Harder Bigger Faster Danger

Definitely daft, not very punk

Author

Brad Johnson
March 01, 2023

PRESENTED BY TOUGH BONEY SCUTES

still a bad idea

Gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles are destroying the future, the International Energy Agency reports:

Between 2021 and 2022, oil use in conventional cars, excluding SUVs, remained roughly the same, but the oil consumption of SUVs globally increased by 500,000 barrels per day, accounting for one-third of the total growth in oil demand.

Simply replacing fossil-fuel SUVs with electric giants (like Joe Biden’s beloved Hummer EV) threaten a new crisis in runaway cobalt, copper, lithium and nickel mining:

Rapidly increasing the number of electric cars on the road in place of conventional cars is a key part of reaching net zero emissions by mid-century. At the same time, SUVs require larger batteries to power them, so a growing electric SUV market would impose additional pressure on battery supply chains and further increase demand for the critical minerals needed to make the batteries.

So maybe let’s cool it with the manly man-tanks.

After furious pushback from the climate movement, new Maryland governor Wes Moore pulled his nomination of Juan Alvarado, an American Gas Association lobbyist, for the Maryland Public Service Commission, the state’s regulatory body for the natural gas industry.

In other good news, Biden has nominated Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su to be the next Secretary of Labor. Su is a fierce advocate for workers; advocates like the Green Workers Alliance hope she will be an ally in unionizing the fast-growing renewable industry.

The House is out of session until next week. House Democrats are in Baltimore today for their annual strategic retreat. They’re holding a press conference at 1:45 pm, and Biden will address the retreat at 6 pm. Republicans are tromping to the Donald Trump-friendly Conservative Political Action Conference in DC and a Ron DeSantis-friendly Club for Growth donor retreat in Florida.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will serve only one term, having come in third place in yesterday’s primary election. The general election will find progressive Brandon Johnson facing off against cop-backed conservative Paul Vallas.

Network news coverage of climate change crept up in 2022 to 23 combined hours, Media Matters finds. That’s an increase from 1.2% of all news to 1.3%!

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) holds his first climate-focused hearing as the new Budget chair, looking at the threat of climate change to coastal communities. The Democratic witnesses are coastal risk expert Sean Becketti, flood-risk activist Matthew Eby, and Rhode Island town manager Kate Michaud. The Republican witnesses are long-time climate denier Marlo Lewis Jr. and newcomer Jessica Weinkle, an acolyte of climate denier Roger Pielke, Jr.

Also today, the heads of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and the U.S. Forest Service testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee on conservation and forestry programs as part of the ongoing Farm Bill reauthorization process. And Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) tries again with the nomination of Joe Goffman to be the top air pollution official at the Environmental Protection Agency. He has been the acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation throughout 2022 as his nomination has been blocked by Republicans.

The International Energy Agency is looking to recruit an energy modeller (€80K-99K) for the World Energy Outlook and other publications.

Methane Action has merged with Spark Climate Solutions, joining two of the top organizations working on methane pollution monitoring and removal. The combined organization has multiple open positions (and also keeps track of related job listings at other organizations).

Renewable consultancy Arcadia Power has a wide range of job openings, in software engineering, sales and marketing, and market analysis.

The Washington state chapter of the Sierra Club is looking for a new director ($98K, Seattle.)

Hearings on the Hill:

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