** U.S. carbon emissions declined slightly in 2019, driven by reductions in coal
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Wednesday, January 8, 2020
The recently shut down Navajo Generating Station, formerly the largest coal plant in the West. Photo: Nathan Rupert, Flickr ([link removed])
U.S. carbon emissions dropped 2.1% in 2019 ([link removed]) due to an 18% reduction in coal power use last year, lowering carbon emissions in the power sector by 10% overall. According to the research firm that conducted the study, coal use has declined by almost 50% over the last decade ([link removed]) as prices have fallen for natural gas and renewable energy sources.
According to the Sierra Club, 61 coal power plants ([link removed]) have announced plans to shut down since the beginning of the Trump administration. In addition, 2019 saw the closure of one of the biggest, the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona ([link removed]) .
The benefits of transitioning away from reliance on coal power applies to human health as well, shown by a recent study indicating that 26,000 lives were saved ([link removed]) as a result of shutting down coal power plants in the United States.
Quick hits
** New Mexico's waterways are particularly vulnerable to rollbacks to the Clean Water Act
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
** Lawmaker inches closer to issuing subpoenas over documents justifying the BLM headquarters move
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The Hill ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** U.S. carbon emissions declined slightly in 2019 from a reduction in coal
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Vice ([link removed]) | The Atlantic ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Wyoming governor issues draft executive order to establish pronghorn, mule deer migration corridors
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Powell Tribune ([link removed])
** Study shows shutdown of U.S. coal power operations saved 26,000 lives
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The Guardian ([link removed])
** Wyoming ranchers worry new proposed high capacity water wells will drain their supply
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Wyoming Public Media ([link removed])
** Scientist bemoan inaction to protect sage-grouse populations
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WyoFile ([link removed])
** Dozens of Forest Service and Interior Department firefighters are helping fight Australia's wildfires
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Idaho Statesman ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
When you turn coal units off you see deaths go down. It’s something we can see in a tangible way. There is a cost to coal beyond the economics. We have to think carefully about where plants are sited, as well as how to reduce their pollutants.”
—Jennifer Burney ([link removed]) , University of California academic and carbon emissions study author
Picture this
** River otter family on the Gibbon River in Yellowstone National Park. ([link removed])
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Photo: NPS / Jacob W. Frank
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