MONTGOMERY, Alabama, Dec. 8 -- The Alabama Department of Labor issued the following news release: Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington has announced that the Alabama Department of Labor's Abandoned Mine Land Program (ADOL AML) will take applications for a fifth round of $10 million in grant funding available for Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) projects. Applications will be accepted from January 10, 2022, through April 8, 2022. Applications received after close of busine  more

MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 8 -- The Australian Council of Trade Unions issued the following news release: The Senate Select Committee on Job Security has heard appalling evidence in Newcastle this week detailing the extent of the insecure work crisis in this country. Almost three quarters (72%) of NSW TAFE teachers are hired on a casual basis, and not one of those casual teachers received an offer for a permanent role under the Morrison Government's ineffectual casual conversion law. Out of t  more

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 8 -- Babcock and Wilcox Enterprises, a provider of energy and environmental technologies and services for the power and industrial markets, issued the following news on Dec. 7, 2021: Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) (NYSE: BW) announced today that its B&W Renewable segment has received a $24 million contract for a new-build waste-to-energy project in Europe. B&W announced it had received a limited notice to proceed on the engineering portion of the contract in June 2021. B&W Renewable   more

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (TNSOps) -- Public Citizen issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: Activists today delivered more than 27,000 petition signatures asking American International Group (AIG)'s CEO Peter Zaffino to make major changes in how the company approaches climate change. The petition delivery was part of an action where protesters dumped coal outside of AIG's headquarters, and an activist dressed as Cindy Lou Who asks CEO Peter Zaffino to end fossil fuel insurance. "As one of t  more

BASEL, Switzerland, Dec. 8 -- Current Sustainable and Renewable Energy Reports, a peer-reviewed journal that says it features fuels, transportation and power sector, environment, energy-water nexus, energy-food-agriculture, waste streams and urban planning, published research articles on the following topics in its December 2021 edition: * Data-Driven Modeling of Operating Characteristics of Hydroelectric Generating Units * Decarbonising Industry via BECCS: Promising Sectors, Challenges, and T  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that global oil production will increase more quickly than demand in 2022, pushing crude oil and petroleum product prices lower than in late 2021. Brent crude oil prices averaged $81 per barrel in November, but they closed the month at $70 per barrel. In its December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO)  more

LONDON, England, Dec. 8 -- The European Union's European Bank for Reconstruction and Development issued the following news: With raising energy prices across Europe, Poles will have the chance to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and cut their energy bills, thanks to a landmark scheme agreed between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Poland's major lender BNP Paribas Bank Polska (BNPPL). The EBRD is extending a local currency loan of PLN 450 million (aro  more

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Dec. 8 -- The Florida Public Service Commission issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) today ordered Duke Energy Florida, LLC (DEF) to credit customers $7.2 million for replacement power costs caused by its forced outage at Crystal River Unit 4 (CR4). A forced outage of CR4 was necessary from January 2021 through April 2021 after the plant operator's three attempts to synchronize the unit to the grid failed. These ac  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Rep. Alma S. Adams, D-North Carolina, chair of the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, issued the following opening statement at a hearing on Dec. 2, 2021, entitled "Strengthening the Safety Net for Injured Workers": * * * Today's hearing is an opportunity to discuss how to strengthen workers' compensation programs which play an essential role in assisting workers disabled or fallen ill from their job. When Americans are hurt on the job, worke  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections issued the following testimony by Rep. Christopher J. Godfrey director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs at the Labor Department, at a hearing on Dec. 2, 2021, entitled "Strengthening the Safety Net for Injured Workers": * * * I am grateful for the opportunity to testify about how the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) is working to strengthen t  more

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news release: The killing of 14 civilians by Indian security forces in Nagaland state highlights the need for the Indian government to immediately repeal the abusive Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Human Rights Watch said today. The law gives armed forces deployed in internal conflicts broad powers to use lethal force and provides soldiers with effective immunity from prosecution. On December 4, 2021, soldiers from the 21 Para Specia  more

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (TNSPol) -- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund issued the following news on Dec. 7, 2021: LDF, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Vermilion NAACP Branch sent a letter to the Abbeville, Louisiana City Council regarding compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and maps currently up for consideration by the Council. The letter urges the City Council to delay adopting a new redistricting plan until it has sought and considered public input. The curre  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 -- Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, issued the following news release on Dec. 7, 2021: In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper appeared at a virtual Axios event today to discuss the clean energy provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and what it means for Colorado and for the country. Hickenlooper was part of the bipartisan group of 22 senators who negotiated and wrote the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which is the largest climate change bill  more

ATLANTA, Georgia, Dec. 8 (TNSPol) -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release: Sierra Club filed an appeal with the Georgia Supreme Court disputing a lower court's ruling that Georgia Power can collect billions from customers for coal ash cleanup. This case concerns who should pay the ever increasing costs to clean up Georgia Power's toxic, leaking coal ash ponds after decades of unsafe and imprudent coal ash disposal practices: Georgia Power itself or Georgia Power's existing and fut  more

STANFORD, California, Dec. 8 (TNSJou) -- The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment issued the following news release: For some, visions of a future powered by clean, renewable energy are clouded by fears of blackouts driven by intermittent electricity supplies. Those fears are misplaced, according to a new Stanford University study that analyzes grid stability under multiple scenarios in which wind, water and solar energy resources power 100% of U.S. energy needs for all purposes. The pa  more

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 8 -- U.S. Embassy in Greece issued following remarks by Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt at the 32nd Greek Economic Summit, and Fireside Chat with Nikolaos Bakatselos, President American Chamber of Commerce: * * * Ambassador Pyatt: Kalispera sas. Nikos, Elias, thank you for inviting me to speak at this year's Greek Economic Summit. This is my sixth summit and the second that you've managed to pull off during a global pandemic, so congratulations for that. And I mention this be  more

ATHENS, Greece, Dec. 8 -- U.S. Embassy in Greece issued following remarks on Dec. 7, 2021, by Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt at the ATHENA: * * * It's great to be back here at the Hellenic Air Force Academy to join you for this important discussion on how we can work together to strengthening stability, security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. And I want to start this morning by thanking our outstanding allies from the Ministry of Defense, of course Deputy Minister Chard  more