Milton knocks out power to 3 million

GRID: More than 3 million Floridians are without power after Hurricane Milton makes landfall, striking while many parts of the Southeast are still reeling from Hurricane Helene. (New York Times, Associated Press, Inside Climate News)

ACTIVISM:

• Three Louisiana community groups ask a federal appeals court to revive their lawsuit seeking to pause construction of new chemical plants near two majority-Black districts in ​“Cancer Alley.” (WWNO)
• Black women lead a group of Louisiana nonprofits and grassroots organizations fighting the expansion of oil, gas and petrochemicals. (Floodlight)

CLIMATE:

• Veteran meteorologists say they’ve never seen anything like this year’s hurricane season, which featured the earliest Category 5 storm on record, a month-long quiet stretch, and then five more hurricanes between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6. (Associated Press)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say the agency is leaving hundreds of staff members in western North Carolina instead of deploying them to Florida for Hurricane Milton. (Asheville Watchdog)

EMISSIONS: An analysis finds industrial plants in the Houston area have caused more than 100 unauthorized air pollution events so far this year. (Environmental Health News)

OIL & GAS:

• Since the passage of a 2017 law, Texas officials have taken over more than a third of civil penalty cases pressed by local governments, nonprofits and individuals against Houston’s petrochemical industry, often settling out of court for what critics say are piddling amounts. (Houston Landing)
• Energy producers in Florida’s central Gulf Coast shut down oil rigs, terminals and pipelines ahead of Hurricane Milton. (S&P Global)

SOLAR:

• A federal judge declines to stop a lawsuit against Alabama Power challenging its charges to rooftop solar panel owners, which advocates say is slowing the transition to renewables. (Alabama Reflector)
• Dominion Energy increasingly uses agrivoltaics and cultivates honeybees around its Virginia solar farms, which research shows offer economic and environmental benefits. (VPM)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Wawa, Buc-ee’s and other gas station chains that are part of a national electric vehicle charging partnership criticize Florida for lagging on installing federally funded chargers. (News Service of Florida)
• Florida officials warn residents to move their electric vehicles to higher ground during Hurricane Milton to avoid saltwater exposure that could lead to a fire. (Washington Post)
• Texas researchers call for transportation infrastructure upgrades to accommodate heavier electric vehicles. (KBTX)

INSURANCE: Hurricane Milton is poised to wallop Florida’s already fragile insurance market by causing billions of dollars in damage. (Politico)

NUCLEAR: The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take up a long-running dispute over a company’s plan to store nuclear waste in Texas, which could have sweeping implications for how the U.S. deals with its growing stock of radioactive waste. (Marfa Public Radio)

POLITICS:

• The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency complains that rampant misinformation is dissuading survivors of Hurricane Helene from seeking help and damaging morale among responders. (Politico)
• The one-two punch of hurricanes Helene and Milton is pushing federal relief programs toward financial instability. (Politico)