Advocates pitch transit fare holiday instead of gas tax break

TRANSPORTATION: As White House officials meet with oil refiners today, climate advocates say the Biden administration should push for a transit fare holiday instead of giving drivers a break on gas taxes. (Reuters, Washington Post)

ALSO:
• Experts say a federal gas tax holiday is unlikely to lower prices because it would increase demand while also hurting federal highway funding. (Guardian)
• High gas prices prompt some Americans to start driving less by consolidating trips, carpooling, taking mass transit, or working remotely. (Wall Street Journal)
• Sprawling, car-centric Los Angeles may consider banning the construction of new gasoline stations before the end of the year. (Grist)

CONGRESS:
• A last-minute, behind-the-scenes effort by Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush adds $100 million in new clean energy funding to an appropriations bill. (Intercept)
• U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to electric vehicle tax credits and direct payments to clean energy developers are the latest sticking points in Democrats’ negotiations over a climate-focused reconciliation bill. (E&E News, Bloomberg)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The Biden administration quietly leans on Telsa to help craft a new policy that would allow electric vehicles to benefit from renewable fuel subsidies. (Reuters)
• Volkswagen gears up to make an electric SUV in Tennessee as a regional board considers awarding it a $50 million grant. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
• A Virginia law directing agencies to consider a vehicle’s lifetime costs instead of sticker price could accelerate electrification of its state fleet. (Virginia Mercury)

CLIMATE:
• A New York shoreline restoration program could become a model for coastal resiliency in areas experiencing sea-level rise and increased storms. (Inside Climate News)
• Most of the contiguous U.S. last week experienced higher-than-normal nighttime temperatures associated with climate change. (Washington Post)
• Air conditioning proliferates in Colorado cities due to climate change-caused warming, increasing buildings’ emissions and straining the grid. (Denverite)

PIPELINES: Over 2,600 gas pipeline leaks since 2010 have killed 122 people and cost states more than $4 billion in damages and other costs, a new report by environmental groups finds. (Reuters)

POLLUTION:
• An environmental group’s study finds oil and gas development in New Mexico disproportionately affects people of color, low-income communities, children and elderly people. (Carlsbad Current-Argus)
• Louisiana environmental justice groups eye a provision in federal legislation to require assessing the cumulative health impact that industrial projects have on residents in areas such as the state’s ​“Cancer Alley” corridor. (WWNO)

JUST TRANSITION: Navajo Nation leaders call on Arizona regulators to approve a proposed $100 million Just Transition fund to offset impacts of coal power plant closures. (ABC4)

COMMUNITY POWER: New Hampshire regulators are expected to propose final rules for the state’s community power law that will let municipalities procure electricity for residents and businesses. (Energy News Network)

UTILITIES: Oregon utilities use big data analytics and artificial intelligence to forecast weather and fire risks, better track their grids, and model potential outages. (Oregonian)

BIOGAS: Turning trash into renewable biogas can have some of the same downsides as fossil fuels, but it doesn’t have to, experts say. (Gizmodo)

NUCLEAR: California’s energy crunch has spurred an unexpected push to save the state’s last nuclear plant, which was scheduled to close in 2025. (Guardian)

COMMENTARY: Reducing large commercial and residential buildings’ energy usage is a key first step cities can take to reduce their carbon emissions, says an analyst with a clean energy advisory firm. (Energy News Network)