.C. It went online in 2013 and replaced a coal-fired plant that had polluted the lake with coal ash. Sutton Lake is among a number of man-made reservoirs in the U.S. that environmentalists say will lose federal protection from pollution under a Trump administration revision of the Clean Water Act that took effect this year. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

New rule may strip pollution protections from popular lakes

Sep. 27, 2020 9:34 AM EDT

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Nearly 50 years ago, a power company received permission from North Carolina to build a reservoir by damming a creek near the coastal city of Wilmington. It would provide a source of steam to generate electricity and a place to cool hot water from an adjacent coal-fired plant....

Activists are surrounded by police on the Garzweiler power plant grounds in Grevenbroich, western Germany, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. Anti-coal protesters have entered a mine to protest the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels. (David Young/dpa via AP)

Hundreds of anti-coal campaigners protest at German mine

Sep. 26, 2020 11:38 AM EDT

LUETZERATH, Germany (AP) — Hundreds of anti-coal activists staged protesters in and around a mine in western Germany on Saturday, demonstrating against the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels in Europe's biggest economy. Environmental groups oppose the German government's decision to allow the...

A little girl holds palm oil fruit collected from a plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia, Nov. 13, 2017. An Associated Press investigation has found many palm oil workers in Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia endure exploitation, including child labor. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Palm oil labor abuses linked to world’s top brands, banks

Sep. 24, 2020 10:32 PM EDT

PENINSULAR MALAYSIA (AP) — Jum’s words tumble out over the phone, his voice growing ever more frantic. Between sobs, he says he’s trapped on a Malaysian plantation run by government-owned Felda, one of the world’s largest palm oil companies. His boss confiscated and then lost his...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, at Cal Expo in Sacramento where he announced an executive order requiring the sale of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, a move the governor says would achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. California would be the first state with such a rule, though Germany and France are among 15 other countries that have a similar requirement. (Daniel Kim/The Sacramento Bee via AP, Pool)

California is ready to pull the plug on gas vehicles

Sep. 24, 2020 8:30 PM EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 15 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, establishing a timeline in the nation's most populous state that could force U.S. automakers to shift their zero-emission efforts into overdrive. The...

Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., center, speaks next to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, and House Majority Whip James Clyburn, of S.C., during a news conference about COVID-19, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

House backs bill to boost 'clean energy,' enhance efficiency

Sep. 24, 2020 6:15 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved a modest bill to promote “clean energy” and increase energy efficiency while phasing out the use of coolants in air conditioners and refrigerators that are considered a major driver of global warming. The bill boosts renewable energy such as solar and...

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2020, file photo, provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich. Gov. Whitmer on Wednesday, Sept, 23, 2020, called for Michigan to become

Whitmer offers 'carbon-neutral' climate plan for Michigan

Sep. 23, 2020 6:16 PM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday called for Michigan to become “carbon neutral” by 2050 in the fight against climate change, which would require steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and significantly greater use of renewable energy. The Democratic...

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