OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Olympians call for action on climate

IT’S GETTIN’ HOT IN HERE: While the East Coast hunkers down and braces for the snowstorm headed its way, Olympians in Sochi, Russia, are dealing with very different weather.

Sochi is on track to become one of the warmest cities to host the winter Olympic Games, as temperatures reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday.

{mosads}The changing weather has Olympians worried, prompting 105 of them from 10 countries to sign a letter calling for action on climate change by the world’s leaders.

E2-Wire has more on that here.

ON TAP THURSDAY: Weather permitting, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee plans to hold a hearing on rail safety.

With the number of railcars carrying crude oil increasing and accidents occurring more frequently, lawmakers have voiced concern over the safety of tankers.

The issue of growing crude-by-rail accidents in North Dakota will be raised in the hearing.

Rest of Thursday’s agenda… The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has a markup on its calendar.

The committee planned to vote on the nominations of Rhea Suh to be assistant secretary for Interior’s Fish and Wildlife and Parks and Janice Schneider as Interior’s assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management.

And the Environmental and Energy Study Institute will host a discussion on managing climate change in the Southwest.

AROUND THE WEB:

The January jobs report brought good news to the oil-and-gas sector as employment increased 1.8 percent from December 2013 to January of this year, according to The Houston Chronicle.

Reuters reports U.S. scientists reaches a milestone in the development of fusion energy. Experiments are producing more energy from fusion reactions than the amount of energy used, scientists said.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out these E2-Wire stories…

— ‘Winter in jeopardy’ say Olympians pressing for climate change action
— Same state, new spill

Please send tips and comments to Laura Barron-Lopez, laurab@digital-staging.thehill.com.