** Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Friday praised a gas pipeline project and called for an independent government agency to proceed “expeditiously” on it. Granholm’s letter in support of the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a project that has also been pushed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — comes amid tensions between the senator and administration on energy issues.
** Three large US banks face shareholder calls on Tuesday to wind down fossil fuel financing, a balancing act for them and their top investors who are also under political pressure from the other side to maintain support of the oil and gas industries. The resolutions were filed by climate-minded investor activists at Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Co.
** Climate change, spurred by the burning of fossil fuels, is the biggest danger to marine life including whales, a panel of Democratic officials and environmental groups said Monday.
** Chevron this week unveiled a new fuel that could be an affordable alternative to electric vehicles. The fuel is 40% less carbon intensive than conventional gasoline.
** A new report by OilPrice.com claims the real reason Tesla and other automakers have been slashing EV prices is that demand for all-electric cars has dropped like a rock. That’s a bold claim and should be backed by solid evidence, however no matter what evidence is used in the report some will take issue with the source and stop there.
** Liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Tellurian Inc said on Monday the U.S. energy regulator had authorized Line 200 and Line 300 of its $1.4 billion Driftwood natural gas transmission pipeline project. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Louisiana-based pipelines on April 21. The company expects the project to be operational in 2023 to meet the growing demand for natural gas in Southwest Louisiana.
** Americans’ support for nuclear energy is at its highest point in a decade, according to a new Gallup poll. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they strongly or somewhat favor the use of nuclear energy as a method of providing electricity in the U.S., while another 44 percent said they oppose the use of such energy.
** A bipartisan congressional group from Nevada and California asked the Biden administration Monday to fast-track federal funds for a private company to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
World
** Massive buoys located throughout the eastern and central tropical Pacific are in store for their first upgrade in nearly 30 years, which researchers believe could help with forecasting future El Niño or La Niña events. Currently, some 55 buoys are moored between South America and Oceania, which are tasked with observing water temperature, wind, relative humidity and air temperature.
** Glaciers lost more ice than average during 2022 and oceans continued rising and warming, according to an annual climate report released by the World Meteorological Organization – the weather and climate branch of the United Nations.
** The national gas system operators of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia agreed Tuesday to boost the transfer of natural gas from Azerbaijan using the existing infrastructure of their countries, which were until recently highly dependent on Russian energy.
