EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
Court tosses out landmark youth climate lawsuit; US expands credits and fast EV-charging stations; protections for endangered gray wolves lifted; and the pros and cons of carbon credits.
About EarthxNews:
A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.
EarthX & EarthXtra
Love Our Planet.
The Official Network of Earth Day.
About Us:
At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.
EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.
EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
Follow Us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxmedia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxmedia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthXMedia/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthxmedia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarthXMedia
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/earthxmedia
How to watch:
EarthX - Cable:
- Spectrum
- AT&T U-verse (1267)
- DIRECTV (267)
- Philo
- FuboTV
EarthXtra - Streaming:
- Plex
- Fire TV
- Xumo
- Sling
#EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #Conservation #EarthX
Court tosses out landmark youth climate lawsuit; US expands credits and fast EV-charging stations; protections for endangered gray wolves lifted; and the pros and cons of carbon credits.
About EarthxNews:
A weekly program dedicated to covering the stories that shape the planet. Featuring the latest updates in energy, environment, tech, climate, and more.
EarthX & EarthXtra
Love Our Planet.
The Official Network of Earth Day.
About Us:
At EarthX, we believe our planet is a pretty special place. The people, landscapes, and critters are likely unique to the entire universe, so we consider ourselves lucky to be here. We are committed to protecting the environment by inspiring conservation and sustainability, and our programming along with our range of expert hosts support this mission. We’re glad you’re with us.
EarthX is a media company dedicated to inspiring people to care about the planet. We take an omni channel approach to reach audiences of every age through its robust 24/7 linear channel distributed across cable and FAST outlets, along with dynamic, solution oriented short form content on social and digital platforms. EarthX is home to original series, documentaries and snackable content that offer sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. EarthX is the only network that delivers entertaining and inspiring topics that impact and inspire our lives on climate and sustainability.
EarthX Website: https://earthxmedia.com/
Follow Us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthxmedia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthxmedia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthXMedia/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthxmedia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarthXMedia
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/earthxmedia
How to watch:
EarthX - Cable:
- Spectrum
- AT&T U-verse (1267)
- DIRECTV (267)
- Philo
- FuboTV
EarthXtra - Streaming:
- Plex
- Fire TV
- Xumo
- Sling
#EarthDay #Environment #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #Conservation #EarthX
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00a landmark kids case on climate issues is getting thrown out in court. What the kids say they're
00:08doing next to protect their rights to grow up in a clean world and still nervous about purchasing an
00:15EV because it's too hard to find a place to charge. It's about to get a whole lot easier
00:20thanks to a massive push to build more charging stations across America. Plus the endangered
00:26gray wolf no longer endangered, at least not on paper. Why the species was removed from the
00:33endangered species list.
00:41Hello and welcome to EarthX News where we focus on sustainability, conservation and the environment.
00:48I'm Christina Thompson. Let's get into some of the biggest headlines facing our planet.
00:52A landmark kids climate lawsuit is getting dismissed. A U.S. appeals court decided to throw
00:58it out for good. The suit filed by 21 young people claims that the U.S. government's energy policies
01:05violate their rights to be protected from climate change. The courts ultimately decided that it's
01:11not up to them to mandate broad policy changes. That's the job of Congress and the executive branch.
01:17While the young plaintiffs had trimmed the lawsuit to only focus on a declaration that their rights
01:22have been violated, the San Francisco judges still threw it out. An attorney from the nonprofit
01:28For Our Children's Trust, who is representing the youth group, is calling this, quote,
01:33a tragic and unjust ruling. But saying it's not over, the group is considering asking the circuit
01:40court to rehear their case in front of a larger panel of judges. Cleaner flying?
01:44The Biden administration announced new moves to make aviation cleaner, specifically for how fuel
01:51producers can qualify for tax credits as part of a program to increase production of more
01:56sustainable jet fuel. The guidelines are not yet final, but they allow corn-based ethanol to be
02:01part of the answer. A big part of the debate is how using corn for fuel could impact our food supply.
02:07Critics argue that if more cropland is used to grow fuel, then we need to either accept higher food prices
02:13or develop even more land. Scientists also say ethanol can be more carbon-intensive than gasoline.
02:20The Biden administration's proposal also requires farmers who produce corn-based ethanol
02:25to use agricultural techniques that can increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
02:30If you're thinking of getting an electric vehicle anytime soon, now might just be the time.
02:35The United States is making it even more attainable to own an EV by expanding the eligibility
02:41for tax credits. The credits range from $3,750 to $7,500 for new EVs. There's also a $4,000 credit
02:51for used ones. The goal is for this to incentivize more people to buy EVs, helping the Biden administration
02:57reach its goal of half new vehicle sales being electric by 2030. This year, the credits are available
03:04from the moment you sign the title from an authorized dealer, rather than waiting for an income tax
03:10refund. Credit qualification depends on a person's income, the price of the car, and the battery
03:15makeup. To get the credits, EVs must be assembled in North America. One reason why someone might not
03:22purchase an EV is charging stations, or the general lack thereof. But the U.S. is working to fix this.
03:28We now have an EV charging station for every 15 gas stations. EV charging station locations have
03:35grown in the first three months of the year, with now more than 8,000 stations, 6,000 of those being
03:42Tesla, compared to 120,000 gas stations. About 600 public fast charging stations came online over
03:49these three months. That's a 7.6% increase over the end of 2023. This is, in part, made possible
03:56because of the Biden administration's National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, a $5 billion
04:02plan to fill in the blanks in the charging map. Popular food stop shops are also dabbling in the
04:08EV charge game. Ten opened at Bucky's convenience store, and another nine at Wawa's. And a series of
04:15new EV features is coming to Google Maps. Google has announced it's rolling out several new tools to
04:21help EV drivers find all of these new and existing charging stations. In a recent blog post, the Big Tech
04:27Company outlined several updates, which include a tool to help drivers find nearby chargers with
04:33real-time information about availability and charging speed, the ability to find charging stops on longer
04:39road trips, and more detailed instructions about how to find chargers within parking lots and garages.
04:44The rollout comes just after a recent poll found range anxiety remains a significant barrier for EV
04:51sales, especially for drivers who did not own a home. According to the data from the Washington Post
04:57and the University of Maryland, roughly half of people who did not drive an EV said they felt finding
05:03a place to charge would be extremely or very difficult. President Biden is moving to expand two national
05:10monuments in the state of California to include tens of thousands of acres in newly protected land.
05:16The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument will grow by more than 13,000 acres, while the San Gabriel
05:23Mountains National Monument will add over 100,000 acres. These new boundaries will include a range of
05:30important historical, geological, and botanical sites, including sites sacred to the local Native American
05:36communities. The effort was helped along by California's state lawmakers and tribal organizations,
05:42who are also calling for three other national monument sites across California. More expansion and more
05:48monuments helped the administration's 30 by 30 pledge, which seeks to conserve 30 percent of America's
05:54lands and waters by the year 2030. Turning to wildlife news, the U.S. House voted to end federal protections for
06:02gray wolves. The lower chamber approved the bill that would remove them from the endangered species list
06:07across the lower 48 states. Supporters of the measure praised the move, arguing wolf populations have
06:13recovered and ending safeguards should be celebrated as a conservation success, while critics argue that
06:19the species still needs help. And if protections are lifted, hunters will again push wolves to near extinction.
06:26The White House issued a statement warning that the Biden administration opposes this bill.
06:32A lot of work is being done to protect a tiny inland shorebird in the U.S., which in turn could also
06:38help save the Great Salt Lake in the process. A group of environmentalists and scientists have filed
06:43a petition to list the Wilson's fallow rope as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. To save the bird,
06:50activists are also pushing to keep the country's largest saline lake safe and healthy. Conservationists
06:57say the Great Salt Lake in Utah is vital to the shorebird's health, as the animal relies on it for
07:02food when migrating to South America for the winter. Because of water diversions, primarily for agriculture,
07:08the Great Salt Lake fell to its lowest level in 2022, temporarily becoming too salty for the bird's main
07:15food source to survive. The brief rise in salinity levels sparked concerns among conservationists,
07:21who explained that the population of the Wilson's fallow rope has dropped approximately 70 percent
07:26since the 1980s because of extensive habitat destruction, water diversions, and persistent
07:33drought in the Great Salt Lake. As a listed species, regulatory measures to protect Wilson's fallow rope
07:39should be put into place and impact the rest of the highly interconnected lake system.
07:44The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 90 days to review the petition, though it often takes much
07:49longer to determine whether a listing is warranted. If it is, the federal agency will then conduct its own
07:5512-month study on whether the species needs protection, a process that can take years to complete.
08:01Turning to international news, a British court is sending the government back to work
08:07to hash out a new climate plan. In a recent decision, London's High Court found the country's
08:12current carbon budget delivery plan to be unlawful, and that officials relied on vague
08:17and unquantified information to set carbon reduction measures. The court's judgment continued
08:22that carbon budgets set by the government last year to meet the U.K.'s target of net zero by 2050
08:28were set without evidence they could even be achieved. Now, the U.K. Energy Secretary will
08:33be expected to draw up a revised plan within a year, ensuring the country achieves its legally binding
08:39carbon budgets and its pledge to cut emissions by more than two-thirds over the next six years,
08:45or by 2030. The motion comes after three environmental organizations took legal action over the targets
08:51last year, having successfully challenged the previous budgets set by the conservative government
08:57in 2022. The legal decision in the U.K. comes as climate campaigners have increasingly turned to
09:03the law to force governments to move more quickly on tackling emissions. In April, Europe's top human
09:10rights court ruled that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do
09:15enough to combat climate change in a decision that could set a precedent for future climate lawsuits.
09:22The G7 nations, including the U.S., have agreed to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2035.
09:30However, the deal has been criticized for containing too many caveats, which could allow G7 members
09:35to keep coal power plants running beyond that deadline. According to the International Energy Agency,
09:41coal accounted for more than 11 percent of total energy supply in the U.S. in 2022. Giles Gibson reports.
09:49A historic moment in the fight against climate change, with G7 energy ministers in the Italian
09:55city of Turin setting a deadline for phasing out coal. But the wording of their agreement includes
10:01significant room for maneuver. It describes the end of, quote, unabated coal power generation,
10:07meaning countries could still keep coal-fired power stations running and capture their emissions.
10:13And, under certain conditions, some countries could push back the 2035 deadline.
10:22Italy's Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Frattin, who hosted the talks in Turin,
10:27defended the significance of the deal.
10:30Our documents, for the very first time, include a deadline, let's say, when possible, wherever
10:39possible. In other words, this means that G7 countries undertake to phase out the use of coal
10:45without jeopardizing the various countries' economic and social equilibrium.
10:52Climate change activists say the problem isn't the wording of the agreement,
10:55it's the lack of urgency. Environmental NGO Greenpeace says phasing out coal by 2035 is
11:02too little too late, insisting it needs to happen by the end of this decade instead.
11:08The G7 says the deal can be a bridge between last year's COP28 climate change conference
11:13and COP29 in November. At those talks, the G7 could try to get two of the world's biggest users of coal,
11:21China and India to phase out their coal-fired power stations much sooner.
11:26For EarthX, I'm Giles Gibson.
11:29Giles Gibson, thank you.
11:31Coming up, we'll speak with a carbon market analyst about the pros and cons of carbon credits.
11:37Stay tuned, that discussion is just ahead on EarthX News.
11:51Welcome back. Carbon credits, they're a mechanism devised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
12:12and a strategy many companies around the world are using as a way to achieve net zero by 2030.
12:18Still, the carbon credit system has been met with both criticism and praise. Proponents of carbon
12:24credits say they lead to measurable, verifiable emission reductions. Meantime, critics argue the
12:30activities underlying the carbon credit's value are untrustworthy or faulty and, in some cases,
12:36lead to even higher emissions. Joining us now to discuss is fund manager and author of Planet Ponzi,
12:43Mitch Feierstein. Mitch, thanks for coming in.
12:45Thanks for having me today. Can you explain what carbon credits are and why they're such a big deal?
12:51Look, I've been involved in the creation and development of new products in the financial
12:56markets for several decades. And I was actively involved in the carbon credit markets and the
13:01creation of carbon credits. Now, there are two different markets. There's a regulatory market
13:07market where big companies are required to reduce their carbon emissions. And the market that we're
13:14focusing on right now is a voluntary carbon market. And I wrote the voluntary carbon standard and created
13:19that. So you have two different types of credits now for reducing, assessing your carbon footprint,
13:26which is what a corporation does or an individual can do. And then they go to the markets and look to
13:32purchase a carbon credit. That's what you look to do that offsets and mitigates the carbon that you
13:39emit into the environment, whether you're taking a flight or whether it's your other types of
13:44emissions throughout your activities. There are ways to do that with carbon footprint calculators on the
13:51internet. The issue that comes in is the manner in which people assess what type of carbon credits you have.
13:59And what I tried to do was create a commoditized asset class of gold standard crediting.
14:07There are some critics about carbon credits. So what are the controversies surrounding it?
14:13The controversies around carbon credits basically come in when there are different systems that
14:18evaluate the worth or permanence of a credit. So the system that I had set up to create the
14:26commoditized asset class had five components to it. You needed to ensure that the credits were real,
14:33that they were quantifiable, how much carbon or carbon CO2 emission equivalents you'd be offsetting.
14:40Three, the permanence of those credits. And four, that they were independently verified and certified by a
14:48scientific agency of high repute like SGS or Donorsky Veritas. And number, the last item being
14:57stored in a registry that's beyond reproach, such as the Bank of New York, where we set up a carbon
15:03credit registry, which was really important because each carbon credit that was generated after being
15:08verified and certified was turned into a certificate. So it was a serial number. So there would be no double
15:15selling. Once it was sold, it was permanently retired. So you could actually find a audit trail.
15:22The issue that you get into is when you have less than scrupulous people selling carbon credits without a
15:28registry or without financial backing, the proper financial backing, you know, you don't have any way to
15:36enforce in case the carbon credits were never actually
15:39in existence or they've sold them twice. Those are a couple of the issues that occur in the market.
15:48So within the system of carbon credits, what are the benefits of it and do they work well?
15:54Well, carbon credits, the benefits you can mitigate or offset. They're carbon offsets. You can offset
16:00your carbon footprint. What you need to do is do an assessment of how much carbon
16:05you use in either your business or day to day from driving, driving your car to taking flights
16:10to how much garbage you throw away. I mean, there are ways to calculate that and you can offset
16:15the carbon footprint that you have. And businesses do that. And that's what getting to net zero means.
16:21You've got to take into account that, I mean, the easiest and most bulletproof way along with carbon
16:28credits is energy efficiency. I think that that's one of the tools in the toolkit to achieve net zero.
16:35I mean, there are ways that you can achieve net zero without hurting the economy. And that's a
16:39really important thing. Carbon credits, from the regulatory perspective, like a lot of the car
16:45producers have limits now by certain states. And so they use carbon credits to reduce or mitigate
16:54the carbon output from their products and services. So would you say that's an area where there's common
17:00ground for those who are both for and against carbon credits? Are there other common ground areas?
17:05I think that there's common ground as long as you have a great standard. I mean,
17:08I think the standard that I wrote was pretty bulletproof, but I think you get into dodgy credits
17:15and then you have a problem. And if you deal with an organization that doesn't have a high capital base,
17:20you have no way to enforce it in a court should there be something that's a little dodgy with it.
17:27Mitch Beierstein, thank you so much for coming on.
17:29Thanks for having me. Coming up, a group of citizen scientists helping a colony of penguins in
17:35Australia find better protections from the elements. Stay tuned. That story is just ahead on EarthX News.
17:49Welcome back. Volunteers are working to preserve a penguin colony in Australia. Sarah Williamson has that story.
18:14What's black and white and red all over? A sunburnt penguin in Australia. Every opportunity to make
18:24it a cooler environment for the penguins so they can nest successfully is what we're about. The heat
18:31waves that blanketed the west coast of Australia threatening the survival of this penguin colony. To help
18:37these special animals seek solace under the sweltering sun, these locals are lending a hand. I would hate
18:45to think that my grandchildren weren't here to see penguins and how lucky are we on our doorstep. I mean
18:50you've got the jewel of the crown here in Rockingham, you've got Shoalwater Islands Marine Park. Guided by
18:55scientists Palm Beach Rotary Club is building these nests fit for a king or in this case fairy with air vents
19:04and double glazed walls. These boxes are hopefully going to play a really an important role in helping
19:13this population adapt to climate change and hopefully recover in the future. For EarthX, I'm Sarah Williamson.
19:21Sarah Williamson, thank you. Two countries are joining forces in an effort to give Antarctic science
19:27a boost. New Zealand and Germany recently signed a memorandum of understanding to broaden connections
19:34between the two countries' marine and polar science institutes. Listen as New Zealand's foreign minister
19:39praise the partnership. This arrangement builds on decades of science cooperation between New Zealand
19:45and Germany. Our current projects provide uniquely valuable information about how the environment is
19:53responding to climate change. The two programs have already worked together on a number of scientific
19:59collaborations that contribute to a better understanding of how Antarctica will respond
20:04to environmental changes. The Antarctic Research Base deal comes after New Zealand said in February
20:10it was reassessing a proposed overhaul of its decades-old Antarctica base after talks with a construction
20:17firm stalled. It had initially announced plans to revamp the base about five years ago. Scientists
20:23are taking steps to better understand a rare species of shark. In a new fisheries study,
20:28scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are focusing their attention on the
20:34Pacific sleeper shark. Scientists say not much is known about this shark, but marine biologists add
20:41its slow growth and sluggish behavior make it highly vulnerable to overfishing and getting accidentally
20:47caught in fishermen's nets, contributing to their deaths and conservation concerns.
20:52Overall, researchers say the lack of data on the animal makes it challenging to protect and manage the
20:58species, but now scientists say the report has created a one-stop shop for information critical to
21:04conserving Alaska's largest shark. And before we leave you, divers are building a Noah's Ark of
21:11coral at a zoo in the Netherlands. Conservationists at the Berger Zoo say the project is meant to preserve
21:17populations of the endangered species just in case they die out in the wild. Scientists say corals have
21:24been under threat from a variety of factors, including environmental changes, overfishing and pollution,
21:31and the project would serve as a way to help aquatic organisms thrive. That's it for this edition of
21:36EarthX News. Please join us again next week. I'm Christina Thompson.
Be the first to comment