"A cyberattack on the power grid could erode trust in key U.S. institutions and cause billions of dollars in damage, a top White House advisory group said Friday."
"Another large Midwest utility yesterday announced plans to slash carbon emissions and eliminate coal from its fuel mix by 2040."
"Now that Congress has approved drilling in part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska’s leaders are eagerly pursuing the next steps needed for oil development."
Infrastructure is much in the news these days, with battles over politics and funding yielding stories for environment reporters. In play are a Trump plan, who gets to pick projects, who pays and much more. But in an election year, how likely are infrastructure plans to move forward? The backstory, with angles for environment and energy, plus what to watch for in 2018, in our Backgrounder on infrastructure.
Covering local infrastructure projects often means covering energy and the environment. This week’s TipSheet offers a companion to our special backgrounder on the national infrastructure story emerging out of Washington. We’ve got dozens of resources and links for finding infrastructure news and information from Congress, executive agencies, infrastructure organizations and environmental groups.
"A new Interior Department plan to build roads in national parks, fix visitors centers and complete other infrastructure projects using money raised by drilling on public lands is facing skepticism from members of Congress and a former senior department official."
"Energy storage and distributed energy resources such as small-scale solar received a resounding vote of confidence from federal regulators on Wednesday."
"Animals that live in the ocean communicate with sound — humpback whales, for example. But these voices could soon be drowned out by powerful sonic booms from vessels searching for oil and gas."
"As climate-change lawsuits against the oil industry mount, Exxon Mobil Corp. is taking a bare-knuckle approach rarely seen in legal disputes: It's going after the lawyers who are suing it."
"The Trump administration is seeking to zero out federal funding on the environmental effects of oil and gas development."
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