Canadian court deals blow to Trudeau’s pipeline support. A Canadian court on Thursday overturned approval of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, ruling that Ottawa failed to adequately consider aboriginal concerns, putting the future of the C$7.4 billion project in jeopardy. The decision is a blow to PM Trudeau’s government, which agreed in May to buy the pipeline from Kinder Morgan for C$4.5 billion, and to the country’s oil sector. The Federal Court of Appeal ruled that regulators wrongly narrowed its review of the project to exclude related tanker traffic. Since that is a major concern of some aboriginal people, the federal government therefore was not seen to have adequately consulted First Nations, as required by law. An appeal could drag out a couple of years – Reuters (Why the court overturned pipeline approval)
Pages updated: Climate Walks – Australia – Geoengineering – new video added
- New York AG: Exxon climate fraud investigation nears end – “smoking guns” found – InsideClimateNews
- US-China Study: Chronic exposure to air pollution could be linked to cognitive performance – BBC
- Scientists warn Africa to suffer major blackouts as climate change dries up hydropower dams – Independent
- California climate forecast: More fires, fewer beaches, stressed grid – eeNews
- Deforestation rates in southern Africa’s woodlands are five times higher than prior estimates – Mongabay
- US-China Study: Chronic exposure to air pollution could be linked to cognitive performance – BBC
- South Africa drops plans for nuclear plants to increase renewables as it trims reliance on coal – RenewableEnergyWorld
Blow for Macron government as Hulot resigns. French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot resigned on Tuesday in frustration over sluggish progress on climate goals and nuclear energy policy, dealing a major blow to President Macron’s already tarnished green credentials. Hulot says the centrist president has watered down a series of campaign pledges on the environment, including a commitment to cut the share of nuclear power in French electricity to 50% percent by 2025 and boost renewable energy – Reuters
US leader in the war on poverty talks climate change. Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and Al Gore were in Greensboro, North Carolina, to focus on a concern many in the audience believed was just as insidious as poverty – pollution from North Carolina’s coal-powered electrical plants. Barber sees the climate and environment as issues on par with poverty and racism. Dr. Barber and Mr. Gore spent two days touring nearby towns, drawing attention to environmental issues. Lower-income communities – especially black, Hispanic and Native American ones – tend to be more polluted and bear more of the burden of climate change than higher-income and white communities – NewYorkTimes
In Chilean desert, global thirst for lithium is fueling a ‘water war’. The Salar de Atacama sits in the world’s driest desert. The water trapped beneath the salt pan feeds the world’s biggest copper mine and holds in suspension more than one-third of the world’s current supply of lithium. Demand for water is growing but there is a problem – no-one really knows how much water is there. A global boom in demand for lithium has set off a scramble in Chile, which is home to nearly 50% of the world’s reserves of the metal – Reuters (Read more about lithium)
London’s new drinking fountains a splash hit. The first four of London’s new water fountains have been used tens of thousands of times. According to the team behind the installations, more than 8,000 litres of water (equal to 16,000 standard bottles) have been dispensed in under a month from two drinking fountains installed at Liverpool Street Station. Twenty are planned in London. Drinking fountains have also been installed in other cities including Bristol and Hull in recent years – Guardian