TrumpWatch 2026: King Donald Will Get His Way on Blanche

In theory, there are rules about the Senate approving high-ranking executive branch officeholders. In practice, L'etat c'est Donald Trump, and he just does whatever he wants. And so, acting AG Todd Blanche is going to be running the Justice Department for the foreseeable future, regardless of what the Senate says.

As we have noted several times, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is squabbling with the White House over the "settlement" that Blanche "negotiated" with the Trump family. However, it is not even clear what Cornyn wants, as he's said different things at different times. Maybe he wants limits on the slush fund. Maybe he wants limits on the immunity for the Trumps. Nobody seems to really know, though he keeps exchanging proposals with the White House.

Meanwhile, as it turns out, Trump holds most or all of the cards, and he doesn't mind playing them. On Thursday, he threatened to pull the nomination until next January (when, of course, Cornyn and fellow troublemaker Thom Tillis, R-NC, will no longer be in office). Yesterday, he not so idly lamented that the slush fund is dead, and he really wishes it wasn't. And early this morning, in case anyone missed his drift, Trump got on his Louis XIV-approved social media platform to share this:

If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn't Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren't going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT

Short version: "Go screw yourself, Cornyn."

Trump himself is generally pretty dumb and pretty ignorant, but he has smart lawyers working for him. And undoubtedly one or more of them have pointed out a couple of things to him. The first is that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) allows an acting appointee to serve for 210 days. And then, they can serve while a replacement nomination is pending, plus 210 more days if that nomination is rejected by the Senate. They can then continue to serve while a second replacement nomination is pending, plus 210 more days if that second nomination is rejected by the Senate. So, under the terms of the statute, Blanche could serve until sometime in August 2028.

But wait, there's more. The second thing that Trump has undoubtedly been advised of is the Attorney General Succession Act (AGSA), which says that, "[i]n case of a vacancy in the office of Attorney General, or of his absence or disability, the Deputy Attorney General may exercise all the duties of that office." And this legislation, unlike the FVRA, does not place a time limit on such service. So, there's a pretty good argument that Blanche can serve for as long as Trump wants, Senate be damned.

So, of these two sets of rules, which one takes precedence? The FVRA, that gives Blanche until August 2028, or the AGSA, which gives him until January 2029? Probably the AGSA. First, because the FVRA has language that says that if there is more specific legislation tailored to a specific office, that more specific legislation carries the day. Second, because when the courts have looked at this matter, they've favored the pro-AGSA interpretation. Third, because while Trump may hate "Crooked Joe Biden," Biden has handed Trump a very useful precedent. There is a statute, governing succession at the Department of Labor, which has wording nearly identical to the AGSA. And Biden used that statute to defy the Senate, which would not approve Julie Su as the replacement for Marty Walsh, and to keep her on the job for nearly 2 years, until his term ended.

It would make life a little easier for Trump if Blanche was formally approved. There would be legal challenges to Blanche, and to any official actions he takes, and you can never know what will happen once judges get involved. Further, he would become an evergreen talking point, and a walking reminder of the administration's lawlessness. But Trump doesn't care THAT much about these things. So, even if Cornyn won't play ball, and even if the Democrats retake the Senate and can block Blanche's confirmation from January 3, 2027, forward, Trump really doesn't care all that much. What he really cares about is getting his man. And what he really, really, really cares about is getting his money and his immunity. And if Trump does not get the money and the immunity, it likely won't be the Senate that puts the kibosh on it, it will be the courts. (Z)

Legal Bytes: Call the Red Cross, Because the DoJ Is Bruised and Bleeding

Boy howdy, does this administration keep the courts busy. A rundown of the "highlights" from the last week:

Good Times: Donald Trump and Todd Blanche broke federal law and Department of Justice regulations in ordering the FBI to serve subpoenas on New York Times reporters. They misled the court that approved the subpoenas by failing to disclose that reporters were the target. They also didn't give the required notice to the reporters and they served family members, including one reporter's mother. The subpoenas were withdrawn after Judge Arun Subramanian indicated he would quash them. When the prosecutor couldn't answer the Judge's questions beyond claiming the violations were "mistakes," Subramanian ordered the DoJ to produce all communications with the White House regarding the subpoenas. He granted an extension until August 6 to produce the documents.

Our Take: It should be interesting to see if the DoJ complies with the judge's order, especially if Blanche's nomination for AG is still pending (see above). Lawyers for the Times produced evidence that Trump was asking for regular updates on the status of the investigation. No doubt Blanche will argue any emails with the White House are privileged, but it's doubtful the attorney-client privilege would apply because Blanche is not acting as the president's lawyer here (at least, he's not supposed to be).

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Jim Don't Know Jack: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the DoJ for criminal prosecution for allegedly committing perjury. Jordan claims that in his deposition last December, Smith should have volunteered more information than Jordan's questions asked for. Smith was asked if the toll records he subpoenaed revealed any content. He correctly and truthfully testified that they did not. He did see some text messages that the National Archives turned over in response to a separate request from Smith's team. But Smith wasn't asked about that. He was only asked about the toll records, which only include the numbers that were called and not any content.

Our Take: Any first-year lawyer learns the importance of follow-up questions in a deposition in order to later claim the deponent committed perjury. Here, the obvious followup question was: "Did you ever see the content of any text messages of members of Congress?" No doubt, Smith would have then mentioned the records from the National Archives. But he wasn't asked about it, and he has no obligation to do the Republicans' work for them. Even this DoJ does not seem particularly interested in pursuing this bogus claim.

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So Much Losing: In the quest to obtain unredacted voter rolls, Trump's losses continue to pile up. He's now 0-17 after a federal judge in Kentucky dismissed Trump's claim for voter rolls. Kentucky officials refused to turn over sensitive voter data, including driver's license and Social Security numbers. Kentucky's Republican Secretary of State, Michael Adams, said he would not "voluntarily commit a data breach" without a court order. He had given over redacted voter registration records but refused to provide unredacted information.

Our Take: Secretaries of State of both parties are standing up to Trump's efforts to compromise election security. Kentucky is part of the Sixth Circuit, which just upheld a Michigan federal court's dismissal of Trump's suit for voter data there. This should embolden more state officials to fight back against these illegal demands, especially given the inconsistent way the DoJ is treating some states who only provided publicly available voter data, like Montana and Kansas. It's almost like Todd Blanche & Co. only really want data from blue states, for some reason.

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Beware the Stiff Upper Lip: In 2025, Trump sued the BBC for defamation, claiming that a 2024 Panorama documentary used a clip from his January 6 speech that was improperly edited. The BBC issued a correction and an apology. Trump's suit claims $10 billion in damages to his businesses. The case is proceeding, and on Monday, a U.S. magistrate judge ordered Trump to turn over financial documents related to his businesses, including the Trump Revocable Trust, which owns most of his properties and businesses. She ordered the production to take place within 10 days.

Our Take: Oops. Did Trump's lawyers really not see this coming? He claims that his brand's value and all his businesses have suffered $10 billion in economic damages. Prove it! Maybe he thought the BBC would just roll over like so many other companies. But to paraphrase Bugs Bunny: He don't know them vewwy well. I expect a quiet dismissal of this lawsuit in about 9 days.

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Seattle U.S. Attorney sues Trump: Roger Rogoff served as U.S. Attorney for Seattle for 54 minutes before being summarily terminated in an e-mail. Now he is suing the Trump administration and claiming that his removal from office violates the Constitution and disregards the Court's role in selecting a U.S. Attorney when the president fails to get a candidate confirmed by the Senate. Trump and Blanche have fired several other court-appointed prosecutors after the acting U.S. Attorneys were found to be serving unlawfully.

Our Take: Someone had to do it. This lawsuit is an important test of the notion that the president can do an end-run around the Vacancies Act, and its requirement to have a Senate-confirmed appointee serving as U.S. Attorney, by simply firing whomever the Courts appoint.

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More Grand Jury Shenanigans: David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, was indicted in D.C. Superior Court on a felony charge of destruction of property and causing more than $1,000 in damages to the liner of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which the administration "renovated" earlier this year. But the defense learned that the only witness to the grand jury testified that the liner was already damaged and repairs were required regardless of Hearn's actions. This led the defense team to question whether the grand jury was properly instructed and ask the judge to release all the grand jury material.

Following that request... the entire case against Hearn fell apart. Late yesterday, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the indictment. They now admit that the problems with the reflecting pool were not due to vandalism, but "flawed installation" by the contractor. Prosecutors claim the motion is based on "newly discovered information" and blame the Department of Interior for failing to provide "fulsome information" about the cause of the damage. And if you believe that, we have some land in Florida to sell you. No doubt they wanted to avoid responding to Hearn's motion to unseal the grand jury transcripts. Hearn's lawyer correctly excoriated the government for abuse of power in charging an innocent man with a felony and threatening years of prison time. Interestingly, the government is asking to dismiss the indictment without prejudice despite admitting they have no case. Hearn's lawyers will fight that and probably seek sanctions for bringing a frivolous case.

Meanwhile, attorneys for former FBI Director, and seashell enthusiast, James Comey are watching this closely. They are also seeking grand jury materials as well as dismissal of the charges against him on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution. Comey's team cited "irregularities" in how prosecutors presented the case. Comey has also learned the Trump demanded the Secret Service surveil him and his wife after he posted the "86 47" seashell photo.

Our Take: Whether it's due to incompetence, deliberate misrepresentations, or both, judges can't ignore the pattern here of grand jury misconduct to secure indictments. This DoJ has lost all benefit of the doubt and, as the evidence piles up, these cases are going to continue to fall apart. Oh, and the DoJ sent a clear signal of how flimsy they know their case against Hearn was by filing it in D.C. Superior court instead of a federal court.

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Somewhere, Kim Wong Ark Is Smiling: After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's executive order purporting to alter the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of citizenship for everyone born in the U.S., he vowed to seek a rehearing. The deadline to do so was July 27, and nothing was filed. So the case, Trump v. Barbara, is officially over.

Our Take:Trump's crusade against non-white non-citizens continues apace and he will continue to make life difficult for all immigrants, legal or not. But it appears that his campaign to expand his targets to U.S.-born children of immigrants has been quashed for the foreseeable future.

Court is adjourned. (L)

Governors, Part I: Mandela Barnes Is Out in Wisconsin

With less than 2 weeks to go before the Wisconsin primaries, former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes has dropped out of the governor's race. He will still be on the ballot, but as someone who has told people not to vote for him.

Why did Barnes jump ship so close to the finish line? There are two good answers to that question. The first is that the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that in 2025, the Wisconsin Democratic Party paid a law firm to investigate Barnes' conduct toward several young women who worked for him while he was in office. The resulting report apparently cleared him, and Barnes himself denies any wrongdoing. But in the #MeToo era, just weeks after the implosion of Graham Platner, the allegations are a big problem.

The second issue is that Barnes was getting trounced in polls by the clear-cut frontrunner, State Assemblymember Francesca Hong (D). In the last five polls of the race, all released since July 20, Hong led Barnes by 8 points, 13 points, 20 points, 30 points and 25 points. Those are in chronological order, from oldest to newest, and the three 20+ point leads all came after the Journal-Sentinel reported on Barnes' sexual conduct. There's no explanation—sampling error, inaccurate models of the electorate, misleading questions—that can wave away leads that big, from that many pollsters. And nobody comes back from 20 down in (roughly) 10 days, absent a miracle.

Barnes failed in a Senate run in 2022, and now he's failed here, so this is probably the end of the line for his political career. That said, Rep. John James (R-MI) came up short in two Senate runs, and then had success when he aimed his sights a little lower. So, Barnes could maybe follow that approach. That said, James did not have any allegations of misconduct against him.

Hong is a Democratic Socialist, and has adopted some very Democratic Socialist stances over the years. Some of her positions, like getting rid of AI data centers, are pretty popular. Other positions, like getting rid of Thanksgiving and defunding the police, are rather less so. She's tried to disown some of her more radical rhetoric, but the GOP and its likely nominee, Tom Tiffany, are going to try to make Hong wear all of the controversial statements she's made. So too will the entertainers at Fox. The Bernie wing of the Democratic Party has been saying for years that populist lefties are what the voters really want, and Hong is certainly going to put that to the test. Hypothetical polling of the Hong vs. Tiffany matchup has the race as a coin flip; the three polls released in July had Hong +3, Hong +1 and Tiffany +3.

It is more likely than not that next-door Michigan will be staging a test of its own, with Abdul El-Sayed as the Democrats' U.S. Senate nominee. A poll released yesterday had him up 17 on the more moderate Haley Stevens, and he was up double digits in each of the six polls before that. If El-Sayed and Hong can both win in the very purple upper Midwest, that is valuable information for the Democrats. And if they both lose, suggesting Democratic Socialists are viable only in very blue places, that is valuable information for the Democrats, too. Other interesting questions are: If El-Sayed and Hong are elected, will that produce hoards of progressive candidates in 2028? Also, if they both lose badly, will progressives learn anything from that? (Z)

Governors, Part II: Control of the House Could Begin, and End, with These Four Races

Are we have noted a number of times, races that are theoretically independent often are correlated. Typically all, or most, of the swing states end up going in the same direction. The underlying factors that affect voters in, say Nevada, such as gas prices, also impact voters in Michigan and Maine. But sometimes there are other correlations as well. In four states this year, the races for governor could affect control of the House, even though none of the gubernatorial candidates are running for the House. Let's take a look:

• Colorado: Republican strategists here are having flashbacks to 2022, when Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) beat Heidi Ganahl (R) by 20 points. That was enough to pull Yadira Caraveo barely over the line in the newly minted CO-08. The Democratic gubernatorial nominee is state AG Phil Weiser. The Republican is minister Victor Marx, who has the uncanny ability to exorcise (not exercise) demons over the phone. He killed a man at 7, but refused to tell a reporter how many people he has killed as an adult. He is not the ideal candidate in a blue state against a popular AG who has twice won comfortable victories statewide.
  
  The tightest race will probably by CO-08 (EVEN), where Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) is defending against DSA member Manny Rutinel (D). If Weiser wins by 15 or 20 points, he could also help knock off GOP Reps. Jeff Hurd (CO-03, R+5) and Jeff Crank (CO-05, R+5). Rep, Lauren Boebert (R-CO) picked an R+9 district to run in, so she is probably safe,
  
  
• Iowa: Iowa, normally a red state in recent years, has a surprising number of competitive races this time, starting at the top. State Auditor Rob Sand (D) is leading businessman Zach Lahn (R) by 2 to 12 points in recent polls. If the election were now, Sand would be the first Democrat to win the Iowa governor's race in 20 years. That could matter downballot.
  
  Right now, all four House seats have Republicans sitting in them, but while the state as a whole is quite red, most of the Republicans are in the western part of Iowa. IA-04 (Sioux City, Council Bluffs, and Ames) is R+15. The other three districts are competitive. In IA-01 (R+4), the repeat matchup between Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Christina Bohannan looks like a tossup. In 2024, Miller-Meeks won by 799 votes. IA-03 (R+2) is also very competitive. There, Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) is facing Sarah Trone Garriott (D). It could go either way. IA-02 (R-4) is Ashley Hinson's open seat. That one is Lindsay James (D) vs. Joe Mitchell (R)
  
  
• Pennsylvania: In 2022, state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) ran for governor against now-Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA). The Republican establishment was concerned that Mastriano would drag the whole ticket down. He lost by 15 points and probably saved Democratic Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Chris DeLuzio (D-PA) and Susan Wild (D-PA). They all barely made it. With a stronger Republican on top of the ticket, they might all have gone down in flames.
  
  Republicans are worried that this year's GOP nominee for governor, Stacy Garrity, won't be any better, and could sink four Republican House incumbents, Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01, D+1), Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07, R+1), Rob Bresnahan Jr. (PA-08, R+4), and Scott Perry (PA-10, R+3). All of them are vulnerable and could go under if Shapiro again wins by 15 points. In four recent polls, Garrity's best performance was 40%, even worse than the 42% Mastriano got in 2022. In those polls, the results were Shapiro +13, Shapiro +14, Shapiro +14, and Shapiro +17. In Pennsylvania, statewide races, such as governor, are listed ahead of House races.
  
  
• Wisconsin: Here it is the other way. The Republicans are licking their chops at the possibility of the Democrats nominating progressive state Rep. Francesca Hong (D) for governor (see above). It has been a wild race, with Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez getting in and then getting out, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, getting in, getting out, and getting back in again. And then, of course, Mandela Barnes dropped out.
  
  The close races that could be affected by the top of the ticket both have Republican incumbents defending their seats, namely Bryan Steil (WI-01, R+2) and Derrick Van Order (WI-03, R+3). Since Rep. Tim Tiffany (R-WI) is running for governor, his WI-07 seat is open, but the district in the northwest part of the state is R+11.

The reality these days is that split tickets are now rare. It's all (D) or all (R) for most voters. And their vote is usually determined by the person on top of the ballot. And when they do split their ticket, that is generally when the candidate for the lower office is very well known and popular—for example, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) winning in 2024 even though Donald Trump won Wisconsin. Mere House members don't have enough personality to overcome partisan forces. (V)

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Bourgeois Paranoia

We didn't make that up, "bourgeois paranoia" is a well-established concept in Marxist Studies, referring to the propensity for "haves" to become unduly obsessed with protecting themselves and their property from the "have nots." It would not be completely out of line to propose that bourgeois paranoia is the main driving force, or at least one of them, behind Trumpism.

We gave two hints for last week's headline theme. On Friday, it was: "after last week['s headline theme] worked out so poorly, we have a bad feeling about this." On Saturday, we followed that with: "If you're still working on the headline theme, we suppose that tells us you're not a replicant." And here is the solution, courtesy of reader J.S. in Atlanta, GA:

Unlike Indy, I am sure that you didn't just make up this theme as you were going along.

All the headlines today are titles of movies starring Harrison Ford.

• The Middle East: The Houthis Enter the Conversation—The Conversation (1974)
• The Economy: This Is What a Frantic Tariff Policy Looks Like—Frantic (1988)
• TrumpWatch 2025: "Air Force One" Is the Story That Just Keeps on Giving—Air Force One (1997)
• Political Bytes, Sports Edition: We Would Bet Number 42 Is Rolling in His Grave—42 (2013)
• I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The Devil's Own Crop—The Devil's Own (1997)
• This Week in Schadenfreude: Nolan's Heroes Fight the Trojan War AND the Culture Wars—Heroes (1977)
• This Week in Freudenfreude: A Witness to History, in a Small Way—Witness (1985)

The hint, "after last week worked out so poorly, we have a bad feeling about this," refers to a line from a little-known indie movie called Star Wars (1977).

Yep, and this headline adds Paranoia (2013) to the list. Meanwhile, the replicants hint is obviously a reference to Blade Runner.

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

M.W. in Altea, Spain R.D. in Cheshire, CT S.K. in Bethesda, MD N.H. in London, England, UK D.B. in Pittsboro, NC M.M. in Dunellen, NJ M.K. in Long Branch, NJ D.E. in High Springs, FL M.B. in Albany, NY A.B. in Naperville, IL J.N. in Zionsville, IN K.R. in Austin, TX D.M. in Austin, TX J.M. in Eagle Mills, NY J.T. in Philadelphia, PA P.C. in Vero Beach, FL S.J.V. in New York City, NY G.M. in Arlington, VA R.S. in Landing, NJ R.K. in Indianapolis, IN M.S. in Canton, NY S.K. in Ardmore, PA K.H. in Albuquerque, NM K.M. in Ypsilanti, MI J.S. is Atlanta B.K.J. in San Diego, CA S.G. in Durham, NC M.K. in Forest Hills, NY B.J.M. in Steep Falls, ME A.J. in Baltimore, MD

P.R. in Havertown, PA B.M. in Chico, CA K.J. in Paw Paw, MI N.S. in Fayetteville, NY P.H. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL M.V. in Oak Park, IL M.S. in Seattle, WA R.N. in Cleveland, OH G.M. in Chevy Chase, MD E.S. in Cincinnati, OH P.Q. in Metuchen, NJ T.J.W. in Colorado Springs, CO S.W. in Orland Park, IL J.H. in Lake Forest, CA S.B. Palm Harbor, FL J.Y. in London, England, UK D.S. in Mankato, MN M.B. in Menlo Park, CA J.R. in Austin, TX J.M.R in Muncie, IN A.D. in Gaithersburg, MD J.S. in Huntington Station, NY M.A. in West Windsor, NJ G.W. in London, England, UK D.P. in Minneapolis, MN J.C. in Carmel, IN M.A. in Sharon, MA K.H. in Golden, CO J.W. in Victoria, BC, Canada A.C. in Kingston, MA

The 60th correct response was received at 8:08 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word in some headlines, and more than one word in others, and it's in the category Around the World (which was used in several supplemental Trivial Pursuit card sets). For a hint, we'll say that the key word in the first headline is NOT "Donald," as Donald Trump will never, ever qualify to be a part of this theme, no matter how much he (and FIFA?) wish it was otherwise.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line August 1 Headlines. (Z)

This Week in Schadenfreude: State Department Gets Fried by AI

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. And yet, it seems to be the mission statement of the current State Department. Heck, maybe the entire administration.

This week, the AIDS 2026 conference will be held in Rio de Janeiro. And leading up to that are a bunch of pre-conferences. At one of those pre-conferences, a high-ranking State Department official was delivering a presentation about all the money that the Trump administration might lavish on Africa through PEPFAR (while not mentioning that the DOGEys slashed that budget dramatically). Here is the key slide from the Powerpoint slide show being displayed for the attendees:

Notice anything wrong?

If you answered that last question with "Pretty much everything!" then give yourself a cheroot. The image went viral thanks to conference attendee Emily Bass, who highlighted the map on her blog. Here's her rundown of the problems with the graphic:

The map mis-identified the locations of Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Nigeria by enormous margins—making Nigeria landlocked, Mozambique an east African nation and Cote d'Ivoire a southern African state. The map put Uganda and Malawi in the right vicinity, but with the wrong borders. And it nope'd out altogether for Cameroon, which doesn't have a line connecting the name to a country at all. (There is also a country without a name. Alas, they are not a match.)

That's... a lot of errors.

Spokespeople at the State Department endeavored to blame the mistakes on poor work done by a low-level staffer. But, true to form for the current White House, that is basically a lie. Reuters did an analysis, and it did not take them long to figure out that the map is AI-generated. We can't specifically speak to fat or drunk, but that's certainly lazy. Meanwhile, it's pretty stupid to: (1) fail to notice the obvious sloppiness in the map, (2) fail to double-check to make sure the map is correct and (3) fail to be able to recognize the countries you're talking about. It may have been a low-level staffer who put the slide in the deck but, again, it was a high-level staffer who was giving the talk, and who apparently did not know enough to recognize that all of the countries were wrong.

So, these are the folks who are running foreign affairs for the United States. One can only hope that the Pentagon does ask for help with an invasion. An attack on Iran could accidentally become an invasion of New Zealand. Though maybe State only makes mistakes like that when dealing with sh**hole countries. (Z)

This Week in Freudenfreude: Getting to the Root of the Problem, Literally

We often use this space to note promising developments in green research. As chance would have it, there was a lot of coverage this week about the enormous environmental benefits of... trees.

That trees are a good thing is not a new insight. They knew that all the way back in Theodore Roosevelt's time. However, two new studies highlight that if cities plant enough trees, assuming they are the right kind, it can have a significant impact on urban heat, reducing the "urban heat island effect" by about 40%. And while it does cost money to plant and maintain trees, the money is repaid threefold (that is, $3 in benefit for every $1 spent), because more bearable temperatures increase property values (and thus property taxes), and because more trees means more people keeping active and fewer people suffering heat-related conditions, which reduces healthcare-related expenditures.

Meanwhile, a third new study reveals that spreading crushed basalt rock on new forests allows the trees to grow more quickly, and allows them to absorb more carbon, thus helping to combat global warming. This insight may not be terribly relevant when governments plant trees in urban areas, but it will certainly help when it comes to larger foresting and reforesting projects.

And finally, it's not exactly tree-related, but we'll pass it along anyhow. China, in contrast to some other major industrialized nations who shall remain nameless, has been working to shift its economy toward renewable energy. And the Chinese are now officially generating more of their energy from non-coal sources than from coal. Coal is now down to 49.7% of that nation's energy mix. That's still a heckuva lotta coal, but things are nonetheless headed in the right direction, with renewables rising to 41.2% of the mix. Donald Trump can keep plugging "clean, beautiful coal" all he wants, but the environmental pressure against that fuel source is considerable, and the economic pressure is even greater, and will be decisive.

Have a good (rest of your) weekend, all! (Z)

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