Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Climate Alert: Federal panel votes to exempt Gulf of Mexico oil drilling from Endangered Species Act

Climate Alert

March 31, 11:30 a.m. EDT

Federal panel votes to exempt Gulf of Mexico oil drilling from Endangered Species Act

The committee — nicknamed the "God Squad" for its ability to decide the fate of species — voted to exempt oil and gas firms from federal wildlife protections, citing the Iran war.

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Climate Coach: I broke up with my Kindle. Here’s how I turned the page.

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Climate Coach
Down-to-earth advice for life on our changing planet.

By Michael J. Coren

Welcome. This week, we're featuring stories on baby sperm whales and free electricity. But first, I broke up with my Kindle. Here's why.

Washington Post illustration; Rakuten Kobo; iStock

Imagine buying a beautiful new car and seeing the low fuel light blink on as you drive it home. Although it only accepts Amazon's proprietary gasoline blend, that's fine. Nearly 80 percent of gas stations are owned by Amazon. Then you reach into the glove box to retrieve your purchase agreement and read the fine print. It turns out you don't own your new car after all. Amazon has the right to enter your driveway, remodel the interior, repossess it and even unilaterally change the license, for any reason at all.

That, in a nutshell, is the experience of buying e-books and audiobooks on Amazon's Kindle, the most popular e-book reader on the planet. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

While work-arounds exist, the company tends to limit readers' control over the digital books they ostensibly own and make it difficult or impossible to use on other companies' devices or lend to others. Amazon has even reached into customers' libraries and altered what they bought.

We've ceded control over almost everything about our online experience. Nearly every keystroke, swipe and tap is now monitored, recorded and analyzed for potential profit.

The Kindle ecosystem is perhaps the apotheosis of this shift. One Guardian reporter found Amazon had recorded every title, highlight and page turn on her Kindle app (40,000 entries over two years). The company's dominance sets the terms for everyone in the marketplace.

Including me. Like tens of millions of others, I have owned a Kindle (a Paperwhite). Last year, it started to feel as if it owned me. The final straw was when Kindle removed my ability to download and back up my own e-books. So I went in search of an alternative.

I bought a Kobo.

Was it the bibliophile Eden some Kobo fans described? Not quite. The reality was messier than I expected. It turns out we can't escape Big Brother on our e-readers just yet. But a more open society is coming into view for book lovers — and perhaps all of us.

Read my full column for advice on how to turn the page.

How do you read? Write me at climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails.

Click here to read the column

Field Sample

Rare video footage reveals how female sperm whales work together to support the delivery of a calf and help it take its first breath.

The video shows collaboration among whales from two families — an unusual example of such activity beyond primates such as humans and monkeys. Analysis of the video, filmed in the Caribbean in 2023, was published Thursday in the journals Scientific Reports and Science.

"It was way more active than I think I had considered what a sperm whale birth might look like, and all these animals sort of actively diving under and lifting the calf into the air," co-author Shane Gero told AP.

Watch how members of this species, who live in female-led societies, help one another.

Learning Curve

Wildfire season has started remarkably early in parts of the western United States.

Significant fires have flared up in Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico. Nebraska has already experienced historic fire activity, with four fires burning a total of more than 800,000 acres.

"To have any fire that goes hundreds of thousands of acres in a day anywhere is very unusual at any time of the year, let alone in mid-March," said Pete Curran, a staff meteorologist for the nonprofit Watch Duty, said about the Nebraska blazes. "It got everyone's attention."

Read more about why the frontier for fire risk may be expanding across the United States.

The Second Degree

Last week, I wrote about how Big Tech may help pay your energy bills by funding new home batteries. Networks of these homes, called virtual power plants, could soak up clean energy during off-peak hours, support the grid (and demand from data centers) and lower electricity rates while supplying backup power in an outage.

"No thank you," wrote one reader, Amy, summing up many people's distrust of tech or energy firms to offer a fair deal. Others wanted to control their own devices rather than let utilities manage them (most programs let homeowners decide when batteries are dispatched).

Hundreds of thousands of people are still signing up for these programs. Some, like Jerry of Santa Rosa, California, a retired architect, are advocating for citywide programs. Jerry said he is pitching his city council on a virtual power plant that would connect large parking lots with solar panels. "No new expensive utility transmission spending required to 'fuel' electrified transportation," he wrote. "If we don't get busy developing our affordable local community energy tier, we're just going to continue being exploited by our existing industrial-scale Big Oil and gas and utility monopoly."

On the Climate Front

From The Post:

Trump administration to pay $1 billion to stop two East Coast wind farms.

A hurricane evacuation tool was set to expire after DHS delays approval.

A blind seal named Onion is thriving in his new home.

From elsewhere:

Britain vows to give homeowners 'free electricity' instead of switching off wind turbines (EuroNews)

Wealthy investors targeting foes of clean energy want revenge (NYT)

Arctic sea ice hits its lowest winter level amid unprecedented record heat (AP)

As gas prices soar, countries race to deploy solar panels (NPR) — and coal (NYT)

Martha Ture of Mt. Tamalpais Photography captured this portrait of a rabbit, one of the many species of wildlife near her California home.

"We are in the process of replacing every square foot of lawn with native plants, pollinator-friendly plants, garden beds, orchard trees, and herbs," she wrote. "Not surprisingly, we now harbor one possum, one red fox, one bobcat, one redtailed hawk, 3 cottontail rabbits, any number of backyard birds, and a great proliferation of butterflies and moths, including the flying lobster moth."

Send me your photos and stories at climatecoach@washpost.com

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get The Climate Coach in your inbox every Tuesday.

See you next Tuesday,

Michael Coren, Climate Coach

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LOOP: Trump may end war without securing Hormuz

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TUESDAY, MARCH 31 - TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK

IRAN WAR DAY 31: TRUMP THREATENS 'OBLITERATION' President Donald Trump threatened yesterday morning to destroy civilian infrastructure in Iran if the Middle Eastern nation does not "immediately" open the Strait of Hormuz. In the evening, however, the Wall Street Journal reported the President had told aides he is willing to end the war without securing the waterway. READ

HOLY LAND LEADERS PREPARE TO CELEBRATE TRIDUUM The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land issued a joint statement yesterday thanking Israeli officials for rectifying the situation after national police had barred Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa and three other clerics from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. "Especially in times of hardship and conflict, such as those presently endured, safeguarding the freedom of worship remains a fundamental and shared duty," the statement read in part. READ

CHRISTIANS SUFFER IN MANY REGIONS AS HOLY WEEK ARRIVES Violence and sectarian pressure targeting Christian communities across Africa and the Middle East have continued in the days leading up to Holy Week, with deadly attacks in Nigeria on Palm Sunday, a sectarian rampage in Syria, ongoing settler incursions in the West Bank, and continued displacement of Christians in Lebanon. READ

'MASSIVE COMPLEX' BEING BUILT UNDER WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM Trump revealed this week that the U.S. military is constructing a sweeping underground complex beneath the new 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom, describing the project as a security measure that only became public through a lawsuit challenging the building's approval. READ

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM COMMISSION BILL ADVANCES IN HOUSE A bipartisan bill to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom cleared a key hurdle, passing unanimously out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and advancing to the House floor. The legislation would extend the commission's work monitoring global religious persecution and advising U.S. leaders through 2028. READ

CARDINAL BURKE: PATRIOTISM ROOTED IN GOD'S PROVIDENCE In a new episode of his "Virtue of Patriotism" series, Cardinal Raymond Burke said love of one's homeland is a response to God's providence, formed through family, culture, and nation. The episode, released ahead of America's 250th anniversary, also warns against ideologies that detach people from their roots. It closes with a prayer for the nation. READ

JURY SAYS META HARMED CHILDREN, VIOLATED LAW A New Mexico jury ruled that Meta Platforms knowingly harmed children's mental health and violated state consumer protection law. The company now must pay $375 million in civil penalties. READ

AD: HUGE HOLY WEEK OPPORTUNITY Get the FREE guide that shows how to obtain 6 plenary indulgences for yourself and your deceased loved ones in Purgatory. Each day in Holy Week has unique plenary indulgences to help you make the most of the holiest week of the year! PS: this FREE download includes BONUS activities for kids! DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE

POPE IN MONACO: 'EVERY LIFE CUT SHORT WOUNDS CHRIST' During a visit to Monaco, Pope Leo XIV urged peace and warned against the "logic of oppression," saying "every life cut short wounds the body of Christ." The Pontiff also called on the wealthy principality to use its prosperity for justice and the defense of human life. READ

COSCTO GETS INTO IVF INDUSTRY Costco announced this month it will give members discounted access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, and intrauterine insemination. READ

HOW TO GET THROUGH HOLY WEEK WITH KIDS Worried about getting through Holy Week's longer liturgies and services with little ones? Here's a practical guide to help your family get the most out of the holiest days of the year. READ

CATHOLIC 101 Latin for "shadow" or "darkness," Tenebrae is a stark Holy Week liturgy in which candles are extinguished one by one until the church is plunged into darkness, a final flame hidden to symbolize Christ's burial before a loud noise recalls the earthquake at His death. Zeale's Grace Porto explains the history of this profound tradition. READ

SAINT OF THE DAY Today is Tuesday of Holy Week, but March 31 is also the regular feast day of the 13th-century French religious Blessed Jane of Toulouse, who became the first Carmelite tertiary after meeting St. Simon Stock and dedicating her life to prayer, poverty, and service to the sick. Known for her gentleness, she is remembered as the foundress of the Carmelite Third Order. READ

DAILY PSALM "I will sing of your salvation." (Psalm 71) READ

DAILY READINGS Today's Mass readings. READ

PRAY WITH ZEALE Journey through Holy Week by praying the Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori with Fr. Darrin Merlino, CMF, at The Mission of San Gabriel in California. WATCH & PRAY

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