Category: Energy
‘Monumental Victory’: Tribes and climate activists celebrate court-ordered shutdown of Dakota Access Pipeline
“If the events of 2020 have taught us anything, it’s that health and justice must be prioritized early on in any decision-making process if we want to avoid a crisis later on.” by Jessica Corbett, staff…
Utility lobbying and policy inattention hinder community solar, study finds
by Kathiann M. Kowalski Utility lobbying has blocked community solar expansion, but a recent study suggests it’s been effective in part because many policymakers don’t understand the concept and its potential benefits. Community solar programs let…
Solar Co-op launches for Tucson residents to go solar together
Meteor staff from reports Tuesday, June 16, 2020 The nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors announced the launch of the Tucson Solar Co-op today, in partnership with the Center for Biological Diversity and Physicians for Social Responsibility…
450+ Groups demand FERC halt attack on community solar power
Net metering must continue, the groups tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Tuesday, June 16 Over 450 environmental, faith, and consumer advocacy groups on Monday urged federal regulators to reject a…
The slow-walking switch to clean energy
by Alexandra Tempus / FairWarning May 28, 2020 Even in the gray fog of a pandemic, news about the future of the U.S. power sector has been dominated by a sunny outlook on renewable energy. In…
Oil companies can set their own rates for royalties from drilling on public lands
“Oil and gas corporations already pay pennies compared to what they make in profits from plundering public lands—land that belongs to the American people—and now they’ll pay even less.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Friday, May…
In the Fight to Curtail the Climate Crisis, the Earth Just Moved a Little
Nearly half of Chase’s owners have demanded to know how the bank plans to align its business model with the Paris Agreement. On the surface, that probably doesn’t sound like an earthquake. But it’s quietly seismic….
Trump slaps wind and solar industry with $50 Million in old rent bills while pushing big oil bailouts
‘Not Just Bad, It’s Pathological’ “Robbing from a clean energy future to prop up the dirty energy past.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Monday, May 18 While giving fossil fuel companies access to relief funds…
Solar farms, power stations and water treatment plants can be attractions instead of eyesores
Infrastructure as art: Jacob van Ruisdael, ‘Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede,’ c. 1670. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, CC BY-ND by Margaret Birney Vickery, University of Massachusetts Amherst Amid the economic and social fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic,…
‘Milestone Moment’ as JPMorgan Chase announces former Exxon CEO to no longer be Lead Director of bank’s board
The ousting of “America’s #1 climate denier” from the leadership position on the board of the largest global lender of fossil fuels is being welcomed by the climate movement. by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Saturday, May…
Years of toxic leaks raise cancer risk in Western oil town.
The broader influence of the oil industry in Artesia, New Mexico is hard to miss. Bronze statues venerate roughnecks and wildcatters, a brewpub downtown is named the Wellhead, and the walls of the local Chamber of…
Big banks move to buy up fracking industry assets with coronavirus bailout funds
Critics Decry ‘Massive Step in Wrong Direction’ JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citi “Taxpayers shouldn’t be required to backstop oil and gas companies that were already in trouble prior to the…
Trump Administration plan expands fossil fuel extraction across Southwestern Colorado
by Meteor Staff from reports Thursday, April 9, 4:10 PM MST The Trump administration today announced the release of its final plan to expand drilling and fracking and other fossil fuel extraction across southwestern Colorado for…
As pandemic paralyzes global economy, world Is ‘awash in seas of oil’ with nowhere left to store it
“How about we #KeepItInTheGround?” by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Despite the coronavirus pandemic grounding global oil demand to a halt, oil producers continue to extract the fossil fuel—even as storage space is running out, the price…
Trump to hold in-person meeting with Big Oil CEOs to discuss coronavirus relief
‘Moving to Rob Us Blind in Broad Daylight’? “Right now money is needed for people’s health, direct relief, and making sure we have a resilient future—not bolstering the fossil fuel industry.” by Jake Johnson, staff…
Nuclear industry effort to exploit crisis for bailout decried as ‘disaster capitalism at its worst’
“The nuclear industry begged for a bailout last fall and is now using coronavirus to try and brazenly grab more cash,” warned Friends of the Earth. by Andrea Germanos, staff writer, Jon Queally, staff writer Friends…
Trump considers fracking industry bailout amid coronavirus outbreak
“Using a worldwide public health crisis to bail out the fracking industry now would be a disgraceful waste of taxpayer dollars, and would spell further climate calamity.” by Eoin Higgins, staff writer Critics are denouncing as…
Meetings with energy companies dominate Interior Dept agendas 12 – 1
Analysis Finds 235 Interior Department Meetings With Dirty Energy Over Two Years, Compared to 19 With Conservation and Renewable Energy Interests By Mac England Ι The Meteor March 10, 2020 Executives from the oil, gas, electricity,…
Frequent fliers and carbon banks
New Orleans Visiting with old friends from Montana and Texas the other night, out of the blue one of my buddies asked me what I thought about the “carbon bank?” I’m not a big fan…
Virginia passes clean energy legislation
The Virginia Clean Economy Act follows other states in capping energy bills of low-income ratepayers at no more that 6% of a family’s income for electricity and 10% for gas use. It creates a “social cost…
Thorium reactors and climate change
New Orleans I’m trying to keep an open mind, OK? I know we’re all supposed to hate nuclear energy and be scared of total disasters, right? There’s Three-Mile Island in Pennsylvania. I’ve read the…
You’re paying big oil to pollute
Big oil companies are drilling public oil for free, thanks to a “temporary” loophole that’s stayed open for 25 years. By Jim Hightower November 6, 2019 The one thing you never want to hear your dentist…
Judge voids Trump oil and gas lease sales on nearly 1 million acres of Sage Grouse habitat
“The judge confirmed that it’s illegal to silence the public to expand fossil-fuel extraction.” by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Environmental advocates cheered a federal judge’s ruling Thursday that voided oil and gas leases on roughly one…
Leaking gas stations around Flagstaff
Recently, a number of gas stations have disappeared from Flagstaff. A couple have been replaced but the rest appear to have been taken out for good. A map provided by ADEQ’s Public Information Officer, Erin Jordan,…
