Oil gas journal

This year has been unusually dry for 60% of counties in Great Britain. Total rainfall in the first seven months of 2022 was considerably lower i than the historical average in 54 of the 91 areas, according to Sky News analysis of Met Office data. The biggest shortfall has been in counties in the south of England like East Sussex and Kent. But the situation is bad in other parts of the country too, with 14 counties experiencing significantly less rainfall up to July than during the same period in 1976, when the UK experienced a severe drought . Most of these places are in Scotland and the others, Tyne and Wear and Merseyside, are in the north of England. Only 194mm of rainfall was recorded in Kent in the first seven months of 2022 . This is half the average rainfall recorded between 1991 and 2020 in the months up to July. Levels are currently below average in most areas. Although rainfall in Kent is still higher than it was during the drought of 1976 . … [Read more...] about It’s hot, it’s dry – but how does this year compare to the 1976 drought?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jared Blumenfeld, California's top environmental regulator and a key climate adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, will leave the administration at the end of the month, Newsom announced Friday. Newsom, a Democrat, appointed Blumenfeld as secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency on his first day in office in 2019. Blumenfeld will become president of the Waverley Street Foundation, a $3 billion climate initiative funded by Laurene Powell Jobs. As head of the state’s environmental agency, he was responsible for departments that regulate air pollution, water use, recycling, toxic substances, pesticides, environmental health hazards like extreme heat. Yana Garcia, special assistant attorney general focused on environmental issues in the California Department of Justice, will take over as head of the California EPA next month. Blumenfeld said the agency now rivals the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its staff and budget. Blumenfeld was … [Read more...] about Top California environment official leaving state government

A desperate Brit says he was forced to steal sandwiches from Poundland due to the crippling cost of living crisis. Former delivery driver Steve Anthony, 42, said he had exhausted "every other avenue" before pinching the food. Mr Anthony stopped shoplifting after receiving help from a local community hub, although many other Brits are turning to crime to survive. Shops have reported a big rise in theft of essential low-value items from milk, cheese and cooking oil to baby milk and nappies. Mum-of-four Lisa Ann has also admitted that she too had stolen from a Co-op due to soaring energy and food prices. Both she and Steve also save money through various means, such as washing themselves in cold water and eating just once a day as a result of the cost of living crisis. Household energy bills increased by 54 per cent in April this year, and are likely to continue spiralling with analysts predicting that the October price cap could hit £3,359. Steve, from Sheffield, … [Read more...] about ‘I was so poor I stole sandwiches from Poundland and have cold baths to save money’

By ALAN FRAM WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Congress gave final approval Friday to Democrats’ flagship climate and health care bill, handing President Joe Biden a back-from-the-dead triumph on coveted priorities that the party hopes will bolster their prospects for keeping their hold on Congress in November’s elections. The House used a party-line 220-207 vote to pass the legislation, which is but a shadow of the larger, more ambitious plan to supercharge environment and social programs that Biden and his party envisioned early last year. Even so, Democrats happily declared victory on top-tier goals like providing Congress’ largest ever investment in curbing carbon emissions, reining in pharmaceutical costs and taxing large companies, a vote they believe will show they can wring accomplishments from a routinely gridlocked Washington that often disillusions voters. “Today is a day of celebration, a day we take another giant step in our momentous agenda,” said House Speaker Nancy … [Read more...] about Congress OKs Dems’ climate, health bill, a Biden triumph