This is the Jan. 28, 2021, edition of Boiling Point, a weekly newsletter about climate change and the environment in California and the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
The day before President Joe Biden took office, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce one of the country’s most influential business groups, and a longtime opponent of aggressive climate policies made a seemingly major announcement: It would support a market-based approach to slashing emissions. American climate policy, the Chamber said, “should recognize the urgent need for action.”
But three days later as the Biden administration prepared to pause new oil and gas leases on public lands and waters the group released a statement reading, in part, “There is never a good time to disrupt domestic energy production.”
Major storm pounding Northern California heads south
Updated on: January 28, 2021 / 7:26 PM / CBS/AP Thousands evacuate amid California mudslide
A storm that pounded Northern California with rain, snow, wind and mud rolled southward early Thursday, prompting flood warnings and threats of mudslides in areas burned bare by wildfires. An atmospheric river of moisture from the Pacific Ocean was expected to dump 1-1/2 to 6 inches of rain in Southern California from Thursday night into Saturday, with winds up to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service. But threats also remained in portions of central and Northern California.
Authorities warned that the rain could cause flooding in some places. A flash flood watch was in effect for areas burned by last year s blazes the blackened ground can t absorb moisture and the rain could bring mud, boulders, trees and other debris flowing into recovering areas.
Drone footage shows damage from mudflows in Monterey County
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Hana Mohsin, right, carries belongings from a neighbor s home that was damaged in a mudslide on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Salinas, Calif. The area, located beneath the River Fire burn scar, is susceptible to landslides as heavy rains hit hillsides scorched during last year s wildfires.Noah Berger/Associated Press
Drone footage posted on YouTube shows the extensive damage and mess left behind by a flood of mud that rushed down a saturated hillside and spread across the Salinas Valley in a small neighborhood south of Salinas near the community of Chualar.