Parts Per Billion
188 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 48 ratingsParts Per Billion is Bloomberg Law's environmental policy podcast. We cover everything from air pollution, to toxic chemicals, to corporate sustainability, and climate change. The reporters from our environment desk offer an inside look at what's happening at Congress, in the courts, and at the federal agencies, and help explain the scientific and policy debates shaping environmental laws and regulations. Host: David Schultz
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Episodes
Firefighters Will Be Suing, Getting Sued Over PFAS
February 10, 2023 20:55 - 15 minutes - 14 MBIt'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 against fire departments over their use of this foam. And they say the main US firefighters' union is now partnering with law firms after cutting ties with companies that make PFAS-coated protectiv...
States Scramble on Water Rights Pact as Deadline Nears
January 20, 2023 20:48 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBAs 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. Seven western states are frantically working to reach an agreement on how to divvy up the available water ahead of a Feb. 1 deadline—at which point the federal government has suggested it would ...
An Energy Regulator Crossed Manchin, Now He's Gone
January 06, 2023 20:10 - 16 minutes - 15 MBAbout 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, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.). Without Manchin's support, the Biden administration couldn't get Glick's nomination through the Senate. Bloomberg Law reporter Daniel Moore spoke to Glick shortly before...
Fusion Is Promising, but Isn't a Near-Term Solution
December 16, 2022 20:16 - 11 minutes - 10.2 MBNews 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 electricity to the American grid within 10 years. But scientists say that timeline is probably too ambitious, if not impossible. On today's episode of our environmental policy podcast, Parts Per Billion...
Big Tech Is Now a Big Player in US Energy Markets
December 02, 2022 20:46 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MBCompanies 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 power projects online, Moore says, and they're also hiring energy lobbyists to achieve these goals in Washington. Moore joins our environmental policy podcast, Parts Per Billion, to talk about where ...
Manchin Still a Huge Factor on Energy in New Congress
November 18, 2022 20:55 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBThe 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 this episode of Parts Per Billion, our environmental policy podcast, to talk about what to expect on Capitol Hill for the next two years. For one, she says, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) will mainta...
EV Mineral Demand May End Alaska Natives' Way of Life
November 07, 2022 09:00 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBThe 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 for the Alaska Natives who have been living off of the land there for centuries? On this episode of Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law reporter Bobby Magill tells us about his trip to northern Alaska...
A New Low-Key Climate Czar for a New Climate Policy Era
October 21, 2022 19:45 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBAli 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 Biden's desk. But now the task turns to getting that money out the door in a quick-but-not-too-quick manner, and the White House thinks Zaidi is the technocrat for the job. On this episode of Part...
'Forever Chemicals' Here to Stay, Despite Alternatives
October 07, 2022 19:46 - 18 minutes - 16.5 MBBecause 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 some states are also pushing civilian firefighters to phase in the use of these new foams. On this episode of our environmental policy podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law reporters Pat Rizzuto ...
RGGI Still Thriving Despite Revolving Door Membership
September 23, 2022 20:14 - 17 minutes - 15.6 MBIt'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 former Republican Gov. Chris Christie, then rejoined under his successor. Virginia and Pennsylvania joined RGGI recently, but the current and likely future governors of those respective states are far f...
Nevada Lithium Mine a Boon for EVs, But at What Cost?
September 05, 2022 21:00 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBElectric vehicles are seen as one of humanity's best hopes at fighting climate change, and that means humanity will need to build a whole lot of lithium ion batteries. Unsurprisingly, the price of lithium is skyrocketing and the Biden administration is eager to develop domestic sources of the ultra-light metal. One of its best hopes here is a proposal to build a $1 billion open-pit lithium mine in a remote area of northern Nevada called Thacker Pass. But while producing more lithium may ha...
New Climate Dollars Get Cheers, Shrugs From States
August 24, 2022 19:13 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBThe Inflation Reduction Act contains billions of dollars to help states fight climate change and achieve other environmental goals, but only some state lawmakers have plans to spend this money. Bloomberg Law reporter Zach Bright spoke with three Democratic state legislators in Democratic-controlled states about how they'd like to allocate the money their states will be getting. But Bright also says states with Republican-controlled statehouses, where fighting climate change isn't as high of...
What Manchin Got for Backing Democrats' Climate Bill
August 03, 2022 19:01 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBJoe Manchin, the West Virginian who represents the crucial 50th Democratic vote in the Senate, surprised Washington last week with a dramatic about-face. Just weeks after rejecting his party's climate legislation, he reversed course and announced he'd reached a deal with Democratic leaders to send a climate bill to the president's desk. However, it later became clear that, in exchange for his support, Democrats granted Manchin numerous pro-fossil fuel provisions, including a measure that wo...
Manchin Likely Just Put an End to Big Climate Bills
July 20, 2022 20:47 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBIt's still technically possible for Congress to pass President Joe Biden's climate policy agenda sometime this year. But most people on Capitol Hill, including some Democrats, say Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) just essentially delivered a death blow to this agenda last week. Though Democratic leadership already scaled down their climate legislation earlier this year to accommodate him, Manchin announced he couldn't support even this more modest package, citing this month's high inflation numb...
Can the Pentagon be Ready, Lethal, and Also Green?
July 06, 2022 18:34 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBA group of 12 Republican senators criticized the Pentagon's Climate Adaptation Plan last year, saying its focus in that area distracts from its mission of fielding a "ready and lethal force." But the Defense Department, and its commander in chief, counter that the exact opposite is true. They contend its many climate initiatives—everything from shoring up flood-prone installations to electrifying its fleet of tanks and armored vehicles—actually make the military more capable, not less. On...
With PFAS Science, the More We Know, the Worse It Gets
June 22, 2022 20:55 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBScientists and environmental regulators have been studying PFAS for years now, but new details are still coming out that make these so-called "forever chemicals" seem even more hazardous than previously thought. Earlier this month, the EPA said it's unsafe to be exposed to essentially any amount of PFOA and PFOS, the two most well-known PFAS chemicals. The agency set a new non-binding health advisory for these two chemicals at less than one tenth of one part per trillion. The EPA's prior st...
ESG Funds Are Finding It's Not Easy Being Green
June 08, 2022 19:52 - 15 minutes - 14.4 MBIf it was ever easy to be the manager of an ESG fund, it certainly isn't any more. Demand for these environmentally friendly investment options is skyrocketing, but scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission is increasing along with it. Late last month, BNY Mellon paid the agency $1.5 million to settle a claim that it misled investors about how it applies ESG principles to some of its mutual funds. Also, the SEC released proposed regulations imposing new requirements on funds that...
PFAS Litigation May Bring Down More Companies
May 25, 2022 20:09 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MBDuPont, a company founded shortly after the turn of the 19th century, has gone through a merger and several spinoffs in recent years, still existing more or less in name only. And while there were many reasons for these moves, the weight of liability from the chemicals collectively known as PFAS undoubtedly played a factor. But DuPont isn't the only company that could be brought low by PFAS suits. Bloomberg Law's Andrew Wallender did a deep dive on PFAS litigation data and found that plain...
Rural Utilities Can't Get EPA Funds. Can They Survive?
May 11, 2022 19:47 - 15 minutes - 14 MBLast year's infrastructure bill gave the EPA a deluge of cash to hand out to water utilities for infrastructure upgrades. But some of the smallest and neediest water utilities in the country may not see much, if any, of it. There are thousands of struggling water systems, many in remote, rural areas, that serve just a few hundred people. Many are in the Catch-22 situation of desperately needing federal money, but simply not having enough expertise and manpower to apply for it. On today's e...
Energy Infrastructure Now More Impervious to Activists
May 02, 2022 14:31 - 18 minutes - 16.5 MBIt's never easy for environmental activists—whether global, national, or local—to stop the construction of a big energy infrastructure project. But now, it may be nearly impossible. For an example, look to southwestern Louisiana. Fossil fuel companies are building new liquefied natural gas terminals there as fast as they can, with explicit approval from a Biden administration that desperately wants to replace Russian's energy dominance overseas. And these terminals are being built in an eco...
Democrats Torn Over Pursuing Low-Carbon Fuel Policies
April 13, 2022 20:52 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBHere's yet another complicated and confusing question about the transition to a post-greenhouse gas world: Is what's billed as low-carbon gasoline good or bad for the environment? That's the question lawmakers in several Democratic-led states are asking themselves, and no easy answers are appearing. New Mexico, New York, and Minnesota, to name a few, have debated new standards that would encourage the adoption of more climate-friendly auto fuels, either through blending with ethanol or wit...
ESG Investors Get Big Win With New SEC Climate Rule
March 30, 2022 16:29 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBSome good news for ESG investors, and even better news for accountants: the Securities and Exchange Commission just unveiled a new proposal that would force public companies to disclose mountains of climate change information. The proposal goes far beyond requiring disclosure of the fossil fuels a company itself uses: It would also have companies report out the carbon footprint of their supply chains and even, in some cases, of the customers who use their products. On today’s On The Merits...
Ukraine Invasion Hurts U.S. Nuclear Power in a Big Way
March 16, 2022 17:44 - 12 minutes - 11.9 MBIf you thought Russia's invasion of Ukraine hurt the oil market, wait until you hear what it's doing to uranium. Before last month's invasion, Russia and its allies supplied nuclear power plants in the U.S. with half of their uranium, and 100% of a special type of uranium needed for smaller, next generation power plants. That entire supply chain has obviously been thrown into question since then, and that has huge implications for not only the future of nuclear power but also for climate c...
Justices Give EPA Glimmer of Hope in Climate Case
March 02, 2022 20:12 - 14 minutes - 13 MBThe Supreme Court heard oral argument in West Virginia v. EPA on Monday, a case that could result in the narrowing of the agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. But, to some surprise, a few of the court's conservative justices posed tough questions to the attorney arguing against the EPA, which may indicate they're open to siding with the agency in this case. On today's episode of Parts Per Billion, our weekly environmental podcast, we're joined by Bloomberg Law's Jennife...
Charging Station Locations a Big Obstacle to EVs
February 16, 2022 20:56 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBElectric vehicles, or EVs, represent one of the most promising climate change solutions. But is America ready? To get the country ready, President Biden and Democrats in Congress gave states more than $7 billion to install electric vehicle charging stations across the country. But, as Bloomberg Government’s Lillianna Byington found, an Eisenhower-era law means these charging stations can’t be built on highways, as many EV advocates had hoped. On today’s episode of our Parts Per Billion pod...
Climate Regulation Hinges on Case at Supreme Court
February 02, 2022 21:36 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBThe Supreme Court said 15 years ago that the EPA has not only the authority but also the obligation to regulate greenhouse gasses. Now, in a case coming before the court later this month, that landmark ruling may get overturned. On today's episode of Parts Per Billion, our weekly environmental podcast, Bloomberg Law's Jennifer Hijazi explains the stakes of West Virginia v. EPA, which the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Feb. 28. She talks about the circuitous route the case took to get to...
Lead Pipe Money to Ooze, Not Flow, Out of EPA
January 12, 2022 21:24 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBLast year's infrastructure bill made a landmark $15 billion investment in lead pipe removal, and even more funding may be on the way to get this toxic metal out of the country's drinking water system. But, according to two Bloomberg Law reporters, this money may be much slower than expected in getting to the communities that need it. On today's episode of Parts Per Billion, our weekly environmental podcast, Bobby Magill and Paige Smith explain why Congress' funding allocation is a pivotal—...
Competing Climate Rules Worry Federal Contractors
December 29, 2021 19:52 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MBFederal contractors are going to have to share more information about their greenhouse gas emissions with the public, under new General Services Administration reporting requirements the White House introduced earlier this month. However, this isn’t the only climate reporting rule these contractors will have to mind. The Securities and Exchange Commission is about to release its own reporting rules early next year, and no one seems to be sure where or whether the two rules will overlap. On...
Air Polluters Can't Ignore Citizen Science Anymore
December 15, 2021 20:53 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBIt used to be that taking an air quality sample required expensive, bulky equipment and teams of people to operate. Now devices that monitor air quality can be bought on Amazon and worn on your wrist. This is a gamechanger for so-called "fenceline communities," or areas that abut factories and other heavy emitters of air pollutants because it allows area residents to collect their own data. It's also a gamechanger for the companies responsible for those emissions, as this data could be admi...
Can Taxes and the Free Market Solve Climate Change?
December 01, 2021 20:11 - 17 minutes - 16 MBTime is running out to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, and activists and scientists say global efforts like those seen at the recent COP26 meeting aren't moving nearly fast enough. Can a carbon tax or some other type of carbon pricing scheme use the power of market forces to speed up this process? And if so, are these options even politically or logistically viable? Those are the questions we ponder on today's episode of our podcast, Parts Per Billion. Sanjay Patnaik, direc...
Talking COP26: Major Breakthrough or All for Naught?
November 17, 2021 21:02 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBThe 26th annual summit of the UN's climate change arm just wrapped up in Glasgow, Scotland, but it's unclear whether what came out of the event will be nearly enough to stave off the worst consequences of climate change. Bobby Magill was in Glasgow covering COP26 for Bloomberg Law and he joins our podcast, Parts Per Billion, to walk us through how to interpret the pact that was reached last week. He also talks about how covering this year's COP was unique—not only because it was the first t...
Biden's PFAS Cleanup Plan: Who Will Pay For It All?
October 27, 2021 20:29 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBThe Biden Administration just released a road map for how it's going to deal with the problem of PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals." The plan calls for establishing new standards for these chemicals in water and soil, but it's less clear on where the money will come from to achieve these standards. On today's episode of our weekly environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law's Pat Rizzuto talks about what's in the PFAS road map and why federal officials are still struggling ...
UN Climate Conference: Everything You Need to Know
October 13, 2021 17:54 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBLater this month we'll see the kickoff of COP26, the 26th meeting of the UN's main climate change arm. Not only is this the first of these annual meetings to take place during the Biden administration, but it's also one in which the nations of the world are expected to lay out exactly how committed they are to achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. On this week's episode of our environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, we hear from Bloomberg News' Jess Shankleman, who'll be attend...
'Exxon Knew' Movement Arrives on Capitol Hill
September 29, 2021 19:53 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBAttorneys and environmental activists have been trying for years to prove that Exxon Mobil Corp. and other fossil fuel companies knew about—and covered up—the fact that their products cause climate change. Now, it appears that members of Congress are joining the effort. On this episode of Parts Per Billion, our weekly environmental podcast, Bloomberg Law reporter Jennifer Hijazi talks about the documents top Democrats in Congress are demanding from the fossil fuel industry ahead of an impor...
The Politics of New York's Ban on Gas-Powered Cars
September 15, 2021 19:47 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBNew York's new governor, Kathy Hochul (D), just took a major step toward an all-electric future by signing a bill that would ban the sale of gas-powered cars in her state by 2035. On this episode of our weekly environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, we talk with Bloomberg Law's New York correspondent, Keshia Clukey, about why Hochul signed this bill so quickly after taking office. Keshia also talks about how lawmakers are hoping their neighbors enact similar laws so that New Yorkers aren'...
Hurricane Ida Walloped Gulf's Energy Infrastructure
September 01, 2021 20:21 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBThe Gulf Coast region is crucial for the energy industry, with a huge portion of the country's oil refining and petrochemical manufacturing clustered there. And now it's reeling after a direct hit from Hurricane Ida. On this episode of our environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, we talk to two Bloomberg News energy reporters about how the region is handling this. Kevin Crowley talks about the risks now faced by the Gulf Coast's petroleum industry, while Josh Saul fills us in on the slow a...
Infrastructure Bill Reignites Superfund Tax Debate
August 25, 2021 20:10 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBThe Senate-passed infrastructure bill aims to revive nineties-era taxes on chemical companies and importers to pay for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated sites. While the bill still needs to clear the House, the chemicals industry claims the Superfund tax provisions are unfair because they impact a small subset of the industrial sectors that contributed to pollution. But advocates say the return of the “polluters pay” doctrine is a step in the right direction to clean up tox...
Reining in the Wild, Wild West of ESG Investing
July 28, 2021 20:04 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBESG investing has quickly grown into an important institution on Wall Street. But what types of rules govern whether an investment can tout itself as good for the environment, social justice, or corporate governance? It may surprise you, but there aren't that many. On today's episode of our weekly podcast, Parts Per Billion, we hear from Bloomberg Law reporter Andrew Ramonas about why this is the case and about the efforts underway in both the public and private sectors to establish a stro...
Air Pollution Rules Buckle Under Brutal Heat Waves
July 14, 2021 19:18 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBExtreme heat waves are breaking out all across the country, and some environmental activists are questioning whether this unprecedented summer is making the EPA's air pollution regulations obsolete. On today's episode of our environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law's Jennifer Hijazi explains how high heat can both trigger more pollutant emissions and also intensify the pollution already in the air. And she explains why the EPA's cap-and-trade system for managing these polluta...
Biden Climate Deadlines Come and Go With No Action
June 30, 2021 20:24 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBShortly after taking office, President Joe Biden gave his federal agencies numerous climate-related tasks to complete within the first few months of his presidency—like making a plan to buy more electric vehicles or stand up a youth-led climate corps. By and large, the agencies have accomplished few if any of these tasks so far. On today's episode of our weekly podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law White House reporter Courtney Rozen talks about why the executive branch is missing all ...
Struggling Coal States Take 'Woke' Neighbors to Court
June 16, 2021 18:57 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBIt's no secret that the coal industry is struggling, with renewable energy continuing to get cheaper and a glut of natural gas flooding the market. The governors of some coal-producing states are now trying to halt this downward spiral by taking their neighbors to court. On this episode of our environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law correspondent Tripp Baltz outlines the arguments these states are making. He says these Republican-led states are blaming the potential shutteri...
EV Tax Breaks Can Save Carmakers, Mich. Lawmaker Says
June 02, 2021 19:43 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBElectric vehicles have slowly been gaining market share over the past few decades. But Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) says car buyer tax credits that recently expired must be reinstated to accelerate this trend. On this episode of Parts Per Billion, our weekly environmental podcast, Kildee speaks with Bloomberg Tax's Kaustuv Basu about how Democrats in the House, Senate, and White House are crafting a bill that would not only bring back these tax credits but also change who can take advantage of...
Electric Truck Batteries Too Heavy for Rickety Roads
May 19, 2021 19:20 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBThe average road and bridge in the U.S. is in poor shape, and has been for some time. That could pose a serious obstacle for the makers of electric heavy-duty trucks—and for the states that have laws mandating their adoption in the coming decades. Currently, a battery that can power one of these trucks would add more than two tons to the weight the vehicle. And data about how much damage this could do to the country's highway infrastructure is spotty at best. On this week's episode, Bloomb...
The Other Powerful Joe—Manchin—Rules on Climate Change
May 05, 2021 19:43 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBIt's almost impossible for Democrats to pass any legislation through Congress without all 50 Democratic Senators signing on. That means Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), arguably the most conservative Democrat in the chamber, is very, very powerful. On this episode of our weekly environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, we talk to Bloomberg Government's Kellie Lunney, who recently traveled to the Mountain State to learn about what Manchin's constituents want him to do to on fossil fuels and othe...
'Tiger King' Suits: New Spin on Old Environmental Laws
April 21, 2021 20:30 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBThe Endangered Species Act typically wasn't used to go after people who run wild animal petting zoos. But that was before "Tiger King." Today on our weekly environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, Bloomberg Law's Maya Earls talks about how the Netflix show has led activist groups, and even some federal agencies, to think differently about how to use decades-old environmental statutes in new ways. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/...
What's Regan Going to Do and How Is He Going to Do It?
April 07, 2021 18:08 - 15 minutes - 14 MBMichael Regan is the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency and Bloomberg Law's Stephen Lee had an exclusive interview with him this week. On this episode of our weekly podcast, Parts Per Billion, Stephen tells us what he learned from speaking with Regan and about the background of this not very well known cabinet official. Stephen also talks about why Regan is prioritizing tighter limits on auto emissions, an about face from the policies of his predecessor. Learn more about your...
The Law Firm That Cashed in on Fossil Fuel Failures
March 24, 2021 18:44 - 12 minutes - 11.1 MBRecord-low prices gave the fossil fuel industry a horrible year financially in 2020. But Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm that handled a huge percentage of the industry's bankruptcy filings, made money hand over fist. On today's episode of Parts Per Billion, we hear from Bloomberg Law reporter Roy Strom, who analyzed a database of large bankruptcy filings and found that this firm soared above its rivals in 2020 thanks to the energy industry's slump. Learn more about your ad-choices at https...
Texas Freeze Led to Pollution, But Likely No Fines
March 10, 2021 18:45 - 12 minutes - 11.5 MBIndustrial sites in Texas spewed much more air pollution than normal as a result of the frigid temperatures there last month and the ensuing infrastructure failures. What kind of liability will these sites face from these emissions? Probably not much, according to Bloomberg Law's Jennifer Hijazi. The environmental reporter joins our weekly podcast, Parts Per Billion, to talk about the "act of God" provisions in state and federal air pollution regulations that shield emitters from penalties ...
Texas Energy May Stay the Course Even After Freeze
February 24, 2021 19:20 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBTo an outsider, it seems like the state of Texas now has no choice but to make huge changes to its energy policies, with last week's freeze-induced power outages and utility failures becoming nothing short of catastrophic. But Rachel Adams-Heard isn't too sure about that. The Bloomberg News energy reporter and Texas native says, after the state finishes cleaning up from this disaster, it may very well decide the costs of bolstering its power grid against another deep freeze are simply too h...
Florida and Georgia Fight Winner-Take-All Water War
February 17, 2021 19:09 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBThe first argument on the Supreme Court's docket when it returns Feb. 22 from its winter break Feb. 22 is a fight over water rights between Florida and Georgia. Bloomberg Law Florida correspondent Jennifer Kay says the dispute is so contentious that, if the states were sovereign countries, warfare might be the only way to resolve it. The heart of the conflict is a watershed that spans across both states. Florida says Georgia is using so much freshwater that it's making a famous oyster habi...