Climate Clips: The Weather, Tee Shirts and Fresh Air Made Bike To Work Day a Success

It takes a little more than the promise of a brightly colored tee shirt to make people climb hills and pedal as the sun comes up, but this year they counted 9,487 participants in the event. This marks the 20th anniversary of the Bike to Work commuting event in the metro area.

Get the full story at The Connection.

More DMV News

DC Approves Disputed Pepco Rate Increase in New Approach to Utility Regulation
Utility Dive
District of Columbia regulators approved Potomac Electric Power Company’s (Pepco) multi-year rate plan (MRP), authorizing the utility to recover $108.6 million through higher rates over three years, from 2020 to 2022.

Maryland Landfills Emit Four Times More Greenhouse Gases Than Reported
DCist
Landfills produce greenhouse gases, especially methane, as organic materials like food scraps and yard waste decompose. Nationally, landfills are the third biggest emitter of methane, after cattle and the natural gas industry. New data shows landfills account for 37% of Maryland’s methane emissions, rather than the state’s previous estimate of 13%.

Despite Lawmakers Lifting Caps on School and Government Solar, COVID-19 Slowed Growth
Virginia Mercury
More than a year after the dozens of solar panels that blanket the roofs of Powhatan Elementary and Powhatan Middle School hummed to life, state and county officials finally cut the ribbon on the project.

Southern Maryland Coal-Fired Power Plant to Close in 2022, Five Years Ahead of Schedule
The Baltimore Sun
Houston-based GenOn Holdings LLC said it will shut down two generating units at the Morgantown Generating Station on the Cobb Neck peninsula by June 2022. It also plans to close generating units at both Avon Lake station on Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio, and Cheswick station on the Allegheny River outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by Sept. 15.

National and International News

World Oil Demand ‘Will Rebound to Pre-Covid Levels by End of 2022’
The Guardian
The world’s demand for oil will rebound to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022, as recovering economies require oil-producing countries to pump more fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Electric Vehicle Sales Set to Rise Faster Than Ever, but More Policy Action Needed to Get on Track for Net Zero
BloombergNEF
The outlook for electric vehicles is brighter than ever, but governments aiming for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 must do more to spur their adoption. BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) latest annual Electric Vehicle Outlook (EVO) takes a look at what is required to meet that goal.

Renewable Energy Boom Unleashes a War Over Talent for Green Jobs
Bloomberg
The renewables jobs market is heating up and candidates with the right abilities are becoming harder to find, according to Miguel Stilwell, chief executive officer at Portuguese clean-energy firm EDP Renovaveis SA.

Will Biden Be Forced to Give Up What Some Say is His Best Shot at Tackling Climate Change?
Inside Climate News
Much of the debate over President Biden’s massive infrastructure proposal has been over its $2 trillion price tag. But the most powerful tool for tackling the climate crisis in the American Jobs Plan, in the view of many environmentalists, isn’t money, but Biden’s proposal to create a national clean electricity standard.

Climate and Nature Crises: Solve Both or Solve Neither, Say Experts
The Guardian
Global heating and the destruction of wildlife are wreaking increasing damage on the natural world, which humanity depends on for food, water, and clean air. Many of the human activities causing the crises are the same and the scientists said increased use of nature as a solution was vital.