Firefighters Will Be Suing, Getting Sued Over PFAS
It's well known that using PFAS-laden firefighting foam caused big problems for the military, but it's sometimes overlooked that civilian firefighting agencies are facing many of these same problems. Bloomberg Law reporters Pat Rizzuto and Andrew Wallender are finding more instances of litigation …
States Scramble on Water Rights Pact as Deadline Nears
As a multidecade megadrought continues in the West, the Colorado River Basin is drying up. Today we’ll talk about what that means for the millions of people who depend on that water. And we’ll look at what states and regulators are doing to ensure that communities get the water they need to survive…
An Energy Regulator Crossed Manchin, Now He's Gone
About a year ago, Richard Glick was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and was poised to get renominated to a new term. Today, he's out of the job. Glick's plans to more closely scrutinize gas pipeline projects ran afoul of the powerful chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, Se…
Fusion Is Promising, but Isn't a Near-Term Solution
News of the world's first nuclear fusion reaction with a net energy gain created a lot of excitement, and justifiably so—fusion could one day be an infinitely renewable, carbon-free energy source. Policy makers, including President Joe Biden, said they want to see a fusion reactor providing electr…
Big Tech Is Now a Big Player in US Energy Markets
Companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are now some of the country's largest consumers of electric power. And as Bloomberg Law's Daniel Moore reports, they're starting to wield their strong purchasing power. Big Tech companies are pushing the energy industry to bring more renewable pow…
Manchin Still a Huge Factor on Energy in New Congress
The 117th Congress is coming to a close at the end of this year and, now that most of the midterm races have been called and partisan control of both chambers decided, we have a pretty good idea of what the dynamics will be in the new 118th. Bloomberg Government energy reporter Kellie Lunney joins…
EV Mineral Demand May End Alaska Natives' Way of Life
The Biden administration has made it crystal clear that, to solve climate change, we need to source more of the critical minerals that go into electric batteries--and we need to source them domestically. One potentially huge source of these minerals is in northern Alaska. But what will that mean f…
A New Low-Key Climate Czar for a New Climate Policy Era
Ali Zaidi, the White House's new climate czar, doesn't have the name recognition of his predecessor, Gina McCarthy. But maybe that's the point. McCarthy was instrumental in getting the Inflation Reduction Act, and its billions of dollars for climate projects, through Congress and to President Joe …
'Forever Chemicals' Here to Stay, Despite Alternatives
Because it's so effective, PFAS-laden firefighting foam isn't easy to replace. However, there are indications that PFAS alternatives might finally be ready for prime time. The Department of Defense is expected to change its policies early next year to allow for the use of non-PFAS foams, while som…
RGGI Still Thriving Despite Revolving Door Membership
It's been nearly 20 years since a handful of northeastern states got together to start a cap-and-trade program for their power sector's greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, the membership of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, has been anything but static. New Jersey left under forme…