OH DEERE — Farmers have long bemoaned John Deere & Co.’s restrictions on who can repair their tractors. Consumer advocates now have a new line of attack: The limitations might be violating the Clean Air Act, as POLITICO’s Marcia Brown reports.
Deere, the nation’s largest tractor maker, limits much of the repair of its machines solely to its authorized dealerships.
That’s a problem for farmers and independent technicians who want to do the repairs themselves — and violates a federal law that requires companies to provide the necessary information, including software, to repair emissions control systems in vehicles, according to U.S. PIRG, a consumer protection group, and Repair.org, which advocates for “right to repair” legislation.
As dealers consolidate, the scarcity of repair shops is getting more acute: For every 12,018 farms and 5.3 million acres of farmland, there is just one Deere dealership, U.S PIRG found earlier this year.
Some farmers are turning to older tractor models with less-advanced technology because they know they can repair them. Walter Schweitzer, president of the Montana Farmers Union, said in an interview he recently purchased a tractor with 12,000 hours on it because “I knew I could fix it myself.”
While Deere didn’t respond to requests for comment, the company has publicly justified its restrictions by using a reverse scenario — that if it granted access to the emissions control systems, farmers would delete the software, which Deere says would violate the Clean Air Act.
Farmers and activists called the argument a red herring.
“Because of repair restrictions, farmers are left with two bad choices,” said Kevin O’Reilly, director of U.S. PIRG’s Campaign for the Right to Repair. “They can rely on the dealer and deal with lengthy delays and inflated repair costs or they can turn to a black market solution and … override those controls. … You shouldn’t have to wait and pay more or break the law.”
Read more from Marcia here.
FORD’S FOLLY — Ford Motor Co. announced a big deal Thursday to secure critical minerals for its electric vehicle push.
But the lithium mine Ford signed up to rely on is a project criticized by environmentalists for potentially eradicating a desert wildflower that only grows on a patch of federal land in Nevada, as Jael Holzman reports for POLITICO’s E&E News.
Ford said it signed a binding agreement to get 7,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate, a key ingredient of EV batteries, over five years from the Rhyolite Ridge project, a proposed mine in Nevada overseen by Australian mining company Ioneer Ltd. The agreement was one of several the automaker announced with mineral companies.
While the agreement indicates a way Ford could one day make and sell electric vehicles with a supply chain based entirely in the United States, the response to the deal from a key mine opponent indicates the kind of criticism automakers could face from conservationists as they try to shore up electric vehicle supplies from U.S. mines.
“Ford is buying extinction,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director for the Center for Biological Diversity, which has fought Ioneer for years to protect the rare flower, Tiehm’s buckwheat.
Read more from Jael here.
MAJOR QUESTIONS MULTIPLY — The fallout from last month’s Supreme Court decision striking down carbon dioxide regulations on power plants is spreading fast, POLITICO’s Alex Guillén reports.
The decision, which deemed EPA action on power plant emissions a “major question” that Congress hadn’t delegated to the agency, has cast uncertainty on federal policies on abortion, immigration, corporate disclosures, highway planning, asbestos, nuclear waste and even amateur auto racing.
Just in the past two weeks, people have deployed the doctrine against high-profile Biden-era rulemakings, including a climate disclosure rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission, a highway emissions proposal from the Transportation Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s long-running deliberations about how to factor greenhouse gases into its permitting decisions.
Areas of policy where Congress deliberated but failed to act might be particularly vulnerable. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is applying that argument to EPA’s proposed asbestos ban — even though regulating cancer-causing substances is the kind of task that the agency has carried out for decades.
Alex has a lot more here.
Happy Friday! Stay cool out there. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Lorraine Woellert and Jordan Wolman. Reach us at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]
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— A Dutch reforestation company has offset its carbon offset work by starting a large forest fire in Spain.
— Bloomberg Green takes a look at the little-known machine that is key to the future of green hydrogen.
— Heat pumps have been in the news as Europe faces a searing hot summer on the heels of the war in Ukraine. The Washington Post explores why they aren’t more widely used.
— As many bicyclists have already discovered, big-city bike lanes are often roads to nowhere.
Events are listed in Eastern Time.
July 25 — The Atlantic Council holds a virtual discussion on “Detailed Weather Insights for Better Energy Outcomes,” as part of the EnergySource Innovation Stream series. 10:30 a.m.
July 25 — The Environmental and Energy Study Institute holds its virtual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Forum. 1 p.m.
July 26 — The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds a virtual discussion on “The Battery Minerals Supply Challenge.” 9:30 a.m.
July 26 — The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee holds a hearing on “Fairness in Financial Services: Racism and Discrimination in Banking.” 10:15 a.m.
July 26 — The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation holds a virtual discussion on “Accelerating More Equitable Electric Vehicle Adoption Through Technological, Business Model, and Policy Innovation.” Noon.
July 26 — The Environmental and Energy Study Institute and the House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucuses hold their 25th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Forum. 1 p.m.
July 27 — The Atlantic Council and the African Development Bank Group hold a virtual discussion on “Supporting climate resilience and a just energy transition in Africa.” 9:30 a.m.
July 27 — The House Foreign Affairs Committee holds a hearing on “Challenges Facing Global Food Security.” 10 a.m.
July 27 — The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds a hearing on development of projects and implementation of policies that support carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies. 10 a.m.
July 27 — Advanced Energy Economy will hold a webinar featuring transportation planners and charging network providers discussing the National Electric Vehicle Formula Program from the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act. 1 p.m.
July 28 — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce holds its 11th Annual Building Resilience Through Private-Public Partnerships Conference. 9 a.m.
July 28 — The House Natural Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Preventing Polluters from Getting Government Contracts: Bureau of Land Management’s Corporate Exclusions Lists.” 10 a.m.
July 28 — The Financial Stability Oversight Council meets to discuss climate-related financial risk. 11:20 a.m.
July 28 — The House Oversight and Reform Environment Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Toxic Air: How Leaded Aviation Fuel Is Poisoning America’s Children.” 2 p.m.
