Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden's administration on Friday formally began planning for a potential presidential transition, aiming to ensure continuity of government no matter the outcome of November's general election.Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent memos to all executive departments and agencies, directing them to name a point person for transition planning by May 3. It's the routine first step in congressionally mandated preparedness for presidential transitions.Next week, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients — who also chaired Biden's 2020 transition effort — will lead the first meeting of the White House Transition...

KEY POINTS * Bentley Motors is pushing back its plans to transition to all-electric vehicles by a couple of years amid changes in market conditions and a delay in its first EV. * CEO Adrian Hallmark said the carmaker remains committed to carbon neutrality and exclusively offering EVs, but it now plans to continue offering plug-in hybrids past 2030. * Bentley is among a growing number of automakers to change, delay or cancel ambitious EV plans as global adoption grows slower than many expected.

BELFAST, Maine — How does it feel to be a climate scientist in 2023? Let’s set the scene. Hundreds of picnickers are sprawled across a lawn speckled with colorful blankets. Yachts bob in the bay. Guitars blare, children wrestle and dancers twirl across a concert lawn in the golden glow of a dying summer night. Off to the side, Peter Kalmus sits alone. His eyes are closed. His toes are tucked beneath his body. He’s catching an occasional side-eye from onlookers. “When I’m meditating, I don’t feel anxious,” Kalmus later says, explaining that he strives for two hours of meditation...

Far-left Axios is gushing over a new study that blames climate change for people fleeing Democrat-run cities like the “metro areas of Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. (specifically, Alexandria, Va.).” “Climate migration is already taking place within American communities, new data finds, as people flee flood-prone areas, and create ‘climate abandonment’ zones,” writes an unquestioning Axios. “The study constitutes the latest warning sign of the effects of climate change,” Axios continues without skepticism. “Population shifts, and a larger reckoning for real estate, are only expected to worsen as global average surface temperatures rise.” But then the premise of the study...

California has been at the forefront of healthful eating and plant-based cuisine for decades, from restaurants like Chez Panisse in Berkeley to Michael’s in greater Los Angeles. But despite decades of offering meatless this or gluten-free that, some Southern California restaurants have recently decided that going entirely vegan is not a recipe for long-term financial success. After years of being vegan, some very well-known LA restaurants are adding meat, dairy or both to their menus to appeal to a larger audience. Even in a city like Los Angeles, which has consistently been named one of the most vegan-friendly cities for...

People living on the front lines of conflict often find themselves on the front lines of the climate crisis as well. Many of the countries most vulnerable to climate change – including Sudan, Afghanistan and Yemen – are also experiencing instability that leaves them ill-equipped to adapt to its challenges. And some are warning that the Gaza Strip will soon also be tied up in a Gordian knot where the climate crisis meets armed conflict. While there is not a direct correlation between climate change and conflict, countries at war are less able to cope with the effects of climate...

Update from Ukraine | Wagner may be encircled around Bakhmut | Prygozhyn felt the trap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBUFzJTiliU Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ ****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: March 6, 2023 Invasion Day 374 – Summary The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-376-summary/ This is Militaryland Website recap of – February 2023 https://militaryland.net/news/website-recap-february-2023/

KHROMOVE, Ukraine — Pressure mounted Saturday on Ukrainian troops and civilians hunkering down in Bakhmut, as Kyiv’s forces tried to help residents flee amid what Western analysts say may be preparations for a Ukrainian withdrawal from the eastern city that Russian forces have spent months trying to capture. A woman was killed and two men were badly wounded by shelling while trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of Bakhmut on Saturday, according to Ukrainian troops who were assisting them. A Ukrainian army representative who asked not to be named for operational reasons told The Associated Press that it was...

Update from Ukraine | Close call in Bakhmut for Ukraine | Generals sent back up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjz7lfNtW1g Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ ****SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 28th February 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-370-summary/

Update from Ukraine | Ruzzian Forces were cut from Bakhmut on the north https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrHgHxm9YWM Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ ****SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: NEW- New Marine Brigade is being formed - February 25, 2023 https://militaryland.net/news/new-marine-brigade-is-being-formed/ https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-366-summary/ The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 24th February 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time).

Update from Ukraine | This Small town is the key to Bakhmut | Wanger Group is doomed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD81deXXUdo Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-342-summary/ https://militaryland.net/maps/deployment-map

Gov. Jay Inslee joined other Pacific Coast leaders in San Francisco on Thursday to collectively reaffirm their commitment to the fight against climate change. The West Coast, they said, with its progressive policies and abundance of hydropower, is positioned to spearhead the country’s first zero-carbon economy through the popularization of electric vehicles and the implementation of forthcoming carbon markets. “The Pacific Coast leads on virtually everything in social and economic development, and we are yet again leading the world and the nation when it comes to the development of a clean energy economy,” Inslee said on Thursday. He was joined...

The cost of charging an electric car using public charge points on a pay-as-you-go basis has risen by 42% in just four months, according to the RAC. The motoring group said the average price for using the chargers has increased by 18.75p per kilowatt hour (kWh) since May, reaching 63.29p per kWh. The latest figures show a driver exclusively using rapid or ultra-rapid public chargers pays around 18p per mile for electricity, compared with roughly 19p per mile for petrol and 21p per mile for diesel. The rise has been blamed on the soaring wholesale costs of gas and electricity....

The looming closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant at month’s end may push Michigan’s short-term climate goals out of reach, both industry experts and energy regulators agreed. The loss of 800 megawatts of carbon-free energy from the nuclear plant along Lake Michigan near South Haven is likely to result in more greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere as the electric sector pivots to natural gas while more solar and wind generation comes online. In Michigan, the state’s climate plan calls for 60 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable sources within the next eight years. Incremental goals in that...

The promises arrived at a rapid clip over two weeks in Glasgow last fall. There, along the banks of the River Clyde, leaders from nearly 200 nations vowed to do more — and move faster — to combat climate change. But nearly six months later, no large nation has come forward with a bolder climate plan, and none of the world’s top emitters has committed to doing so this year. “What we have seen so far is very, very little,” said Niklas Höhne, a German climatologist who created the Climate Action Tracker, which monitors the commitments and policies of countries,...

Hundreds of scientists from around the world took part in protests last week to apply pressure on government agencies to make “rapid and deep” cuts to greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too late. In London, 25 scientists glued pages of scientific papers, along with their hands, to the windows of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to force the agency to look at the climate research they say the British government has been ignoring, The Guardian reported. In Madrid, over 50 protesters were arrested after taking to the streets and throwing fake blood on the steps of the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and climate activists generally supported President Joe Biden’s decision to release a record 50 million barrels of oil from America’s strategic reserve, even as the move appeared to contradict his long-term vision of combating climate change. Kelly Sheehan, senior director of energy campaigns with the Sierra Club, hailed Biden’s actions as a way to ease Americans’ energy burdens. But she said the current spike in oil prices was a reminder that “the only way to truly achieve energy security is to rapidly transition away from risky fossil fuels like oil and gas and make it easier...

PARIS (AP) — It’s a neutral pronoun that’s proving anything but: A nonbinary pronoun added to an esteemed French dictionary has ignited a fierce linguistic squabble in the country. Le Petit Robert introduced the word “iel” — an amalgamation of “il” (he) and “elle” (she) — to its online edition last month. While the term is gaining currency among young people, it is still far from being widely used, or even understood, by many French speakers. Though at first the change went mostly unnoticed, boisterous debate broke out this week in a nation that prides itself on its human rights...

Glasgow (AFP) - The years from 2015 to 2021 are on track to be the seven hottest on record, the World Meteorological Organization said on Sunday, warning that the planet was heading into "uncharted territory". The preliminary WMO state of the climate report, launched as the UN COP26 climate conference opens, said that global warming from greenhouse gas emissions threatens "far-reaching repercussions for current and future generations". “From the ocean depths to mountain tops, from melting glaciers to relentless extreme weather events, ecosystems and communities around the globe are being devastated," said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement...

In January, Kehler Liddell was the first gallery in the state to present an exhibit of protest art stemming from the inauguration of the current president. That show focused on a myriad of human-rights and philosophical concerns. The New Haven art space is doing it again, this time zeroing in on one topic: the environmental devastation of global warming. "We have deemed ourselves gods of this planet, deciding to abuse and ravage our home, rather than cherish her many gifts," Elizabeth Asstle-O'Donnell, one of the artists in the show, said in an artist statement. Asstle-O'Donnell contributed a piece made of...