Other energy headlines

** The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has been racked by infighting for the past several weeks, with two of its Republican commissioners feuding with its Democratic chair, Arthur Traynor, in a bitter argument involving allegations of financial malfeasance by senior staffers and toxic workplace conduct reported POLITICO.

** Scott Yager is now environmental VP at the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. He previously worked as chief environmental counsel for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and is an EPA alum.

** A Chicago public health group calls on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to speed the state’s transition to electric vehicles to prevent hundreds of premature deaths from air pollution annually.

** The Biden administration plans new safety regulations for carbon pipelines after a 2020 incident in Mississippi became a rallying cry for opponents of multiple projects proposed through the Midwest.

** Cleanup is ongoing after more than 900 gallons of crude oil spilled near a wetland area in North Dakota. 

** Nearly a decade after dozens of Tennessee coal-ash cleanup workers sued over illnesses they believe were caused by exposure, none have made it to court, but workers and their families still wait for a consequential pair of court rulings.

** A 5-year-old solar startup in Arkansas commits a third of its profits to its customers based on how much carbon dioxide their solar systems mitigate.

** According to the most recent results from the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 88% of U.S. households use air conditioning (AC). Two-thirds of U.S. households use central AC or a central heat pump as their main AC equipment.

World

** European Union leaders reached an agreement on Monday over a Russian oil ban. The significant measure is aimed at punishing Russian leadership for its invasion of Ukraine. The ban will cut some 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of 2022.

** Gazprom said it has cut natural-gas supply to the Netherlands after Dutch trader GasTerra refused to pay in rubles. That’s after Russian President Putin has demanded natural gas payments in rubles.

** Iran urged Greece on Tuesday to cooperate to resolve a crisis over the seizure of ships without involving the United States, after Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf following the seizure of an Iranian vessel off Greece.

** Saudi Arabia is committed to supplying crude oil to China and interested in collaborating with the world’s No 2 economy on issues ranging from climate change to curbing inflation, says the Gulf state’s economic minister.

** The US and Europe face fuel shortages as summer vacations get underway, the head of the IEA told Der Spiegel. Fatih Birol warned of potential diesel, petrol, and kerosene shortages, and said the current energy crisis was worse than the 1970s.