The Incredible Melting Man. by Phil Smith

cities to keep pushing all-electric homes, even after a court decision rejecting Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation gas ban. Some experts see a clear legal path for U.S. The Biden administration, meanwhile, is gearing up to require huge cuts in climate pollution from power plants nationwide, per the Washington Post’s Timothy Puko. In addition to helping address the climate crisis, the regulations should reduce unhealthful air pollution, which despite decades of progress is still worse in Southern California and the Central Valley than anywhere else in the country, as Briscoe notes in a separate story. Smog-belching old trains will need to be retired, too. The rules also dictate that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in California must be electric or otherwise zero-emission starting in 2036, The Times’ Tony Briscoe reports.

Here’s what’s happening around the West: POLITICAL CLIMATEĪll cargo trucks entering California seaports and rail yards will need to be zero-emission by 2035 - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg under new rules approved by state officials. “We’re not going to say we’re not going to use gas and oil. “We’re not going to turn the faucet off and say we’re not drilling anymore,” Haaland insisted during a Q&A session, as reported by the Associated Press’ Matthew Daly. She touted the Biden administration’s work to get solar and wind farms built on public lands while also defending her department’s approval of oil and gas projects. Stone-Manning’s boss, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, also spoke at the conference. One of the panelists was Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the U.S. But for now, feel free to watch a panel discussion I moderated, dealing with the tension between renewable energy and conservation in the West. I also spent a few days at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual conference, held this year in Boise.

We’re back to twice-a-week publication for now, so look for another newsletter this Thursday. (Stay tuned for Part 3 soon, all about southern Nevada.) In the coming weeks, I’ll share behind-the-scenes stories from my recent road trip in Boiling Point. I’ll get into those questions - at least with regard to Idaho - in Part 4 of Repowering the West, our ongoing series.

The Incredible Melting Man. by Phil Smith