Clean Power Plan, fuel standards, and beach erosion
Editor’s Energy Briefs is a weekly recollection of local, regional and national news regarding some of the most intriguing updates regarding energy, water, and the environment.
President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order this week to curtail the Clean Power Plan according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt in an interview with ABC News.
The Clean Power plan is an initiative that began in 2015 under former President Barack Obama with the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that use fossil fuels. The plan hasn’t taken effect yet as it is being currently being challenged in court.
Pruitt said the executive order could come as early as today.
“The executive order will address the past administration’s efforts to kill jobs across this country through the Clean Power Plan,” Pruitt told ABC News.
Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to take action to bring back the coal industry. Despite the administration efforts to roll back regulations of fossil fuels and the coal industry, it may not be enough to save it due to the fact that electric utilities are opting for cheaper sources of energy such as natural gas, wind and solar.
In an interview with The Guardian, chief executive officer Robert Murray said he has told the president to dial back his expectation as he won’t be able to bring all the jobs back.
“I suggested that he temper his expectations,” Murray said to The Guardian. “Those are my exact words. He can’t bring them back.”
California remains defiant
The state of California took additional steps last week to challenge the deregulation action the federal government has undertaken in the last couple of months.
The Air Resources Control Board voted to maintain the current state’s emission standards, which are the toughest in the country through 2025. The rule requires new cars and trucks to average 36 miles per gallon in real-world driving conditions by 2025, a stark contrast to the steps taken by the White House which recently announced plans to reevaluate regulations on gas mileage efficiency and the setting of a uniform fuel mileage requirement for automakers in the country.
Also, the Air Resources Board approved additional regulations in an effort to control methane emissions, the goal of the new rules are to reduce the methane emissions at oil and gas production plants by up to 45 percent in the next nine years.
Beach Erosion
The Associated Press reported that a new study released Monday predicts that with limited human intervention 1 to 2 thirds of Southern California’s beaches could be completely eroded by the turn of the century due to sea level rise of 3 feet to 6 feet.
The study used a computer model called Coastal Storm Modeling System — Coastal One-line Assimilated Simulation Tool to predict the effects of sea level rise which is caused by climate change.
California isn’t the only state struggling with the issue of beach erosion. States along the Gulf of Mexico are experiencing similar troubles, according to the Texas General Land Office, 64 percent of the Texas coast is eroding at an average rate of about 6 feet per year.
Also, it is estimated that the state of Louisiana has lost about 2,000 square miles of its coast. According to Scientific American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists say at the current rate the sea is rising and land is sinking, by 2100 the Gulf of Mexico could rise as much as 4.3 feet, which could mean that most of Southeast Louisiana would be under water in the next 50 years.