XPost: alt.global-warming   
      
   US oil and gas fears end of the line for big pipe projects   
   Justin Jacobs, Financial Times via Carbon Brief   
      
   "America's oil and gas industry is facing up to an uncomfortable new   
   reality", the Financial Times reports, as projects to build new   
   pipelines have "become much more difficult". The outlet notes that   
   Biden "moved quickly" to cancel the "contentious" Keystone XL pipeline   
   last week and that officials in Canada are "nervously watching the   
   fate" of 2 pipeline expansions planned to ship more oil from   
   northern Alberta into the US. Many people, the outlet reports, are   
   asking if the Mountain Valley pipeline - a natural gas pipeline that   
   is more than 90% built - could be the last big pipeline built across   
   US state lines.   
      
   The Biden administration is asking courts to pause litigation on two   
   further climate rollbacks put forward under the Trump administration,   
   the Hill reports that the . The first of these would have ended   
   regulation on methane emissions from "the production, processing   
   transmission and storage of oil and gas", the outlet says. The second   
   would have given federal govts the "sole authority to set   
   emissions standards", undercutting the ability of states such as   
   California to make their cars more environmentally   
   friendly. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that a Trump   
   administration rule "limiting which scientific studies the   
   Environmental Protection Agency can use in crafting public health   
   protections" has been overturned.   
      
   In other US news, the Washington Post reviews Biden's actions on   
   climate so far, highlighting that 2 days before Biden's   
   inauguration, "high-level managers" from the US Geological Survey   
   filed a complaint against an official from the Trump administration   
   for "trying to dictate how scientists there study climate change". It   
   adds that this document is currently under review. Meanwhile, the   
   Financial Times reports that Mexico has "proposed a sweeping overhaul   
   of its electricity market to favour its state-owned utility", in a   
   move that would raise trade tensions with the US and Canada. Finally,   
   Scientific American reports that the EPA is "expected to draft interim   
   auto emissions standards" and should unveil the standards by April 1st.   
      
   --   
   Qld super rubbish system sitting idle because noone can switch it on   
   ABC News, 1 Feb 2021   
   A Qld council has spend $21 mn to install a new hi-tech rubbish   
   collection system that sucks garbage through pipes at 70 mph, avoiding   
   the need for rubbish trucks. With the system completed it now sits   
   idle because noone is qualified to switch it on.  The S Korean   
   builders are stuck at home unable to get flights to Australia due to   
   the pandemic.  Reps for the Qld council say they understand a team   
   will be dispatched to do the final checkout and startup sometime in Feb.   
      
   Hotel guard who triggered WA lockdown has the mutant UK strain,   
   authorities confirm   
   ABC News, 01 Feb 2021 04:51Z   
   A hotel quarantine security guard whose movements are being tracked   
   after he contracted COVID-19 has the highly contagious UK variant of   
   the virus, authorities reveal.   
      
   Shipping container shortage puts the squeeze on Australian exporters amid   
   supply chain crunch   
   ABC Rural, 01 Feb 2021 05:49Z   
   Fresh food exporters are struggling to get their produce to market as a   
   shortage of food-grade shipping containers and lengthy delays at   
   international ports take a toll.   
      
   At least one house on fire as Perth Hills bushfire reaches emergency level   
   ABC News, 01 Feb 2021 05:49Z   
   Fire crews battle an out of control bushfire in the Perth Hills suburb of   
   Wooroloo which is unpredictable, as helicopter vision shows at least one   
   house apparently ablaze and residents in Chidlow and Wundowie also at risk.   
   [Last reports say 3 homes lost. Conditions worsening overnight].   
      
   Chinese businesswoman Sally Zou tops list of SA political donors   
   ABC News, 01 Feb 2021 05:48Z   
   Newly published records reveal Chinese businesswoman Sally Zou was the   
   single highest donor to the SA Liberal Party during the 2019-20 financial   
   year.   
      
   [Redux!]   
   'Going backwards': Australia's Burmese community fears return of military   
   rule after Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest   
   ABC News, 01 Feb 2021 06:47Z   
   Members of Australia's Burmese community are in a state of shock and   
   disbelief after the military detained Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu   
   Kyi.   
      
   How did WA's hotel quarantine system fail? Police and the Government hunt   
   for answers   
   ABC News, 01 Feb 2021 07:46Z   
   An investigation is underway to find the weak link in WA's hotel quarantine   
   system after a security guard tested positive to COVID-19, plunging most of   
   the State's population into a 5 day lockdown.   
      
   MDBA says a 'sand slug' caused by early gold miners is impacting crucial   
   stretch of river   
   ABC Riverina, 01 Feb 2021 08:05Z   
   The Murray Darling Basin Authority says the accumulation of sediment in the   
   Barmah Choke is the result of historic mining practices rather than poor   
   management, but a local leader says the agency is "clutching at straws".   
      
   [Of Course They Are!]   
   Hollywood already eyeing movie about r/WallStreetBets, GameStop   
   New York Post, 01 Feb 2021 05:26Z   
   Hollywood already has its sights set on last week's GameStop trading frenzy.   
      
   Trump stocks new PAC with tens of mns as he bids to retain control of GOP   
   POLITICO, 01 Feb 2021 02:07Z   
   Former President Donald Trump amassed $31.2 mn in his new political   
   operation by the end of 2020, giving him a powerful tool to keep the   
   Republican Party ...   
      
   Victorian Government bans high-risk cladding for new multi-storey buildings   
   in 'world first'   
   ABC News, 31 Jan 2021 19:51Z   
   Penalties of up to $80,000 for individuals and $400,000 for building   
   companies will be slapped on those that breach the combustible cladding ban.   
      
   Gottlieb says vaccination "should be a backstop" to protect against virus   
   variant   
   CBS News, 31 Jan 2021 16:44Z   
   Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner, says inoculations may stem   
   the spread of a new coronavirus variant in the coming months.   
      
   [The bad news keeps on commin!]   
   An electric race car has lapped Daytona for the first time   
   Ars Technica, 31 Jan 2021 16:42Z   
   The annual 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway in Florida got   
   underway on Sat afternoon. And this year's race has been a pretty good   
   one so ...   
      
   [It's a generational thang!]   
   GameStop mayhem hits close to home for co-founder's son, who's active on   
   WallStreetBets   
   CNBC, 31 Jan 2021 13:41Z   
   Ben Kusin, whose dad co-founded the predecessor to GameStop in the 1980s, is   
   an avid follower of the WallStreetBets forum on Reddit.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)