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GAYLORD, MI – A 420-acre swath of state forestland will be cleared for a solar farm near Gaylord under a lease agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, confirmed a top state official.
Officials with the DNR recently assessed 1,200 acres of public trust land in Otsego County near a major power transmission line to decide whether it was suitable for solar arrays. Agency leaders ultimately decided to lease 35% of that land to accompany other adjacent solar projects already in the works.
A public notice advertising competitive bidding for solar proposals on 420 acres of state land in Otsego County’s Hayes Township is expected to be published in coming days in both the Gaylord newspaper and on the DNR website, confirmed Scott Whitcomb, DNR director of public lands office.
He said the DNR will schedule a public hearing if requested by local governments and enough members of the public. Click here to read more.
President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to restrict offshore oil and gas drilling in his final days in office, a move that would placate the environmentalist lobby and potentially obstruct President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to unleash the U.S. energy sector, according to Bloomberg News.
Biden’s reportedly forthcoming order would permanently ban new lease sales for oil and gas drilling in certain regions of the outer continental shelf, according to Bloomberg News, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the situation. Some elected Democrats and many well-funded green groups have pushed Biden to implement permanent environmental policies in the waning days of his presidency to fluster Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda.
While the scope of the order is currently unclear, there have been internal discussions about targeting certain areas off the coast of California and in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Bloomberg News. It is also unclear when the administration will announce the policy, though it could be within a matter of days. Click here to read more.
U.S. Navy veteran Harry Chandler, a medic who helped rescue injured service-members from the water during the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, died earlier this week at the age of 103. There are just 15 survivors of that devastating attack who now remain living.
Chandler, according to his grandson-in-law Ron Mahaffee, passed away in Florida at a senior living center, The Associated Press reported. It was also noted that while he had suffered from congestive heart failure, the cause of death was primarily attributed to his age.
“Pearl Harbor survivor Harry Chandler who passed away on Monday at the age of 103. Chandler was serving as a hospital corpsman 3rd class when the Japanese attacked on 7 Dec 1941. He boarded a boat and helped pull oil-covered sailors from the water,” the U.S. Naval Institute shared photos of Chandler on Wednesday. Click here to read more.
NEW YORK CITY — Financial giant Morgan Stanley is the latest bank to depart the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a company spokesperson told The National News Desk (TNND) on Thursday.
The UN-backed initiative represents a group of financial institutions dedicated to “financing ambitious climate action.” NZBA writes via its website it aims to push the economy toward net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.
In a statement Thursday, Morgan Stanley explained its decision to leave the group would not alter its commitment to improving the climate.
“Morgan Stanley’s commitment to net-zero remains unchanged,” a spokesperson told TNND. “We aim to contribute to real-economy decarbonization by providing our clients with the advice and capital required to transform business models and reduce carbon intensity.” Click here to read more.
WINNIE, Texas - A Texas pastor says it’s a true miracle that he’s alive after he and a friend were caught in a tornado while out fishing.
Brian Johnson, his dog Sam and a friend were out fishing Saturday in Winnie, some 60 miles east of Houston. The bass were biting because a storm was on its way.
What Johnson and his friend didn’t realize was that they were about to get caught in the middle of an EF-3 tornado.
When the twister hit, Johnson’s boat flipped into the water. He had to hang on because his pants were stuck on something, and his legs were trapped underneath.
“I’m holding onto the boat… ‘cause the wind is just ripping,” Johnson told KTRK. “And I’m like, ‘It’s gonna pick me up out of this water any second.’” Click here to read more.
