The Billionaire on a Mission to Save the Planet From Trump

Tom Steyer.

TOM STEYER ISN’T your average California tree hugger. The former hedge fund manager—number 1,121 on Forbes’ wealthiest people list, with $1.61 billion—was once best known for turning $15 million into $30 billion in about two decades.

But then he went hiking. Steyer and environmental activist and author Bill McKibben spent a day trudging through the Adirondacks. Not long after, Steyer parted ways with the leadership of his company and his oil and gas investments, began to fight the Keystone XL pipeline, and then reinvented himself as a one-man superfund for climate causes. His organization, NextGen Climate, has spent $170 million over the past four years advocating for policies and politicians that help the environment and advance renewable energy.

Read Nick Stockton’s story on Wired - “The Billionaire on a Mission to Save the Planet From Trump.”

Texas Climate and Energy Researchers Prepare for Worst-Case Scenario Under Trump

Funding for renewables and carbon capture
 and storage research may be the first to get cut.

Over the span of two days this week, the Trump administration froze EPA grants and then reversed itself, reportedly instructed the agency to scrub its website of all mention of climate change, revived construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines and removed pages related to climate change from the State Department website. The new administration is also reportedly considering eliminating offices at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) responsible for renewable energy and carbon capture research.

As President Trump attempts to implement an energy policy that emphasizes fossil fuel development, energy and climate researchers are anxious about how they may be treated by the new administration, as well as potential cuts to federal research funding.

Read Naveena Sadasivam’s story in the Texas Observer - “Texas Climate and Energy Researchers Prepare for Worst-Case Scenario Under Trump.”