Climate School
We've discussed before the fact that oil companies are going bankrupt and leaving behind orphaned, leaking wells; according to a new report from the Sierra Club, the same mess of stranded liabilities is found in the coal industry, which is also trying to dump its pension obligations.
In recent years, many journalists have done a commendable job covering the climate crisis, but, in a sad reminder of how much time was wasted, a new study shows that from 1985 to 2014 "press releases opposing action to address climate change are about twice as likely to be cited in national newspapers as are press releases advocating for climate action." Like E.S.G. investing, carbon offsets are no panacea -- but it is inspiring to see local startups, such as Carbon Neutral Indiana, figuring out how to communicate with homeowners and small businesses about their carbon footprint.
The logic of renewable energy is reaching even Houston, the world capital of hydrocarbons. A new report by Randall Morton, of the Progressive Forum, finds that the city, which has more engineers total than any other in America, could maneuver to stay wealthy in a solar-and-wind age -- or it could become the next Detroit, with its core industry on the wane.
Scoreboard
The oil majors are posting record losses. As a result, ExxonMobil, as its C.E.O. said, "has identified significant potential for additional reductions" in expenditures, which it will announce at a later date. To the extent that additional reductions mean cutting back on the search for new oil, it's a plus for the planet.
The Irish Supreme Court last week insisted that the country's politicians come up with a more specific and aggressive plan to fulfill a law calling for zero emissions by 2050.
The number of migratory fish on the planet has plunged 76 percent in the past 50 years, a new report finds. The drop is attributed to dams, overfishing, pollution -- and climate change.
The planet's five biggest publicly-owned oil companies are spending about two hundred million dollars annually to lobby against climate-change policies.
Public-opinion surveys are showing that large and growing margins of Americans want an end to fracking. Even in Pennsylvania, where Joe Biden has been hesitant about the political impact, bans on fracking win by large margins in the polls.
On Tuesday morning, BP announced plans to cut oil-and-gas production by 2030. There are plenty of caveats: they're excluding their collaboration with Russia's Rosneft, and they're going to continue spending more money, for now, on oil-and-gas exploration than on renewables. But it's definitely a step away from the vague plans for 2050 that some of the other oil majors have begun mumbling about. The analysts at Oil Change International said that "today BP is starting to heed activists' calls to 'keep it in the ground.' " On the ground in London, Carbon Tracker Initiative noted that the original reaction of markets was positive and wondered who would follow.
Warming Up
John Lewis's funeral last week was a reminder that American politics doesn't actually have to be an endless Munch scream -- that there is much to admire and hope for in our history. I was particularly taken by Jennifer Holliday's rendition of the great Thomas Dorsey gospel tune "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" -- in part because both Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin sang the same song in the days after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Echoes of a different past, perhaps pointing to a different future.
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