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  • Major oil project approval intensifies Alaska Natives’ rift

    Major oil project approval intensifies Alaska Natives’ rift

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    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Biden administration’s approval this week of the biggest oil drilling project in Alaska in decades promises to widen a rift among Alaska Natives, with some saying that oil money can’t counter the damages caused by climate change and others defending the project as economically vital.

    Two lawsuits filed almost immediately by environmentalists and one Alaska Native group are likely to exacerbate tensions that have built up over years of debate about ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project.

    Many communities on Alaska’s North Slope celebrated the project’s approval, citing new jobs and the influx of money that will help support schools, other public services and infrastructure investments in their isolated villages. Just a few decades ago, many villages had no running water, said Doreen Leavitt, director of natural resources for the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope. Housing shortages continues to be a problem, with multiple generations often living together, she said.

    “We still have a long ways to go. We don’t want to go backwards,” Leavitt said.

    She said 50 years of oil production on the petroleum-rich North Slope has shown that development can coexist with wildlife and the traditional, subsistence way of life.

    But some Alaska Natives blasted the decision to greenlight the project, and they are supported by environmental groups challenging the approval in federal court.

    The acrimony toward the project was underscored in a letter dated earlier this month written by three leaders in the Nuiqsut community, who described their remote village as “ground zero for industrialization of the Arctic.” They addressed the letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo and the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department.

    They cited the threat that climate change poses to caribou migrations and to their ability to travel across once-frozen areas. Money from the ConocoPhillips project won’t be enough to mitigate those threats, they said. The community is about 36 miles (58 kilometers) from the Willow project.

    “They are payoffs for the loss of our health and culture,” the Nuiqsut leaders wrote. “No dollar can replace what we risk….It is a matter of our survival.”

    But Asisaun Toovak, the mayor of Utqiaġvik, the nation’s northernmost community on the Arctic Ocean, told the AP that she jumped for joy when she heard the Biden administration approved the Willow project.

    “I could say that the majority of the people, the majority of our community and the majority of the people were excited about the Willow Project,” she said.

    Willow is in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a vast region on Alaska’s resource-rich North Slope that is roughly the size of Maine. It would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, the use of which would result in at least 263 million tons (239 million metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years, according to a federal environmental review.

    The Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, Sierra Club and other groups that sued Tuesday said Interior officials ignored the fact that every ton of greenhouse gas emitted by the project would contribute to sea ice melt, which endangers polar bears and Alaska villages. A second lawsuit seeking to block the project was filed Wednesday by Greenpeace and other environmental groups.

    For Alaska Natives to reconcile their points of view with one another, it will take discussions. “We just continue to try to sit at the table together, break bread and meet as a region,” said Leavitt, who also is the secretary for the tribal council representing eight North Slope villages.

    “I will say the majority of the voices that we heard against Willow were from the Lower 48,” she said of the contiguous U.S. states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

    ConocoPhillips Alaska said the $8 billion project would create up to 2,500 jobs during construction and 300 long-term jobs, and generate billions of dollars in royalties and other revenues to be split between the federal and state governments.

    The project has had widespread support among lawmakers in the state. Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation met with Biden and his advisers in early March to plead their case for the project, and Alaska Native lawmakers also met with Haaland to urge support.

    Haaland visited the North Slope last fall, just hours after state Rep. Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak, a whaling captain along with his brother on their father’s whaling crew, harvested a roughly 40-ton (36-metric tons) bowhead whale and spent hours pulling it on the ice from the Arctic Ocean at Utqiaġvik. He left the ice around 7 a.m. to be ready to meet with Haaland just two hours later.

    For him, the juxtaposition of those activities on the same day underscored the dual life led by Alaska Natives on the North Slope and highlights the choices that communities make every day for their survival.

    “That’s the walk our leaders have to walk,” said Patkotak, an independent who supported Willow. “We maintain our culture and our lifestyle and our subsistence aspect where we’re one with the land and animals, and the very next hour you may be having to conduct yourself, you know, in a manner that you’re playing the Western world’s game.”

    He invited Haaland to view the bowhead whale that they harvested, but when Patkotak couldn’t provide a street name of where she would go, her security didn’t allow it. “Well, it’s on the ice, there are no street names,” he said.

    Patkotak met again with Haaland this month in Washington, D.C., where he extended an invitation to leaders in the White House to visit Utqiagvik, “because it’s our duty to tell our story so that we’re able to strike that balance of both worlds.

    “That’s a reality for us,” he said.

    ___

    Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

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  • Alaska oil project approval adds yet another climate concern

    Alaska oil project approval adds yet another climate concern

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    JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration’s approval of a massive oil development in northern Alaska commits the U.S. to yet another decadeslong crude project even as scientists urgently warn that only a halt to more fossil fuel emissions can stem climate change.

    ConocoPhillips’ Willow project would produce 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak, and using that crude would result in at least 263 million tons (239 million metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years.

    Demand for oil isn’t dropping as the planet heats, and a bitter political dispute over the project, which was approved Monday, has underscored the Democratic administration’s struggle to balance economic pressures against pledges to curb fossil fuels. The proposal in the remote region north of the Arctic Circle also highlights the paradox facing the U.S. and other nations: The world’s transition to clean energy lags the realities of an economy still largely driven by oil consumption.

    “At some point, we have to leave oil and gas and coal in the ground. And for me, that some point is now — particularly in a vulnerable ecosystem like the Arctic,” said Rob Jackson, a climate scientist at Stanford University.

    For Alaska, the project promises an economic boost after oil production dropped sharply since the late 1980s, and political leaders from both parties in the state united in support of it. Oil has long been the economic lifeblood of the still-young state, with revenues also helping remote communities and villages on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope invest in local infrastructure.

    But the state has also felt the impacts of the changing climate: coastal erosion is threatening Indigenous villages, unusual wildfires are popping up, sea ice is thinning and permafrost promises to release carbon as it melts.

    The International Energy Agency has said new investments in oil and gas drilling must be halted if nations, including the U.S., hope to reach their 2050 goal of net-zero emissions, meaning only as much planet-warming gas is released into the atmosphere as can be absorbed.

    The energy sector accounts for 90% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and three-quarters of the total human-made greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

    Yet global demand for crude is expected to continue rising, according to industry analysts and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

    Instead of targeting domestic supplies of those fuels — including projects like Willow — energy expert Jim Krane said policymakers need to focus on reducing demand.

    “If you target supply in the U.S. without any kind of measures to bring demand down, refiners are just going to pull their oil from overseas,” he said.

    Targeting supplies also could have broader economic effects since the cost of transportation is one of the drivers of inflation, Krane added.

    Electric vehicles offer a potential substitute for gasoline-powered cars and trucks, but so far they’ve barely dented fossil fuel demand. By 2030, EV is expected to displace 2.7 million barrels of oil a day, according to new findings from Enverus Intelligence Research, a data analysis firm focused on the energy industry.

    That’s less than 3% of global oil consumption, which in 2030 is anticipated to be about the same as current levels — roughly 100 million barrels a day, said Al Salazar, senior vice president of the research company.

    “Demand does not go to zero in a blink-of-the-eye,” Salazar said. “It takes time to turn over the entire light duty vehicle fleet.”

    The Willow project is in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska – a place where Republican U.S. senators have noted drilling should be expected. The Biden administration last year reinstated an Obama-era management plan for the petroleum reserve that limited oil and gas leasing to about 52% of federal lands in the area. That rolled back a Trump-era plan that called for making available for leasing about 82% of the federal lands.

    The greenhouse gasses from Willow would equal emissions from about 1.7 million cars. That’s only 0.1% of total U.S. emissions. Interior Department officials for years have cited such relatively small emissions on a global scale as justification for approvals of coal mines and oil gas leases.

    Jackson said that perspective can’t continue if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided. The planet is “as far from zero emissions as we’ve ever been” despite the emphasis on renewable energy.

    “It’s the same as thinking, well, every new car we put on the road or coal plant we build doesn’t matter because there are millions of other cars and thousands of other coal plants around the world operating,” he said.

    Prior to the Willow decision, the administration already had softened its opposition to oil and gas that marked the early days of Biden’s presidency.

    The Democrat initially suspended new oil and gas lease sales, and the administration then fended off a legal challenge to that policy from Republican state attorneys general. But during negotiations over last year’s climate bill, the administration agreed to tens of millions of acres of new leasing to get the support of Democratic holdout Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia.

    Provisions in the measure link oil and gas leasing to renewable energy development. As a result, the administration plans to offer for sale later this month more than 73 million acres of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. In May and June, it will auction 280,000 acres of onshore leases in Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana and other states.

    Environmentalists say the Gulf sale could result in drilling that would extract more than 1 billion barrels of oil and large volumes of natural gas over the next 50 years.

    “This administration has pledged to oversee a historic transition to clean energy, but actions speak louder than words,” said Earthjustice attorney George Torgun, who represents environmental groups that have asked a federal court to stop the Gulf sale.

    Kara Moriarty, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said the transition to more renewable energy sources will not be like flicking a switch. She predicted the oil and gas industry will continue for decades.

    “We will have an industry 30 years from now,” she said.

    ___

    Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

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  • Alaska oil project approval adds yet another climate concern

    Alaska oil project approval adds yet another climate concern

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    JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration’s approval of a massive oil development in northern Alaska commits the U.S. to yet another decadeslong crude project even as scientists urgently warn that only a halt to more fossil fuel emissions can stem climate change.

    ConocoPhillips’ Willow project would produce 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak, and using that crude would result in at least 263 million tons (239 million metric tons) of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years.

    Demand for oil isn’t dropping as the planet heats, and a bitter political dispute over the project, which was approved Monday, has underscored the Democratic administration’s struggle to balance economic pressures against pledges to curb fossil fuels. The proposal in the remote region north of the Arctic Circle also highlights the paradox facing the U.S. and other nations: The world’s transition to clean energy lags the realities of an economy still largely driven by oil consumption.

    “At some point, we have to leave oil and gas and coal in the ground. And for me, that some point is now — particularly in a vulnerable ecosystem like the Arctic,” said Rob Jackson, a climate scientist at Stanford University.

    For Alaska, the project promises an economic boost after oil production dropped sharply since the late 1980s, and political leaders from both parties in the state united in support of it. Oil has long been the economic lifeblood of the still-young state, with revenues also helping remote communities and villages on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope invest in local infrastructure.

    But the state has also felt the impacts of the changing climate: coastal erosion is threatening Indigenous villages, unusual wildfires are popping up, sea ice is thinning and permafrost promises to release carbon as it melts.

    The International Energy Agency has said new investments in oil and gas drilling must be halted if nations, including the U.S., hope to reach their 2050 goal of net-zero emissions, meaning only as much planet-warming gas is released into the atmosphere as can be absorbed.

    The energy sector accounts for 90% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide and three-quarters of the total human-made greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

    Yet global demand for crude is expected to continue rising, according to industry analysts and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

    Instead of targeting domestic supplies of those fuels — including projects like Willow — energy expert Jim Krane said policymakers need to focus on reducing demand.

    “If you target supply in the U.S. without any kind of measures to bring demand down, refiners are just going to pull their oil from overseas,” he said.

    Targeting supplies also could have broader economic effects since the cost of transportation is one of the drivers of inflation, Krane added.

    Electric vehicles offer a potential substitute for gasoline-powered cars and trucks, but so far they’ve barely dented fossil fuel demand. By 2030, EV is expected to displace 2.7 million barrels of oil a day, according to new findings from Enverus Intelligence Research, a data analysis firm focused on the energy industry.

    That’s less than 3% of global oil consumption, which in 2030 is anticipated to be about the same as current levels — roughly 100 million barrels a day, said Al Salazar, senior vice president of the research company.

    “Demand does not go to zero in a blink-of-the-eye,” Salazar said. “It takes time to turn over the entire light duty vehicle fleet.”

    The Willow project is in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska – a place where Republican U.S. senators have noted drilling should be expected. The Biden administration last year reinstated an Obama-era management plan for the petroleum reserve that limited oil and gas leasing to about 52% of federal lands in the area. That rolled back a Trump-era plan that called for making available for leasing about 82% of the federal lands.

    The greenhouse gasses from Willow would equal emissions from about 1.7 million cars. That’s only 0.1% of total U.S. emissions. Interior Department officials for years have cited such relatively small emissions on a global scale as justification for approvals of coal mines and oil gas leases.

    Jackson said that perspective can’t continue if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided. The planet is “as far from zero emissions as we’ve ever been” despite the emphasis on renewable energy.

    “It’s the same as thinking, well, every new car we put on the road or coal plant we build doesn’t matter because there are millions of other cars and thousands of other coal plants around the world operating,” he said.

    Prior to the Willow decision, the administration already had softened its opposition to oil and gas that marked the early days of Biden’s presidency.

    The Democrat initially suspended new oil and gas lease sales, and the administration then fended off a legal challenge to that policy from Republican state attorneys general. But during negotiations over last year’s climate bill, the administration agreed to tens of millions of acres of new leasing to get the support of Democratic holdout Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia.

    Provisions in the measure link oil and gas leasing to renewable energy development. As a result, the administration plans to offer for sale later this month more than 73 million acres of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. In May and June, it will auction 280,000 acres of onshore leases in Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana and other states.

    Environmentalists say the Gulf sale could result in drilling that would extract more than 1 billion barrels of oil and large volumes of natural gas over the next 50 years.

    “This administration has pledged to oversee a historic transition to clean energy, but actions speak louder than words,” said Earthjustice attorney George Torgun, who represents environmental groups that have asked a federal court to stop the Gulf sale.

    Kara Moriarty, president and CEO of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, said the transition to more renewable energy sources will not be like flicking a switch. She predicted the oil and gas industry will continue for decades.

    “We will have an industry 30 years from now,” she said.

    ___

    Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

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  • Biden OKs Alaska oil project, draws ire of environmentalists

    Biden OKs Alaska oil project, draws ire of environmentalists

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    WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said Monday it is approving the huge Willow oil-drilling project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope, a major environmental decision by President Joe Biden that drew quick condemnation that it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s pledges to slow climate change.

    The announcement came a day after the administration, in a move in the other direction toward conservation, said it would bar or limit drilling in some other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.

    The Willow approval by the Bureau of Land Management would allow three drill sites, which would include up to 199 total wells. Two other drill sites proposed for the project would be denied. Project developer ConocoPhillips has said it considers the three-site option workable, and company chairman and CEO Ryan Lance called the order “the right decision for Alaska and our nation.”

    Houston-based ConocoPhillips will relinquish rights to about 68,000 acres of existing leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

    The order, one of the most significant of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s tenure, was not signed by her but rather by her deputy, Tommy Beaudreau, who grew up in Alaska and has a close relationship with state lawmakers. She was notably silent on the project, which she had opposed as a New Mexico congresswoman before becoming Interior secretary two years ago.

    Climate activists were outraged that Biden approved the project, which they say put his climate legacy at risk. Allowing the drilling plan to go forward would be a major breach of Biden’s campaign promise to stop new oil drilling on federal lands, they say.

    However, administration officials were concerned that ConocoPhillips’ decades-old leases limited the government’s legal ability to block the project and that courts might have ruled in the company’s favor.

    Monday’s announcement is not likely to be the last word, with litigation expected from environmental groups.

    The Willow project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, create up to 2,500 jobs during construction and 300 long-term jobs, and generate billions of dollars in royalties and tax revenues for the federal, state and local governments, the company said.

    The project, located in the federally designated National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, enjoys widespread political support in the state. Alaska Native state lawmakers recently met with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to urge support for Willow.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Monday the decision was “very good news for the country.”

    “Not only will this mean jobs and revenue for Alaska, it will be resources that are needed for the country and for our friends and allies,” Murkowski said. “The administration listened to Alaska voices. They listed to the delegation as we pressed the case for energy security and national security.”

    Fellow Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said conditions attached to the project should not reduce Willow’s ability to produce up to 180,000 barrels of crude a day. But he said it was “infuriating” that Biden also moved to prevent or limit oil drilling elsewhere in Alaska.

    Environmental activists who have promoted a #StopWillow campaign on social media were fuming at the approval, which they called a betrayal.

    “This decision greenlights 92% of proposed oil drilling (by ConocoPhllips) and hands over one the most fragile, intact ecosystems in the world to” the oil giant, said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. “This is not climate leadership.”

    Biden understands the existential threat of climate change, “but he is approving a project that derails his own climate goals,” said Dillen, whose group vowed legal action to block the project.

    Christy Goldfuss, a former Obama White House official who now is a policy chief at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said she was “deeply disappointed” at Biden’s decision to approve Willow, which would produce more than 239 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the project’s 30-year life, roughly equal to the combined emissions from 1.7 million passenger cars.

    “This decision is bad for the climate, bad for the environment and bad for the Native Alaska communities who oppose this and feel their voices were not heard,” Goldfuss said.

    Anticipating that reaction among environmental groups, the White House announced on Sunday that Biden will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. The plan would bar drilling in nearly 3 million acres of the Beaufort Sea — closing it off from oil exploration — and limit drilling in more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve.

    The withdrawal of the offshore area ensures that important habitat for whales, seals, polar bears and other wildlife “will be protected in perpetuity from extractive development,″ the White House said in a statement.

    The conservation announcement did little to mollify activists.

    “It’s a performative action to make the Willow project not look as bad,” said Elise Joshi, the acting executive director of Gen-Z for Change, an advocacy organization.

    Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation met with Biden and his advisers in early March to plead their case for the project, while environmental groups rallied opposition and urged project opponents to place pressure on the administration.

    City of Nuiqsut Mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, whose community of about 525 people is closest to the proposed development, has been outspoken in her opposition, worried about impacts to caribou and her residents’ subsistence lifestyles. The Naqsragmiut Tribal Council, in another North Slope community, also raised concerns with the project.

    But there is “majority consensus” in the North Slope region supporting the project, said Nagruk Harcharek, president of the group Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, whose members include leaders from across much of that region.

    The conservation actions announced Sunday complete protections for the entire Beaufort Sea Planning Area, building upon President Barack Obama’s 2016 action on the Chukchi Sea Planning Area and the majority of the Beaufort Sea, the White House said.

    Separately, the administration moved to protect more than 13 million acres within the petroleum reserve, a 23-million acre chunk of land on Alaska’s North Slope set aside a century ago for future oil production.

    The Willow project is within the reserve, and ConocoPhillips has long held leases for the site. About half the reserve is off limits to oil and gas leasing under an Obama-era rule reinstated by the Biden administration last year.

    Areas to be protected include the Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon and Peard Bay Special Areas, collectively known for their globally significant habitat for grizzly and polar bears, caribou and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.

    ___

    Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana contributed to this story.

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  • As Biden weighs Willow, he blocks other Alaska oil drilling

    As Biden weighs Willow, he blocks other Alaska oil drilling

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    WILMINGTON, Del. — As President Joe Biden prepares a final decision on the huge Willow oil project in Alaska, he will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean, an administration official said on Sunday.

    The announcement, expected as soon as Sunday evening, would bar drilling in nearly 3 million acres of the Arctic Ocean — closing off the rest of its federal waters from oil exploration — and limit drilling in more than 13 million acres in a vast swath of land known as the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska.

    The official requested anonymity to discuss the conservation effort before it is officially unveiled.

    The moves come as regulators prepare to announce a final decision on the Willow project, a controversial oil drilling plan pushed by ConocoPhillips in the petroleum reserve. Climate activists have rallied against the Willow project, calling it a “carbon bomb” that would be a betrayal of Biden’s campaign pledges to curb new oil and gas drilling.

    Meanwhile, Alaska lawmakers, unions and indigenous communities have pressured Biden to approve the project, saying it would bring much-needed jobs and billions of dollars in taxes and mitigation funds to the vast, snow- and ice-covered region nearly 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Anchorage.

    Biden’s decision on Willow will be one of his most consequential climate decisions and comes as he gears up for a likely reelection bid in 2024. A decision to approve Willow risks alienating young voters who have urged stronger climate action by the White House and could spark protests similar to those against the failed Keystone XL oil pipeline during the Obama administration.

    Rejection of the project would meet strong resistance from Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation, which met with top officials at the White House in recent days to lobby for the project. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who provided key support to confirm Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, said it was no secret she has cooperated with the White House on a range of issues.

    “Cooperation goes both ways,″ she told reporters.

    Haaland, who fought the Willow project as a member of Congress, has the final decision on whether to approve it, although top White House climate officials are likely to be involved, with input from Biden himself. The White House said no final decision on Willow has been reached.

    Under the conservation plan set to be announced, Biden would bar drilling in nearly 3 million acres of the Arctic Ocean, and impose new protections in the petroleum reserve. The proposed Willow project is within the reserve, a century-old designation the size of Indiana. About half of the reserve is off limits to oil and gas leasing under an Obama-era rule reinstated by the Biden administration last year.

    Areas to be protected include the Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon and Peard Bay Special Areas, the official said.

    In 2015, President Barack Obama halted exploration in coastal areas of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and he later withdrew most other potential Arctic Ocean lease areas — about 98 percent of the Arctic outer continental shelf. The bans were intended to protect polar bears, walruses, ice seals and Alaska Native villages that depend on the animals.

    The administration received one bid in December for the right to drill offshore for oil and gas in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

    It was unclear whether the latest announcement would mollify environmentalists, particularly young activists who have flooded social media with critiques of the Willow project, if the administration ultimately announces it will allow the Willow project to move forward.

    Willow would be the biggest new oil field in decades in Alaska, producing up to 180,000 barrels per day, according to ConocoPhillips.

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  • In rift with Biden, Manchin vows to block oil, gas nominee

    In rift with Biden, Manchin vows to block oil, gas nominee

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    WASHINGTON — In a sign of a deepening rift among Democrats on energy issues, conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will not move forward on President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee oil and gas leasing at the Interior Department.

    Manchin, of West Virginia, chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and has great influence on energy and environmental issues in the closely divided Senate. In an op-ed Friday, he cited a leaked memo signed by nominee Laura Daniel-Davis that proposed charging oil companies higher rates for drilling off the Alaska coast.

    Manchin said the higher rates backed by Daniel-Davis for the proposed drilling project in Alaska’s Cook Inlet “were explicitly designed to decrease fossil energy production at the expense of our energy security.”

    Even though he had supported Daniel-Davis in the past, “I cannot, in good conscience, support her or anyone else who will play partisan politics and agree with this misguided and dangerous manipulation of the law,” Manchin wrote in the Houston Chronicle.

    The dispute over Daniel-Davis’s nomination comes as the Biden administration nears a decision on a major oil project in Alaska that many environmental groups say would be a blight on Biden’s climate legacy.

    Climate activists are outraged that Biden appears open to the huge Willow project on Alaska’s North Slope, which they call a “carbon bomb” that would break his campaign pledge to curtail oil drilling on public lands and waters.

    Approval of the project would risk alienating young voters who have urged stronger climate action by the White House as Biden approaches a 2024 reelection campaign.

    At the same time, Alaska Native leaders with ties to the petroleum-rich North Slope support ConocoPhillips Alaska’s proposal. They say the Willow Project would bring much-needed jobs and billions of dollars in taxes and mitigation funds to the vast, snow- and ice-covered region nearly 600 miles (965 kilometers) from Anchorage.

    Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and state lawmakers also support the project.

    Daniel-Davis, who currently serves as Interior’s principal deputy assistant secretary for lands and minerals management, would not directly decide the fate of the Willow project, but Manchin and Alaska’s two Republican senators have criticized what they consider her lukewarm support for oil drilling on public lands and water. Daniel-Davis oversees Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

    She was first nominated for the assistant secretary position nearly two years ago, but her bid has stalled because of the concerns of Manchin and Senate Republicans. Biden renominated her for the post in January.

    In a statement Friday, the White House said Biden “nominated Laura Daniel-Davis because she has worked to conserve public lands, protect wildlife and address climate change for three decades, while prioritizing a collaborative and partnership-based approach. She is well-qualified for this position and we look forward to her moving forward in the confirmation process.”

    Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, said Interior was “very disappointed” to learn of Manchin’s opposition to Daniel-Davis after he supported her during two committee hearings and votes over the past two years.

    “Laura Daniel-Davis has served this administration, as she has two others, with a dedication that we should aspire to see in every public servant,” Schwartz said. “She will continue to lead this portfolio at Interior and implement President Biden’s direction, stated consistently and clearly since Day One, with respect to carefully balancing the role that public lands and waters play as we face the climate crisis.“

    Daniel-Davis is one of several Biden nominees whom Manchin has opposed. Another is Gigi Sohn, who withdrew her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission after Manchin opposed her.

    Manchin also voted against Daniel Werfel’s nomination to lead the Internal Revenue Service. Werfel was confirmed Thursday with support from several Republicans.

    In his op-ed, Manchin sharply criticized the Biden administration’s implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, a key climate, tax and health care bill that Manchin helped craft.

    “While the Biden administration has continued to play political games and incorrectly frame the IRA as a climate change legislation, the truth is that the IRA is about securing America’s energy independence for the coming century,” Manchin wrote

    “The Biden administration continues to ignore congressional intent on critical components of the IRA … to illogically advance a partisan climate agenda and appease radical activists,” Manchin added. He said the Interior and Treasury departments “have explicitly and unabashedly violated the letter of the law … in an effort to elevate climate goals above the energy and national security of this nation.”

    Manchin has repeatedly slammed Treasury for issuing guidelines that allow car makers in Europe and Asia to bypass requirements that significant portions of electric-vehicle batteries be produced in North America.

    “This is wrong and it must stop,” Manchin wrote.

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  • Malaysian ex-PM Muhyiddin arrives at anti-graft agency

    Malaysian ex-PM Muhyiddin arrives at anti-graft agency

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    Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has arrived at the anti-graft agency over alleged corruption awarding government projects under his rule

    PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrived Thursday at the anti-graft agency office for a second time in a matter of weeks over alleged corruption in the awarding of government projects under his rule.

    A large crowd of supporters gathered outside the agency building amid speculation that he might be arrested and charged for graft. Muhyiddin, 75, got out of his car and prayed with his supporters before he went into the building. In a Facebook statement hours earlier, Muhyiddin denied rumors that he was arrested Wednesday on a golf course. He said he has been called to the anti-graft agency but didn’t say why.

    If Muhyiddin is charged, he will be the second former leader to be indicted after leaving office. Ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak began a 12-year jail term in August after losing a final appeal in a graft case.

    Shortly after taking power in November, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered a review of government projects approved by past administrations including billions of dollars in COVID-19 economic aid programs. Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, has said some projects were awarded without proper procedures.

    Muhyiddin, who was premier from March 2020 until August 2021, was questioned by the anti-graft agency in February over alleged abuse in the award of projects during the pandemic. He has denied any wrongdoing.

    Two senior leaders from Muhyddin’s Bersatu party were recently charged with corruption in relation to the projects. The anti-graft agency has also frozen the party’s accounts to facilitate investigations into suspected illegal proceeds. Muhyddin, who leads a strong Islamic-dominated opposition coalition, accused Anwar’s government of trying to tarnish his party ahead of state elections.

    Bersatu information chief Razali Idris told reporters Thursday that he feared Muhyiddin may be arrested and charged in court. He and other Bersatu leaders slammed such a move as political persecution to maim the opposition.

    Supporters chanted “Fight! Fight!” and “Allahu Akbar (God is great)” when Muhyiddin arrived.

    Anwar and Muhyiddin had battled for the premiership after November general elections produced a hung parliament. The country’s king later appointed Anwar as prime minister after he formed a unity government with several smaller parties. His strength will be put to test in elections in six states due in the coming months.

    ___

    Find more of AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

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  • Women’s Day measures by Brazil’s Lula take aim at setbacks

    Women’s Day measures by Brazil’s Lula take aim at setbacks

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    SAO PAULO — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced measures Wednesday seeking to promote and protect women after years of setbacks in their causes blamed in part on a rise in far-right forces.

    At a ceremony in the capital, Brasilia, Lula presented a package of over 25 measures, the most significant of which is a bill that would guarantee equal pay for women and men who perform the same jobs.

    He also announced plans to spend 372 million reais ($72 million) to build domestic violence shelters and 100 million reais ($19 million ) for science projects led by women.

    The president has expressed his indebtedness for the votes of women who helped him beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. And on Wednesday he blamed his predecessor for policy decisions that harmed Brazilian women.

    “The previous government lacked respect when it opted for the destruction of public policies, cut essential budgetary resources and tacitly motivated violence against women,” said the president, flanked by his female ministers, for the ceremony on International Women’s Day.

    Of Lula’s 37 ministers, a record-high 11 are women. During most of his administration, Bolsonaro had just two female ministers.

    Several of Lula’s announced measures, including the spending on shelters and science projects, are by decree. However, others require congressional approval and given that Lula’s legislative base has yet to be consolidated it is difficult to gauge whether he will have enough votes, said Beatriz Rey, a senior researcher at the Center for Studies on the Brazilian Congress at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.

    “It is possible that some support beyond party lines will help the administration on this specific issue of salary equality,” Rey said in a telephone interview.

    Advocates say the policies of Bolsonaro’s administration dovetailed with the spread of extremism in Brazil, which together contributed to the deterioration of gender equality.

    “Bolsonaro was not the cause of this; he was the symptom of something bigger, which is the consolidation and rise of the far-right in Brazilian society,” said Samira Bueno, executive director of Brazilian Forum on Public Security, a non-profit that last week published a report showing an 18.4% rise in all forms of gender-based violence in 2022.

    Bueno told The Associated Press that such forces have been gathering over the past decade, as an example pointing to the School Without Party movement that encouraged parents and children to report teachers attempting to teach sexual education and women’s rights.

    And Bolsonaro’s loosening of gun controls spurred domestic violence, Bueno said. In 2022, 5.1% of women said they were threatened with knives or firearms, as opposed to 3.1% in 2021, according to her group’s recent report.

    “This uptick didn’t happen randomly. It happened because you had a federal government policy to allow more civilians to own and carry firearms,” Bueno said.

    On Jan. 1, Lula’s first day on the job, he rolled back some of Bolsonaro’s decrees to loosen gun control. His government also required civilians to register their guns with the Federal Police by a deadline later this month; as of mid-February just a fraction had done so as the pro-gun lobby aligned with Bolsonaro pushes back on the registration effort.

    Among campaigners and civil society, there is also an expectation that Lula will restart policies and programs that worked in the past but were affected by budget cuts. That includes revitalization of the national hotline for domestic violence victims, which lost funding during the Bolsonaro government.

    A study published in March 2022 by the Institute of Socioeconomic Studies, a Brasilia-based non-profit, showed funding for the hotline fell 42% to 25.8 million reais from 2019 to 2021. The same study found that the amount budgeted for the Ministry of Women and Human Rights to fight gender violence in 2022 was the least in four years.

    And, in 2021, only 0.01% of the Justice Ministry’s National Public Security Fund went towards programs to fight gender violence; a law passed last year established a 5% minimum.

    Speaking to the AP on Wednesday in Paraisopolis, Sao Paulo’s second-largest favela, or slum, Juliana da Costa Gomes lamented the impact of Bolsonaro’s government in increasing domestic violence and diminishing the cause for women.

    “But I think we are living in another moment,” said Gomes, 37, who in 2017 founded a program to provide professional training to women in vulnerable situations, roughly a decade after helping to establish the favela’s womens’ association. “It’s a moment of hope, for a new Brazil that can be better for women.”

    At the ceremony on Wednesday, Lula also issued a decree to guarantee distribution of free menstrual pads for all poor and vulnerable women; Bolsonaro in 2021 vetoed a bill that had sought to do the same.

    Lula was joined by first lady Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, who has been a constant presence at both his private meetings and public events. She recently took an official position within his government, liaising with ministries as well as advising the president.

    By contrast, Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle, remained out of view during the first three years of his administration, emerging during the 2022 campaign in an effort to drum up votes from women and evangelicals.

    “If it depended on this government, inequality would end today by decree. But it is necessary to change policies, mentalities and an entire system built to perpetuate male privileges. And this, my friends, is only possible with a lot of fight,” Lula said.

    ___

    AP videojournalist Tatiana Pollastri and writer Mauricio Savarese contributed

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  • Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South

    Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South

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    Trucker Tim Chelette has been making the same twice-daily drive for 16 years hauling empty whiskey barrels from Louisville, Kentucky, to the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee, yet his workday keeps getting longer due to time lost in Nashville traffic.

    Although trucks wouldn’t be eligible for the pay-to-use express lanes Republican Gov. Bill Lee is advocating for some of Tennessee’s most-congested highways, Chelette supports them because he thinks enough drivers in the fast-growing state capital would take advantage to benefit everyone.

    “They’re going to have to do something,” said Chelette, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who gets paid by distance, not time — even when his 245-mile (394-kilometer) return trip to the Lynchburg distillery spikes by an hour or more during afternoon rush. “When I get stuck in traffic, I lose money.”

    Unlike traditional toll plazas where every vehicle that passes through pays a standard fee, price-managed lanes allow some drivers to pay up to circumvent congestion — and the fee usually increases as the traffic does.

    According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), which lobbies on behalf of the projects, 54 of the 89 tolling facilities that opened in the U.S. in the past decade were for price-managed lanes. They can be found across the South in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as such other places as California, Colorado, Washington and Minnesota.

    Opponents call them “Lexus lanes,” implying that only drivers of expensive cars can afford to use them, but Lee prefers another name: “choice lanes.”

    “I think (the name) is brilliant. I wish I had invented it,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the libertarian Reason Foundation and a vocal advocate for price-managed lanes.

    The marketing pitch is important, particularly in the conservative South where voters have long resisted anything resembling a tax hike. But with fuel tax revenues and federal infrastructure payments failing to keep up with the need to repair aging roads or add capacity to reduce congestion, the projects are winning favor — even, and perhaps especially, in Republican-led states where “toll” has been considered a four-letter word in more ways than one.

    “All you’re doing is allowing those wealthy enough to use those lanes a quicker ride to work,” said Terri Hall, founder and director of Texans for Toll-free Highways. “It’s like a scapegoat for state legislatures to say, ‘We solved the problem.’ No, you kicked the can down the road.”

    Supporters counter that the lanes are a way to pay for roads without raising taxes, though they acknowledge they’re sometimes a tricky sell — particularly the public-private partnerships that have funded many of the projects.

    “If you have somebody who is anti-tax and pro-free market, they might say it’s a great idea,” said Pat Jones, IBTTA’s executive director and CEO. “Then, if you tell them the company is from Spain or Australia, they’ll say, ‘I don’t want there to be foreigners owning highways.’ You often see opposition to toll facilities before people use them, but once they’re open and people realize they’re getting value … the resistance tends to go down.”

    California’s experience with tolling — both traditional plazas and price-managed lanes — has provided fodder for advocates on both sides of the heated debate.

    A grand jury in Orange County examined a state agency that was created to build three traditional toll roads. Its report, issued in 2021, found that on one hand, California produced “excellent roads with minimal tax dollars.” But on the other, the jurors found ballooning debt and the need to change the initial plans amid financial downturns meant that drivers are on pace to shell out $28 billion by 2053 for roads that cost a tenth of that to build.

    The nation’s first price-managed lane opened in 1995 in Orange County, using a public-private partnership to fund it. Poole, who advised on the project and still calls it a model for others, said officials agreed not to add free lanes on the corridor for 35 years. Surging growth ultimately made that impossible, so the county terminated the contract and paid the company for its lost revenue. New bonds were issued, and the tolls had to stay in place to pay for them.

    “These agencies often become self-fulfilling entities,” said Jay Beeber, director of public policy for the National Motorists Association, which advocates for drivers’ rights. “They have huge organizations with lots of staff members, lots of salaries, huge pensions from the government, and they want to stay in business forever. Nobody wants to legislate themselves out of a job.”

    Tennessee’s governor is seeking legislative support to authorize a public-private partnership for the project — one of 14 states that don’t have tolls on any roads.

    Republican state Sen. Frank Niceley said he expects Lee will get enough votes to pass the plan, but he strongly opposes it — even pointing out that fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini liked public-private partnerships, too.

    “We’re not really giving these things to the private sector,” Niceley said. “We’re kind of co-signing the note. And most people who co-sign the note end up paying the note.”

    The governor’s administration brushes off such criticism. Will Reid, chief engineer and deputy commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said the state is uniquely positioned to establish a partnership that avoids the financial pitfalls seen in California and elsewhere.

    “We’re one of six no-debt states,” Reid said. “We own every piece of pavement. We own every bridge. We have a strong belief in paying as we go, and paying for the things we decide to build.”

    Mark Burris, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Texas A&M University, researched public sentiment for price-managed lanes in four metro areas: Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. His review found widespread support from drivers in those areas, with more than three-quarters of those surveyed saying they wanted to see more price-managed lanes open.

    Some of the paid express lanes in Texas have allowed speed limits as much as 10 mph higher than general-purpose lanes, and Hall, with Texans for Toll-free Highways, said the fee can rise to $3 a mile when traffic is busiest. She argues that’s a regressive double-tax that doesn’t alleviate congestion nearly as much as building additional free lanes would — something she contends the state can afford.

    Texas also proves how fleeting the support for these projects can be — even with the same party in control. Former Gov. Rick Perry advocated for price-managed lanes, but his successor, fellow Republican Greg Abbott, has backed a moratorium on new tolls.

    “Fifteen years ago it was all the rage,” Mark Muriello, IBTTA’s director of public policy and government affairs, said of the appetite for the projects in Texas. “The politics tend to change. Nothing stays still.”

    It typically takes 15 years in the U.S. for a road project to open after winning approval, though Tennessee officials are determined to cut that in half. Considering a recent study showing a $34 billion need, Reid — the state transportation official — acknowledges the clock is ticking.

    “As far as whether it works 10, 20, 30 years from now, the proof will be in the pudding,” Reid said. “But one thing is certain — in order to keep pace with the demands on our infrastructure in Tennessee, we’re going to have to find a different way to generate revenue.”

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  • Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South

    Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South

    [ad_1]

    Trucker Tim Chelette has been making the same twice-daily drive for 16 years hauling empty whiskey barrels from Louisville, Kentucky, to the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee, yet his workday keeps getting longer due to time lost in Nashville traffic.

    Although trucks wouldn’t be eligible for the pay-to-use express lanes Republican Gov. Bill Lee is advocating for some of Tennessee’s most-congested highways, Chelette supports them because he thinks enough drivers in the fast-growing state capital would take advantage to benefit everyone.

    “They’re going to have to do something,” said Chelette, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who gets paid by distance, not time — even when his 245-mile (394-kilometer) return trip to the Lynchburg distillery spikes by an hour or more during afternoon rush. “When I get stuck in traffic, I lose money.”

    Unlike traditional toll plazas where every vehicle that passes through pays a standard fee, price-managed lanes allow some drivers to pay up to circumvent congestion — and the fee usually increases as the traffic does.

    According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), which lobbies on behalf of the projects, 54 of the 89 tolling facilities that opened in the U.S. in the past decade were for price-managed lanes. They can be found across the South in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, as well as such other places as California, Colorado, Washington and Minnesota.

    Opponents call them “Lexus lanes,” implying that only drivers of expensive cars can afford to use them, but Lee prefers another name: “choice lanes.”

    “I think (the name) is brilliant. I wish I had invented it,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the libertarian Reason Foundation and a vocal advocate for price-managed lanes.

    The marketing pitch is important, particularly in the conservative South where voters have long resisted anything resembling a tax hike. But with fuel tax revenues and federal infrastructure payments failing to keep up with the need to repair aging roads or add capacity to reduce congestion, the projects are winning favor — even, and perhaps especially, in Republican-led states where “toll” has been considered a four-letter word in more ways than one.

    “All you’re doing is allowing those wealthy enough to use those lanes a quicker ride to work,” said Terri Hall, founder and director of Texans for Toll-free Highways. “It’s like a scapegoat for state legislatures to say, ‘We solved the problem.’ No, you kicked the can down the road.”

    Supporters counter that the lanes are a way to pay for roads without raising taxes, though they acknowledge they’re sometimes a tricky sell — particularly the public-private partnerships that have funded many of the projects.

    “If you have somebody who is anti-tax and pro-free market, they might say it’s a great idea,” said Pat Jones, IBTTA’s executive director and CEO. “Then, if you tell them the company is from Spain or Australia, they’ll say, ‘I don’t want there to be foreigners owning highways.’ You often see opposition to toll facilities before people use them, but once they’re open and people realize they’re getting value … the resistance tends to go down.”

    California’s experience with tolling — both traditional plazas and price-managed lanes — has provided fodder for advocates on both sides of the heated debate.

    A grand jury in Orange County examined a state agency that was created to build three traditional toll roads. Its report, issued in 2021, found that on one hand, California produced “excellent roads with minimal tax dollars.” But on the other, the jurors found ballooning debt and the need to change the initial plans amid financial downturns meant that drivers are on pace to shell out $28 billion by 2053 for roads that cost a tenth of that to build.

    The nation’s first price-managed lane opened in 1995 in Orange County, using a public-private partnership to fund it. Poole, who advised on the project and still calls it a model for others, said officials agreed not to add free lanes on the corridor for 35 years. Surging growth ultimately made that impossible, so the county terminated the contract and paid the company for its lost revenue. New bonds were issued, and the tolls had to stay in place to pay for them.

    “These agencies often become self-fulfilling entities,” said Jay Beeber, director of public policy for the National Motorists Association, which advocates for drivers’ rights. “They have huge organizations with lots of staff members, lots of salaries, huge pensions from the government, and they want to stay in business forever. Nobody wants to legislate themselves out of a job.”

    Tennessee’s governor is seeking legislative support to authorize a public-private partnership for the project — one of 14 states that don’t have tolls on any roads.

    Republican state Sen. Frank Niceley said he expects Lee will get enough votes to pass the plan, but he strongly opposes it — even pointing out that fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini liked public-private partnerships, too.

    “We’re not really giving these things to the private sector,” Niceley said. “We’re kind of co-signing the note. And most people who co-sign the note end up paying the note.”

    The governor’s administration brushes off such criticism. Will Reid, chief engineer and deputy commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said the state is uniquely positioned to establish a partnership that avoids the financial pitfalls seen in California and elsewhere.

    “We’re one of six no-debt states,” Reid said. “We own every piece of pavement. We own every bridge. We have a strong belief in paying as we go, and paying for the things we decide to build.”

    Mark Burris, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Texas A&M University, researched public sentiment for price-managed lanes in four metro areas: Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. His review found widespread support from drivers in those areas, with more than three-quarters of those surveyed saying they wanted to see more price-managed lanes open.

    Some of the paid express lanes in Texas have allowed speed limits as much as 10 mph higher than general-purpose lanes, and Hall, with Texans for Toll-free Highways, said the fee can rise to $3 a mile when traffic is busiest. She argues that’s a regressive double-tax that doesn’t alleviate congestion nearly as much as building additional free lanes would — something she contends the state can afford.

    Texas also proves how fleeting the support for these projects can be — even with the same party in control. Former Gov. Rick Perry advocated for price-managed lanes, but his successor, fellow Republican Greg Abbott, has backed a moratorium on new tolls.

    “Fifteen years ago it was all the rage,” Mark Muriello, IBTTA’s director of public policy and government affairs, said of the appetite for the projects in Texas. “The politics tend to change. Nothing stays still.”

    It typically takes 15 years in the U.S. for a road project to open after winning approval, though Tennessee officials are determined to cut that in half. Considering a recent study showing a $34 billion need, Reid — the state transportation official — acknowledges the clock is ticking.

    “As far as whether it works 10, 20, 30 years from now, the proof will be in the pudding,” Reid said. “But one thing is certain — in order to keep pace with the demands on our infrastructure in Tennessee, we’re going to have to find a different way to generate revenue.”

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  • Biden faces dilemma in fight over large Alaska oil project

    Biden faces dilemma in fight over large Alaska oil project

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    JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration is weighing approval of a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope that supporters say represents an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region but environmentalists say is counter to President Joe Biden’s climate goals.

    A decision on ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana, could come by early March.

    Q: What is the Willow project?

    A: The project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the company — about 1.5% of total U.S. oil production. But in Alaska, Willow represents the biggest oil field in decades. Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the development could be “one of the biggest, most important resource development projects in our state’s history.”

    On average, about 499,700 barrels of oil a day flow through the trans-Alaska pipeline, well below the late-1980s peak of 2.1 million barrels.

    ConocoPhillips Alaska had proposed five drilling sites as part of the project. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management in early February identified up to three drill sites initially as a preferred alternative, which ConocoPhillips Alaska said it considered a viable option. But the U.S. Interior Department, which oversees the bureau, took the unusual step of issuing a separate statement expressing “substantial concerns” with the alternative and the project.

    The alternative showed extracting and using the oil from Willow would produce the equivalent of more than 278 million tons (306 million short tons) of greenhouse gases over the project’s 30-year life, roughly equal to the combined emissions from 2 million passenger cars over the same time period. It would have a roughly 2% reduction in emissions compared to ConocoPhillips’ favored approach.

    Q: Is there support for Willow?

    A: There is widespread political support in Alaska, including from the bipartisan congressional delegation, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and state lawmakers. There also is “majority consensus” in support in the North Slope region, said Nagruk Harcharek, president of the group Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, whose members include leaders from across much of that region. Supporters have called the project balanced and say communities would benefit from taxes generated by Willow to invest in infrastructure and provide public services.

    City of Nuiqsut Mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, whose community of about 525 people is closest to the proposed development, is a prominent opponent who is worried about impacts on caribou and her residents’ subsistence lifestyles. But opposition there isn’t universal. The local Alaska Native village corporation has expressed support.

    U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat who is Yup’ik, said there is “such consensus in the region and across Alaska that this project is a good project.” She hoped to make a case to Biden that the project would create well-paying union jobs.

    Ahtuangaruak said she feels voices like hers are being drowned out.

    Q. What are the politics of the decision?

    Biden faces a dilemma that pits Alaska lawmakers against environmental groups and many Democrats in Congress who say the project is out of step with Biden’s goals to slash planet-warming carbon emissions in half by 2030 and move to clean energy. Approval of the project would represent a betrayal by Biden, who promised during the 2020 campaign to end new oil and gas drilling on federal lands, environmentalists say.

    Biden has made fighting climate change a top priority and backed a landmark law to accelerate expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, and move the U.S. away from the oil, coal and gas.

    He faces attacks from Republican lawmakers who blame Biden for gasoline price spikes that occurred after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Q: Didn’t the Biden administration support Willow?

    A: Justice Department attorneys in 2021 defended in court an environmental review conducted during the Trump administration that approved the project. But a federal judge later found flaws with the analysis, setting aside the approval and returning the matter to the land management agency for further work. That led to the review released in early February.

    Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was concerned the Biden administration would “try to have it both ways” by issuing an approval but including so many restrictions it would render the project uneconomical.

    Earthjustice, an environmental group, has encouraged project opponents to call the White House, urging Willow’s rejection.

    Q: What about greenhouse gas emissions?

    A: Federal officials under former President Donald Trump claimed increased domestic oil drilling would result in fewer net global emissions because it would decrease petroleum imports. U.S. companies adhere to stricter environmental standards than those in other countries, they argued.

    After outside scientists rejected the claim and a federal judge agreed, the Interior Department changed how it calculates emissions.

    The latest review, under the Biden administration, is getting pushback over its inclusion of a suggestion that 50% of Willow’s net emissions could be offset, including by planting more trees on national forests to capture and store carbon dioxide. Reforestation work on federal lands was something the administration already planned and needed to meet its broader climate goals, said Michael Lazarus, a senior scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute.

    “That doesn’t help you meet a reduction goal. It’s absurd,” said Lazarus, whose work was cited by the judge who overruled the Trump-era environmental review. “It doesn’t address the fact that we’re increasing global emissions by doing this project. … We’re locking in emissions for 30 years into the future when we should be on a reduction schedule.”

    Q: What about Biden’s promises to curtail oil drilling?

    A: Biden suspended oil and gas lease sales after taking office and promised to overhaul the government’s fossil fuels program.

    Attorneys general from oil-producing states convinced a federal judge to lift the suspension — a ruling later overturned by an appeals court. The administration ultimately dropped its resistance to leasing in a compromise over last year’s climate law. The measure requires the Interior Department to offer for sale tens of millions of acres of onshore and offshore leases before it can approve any renewable energy leases.

    The number of new drilling permits to companies with federal leases spiked in Biden’s first year as companies stockpiled drilling rights and officials said they were working through a backlog of applications from the Trump administration. Approvals dropped sharply in fiscal year 2022.

    The Biden administration has offered less acreage for lease than previous administrations. But environmentalists say the administration hasn’t done enough.

    U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a recent interview declined direct comment on Willow but said that “public lands belong to every single American, not just one industry.”

    ___

    Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this story.

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  • Alaska Native leaders, US senators back major oil project

    Alaska Native leaders, US senators back major oil project

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    JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators and several Alaska Native leaders on Tuesday urged the federal government to approve a major oil project on the petroleum-rich North Slope, casting the project as economically critical for Indigenous communities in the region and important for the nation’s energy security.

    The Biden administration “damn well better not kill the project, period,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski told reporters on a video conference.

    The U.S. Bureau of Land Management earlier this month released an environmental review for ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project that listed as a preferred alternative an option calling for up to three drill sites initially, compared to the five that had been favored by the company. It is an option project proponents, including Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation, have expressed support for. But Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan said any further limiting of the project could kill it.

    The Bureau of Land Management noted its listing of a preferred alternative “does not constitute a commitment or decision.” The U.S. Interior Department said separately that it had “substantial concerns” about the project and the report’s preferred alternative, “including direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence.” The Bureau of Land Management falls under Interior.

    Sullivan has said Willow could be “one of the biggest, most important resource development projects in our state’s history.” He last week urged state lawmakers in Alaska’s capital to pass a resolution expressing support for the project and to get involved in litigation that is likely to arise from whatever decision is rendered by the federal government. A decision could come in early March.

    Taqulik Hepa, director of the Department of Wildlife Management for the North Slope Borough, said taxes levied on oil and gas infrastructure have enabled the borough to invest in public infrastructure, support local schools and provide police, fire and other services.

    Hepa said the borough and its residents are “keenly aware of the need to balance responsible oil development and the subsistence lifestyle that has sustained us.” She said the borough has demanded this balance be achieved in its dealings with government agencies and oil companies for decades.

    Nagruk Harcharek, president of the group Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, whose members include leaders from across much of the North Slope, said there is “majority consensus” in the region in favor of the project, calling Willow a “lifeline” for residents. He said there are limited economic development opportunities in the region, which makes approval of the Willow project important.

    Sullivan, in a speech on the U.S. Senate floor last week, said the voices of those who support the project aren’t being given enough attention. He complained that national media outlets find “the one who’s against it and quote her.”

    City of Nuiqsut Mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak said there are “many who would like to say everybody in Alaska supports oil and gas development. Well, for our village, this development is in the wrong area.”

    Nuiqsut is about 36 miles (58 kilometers) from the Willow project.

    “Our concerns are real. It’s about our way of life, the life, health and safety of our village,” she said.

    Environmentalists have raised concerns that approval of the project would lead to further development and say it’s inconsistent with President Joe Biden’s climate goals.

    Biden earlier this month said the U.S. would need oil “for at least another decade.″ Murkowski said there is a move to transition toward a “different energy future” but said Biden needs to “recheck his facts, respectfully.”

    “We are decades, decades away from a time that we would be beyond oil resources,” she said. “The need is very, very much still there.”

    She and Sullivan have said resource development should be done in places with environmental standards like Alaska.

    The proposed Willow project is in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. ConocoPhillips Alaska has said it could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak. It is expected to create up to 2,500 jobs during construction and an estimated 300 permanent jobs, along with generating billions of dollars in revenues for federal, state and local governments, the company has said.

    ___

    Associated Press reporter Mark Thiessen contributed to this report from Anchorage, Alaska.

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  • Biden’s signature advances major projects in water bill

    Biden’s signature advances major projects in water bill

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    President Joe Biden signed a large defense bill on Friday that includes a water bill that directs the Army Corps of Engineers on major infrastructure projects to improve navigation and protect against storms worsened by climate change.

    The biggest project by far this year is a $34 billion Texas coastal barrier featuring massive floodgates and other structures to protect the Houston region with its concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants, at risk during major hurricanes.

    The Water Resources Development Act of 2022 also includes a $3.2 billion authorization for a new Soo Lock on the St. Marys River which connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron.

    Nearly all U.S. iron ore is mined near Lake Superior, but to create steel and build cars, it needs to travel on large vessels through a single, aging Michigan lock that federal officials have called the Achilles’ heel of the North American industrial economy.

    There are two locks operating but only one is big enough to handle the roughly 1,000 feet (305 meters) freighters the industry uses.

    “Everything was built around water transport on the Great Lakes,” said Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of a steel industry group. If the lock fails, it could upend industry and manufacturing, he said. Roads and rail aren’t workable alternatives.

    After years of studies and planning, members of Congress push to include their preferred projects in the water bill, typically every two years. If they are successful, they tout the job creation and local benefits back in their districts. This water bill includes 25 project authorizations.

    Versions of the new Michigan lock have been authorized by Congress before and it is already under construction. But the Army Corps said inflation, design changes and other factors have significantly increased its cost. This year Congress authorized the Corps to spend much more. Some of the money still needs to be allocated. Officials say the new lock should be finished in 2030.

    The new Soo Lock is in Sault Ste. Marie on Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula, about 346 miles (556 kilometers) north of Detroit. The existing Poe Lock is growing older and Army Corps officials don’t want it to be a single point of failure for a critical supply chain.

    “When you have steel components that are in the water for 50 years, they do tend to fatigue and deteriorate,” said Kevin McDaniels, deputy district engineer for the Army Corps Detroit District.

    The Senate voted 83-11 earlier this month to pass the national defense bill. In addition to water infrastructure, it increases spending on defense programs and includes a Republican-favored measure to end COVID-19 vaccination mandates for U.S. service members. It passed the House with broad, bipartisan support.

    The water bill also makes it easier for the Corps to shift toward using wetlands and other nature-based solutions to combat flooding.

    “There is a lot in here that is important for our environment, our economy and for climate resilience,” said Amy Souers Kober, a spokesperson with American Rivers.

    For example, when hurricanes hit, coastal protections can be built with climate change in mind, allowing designers to think about how much seas will rise when they make their plans.

    There are numerous other provisions. The bill improves outreach with tribes, allows the Corps to focus more on water conservation in drought-prone areas and supports ecosystem restoration projects. In Michigan, it shifts more of the costs to the federal government for a project aimed at protecting the Great Lakes from invasive carp.

    ———

    Reporter Corey Williams contributed to this story from Detroit.

    ———

    The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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  • EU reaches deal on emissions trading, social climate fund

    EU reaches deal on emissions trading, social climate fund

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    BERLIN — European Union governments and lawmakers reached a deal Sunday on key elements of the 27-nation bloc’s green deal, reforming the EU’s trading system for greenhouse gas emissions and creating a new hardship fund for those hardest-hit by measures to curb climate change.

    The two sides agreed to push European industries and energy companies to cut their emissions by speeding up the phase-out of free pollution vouchers. Doing so makes each ton of carbon dioxide that’s released into the atmosphere more expensive for polluters.

    The EU’s executive Commission said the measure would require European industries to reduce their emissions by 62% by 2030 from 2005 levels, compared to a target of 43% under the previous rules.

    To ensure a level playing field, the EU will also introduce a tax on foreign companies that want to import products which don’t meet climate-protection standards European companies have to comply with. The so-called Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism was agreed to last week.

    Governments and the European Parliament also agreed to extend the bloc’s emissions trading system to cover road transport and the heating of buildings from 2027. This is likely to raise the price of gasoline, natural gas and other fossil fuels for consumers, providing an incentive to switch to cleaner alternatives.

    The deal includes an emergency clause allowing the introduction to be postponed by a year if energy costs are particularly high.

    Against the backdrop of the current energy crisis that has stoked inflation in Europe and beyond, negotiators agreed to also create a social climate fund that will help vulnerable households and small businesses cope with higher costs for fuel arising from the new measures.

    The fund comprising tens of billions of euros will be phased in from 2026 and filled with proceeds from the auction of emissions vouchers.

    “We can now safely say that the EU has delivered on its promises with ambitious legislation and this puts us at the forefront of fighting climate change globally,” said Czech Environment Minister Marian Jurecka, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

    The provisional agreement needs to be formally adopted by the EU Parliament and governments. It is part of the bloc’s broader ‘ Fit for 55 ’ package intended to help the EU cut its emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels and achieve “net zero” by mid-century.

    Separately Sunday, countries that are part of the North Seas Energy Cooperation were expected to sign an agreement with Britain on working together to expand the construction of offshore wind power and electricity interconnectors. The deal also envisages cooperation on the production of hydrogen with renewable energy.

    The United Kingdom, which left the North Seas Energy Cooperation agreement when it quit the EU in 2020, already has the biggest installed capacity for offshore wind power in Europe. With further expansion planned, Britain could become a major exporter of wind power to continental Europe in future.

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  • House advances giant Texas storm surge project in water bill

    House advances giant Texas storm surge project in water bill

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    HOUSTON — Fourteen years after Hurricane Ike ripped through thousands of homes and businesses near Galveston, Texas — but mostly spared the region’s oil refineries and chemical plants — the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to authorize the most expensive project ever recommended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect against the next raging storm.

    Ike erased beachfront neighborhoods, causing $30 billion in damage. But with so much of the nation’s petrochemical industry in the Houston-Galveston corridor, it could have been even worse. That close call inspired marine science professor Bill Merrell to first propose a massive coastal barrier to protect against a direct hit.

    Now, the National Defense Authorization Act includes authorizations for a $34 billion plan that borrows from Merrell’s idea.

    “It was quite different than anything we had done in the United States and it took us a little while to come around to it,” said Merrell of Texas A&M University at Galveston.

    The House passed the $858 billion defense bill by a vote of 350-80. It includes major projects to improve the nation’s waterways and protect communities against floods made more severe by climate change.

    Specifically, the vote advances the Water Resources Development Act of 2022. That lays out a sprawling set of policies for the Army Corps and authorizes projects that touch on navigation, improving the environment and protecting against storms. It typically passes every two years. It received strong, bipartisan support and now advances to the Senate.

    The Texas coastal protection project far outstrips any of the 24 other projects greenlit by the bill. There is a $6.3 billion plan to deepen vital shipping channels near New York City and a $1.2 billion effort to raise homes and businesses on the central Louisiana coast.

    “No matter what side of politics you are on, everyone is interested in having good water resources,” said Sandra Knight, president of WaterWonks LLC.

    THE IKE DIKE

    Researchers at Rice University in Houston have estimated that a Category 4 storm with a 24-foot storm surge could damage storage tanks and release more than 90 million gallons of oil and hazardous substances.

    The most prominent feature of the coastal barrier would be floodgates, including some 650 feet wide – roughly the equivalent of a 60-story building on its side – to prevent storm surge from entering Galveston Bay and plowing up the Houston Ship Channel. An 18-mile ring barrier system would also be built along the backside of Galveston Island to protect homes and businesses from storm surge. The plan took six years of study involving roughly 200 people.

    There will also be beach and dune ecosystem restoration projects along the Texas coast. The Houston Audubon Society raised concerns the project would destroy some bird habitat and harm fish, shrimp and crabs populations in the Bay.

    NEXT STEPS

    The legislation authorizes the construction of the project, but funding will remain a challenge — money must still be allocated. The huge cost burden falls heaviest on the federal government, but local and state entities also will have to pitch in billions. Construction could take two decades.

    “It significantly reduces the risk of that catastrophic storm surge event that is not recoverable,” said Mike Braden, chief of the Army Corps Galveston District’s mega projects division.

    The bill also includes a range of policy measures. When future hurricanes hit for example, coastal protections can be rebuilt with climate change in mind. Designers will be able to think about how much seas will rise when they draw up plans.

    “The future for a lot of these communities is not going to look like the past,” said Jimmy Hague, senior water policy advisor at the Nature Conservancy.

    The water resources bill continues a push towards wetlands and other flood solutions that use nature to absorb water instead of concrete walls to keep it at bay. On the Mississippi River below St. Louis, for example, a new program will help restore ecosystems and create a mix of flood control projects. There are also provisions for studying long-term drought.

    There are measures to improve outreach with tribes and make it easier to complete work in poorer, historically disadvantaged communities.

    It can take a long time to study projects, move them through Congress and find funding. Merrell, who will turn 80 in February, said he hopes to see some of the Texas project be constructed but he doesn’t think he’ll be around to see it finished.

    “I just hope the end product comes and it protects my children and grandchildren and all the other citizens of this area,” Merrell said.

    ———

    Phillis reported from St. Louis.

    ———

    The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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  • FDA change ushers in cheaper, easier-to-get hearing aids

    FDA change ushers in cheaper, easier-to-get hearing aids

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    It’s now a lot easier — and cheaper — for many hard-of-hearing Americans to get help.

    Hearing aids can now be sold without a prescription from a specialist. Over-the-counter, or OTC, hearing aids started hitting the market in October at prices that can be thousands of dollars lower than prescription hearing aids.

    About 30 million people in the United States deal with hearing loss, according to the Food and Drug Administration. But only about 20% of those who could use a hearing aid seek help.

    Here’s a closer look:

    WHO MIGHT BE HELPED

    The FDA approved OTC hearing aids for adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. That can include people who have trouble hearing phone calls or who turn up the TV volume loud enough that others complain.

    It also can include people who have trouble understanding group conversations in noisy places.

    OTC hearing aids aren’t intended for people with deeper hearing loss, which may include those who have trouble hearing louder noises, like power tools and cars. They also aren’t for people who lost their hearing suddenly or in just one ear, according to Sterling Sheffield, an audiologist who teaches at the University of Florida. Those people need to see a doctor.

    HEARING TEST

    Before over-the-counter, you usually needed to get your hearing tested and buy hearing aids from a specialist. That’s no longer the case.

    But it can be hard for people to gauge their own hearing. You can still opt to see a specialist just for that test, which is often covered by insurance, and then buy the aids on your own. Check your coverage before making an appointment.

    There also are a number of apps and questionnaires available to determine whether you need help. Some over-the-counter sellers also provide a hearing assessment or online test.

    WHO’S SELLING

    Several major retailers now offer OTC hearing aids online and on store shelves.

    Walgreens drugstores, for example, are selling Lexie Lumen hearing aids nationwide for $799. Walmart offers OTC hearing aids ranging from about $200 to $1,000 per pair. Its health centers will provide hearing tests.

    The consumer electronics chain Best Buy has OTC hearing aids available online and in nearly 300 stores. The company also offers an online hearing assessment, and store employees are trained on the stages of hearing loss and how to fit the devices.

    Overall, there are more than a dozen manufacturers making different models of OTC hearing aids.

    New devices will make up most of the OTC market as it develops, Sheffield said. Some may be hearing aids that previously required a prescription, ones that are only suitable for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

    Shoppers should expect a lot of devices to enter and leave the market, said Catherine Palmer, a hearing expert at the University of Pittsburgh.

    “It will be quite a while before this settles down,” she said.

    WHAT TO WATCH FOR

    Look for an OTC label on the box. Hearing aids approved by the FDA for sale without a prescription are required to be labeled OTC.

    That will help you distinguish OTC hearing aids from cheaper devices sometimes labeled sound or hearing amplifiers — called a personal sound amplification product or PSAP. While often marketed to seniors, they are designed to make sounds louder for people with normal hearing in certain environments, like hunting. And amplifiers don’t undergo FDA review.

    “People really need to read the descriptions,” said Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America.

    And check the return policy. That’s important because people generally need a few weeks to get used to them, and make sure they work in the situations where they need them most. That may include on the phone or in noisy offices or restaurants.

    Does the company selling OTC devices offer instructions or an app to assist with setup, fit and sound adjustments? A specialist could help too, but expect to pay for that office visit, which is rarely covered by insurance.

    Sheffield said hearing aids are not complicated, but wearing them also is not as simple as putting on a pair of reading glasses.

    “If you’ve never tried or worn hearing aids, then you might need a little bit of help,” he said.

    THE COST

    Most OTC hearing aids will cost between $500 and $1,500 for a pair, Sheffield said. He noted that some may run up to $3,000.

    And it’s not a one-time expense. They may have to be replaced every five years or so.

    Hearing specialists say OTC prices could fall further as the market matures. But they already are generally cheaper than their prescription counterparts, which can run more than $5,000.

    The bad news is insurance coverage of hearing aids is spotty. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer coverage of devices that need a prescription, but regular Medicare does not. There are discounts out there, including some offered by Medicare Advantage insurer UnitedHealthcare in partnership with AARP.

    Shoppers also can pay for the devices with money set aside in health savings accounts or flexible spending accounts.

    Don’t try to save money by buying just one hearing aid. People need to have the same level of hearing in both ears so they can figure out where a sound is coming from, according to the American Academy of Audiology.

    ———

    Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter: @thpmurphy

    ———

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • 3 Chinese astronauts return to Earth after 6-month mission

    3 Chinese astronauts return to Earth after 6-month mission

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    BEIJING — Three Chinese astronauts landed in a northern desert on Sunday after six months working to complete construction of the Tiangong station, a symbol of the country’s ambitious space program, state TV reported.

    A capsule carrying commander Chen Dong and astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe touched down at a landing site in the Gobi Desert in northern China at approximately 8:10 p.m. (1210 GMT), China Central Television reported.

    Prior to departure, they overlapped for almost five days with three colleagues who arrived Wednesday on the Shenzhou-15 mission for their own six-month stay, marking the first time China had six astronauts in space at the same time. The station’s third and final module docked with the station this month.

    The astronauts were carried out of the capsule by medical workers about 40 minutes after touchdown. They were all smiles, and appeared to be in good condition, waving happily at workers at the landing site.

    “I am very fortunate to have witnessed the completion of the basic structure of the Chinese space station after six busy and fulfilling months in space,” said Chen, who was the first to exit the capsule. “Like meteors, we returned to the embrace of the motherland.”

    Liu, another of the astronauts, said that she was moved to see relatives and her fellow compatriots.

    The three astronauts were part of the Shenzhou-14 mission, which launched in June. After their arrival at Tiangong, Chen, Liu and Cai oversaw five rendezvous and dockings with various spacecraft including one carrying the third of the station’s three modules.

    They also performed three spacewalks, beamed down a live science lecture from the station, and conducted a range of experiments.

    The Tiangong is part of official Chinese plans for a permanent human presence in orbit.

    China built its own station after it was excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. objections over the Chinese space programs’ close ties to the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party.

    With the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 mission, the station expanded to its maximum weight of 100 tons.

    Without attached spacecraft, the Chinese station weighs about 66 tons — a fraction of the International Space Station, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs around 465 tons.

    With a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, Tiangong could one day be the only space station still up and running if the International Space Station retires by around the end of the decade as expected.

    China in 2003 became the third government to send an astronaut into orbit on its own after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

    China has also chalked up uncrewed mission successes: Its Yutu 2 rover was the first to explore the little-known far side of the moon. Its Chang’e 5 probe also returned lunar rocks to Earth in December 2020 for the first time since the 1970s, and another Chinese rover is searching for evidence of life on Mars.

    Officials are reported to be considering an eventual crewed mission to the moon, although no timeline has been offered.

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  • Missouri man admits 26-year Social Security fraud

    Missouri man admits 26-year Social Security fraud

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    ST. LOUIS — An eastern Missouri man has admitted that he stole almost $200,000 by collecting his mother’s Social Security benefits for 26 years after her death.

    Reginald Bagley, 62, of Dellwood, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of stealing money belonging to the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eastern Missouri said in a news release.

    Bagley did not report his mother’s death on March 12, 1994, to the Social Security Administration.

    Instead, in 1998 he set up a bank account to have her benefits directly deposited. The bank statements were sent to his address, with the name of either Bagley or his mother on them, prosecutors said.

    The scheme unraveled when the Social Security Administration tried to contact Bagley’s mother because she was not using her Medicare benefits.

    Bagley closed the bank account and received a cashier’s check for the remaining balance on July 24, 2020.

    In all, Bagley stole $197,329 in Social Security benefits, prosecutors said.

    At his sentencing on March 29, Bagley will be ordered to repay the money. He faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

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  • EPA seeks to mandate more use of ethanol and other biofuels

    EPA seeks to mandate more use of ethanol and other biofuels

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    MINNEAPOLIS — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed increasing the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supplies over the next three years, a move welcomed by renewable fuel and farm groups but condemned by environmentalists and oil industry groups.

    “This proposal supports low-carbon renewable fuels and seeks public input on ways to strengthen the program,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. “With this proposal, EPA seeks to provide consumers with more options while diversifying our nation’s energy mix.”

    The proposal also includes new incentives to encourage the use of biogas from farms and landfills, and renewable biomass such as wood, to generate electricity to charge electric vehicles. It’s the first time the EPA has set biofuel targets on its own instead of using numbers from Congress. The agency opened a public comment period and will hold a hearing in January.

    The goal of the existing Renewable Fuel Standard is to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, expand the country’s fuel supply, strengthen energy security and reduce fuel prices for consumers. Ethanol is a key part of the economy in many Midwest states, consuming about 40% of the nation’s corn supply.

    But environmentalists argue that it’s a net ecological and climate detriment because growing all that corn fosters unsustainable farming practices, while the oil industry says ethanol mandates constrain free market forces and limit consumer choice, and that higher blends can damage older vehicles.

    Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told reporters on a conference call that the EPA’s plan creates a “clear pathway for sustainable growth for our industry when it comes to the production and use of low-carbon fuels like ethanol.” He said it also bolsters the industry’s push for year-round sales of gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend, as well as sales of the 85% ethanol blend E85.

    “As the administration is working to address climate change, we’ve long known that biofuels will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases while having the added benefit of providing expanded opportunities for farmers,” National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said in a statement.

    But environmental groups said the plan offers false solutions to climate change.

    “This is a toxic plan directly at odds with the Biden Administration’s commitment to Environmental Justice,” Sarah Lutz, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. “Charging electric vehicles with forests and factory farms should be a non-starter.”

    Geoff Moody, senior vice president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers said the Renewable Fuel Standard was meant to be a liquid fuels program, not an electric vehicle program. He urged the EPA to go back as it develops the final rule and reject “yet another massive regulatory subsidy for electric vehicle manufacturers.”

    The EPA proposes to set the total target for all kinds of renewable fuels at 20.82 billion gallons for 2023, including 15 billion gallons from corn ethanol. The target would grow to 22.68 billion gallons for 2025, including 15.25 billion gallons of corn ethanol. The plan also calls for growth in cellulosic biofuels — which are made from fibrous plant materials — biomass-based diesel and other advanced biofuels.

    Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, the country’s top corn and ethanol producing state, said in a statement that the EPA should have gone further to require even more use of advanced biofuels to move freight, which he said would help lower prices for consumer goods.

    Cooper said there’s probably no way to meet the proposed higher targets without more use of E15 and E85 instead of the conventional 10% ethanol mix. That makes it important to eliminate regulations that block summertime sales of E15, he said.

    So, he predicted, the EPA’s proposal should bolster prospects for legislation introduced this week by Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, and GOP Sen. Deb Fischer, of Nebraska, to allow year-round sales of E15 nationwide. E15 sales are usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures.

    Eight Midwest governors asked the EPA in April to allow year-round sales of E15 in their states. But Cooper said the new bill would provide a “nationwide fix” that even the American Petroleum Institute considers preferable to the current patchwork of temporary waivers and ad hoc solutions.

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  • What to know if you’ve applied for student loan forgiveness

    What to know if you’ve applied for student loan forgiveness

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    NEW YORK — President Joe Biden’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in federal student loan forgiveness has been blocked by two federal courts, leaving millions of borrowers wondering what happens next. The administration plans to appeal. Here’s what to know if you’ve applied for relief:

    WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

    While the application for relief has been taken down from the Federal Student Aid website, applications that have already been filed are on hold while the appeal works its way through the courts.

    “Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program,” the Education Department said on its site. “As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders.”

    A federal judge in Texas ruled that the plan overstepped the White House’s authority. Before that, a federal appeals court in St. Louis put the plan on temporary hold while it considers a challenge from six Republican-led states.

    Still, advocates believe the administration will succeed in court.

    “We’re really confident they’re going to find a way forward to cancel people’s debt,” said Katherine Welbeck at the Student Borrower Protection Center.

    Experts say student loan forgiveness has the potential to end up before the Supreme Court, meaning this could be a lengthy process.

    WHEN DO PAYMENTS RESUME?

    Most people with student loan debt have not been required to make payments during the coronavirus pandemic, but payments are set to resume, along with the accrual of interest, in January.

    Biden previously said the payment pause will not be extended again, but that was before the courts halted his plan. He’s now facing mounting pressure to continue the pause while the legal challenges to the program play out.

    WHAT IF I ALREADY APPLIED FOR RELIEF?

    More than 26 million people applied for cancellation over the course of less than a month, according to the Education Department. If you’re one of them, there’s nothing more you need to do right now.

    About 16 million people already had their applications approved, according to the Biden administration. Yet because of court actions, none of the relief has actually been delivered.

    The Education Department will “quickly process their relief once we prevail in court,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

    WHAT IF I HAVEN’T YET APPLIED FOR RELIEF?

    For those who have not yet applied, the application for debt cancellation is no longer online. But there are still steps people can take to make sure their debt is canceled, should the appeal be successful, according to Welbeck.

    “People should still check their eligibility,” she said. “As news changes, people should look out for updates from the Department of Education.”

    You can sign up to receive the latest from the Federal Student Aid website here.

    WHO QUALIFIES, SHOULD THE APPEAL SUCCEED?

    The debt forgiveness plan announced in August would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven, for a total of $20,000.

    Borrowers qualify if their loans were disbursed before July 1.

    About 43 million student loan borrowers are eligible for some debt forgiveness, with 20 million who could have their debt erased entirely, according to the administration.

    ARE THERE OTHER PATHWAYS TO CANCELLATION?

    For those who have worked for a government agency or a nonprofit organization, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program offers cancellation after 10 years of regular payments, and some income-driven repayment plans cancel the remainder of a borrower’s debt after 20 to 25 years, according to Welbeck.

    “Borrowers should make sure they’re signed up for the best income-driven repayment plan possible,” Welbeck said. In July, the administration will be reviewing and adjusting some of the accounts enrolled in these plans. You can find out more about those plans here.

    Borrowers who have been defrauded by for-profit schools may also apply for borrower defense and receive relief on that account, Welbeck said.

    SHOULD I RESUME PAYMENTS WHEN THE PAYMENT PAUSE IS LIFTED?

    Advocates, including the Student Borrower Protection Center, are still urging the president to extend the pandemic-era payment freeze, arguing that students are entitled to the promised cancellation before the January repayment date arrives.

    That said, Welbeck recommends logging on to your account, making sure you know who your servicer is, your due date, and whether you’re enrolled in the best income-driven repayment plan, as you resume making payments.

    The Student Borrower Protection Center is holding regular webinars on how to follow the changing policy in the coming months. You can sign up for those here.

    If your budget doesn’t allow you to resume payments, it’s important to know how to navigate the possibility of default and delinquency on a student loan. You can read more about those here. Both can hurt your credit rating, which would make you ineligible for additional aid.

    If you’re in a short-term financial bind, you may qualify for a deferment or a forbearance. With either of these options, you can talk to your servicer about ways to temporarily suspend your payments. You can learn more about those options here.

    WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW?

    Watch out for scams and get information only from trusted sources such as the Federal Student Aid site of the Department of Education.

    IS IT POSSIBLE THE DEBT WON’T BE CANCELLED?

    Yes. The issue of debt forgiveness is now before the courts.

    The administration is not saying whether or not it’s exploring other options for canceling debt if it loses its appeals. But advocates point to other ways the debt might be forgiven, including through the Higher Education Act.

    HOW DO I PREPARE FOR STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS TO RESTART?

    Betsy Mayotte, President of the Institute of Student Loan Advisors, encourages people not to make any payments until the pause has ended.

    “I’ve been telling people to pretend they’re paying their student loan, but to put it into an interest-bearing account for now if you’re able,” she said. “Then you’ve maintained the habit of making the payment, but earning a little bit of interest as well. There’s no reason to send that money to the student loans until the last minute of the zero percent interest rate.”

    Mayotte recommends that borrowers use the loan simulator tool at StudentAid.gov or the one on TISLA’s website to find the repayment course that best fits their needs. Once you plug in your information, it tells you what your monthly payment would be under each available plan, as well as what the long-term costs amount to.

    “I really want to emphasize the long-term,” Mayotte said. “Oftentimes I see people who might be having a financial struggle. They’ll find a lower monthly repayment option, and then, ‘Set it and forget it.’”

    Mayotte encourages people to switch to higher payments if their financial situation stabilizes, so the loan doesn’t end up costing more in the long run.

    Other useful tips that can shave costs for borrowers:

    — If you sign up for automatic payments, the servicer takes a quarter of a percent off your interest rate, according to Mayotte.

    — Income-driven repayment plans aren’t right for everyone. That said, if you know you will eventually qualify for forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, it makes sense to make the lowest monthly payments possible, as the remainder of your debt will be cancelled once that decade of payments is complete.

    — Re-evaluate your monthly student loan repayment at tax time, when you already have all your financial information in front of you. “Can you afford to increase it? Or do you need to decrease it?” Mayotte said. “Always look at your long-term student loan management strategy.”

    — Break up payments into whatever ways work best for you, whether that means two installments during the month, so it’s not a large lump sum at the end or the beginning, or setting aside cash in envelopes for designated purposes.

    “Even if it’s an extra $5 or $20 a month, that’s a good strategy,” Mayotte said. “If they can afford to pay a little more per month — the more you pay and faster you pay, the less you’ll pay in the long run.”

    Mayotte gave one example of a borrower with debt from higher education in the six figures. She was recently married, and she and her husband and kids decided to save every five dollar bill in a cookie jar to go towards the loans.

    “That added up to a few more hundred dollars each quarter,” Mayotte said. “Everybody has a different financial personality. There are those who are really good at budgets. There are people who need to play games and trick themselves. And people shouldn’t judge each other people’s financial personalities.”

    —-

    The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

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