WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees issued the following statement on Dec. 19, 2024: * * * AFGE President calls shutdown a "Christmas gift to America's adversaries and a lump of coal in the stockings of the American people." * * * In response to efforts led by the private individuals appointed by the president-elect to make the government more efficient to scuttle a bipartisan deal to keep the government open and instead shut the government down and  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Alex Padilla (D-CA) urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to direct Fannie  more

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minnesota, Dec. 20 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary on Dec. 19, 2024: * * * NERC: MISO at 'high' Risk of Blackouts in Normal Peak Conditions Written by Sarah Montalbano The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) published its 10-year outlook on Tuesday, and the forecast isn't looking good: accelerating plant retirements, escalating demand growth,  more

MADISON, Wisconsin, Dec. 20 -- Wisconsin Conservation Voters issued the following news on Dec. 19, 2024: The U.S. Climate Alliance - a bipartisan coalition of governors representing nearly 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population - today pledged to work to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 61 to 66 percent below 2005 levels by 2035. The Alliance also applauded the new 2035 U.S. climate target - known as the nationally determined contributi  more

OTTAWA, Ontario, Dec. 20 -- Environment and Climate Change Canada issued the following news release: * * * Emissions have dropped to their lowest level in 27 years (excluding pandemic years) * * * As the year ends, Canadians will mark that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded, with record-breaking extreme weather events driving up a wide range of costs from groceries to insurance premiums. Our comprehensive climate plan is making a difference in the fight against climate cha  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (TNSFR) -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has disapproved a revision to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) submitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on August 20, 2020. The SIP revision addressed emissions during planned maintenance, startup, and shutdown (MSS) activities for certain electric generating units (EGUs) and included requirements intended to address visible emissions (opacity) and particulate matter (PM) emissions during p  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Environmental Science and Technology, a peer-reviewed journal from the American Chemical Society that says it promotes interdisciplinary understanding in the environmental field, published research articles on the following topics in its Dec. 10, 2024, edition (Vol. 58, Issue 49). Here are excerpts of the topics: * * * Reviews * Environmental Occurrence and Biotic Concentrations of Ultrashort-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids: Overlooked Global Organofluorine Contaminants E  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 18, 2024) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has been selected to receive a $403,018 grant to train dislocated workers, veterans, unemployed and undereducated individuals impacted by the decline of the coal industry within the LENOWISCO Planning District. "Thanks to President Biden's unwavering co  more

BRUSSELS, Belgium, Dec. 20 -- The European Commission issued the following news release on Dec. 19, 2024, with the European Investment Bank: Following an assessment by the European Investment Bank under the Modernisation Fund, the European Commission has today disbursed Euros2.7 billion to support 39 investment projects in eight beneficiary Member States. This includes the very first investment confirmed in Slovenia under the Fund, a Member State which became beneficiary in 2024. These projects  more

LONDON, England, Dec. 20 (TNSres) -- FutureCoal (formerly the World Coal Association) issued the following news: FutureCoal welcomes the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 2024 Coal Outlook findings, which confirm coal's enduring role in the global energy landscape. Global coal demand reached historic levels in 2024, underlining its essential role in energy security, economic growth, and industrial development. Key findings from the report include: * Global coal demand is expected to grow by  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Growth Energy, a trade association that represents ethanol producers, issued the following statement on Dec. 19, 2024: * * * Growth Energy, the nation's largest biofuel trade association, issued the following statement about the exclusion of year-round E15 from the latest continuing resolution. The latest year-end funding package being considered by Congress no longer includes language that would provide for the year-round sale of E15, a fuel made with 15% homegrown bioe  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, issued the following news release: Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, this week outlined North Dakota's leadership in developing and deploying clean coal technologies for the nation. The Senator spoke on the Senate floor following President-elect Donald Trump's remarks on the importance of clean coal, one of the nation's most reliable, affordable and abundant energy resources, and its role   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. Robert E. Latta, R-Ohio, issued the following news release: Today, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) was selected to lead Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy for the 119th Congress by Energy and Commerce Chairman-Elect, Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY). "Next year, the Energy and Commerce Committee will lead the way in delivering tangible solutions to our nation's most pressing issues, which includes restoring U.S. energy dominance to strengthen our national sec  more

BRISTOL, England, Dec. 20 -- Materials Research Express, a peer-reviewed journal that says it features the design, fabrication, properties and applications of all classes of materials, published research articles on the following topics in its November 2024 edition (Vol. 11, No. 11). Here are excerpts of the topics: * * * Topical Review * Comprehensive review of recent research trends in dielectric elastomer transducers: applications, materials, and fabrication Special Issue Article * Syn  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Rep. John R. Curtis, R-Utah, issued the following news release on Dec. 19, 2024: Today, Representatives John Curtis (R-UT) and Mike Levin (D-CA) introduced the Co-Location Energy Act, a forward-thinking bill designed to unlock renewable energy potential by allowing wind and solar projects to be co-located on existing federal energy leases. The legislation provides a streamlined framework for developers to evaluate and build projects on already-disturbed federal lands with  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 [Category: Environment] -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release: Christine, Texas Yesterday, the San Miguel Electric Cooperative in South Texas received funding to build a large solar and battery facility, replacing its existing lignite plant. The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides more than $1.4 billion to the co-op. San Miguel's transition away from coal is a historic investment for the cooperative and a step in the right direction f  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 19, 2024: Yesterday, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about the bipartisan Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 399-18,   more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 20 [Category: Think Tank] -- The Buckeye Institute, an independent research and educational institution that says its mission is to advance free-market public policy, issued the following news release: On Friday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland. We considered sending a lump of coal to the Department of Justice, but have you seen the price of coal in this economy, let alone postage? Buckeye settled for an electronic filing instead  more

WILMERDING, Pennsylvania, Dec. 20 -- Wabtec, a provider of technology-based products and services for rail and industrial markets, issued the following news release: Gandhidham, Gujarat, Dec. 19, 2024 -- Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) and Western Railways celebrated an agreement renewing locomotive service operations at the Gandhidham Maintenance Shed in Gujarat, India. The renewal builds upon Wabtec's working relationship with Indian Railways to ensure the optimum reliability and performance o  more

OLYMPIA, Washington, Dec. 20 -- The Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission issued the following order (No. UG-240891) on Dec. 19, 2024: * * * WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, Complainant, v. AVISTA CORPORATION, Respondent. ORDER 01 COMPLAINT AND ORDER SUSPENDING TARIFF REVISIONS; ALLOWING RATES SUBJECT TO LATER REVIEW AND REFUND BACKGROUND 1 On October 31, 2024, Avista Corporation d/b/a Avista Utilities (Avista or Company) filed with the Washington Utili  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (TNSfact) -- The White House issued the following fact sheet on Dec. 19, 2024: * * * President Biden and Vice President Harris Are Delivering for Rural Communities Over the past four years, President Biden and Vice President Harris have taken action to ensure rural Americans do not have to leave their hometowns to find opportunity. One year ago, President Biden visited a family farm in Northfield, Minnesota to kick off the "Investing in Rural America" event series, spurr  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (TNSfact) -- The White House issued the following fact sheet on Dec. 19, 2024: * * * President Biden Sets 2035 Climate Target Aimed at Creating Good-Paying Union Jobs, Reducing Costs for All Americans, and Securing U.S. Leadership in the Clean Energy Economy of the Future - The U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is an economy-wide, all greenhouse gas target of reducing net emissions by 61-66 percent below 2005 levels in 2035 - The emissions reduction strategy i  more