NORTH SYDNEY, Australia, March 10 -- The Australian Industry Group issued the following news release: "The 2028 closure of Victoria's Yallourn Power Station announced by EnergyAustralia is a major transition for the State, the energy market and the Latrobe Valley - but one that can be managed smoothly," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today. "Australia's coal power fleet has underpinned our economy and everyday lives for many decades. But these   more

WASHINGTON, March 10 (TNSGra) -- Chesapeake Conservancy issued the following news release: Defenders of Wildlife and Chesapeake Conservancy have made a dataset available for the first time that will benefit the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and will have implications far beyond. This project was funded by a grant from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund, Inc. Using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite imagery, the organizations have mapped ground-mounted solar arrays -   more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 10 -- Earthjustice issued the following statement on March 9, 2021: * * * The Biden administration's Department of Interior announced it will begin its comprehensive review of the nation's federal fossil fuel program, starting with a forum to be held on March 25. The following is a statement from Drew Caputo, Earthjustice vice-president of litigation for Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans: "The Biden-Harris administration committed to tackling the climate crisis and  more

NEW YORK, March 10 (TNSRes) -- The Environmental Defense Fund issued the following news release on March 9, 2021: With primary school children returning to classrooms this week, campaigners are warning that thousands of children are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution because their schools are located close to a major road. New research released today by Environmental Defense Fund Europe (EDF Europe) shows that in London alone, 47,500 children attend state primary schools which are l  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 9 -- The North Carolina Justice Center issued the following news on March 8, 2021: Despite last week's passage of legislation allocating nearly $500 million for emergency rent and utility assistance, hundreds of thousands of struggling families in North Carolina will remain at risk of eviction and disconnection from water and energy service if further action is not taken before the end of the month, advocates said today in separate letters to Gov. Roy Cooper and t  more

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources issued the following testimony by Tracy Stone-Manning, senior advisor for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, as part of a virtual hearing entitled "Modernizing Energy Development Laws for the Benefit of Taxpayers, Communities, and the Environment" on March 9, 2021: * * * Thank you for inviting me to testify today regarding "Modernizing Energy Development Laws for the Benefit o  more

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources issued the following testimony by Brian Prest, economist and fellow at Resources for the Future, as part of a virtual hearing entitled "Modernizing Energy Development Laws for the Benefit of Taxpayers, Communities, and the Environment" on March 9, 2021: * * * My name is Brian Prest, and I am an economist and fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF), an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research i  more

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia, March 9 (TNSPer) -- The University of Virginia's School of Law issued the following news: Mark C. Jefferson has been named the inaugural assistant dean for diversity, equity and belonging at the University of Virginia School of Law. He begins his role March 29. Jefferson previously served as assistant dean of community engagement and equity at Harvard Law School, after joining the school in a director role in 2017. Before that, he was assistant director of admissions  more

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, March 10 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory issued the following news: A NETL-supported project by Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI) has demonstrated its capabilities to produce rare earth element (REE) concentrates using available coal ash resources from Appalachia, providing a potential domestic source of these critical minerals and a means of local environmental remediation. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL have priorit  more

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- The National Wildlife Federation issued the following news release: The Biden administration has taken an important step in protecting bird species by scrapping a controversial legal opinion that gutted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act's protections for hundreds of species of migratory birds. The Interior Department is expected to soon issue a new proposal to revoke the rule based on that interpretation - which was ruled illegal by a court in a lawsuit brought by the Nation  more

WASHINGTON, March 9 -- The National Wildlife Federation issued the following news release: Responsible development of U.S. offshore wind power will be vital for the transition to a clean energy economy, creating jobs and ensuring a healthy future for people and wildlife alike. In a critical milestone for President Biden's climate agenda, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a final environmental review of the Vineyard Wind project. If approved, the 800-megawatt project off the coast of   more

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- Rep. Michael Doyle, D-Pennsylvania, issued the following news release: U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA-18) was joined by Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16), and Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03) in introducing the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act. This bipartisan legislation would create a standalone investment tax credit (ITC) for energy storage technologies for utilities, businesses, and homes. "The Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deplo  more

QUEENS, New York, March 10 -- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, issued the following news release: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and eight other members of the New York City delegation sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, expressing concerns about NRG Energy's Astoria Replacement Project. NRG is currently seeking to update the 50-year-old turbine at their Astoria-area power plant with new natural gas-fired po  more

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following floor statement on March 9, 2021, regarding the nomination of Rep. Marcia Fudge as Housing and Urban Development secretary: * * * U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - took to the Senate Floor to urge his colleagues to confirm Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as Secretary of the Departme  more

WASHINGTON, March 10 -- Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, issued the following floor statement on March 9, 2021: * * * U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - took to the Senate Floor to urge his colleagues to confirm Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Video of the remarks can be found here: https://www.banking.senate.gov/download/sb-floor-video Brown's remarks on   more

NEW YORK, March 9 -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release on March 8, 2021: Wells Fargo became the last major U.S. bank -- following Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi, and Goldman Sachs -- to make an explicit commitment to achieve net zero financed emissions by 2050. JPMorgan Chase also previously pledged to align its financing with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Wells Fargo also committed to disclose its financed emissions and set interim emissions reduction targets "for se  more