US Power Sector Emissions Cuts Preserved Under 2025 Budget Law
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US Power Sector Emissions Cuts Preserved Under 2025 Budget Law (Maria)
The author writes, “The U.S. is still projected to achieve two-thirds of the emissions cuts from power generation that would have occurred without the rollbacks of the Biden-era climate law and regulations, a new study concludes. It puts an exclamation point on what we explored yesterday: low-carbon energy is surviving, in weakened form, despite the 2025 GOP budget law that slashed renewables subsidies.”
The Wet and Wild Freedom Day Catastrophe (Bethany)
The author writes, “Most pictures of the Great American State Fair taken during the lead-up to July 4th show a vast, near-empty stretch of the Washington Mall with two long, low buildings on each side. The mall wasn’t empty on July 4th — that was always going to be the day most people flew in to visit, and the lawn was plenty crowded that day. Everything, else, however, was even worse than it looks in pictures: smaller, dingier, sadder.”
Opec+ Is Raising Oil Output for a Fifth Straight Month as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Recovers (Mili)
The author writes, “Seven core members of OPEC+ agreed Sunday to raise collective oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day starting in August, marking a fifth consecutive monthly increase as the group continues rolling back production cuts introduced in 2023. The countries involved are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, OPEC said in a statement. The decision comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway that carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil before the conflict — shows early signs of recovery.”
The Divestment Drive That Could Shake Israel’s Economic Foundations (Siobhán)
From +972 Magazine: “To fund perpetual war, Israel has grown ever more reliant on issuing bonds. Relinquishing these holdings, often invested passively, disrupts that equation.”
Even as Elon Musk Calls Philanthropy ‘Very Hard,’ Everyday Americans Gave a Record $617 Billion — Despite Feeling the Squeeze Over the Cost of Living (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “2025 brought a mixed picture for the U.S. economy. The stock market ended the year with double-digit gains, but inflation had not fully faded — leaving prices for everyday essentials like groceries and utilities elevated and many households still feeling squeezed. Still, many Americans found room in their budget to give to others.”
Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay Are Starving to Death at Disastrous Rates. What Will It Take to Save Them? (Laura)
From Audubon: “After a spectacular comeback from DDT, the Osprey population has plummeted within the watershed and is showing signs of trouble elsewhere. The birds’ fate may once more rest on collective action.”
‘See the Whole World in Lichens,’ the Marvels That Grow Anywhere (Reader Steve)
From The Seattle Times: “You might think that in the kingdom of green that is our Northwest, the mighty Douglas fir is supreme, or perhaps the red cedar. Ah, but consider the humble, the ancient, the ultimate in Northwest non-fussy, the enduring, inspiring signature of our regional character. That companion to Washington landscapes, whether east side or west, that thrives on just about any surface — dry, wet, bright, dark, hard, soft, natural, manufactured, whatever. Consider lichens. They blow like green scarves from trees, crust rocks, frost fences, paint bark, and glow on roofs, tombstones, blue tarps — really anything that will stay still for a bit can be a swell home for a lichen.”
