Short Takes – 9-20-23

GOP senators alarmed by chaos over House spending bills. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The House usually moves first on spending and revenue bills, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is mulling his options in the face of the House stalemate.”

Republicans explore dueling plan Bs on averting shutdown. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““The risk here is that we’re going to have some of our more moderate members who are going to say, ‘You know what, I’m washing my hands of this. I’m going to accept the clean CR from the Senate,’” Roy said on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Tuesday.”

House GOP reports progress in spending talks as some holdouts relent. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““We’ll come in tomorrow, we will move the rule on the DoD approps bill and start on all the approps and start moving forward with the DoD approps,” McCarthy told reporters following the meeting.”

It’s Time to Engineer the Sky. ScientificAmerican.com article. Pull quote: “Caldeira and others say SRM should be pursued with extreme caution—if at all. It could noticeably whiten our blue sky. It could weaken the stratospheric ozone layer that protects us and Earth's biosphere from ultraviolet radiation. It might change weather patterns and move the monsoons that water crops for billions of people. And it wouldn't do anything to remedy other CO2-related problems such as ocean acidification, which is harming the ability of corals, shellfish and some plankton to form skeletons and shells.”

Next Launch of SpaceX Starship Faces More Potential Delays. CNET.com article. Pull quote: “The US Fish and Wildlife service told Bloomberg on Monday that it has yet to begin its review of a new water deluge system that SpaceX plans to operate during its next launch. The agency is working with the FAA to complete its part of the permitting process, but said it has not yet received all the materials it needs to begin the review, which could take anywhere from one to four months.”