State Government
Mississippi imposes new tax on hybrid vehicles
WDAM
Owners of hybrid and electric vehicles in Mississippi received a notice from the state Department of Revenue informing them of the new annual tax on their vehicles.
BUSINESSES, LAWMAKERS, EMPLOYEES PROMOTE SHAPE UP EVENT
MPB
Mississippi business leaders, lawmakers and employees are partnering to promote healthier lifestyles in the state.
Oil Spill
Gulf sturgeon, loons and terns could share $16 million in BP spill money
Times-Picayune
Nearly $16 million in BP oil spill natural resource restoration money should be used to restore habitat for common loons in Minnesota and black terns in North and South Dakota and to study the threatened Gulf sturgeon in the Pearl and Pascagoula river systems, say federal trustees reviewing how to repair damage to Gulf waters caused by the spill.
Minnesota loon conservation efforts get $7.2M from Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement
Pioneer Press
Projects to bolster conservation efforts for Minnesota loons will get a huge boost under a settlement stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Regional
Hurricane Michael strengthens to Category 4 storm, considered 'extremely dangerous'
Fox News
Barrelling in with 145 mph winds and generating reports of 31-foot waves, an "extremely dangerous" Hurricane Michael was upgraded to a Category 4 storm Wednesday and continued strengthening into what could be the most powerful storm to hit the Florida Panhandle in 100 years, forecasters said.
Florida town turns off its whole sewer system in preparation for the storm
CNN
The sewer system for the entire town of Apalachicola, Florida, was shut down at 5 p.m. ET yesterday in preparation for the hurricane, Apalachicola Mayor Van Johnson tells CNN.
Thousands of Southerners Planted Trees for Retirement. It Didn’t Work.
WSJ
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Over the past hundred years, the George family’s farm has been sharecropped, grazed by cattle and planted with cotton. By the late 1980s, Clayton George was growing soybeans and struggling to make ends meet.
New $100,000 campaign asks Memphians not to litter
WMC
Memphis City Beautiful and City of Memphis just launched an ambitious new ad campaign to teach young people not to litter.
Could MLGW switch to nuclear power?
WMC
There’s a new push to take Memphis power nuclear.
National
EPA Backs Down From New Energy Efficiency Ratings After Landlords Balk
Some property owners say new methodology was confusing and unfairly downgraded some buildings
WSJ
The Environmental Protection Agency has put on hold plans to update its system for rating the energy efficiency of office and industrial buildings, pausing after some big landlords complained the methodology would unfairly penalize their properties.
Inside The EPA: How Employees Are Reacting To The U.N. Climate Report
NPR
The United Nations released a climate report on Monday, but how does it fit with EPA policies? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Washington Post reporter Brady Dennis about how EPA employees are responding.
Exxon contributes $1 million to carbon tax campaign
The Hill
Exxon Mobil Corp. is making a $1 million contribution to an advocacy effort calling for a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
Europe debates tougher emissions cuts for vehicles
AP
European Union officials are working on tougher auto emissions standards aimed at fighting global warming — but which the industry cautions could hurt workers and consumers.
Press Releases
USGS: Hurricane surge likely to erode 75% of Florida Panhandle beaches
One-fourth of Florida Panhandle beachfront could be inundated by large storm waves, experts predict
Hurricane Michael, which is forecast to make landfall Wednesday as a Category Three hurricane, is very likely to cause erosion at the base of sand dunes along about three-fourths of the Florida Panhandle beaches, and to inundate more than one-fourth of that coast’s dunes, causing flooding behind the protective dune line, according to coastal change experts at the U.S. Geological Survey.
Open Ocean Trustees Seek Public Comment on First Draft Restoration Plan
https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/2018/10/open-ocean-trustee-implementation-group-seeks-public-comment-its-first-draft-restoration?
