*By Madison Alworth*
With its latest emissions policy, the Trump administration has effectively overhauled President Obama's environmental legacy, said Earther reporter Brian Kahn.
"You couple this also with the international view of dropping out of the Paris Agreement ー or at least announcing our intent to do thatーas well as what we're seeing with the Department of Interior and its attempt to lease more oil and gas drilling sites on federal land," Kahn said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. "Taken as a whole, these policies really signal a rapid and major change."
The administration [introduced](https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-affordable-clean-energy-ace-rule) a new rule, "Affordable Clean Energy," on Tuesday, which will roll back many of the restrictions on coal emissions that President Obama put in place.
The new plan allows individual states to regulate their coal plants' pollution rather than adhering to a federal standard.
"The Clean Power Plan was going to reduce them by about 35 percent them by 2030, and this will lead to a 1 percent decrease over that time period," Kahn said.
The new plan is largely perceived as a means to prop up the coal industry. But in a statement released Tuesday, the EPA said the rule “empowers states, promotes energy independence, and facilitates economic growth and job creation.”
"We are putting our great coal miners back to work," President Trump said during a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday night.
If the plan is enacted, Kahn said the results may be disastrous.
"So, we are going to see more carbon emissions. More importantly than that, we'll also see a lot of pollution," he said. "That will have very adverse impacts on the American public."
The administration's plan will move to an open, public comment period before it will need final approval from the president.
For full interview [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-administration-announces-new-emission-policy).
Andrew Chanin, CEO of investment management firm ProcureAM, joined Cheddar to break down the many industries in the space economy and discuss what trends are driving the most growth. "Right now there's been so much media focus on space tourism. Why? Because last year it really debuted itself to the world," he said. "However it's less than 1 percent of the overall space economy, and there are many other parts of space which are actually driving this area."
Plastic has become the face of global pollution. To date, humans have produced 8.3 billion metric tons of it. Once discarded, plastic doesn’t biodegrade. Instead, it fragments into microplastics smaller than the size of a sesame seed and further into nanoplastics.
These tiny particles of plastic end up everywhere, deep in the ice of Antarctic glaciers or even inside our bodies.
So how much plastic is inside of us? And what does it mean for our health? Let’s find out.
Catching you up on what you Need to Know on Mar 29, 2022, with updates on the snow squall in Pennsylvania that caused a pileup killing three, the teacher's strike in Sacramento heading into week two, Walmart no longer selling tobacco products in select stores, and what meme stocks are up to this week.
Catching you up on what you Need to Know on Mar 28, 2022, with peace talks resuming in Ukraine as early as today, Colorado wildfires causing evacuations, Shanghai, China, ramping up restrictions once again, the Oscars debacle between Will Smith and Chris Rock, and more.
The U.S. market value of the plant-based food industry reached an all-time high last year. According to a new report from the Plant Based Food Association, retail sales of plant-based foods reached $7.4 billion, but questions are arising over whether the industry can sustain the levels of growth it had in the past few years. Julie Emmett, senior director of marketplace development at the Plant Based Food Association, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bowery Farming's vertical growing process allows it to cultivate 13 types of greens — and now, strawberries — in a sustainable way that's also faster than traditional farming. Bowery focuses on sustainability from start to finish, using unique technology to provide plants with what they need at the right time while eliminating waste and cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions. Katie Seawell, Chief Commercial Officer of Bowery Farming, joins Closing Bell to discuss the company's vertical farming process, sustainability focus, fixing the food supply chain, and more.
Nexii, a company based in Canada, is getting some big backing for its sustainable, low-carbon concrete alternative. CEO Stephen Sidwell, joined Cheddar News to talk about the initiatives his company is taking to tackle climate change and scaling up production to meet demand. "Most people don’t realize it, but buildings are the number one contributor to CO2 emissions," he said. "So that's really what we're attacking, the overall CO2 emissions."
Catching you up on what you need to know on March 25, 2022, with Ukrainian forces retaking Kyiv, 300 deaths reported from the bombing of a theater used as a shelter in Mariupol, U.S. regulators ditch a climate review of natural gas projects, the 94th Academy Awards, and more.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced the removal of the mask mandate in school and day-care centers for children under 5. If COVID-19 cases remain low, this change will take place on April 4th. Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
