From bad to worse
Oil in Africa, renewables on the rise, a host of hearings
PRESENTED BY A GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO
The continent of Africa has a history of colonial exploitation that continues to be written.
In Rolling Stone, Jeff Goodall exposes ReconAfrica, a small Canadian drilling outfit headlined by polo enthusiast Craig Steinke and fracker Dan Jarvie moving to extract oil from Namibia upstream of the UNESCO World Heritage site Okavanga Delta, one of the last truly wild places on earth. The company claims there are 120 billion barrels of oil to be drilled, an astounding carbon bomb. While Goodall finds evidence the company is exploiting penny-stock pump-and-dump tactics to fleece investors, it’s also terrorizing locals as it tries to strike black gold in the Okavanga River Basin.
“From bad to worse”: Rachel Chason writes about how Shell is divesting from its Nigerian oil investments, selling them to local companies; but now the sites are even more poorly maintained, with blowouts, spills, fires, and other toxic disasters. Shell can’t divest from all of its Nigerian leases yet because the company is fighting a Nigerian Supreme Court ruling demanding it pay $1.95 billion to clean up a 2019 oil spill.
Today is the last day for public comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to modestly strengthen standards against soot pollution, but far less than their own scientists recommend; the Climate Action Campaign is rallying outside of EPA headquarters this morning.
At 1 pm, American University’s Center for Environmental Policy and the think tank Energy Innovation present a webinar on decarbonizing transportation and buildings.
Here’s some news to make Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) cry: in 2022, the amount of electricity generated from renewables in the United States surpassed both coal and nuclear power.
Here’s a question for President Joe Biden: When will you nominate a leader for EPA’s new national office for environmental justice? The EPA established the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights on September 24, 2022, with the responsibility of distributing billions of dollars in grants, but no permanent head has been nominated. Kevin Bogardus explains that the distinguished Robin Morris Collin has been filling in, as EPA Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Environmental Justice.
East Palestine’s member of Congress, Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), the chair of the environment and manufacturing subcommittee of the House energy committee, holds a hearing on the government response to the Norfolk Southern disaster, with officials from the U.S. EPA and the Ohio EPA. Trumper Max Miller (R-Ohio), chair of House Science’s environment subcommittee, holds a hearing promoting the Weather Act, which is pushing the privatization of weather satellites and data collection. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) convenes highway-construction lobbyists for a hearing on the implementation of the infrastructure act.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testifies before House Agriculture with both the Farm Bill and the $32.6 billion USDA budget on tap; $12 billion of the budget is seen by the department as climate-related.
Today’s budget hearings:
Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland goes before House appropriators to discuss her department’s $18.9 billion budget request. Though most of the department’s budget can be reasonably considered climate-friendly, about $500 million of the budget is in support of oil and gas leasing and $15 million is intended for supporting carbon capture and sequestration.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan presents the agency’s $12 billion budget request, a 19 percent increase, to House appropriators.
Attorney General Merrick Garland presents the $39.7 billion Department of Justice budget request to Senate appropriators on Tuesday; a meager $156.5 million is for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Members present their requests for earmarks for the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Energy; and separately earmark requests for Commerce, Justice, and Science (including NOAA, the National Science Foundation, and NASA).
And then there’s that small chunk of the budget ($842 billion) going to the Department of Defense. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs chair Mark Milley testify before Senate Armed Services this morning. There are also hearings for the Air Force ($215 billion) and the Space Force ($30 billion); and the Navy and Marine Corps ($255.8 billion).
Hearings on the Hill:
9:30 AM: Senate Armed Services
The Department of Defense budget request for Fiscal Year 2024 and the Future Years Defense Program10 AM: House Agriculture
Testimony from the Secretary of Agriculture10 AM: Senate Appropriations
Defense
Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the Navy and Marine Corps10 AM: House Appropriations
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior10 AM: House Appropriations
Defense
Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the United States Air Force and Space Force10 AM: House Transportation and Infrastructure
Highways and Transit
Reviewing the Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act10 AM: House Energy and Commerce
Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials
Government Response to East Palestine: Ensuring Safety and Transparency for the Community10 AM: House Science, Space, and Technology
Environment
Reauthorizing the Weather Act: Data and Innovation for Predictions10:30 AM: House Appropriations
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
Member Day - Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies1 PM: House Appropriations
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Budget Hearing - Fiscal Year 2024 Request for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission1:30 PM: House Appropriations
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Member Day - Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies2 PM: House Appropriations
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency2:30 PM: Senate Appropriations
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Request for the U.S. Department of Justice2:30 PM: Senate Armed Services
SeaPower
Navy and Marine Corps investment programs in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2024 and the Future Years Defense Program
Climate Action Today:
11 AM: Climate Action Campaign
Tell the EPA: Strong Soot Protections Now!1 PM: American University Center for Environmental Policy
A Sectoral Approach to Climate Mitigation: Transportation and Buildings
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