The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group
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Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
For this holiday weekend, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Prediction Center expects the heat wave spreading across South Texas and southern Florida to worsen throughout the weekend due to a sprawling heat dome centered over Mexico. The outer bands touching Texas and Florida are forecast to near 100°F with heat indices of 110°F or above into next week, making for "extreme" heat risk conditions. Stay cool out there!
For the summer through fall, NOAA weather forecasters predict above-normal hurricane activity during the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30). NOAA predicts a range of 17 to 25 named storms, with 4 to 7 expected to be category 3, 4, or 5 with winds topping 111 miles per hour. Several factors are cited for these results, including near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, La Nina conditions in the Pacific, and reduced Atlantic trade winds and wind shear.
In this week’s edition, we feature articles on inflation, river protection, conservation resources, changes in the energy sector, and more.
We hope you enjoy the read and let us know what you think! Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!
Thank you and have a great weekend!
April CPI Report Encouraging
Inflation grew less than expected in April 2024 with a 0.3% increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) compared to a projected 0.4% increase. The 12-month inflation reading was also the lowest since April 2021 at 3.4%. Shelter and energy costs continue to be a problem for the Federal Reserve with shelter costs seeing a 5.5% annual increase. Retail sales have also been weak this past year. The Fed target inflation rate of 2% continues to drive policy makers, who want to see more evidence of declining inflation before lowering rates. Read More.
Protection of New Mexico Rivers
New Mexico rivers have been named the most endangered rivers in the country. New Mexico not only holds this spot for just a single river, but all its rivers. American Rivers is a national non-profit organization responsible for listing endangered rivers annually, so that priority actions may be taken into consideration to improve the health and water of those identified. This effort aims to better American rivers that are vulnerable to pollution and dewatering. A partnership by Audubon Southwest and Amigos Bravo is helping advocate for the development of a state-base surface water-quality permitting program to protect New Mexico rivers. Read more here.
New Website is Resource Hub for Conservation and Restoration Activities Across the U.S.
The U.S. Government recently launched an information hub to support local conservation and restoration of the nation’s lands, waters, and wildlife that aims to help connect people with information, tools, resources, and opportunities to support conservation efforts. Conservation.gov was created through an interagency partnership between the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality. It serves as a public information hub where you can find information on volunteering, applying to financial assistance to support conservation, and more. Read more here and visit the website here.
Small Island Nations Secure Climate Ruling
Island nations in the Pacific, Caribbean, and West Indies have won a landmark international legal victory on pressuring governments to reduce carbon emissions. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ruled that countries must reduce emissions, and that adhering to the Paris agreement is insufficient. The ruling was that greenhouse gases count as marine pollution and that members of ITLOS have an obligation to reduce emissions. Read More..
EPA Finalizes Rules to Reduce Power Plant Emissions
The EPA issued new rules that aim to reduce carbon, mercury, and coal ash pollution from power plants. Coal power plants that plan to be active beyond 2038 and new gas power plants must control 90% of the carbon emissions and reduce toxic metals and mercury emissions by 67% and 70%, respectively. Additionally, coal power plants must reduce pollutants discharged by 660 million pounds per year and have to manage coal ash placed in areas that were unregulated at the federal level until now. Coal power plants have until 2032 to meet these standards and existing gas plants are not covered by these regulations. Read More.
Florida to Scrap Clean Energy Goals
House Bill 1645, a new law signed by the Governer last week, deleted the majority of mentions of climate change from state law. As a result, the Florida Office of Energy decided this week to repeal statewide goals/benchmarks for utilities to transition to cleaner energy by 2050. Read More.
Data Visualization of the Week
Record-Breaking Renewable Energy Year
2023 marked a record-breaking year in regards to renewable energy production based the Global Electricity Review 2024 by Ember. The previous year marked 30% of overall electricity produced worldwide by renewable energy, with solar and wind energy continuing to steadily increase in numbers by 23% and 10%, respectively. Hydroelectric dams still produce the most electricity per year but that has been slowly declining since 2015, and hitting a low in 2023. 2024 is set to increase in renewable energy use with positive projections for the future. Read more about the article and forecasts here. Image Source: Ember.
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