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☆ US lawmakers seek probe of Chinese drone maker Autel Robotics
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Autel Robotics Dragonfish Pro drone, with an 18-mile range, is displayed during CES 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 5, 2022. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of 11 U.S. House lawmakers on Thursday asked the Biden administration to investigate and potentially sanction Chinese drone maker Autel Robotics, citing national security concerns. The Pentagon said it would respond to the lawmakers' letter. Another signer of the letter, Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, said, "Autel drones made in Communist China present an unacceptable national security risk and should not be allowed to operate in America." Over 50% of drones sold in the United States are made by DJI, and they are the most popular drones in use by public safety agencies, Republican lawmakers said earlier this year.

Persons: Steve Marcus, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Autel, Elise Stefanik, Gallagher, Krishnamoorthi, David Shepardson, Chris Reese, Mark Porter Organizations: Las Vegas Convention, REUTERS, Rights, House, Republican, Commerce , Defense, Treasury, Autel Robotics, Technology, Robotics, China's People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Pentagon, Commerce, Commerce Department, U.S . Interior Department, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, House China, Communist China, America, China, Xinjiang, Ukraine, The U.S, United States

☆ US kicks off a spate of oil and gas auctions just as COP28 gets underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The remaining acreage, in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah, will be sold on Nov. 30, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. The UN's "Conference of the Parties" on climate, known as COP 28, will begin on Thursday and will take place over the same two weeks. Dozens of nations plan to push for the world's first deal to phase out carbon dioxide-emitting coal, oil and gas at the meeting. "Instead of doing the necessary work to fight climate change, Biden continues to support the expansion of fossil fuels here in the U.S.," Nicole Ghio, senior fossil fuels program manager for Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a climate change law passed last year, made oil and gas auctions a prerequisite for renewable energy development.

Persons: Rick Wilking, Biden, Joe Biden, Nicole Ghio, Trump, Nichola Groom, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, drillers, United Nations, Interior Department's, Interior Department's U.S . Bureau of Land Management, Department, Thomson Locations: Ft . Laramie , Wyoming, Wyoming, Dubai, Interior, Interior Department's U.S, New Mexico , Oklahoma , Nevada , North Dakota, Utah, U.S

☆ US holds first of several oil and gas auctions as COP28 gets underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BLM will also offer acreage in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nevada, North Dakota and Utah on Nov. 30, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. Dozens of nations plan to push for the world's first deal to phase out carbon dioxide-emitting coal, oil and gas at the meeting. "Instead of doing the necessary work to fight climate change, Biden continues to support the expansion of fossil fuels here in the U.S.," Nicole Ghio, senior fossil fuels program manager for Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a climate change law passed last year, made oil and gas auctions a prerequisite for renewable energy development. Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rick Wilking, Biden, Joe Biden, Nicole Ghio, Trump, Nichola Groom, Aurora Ellis, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, United Nations, Interior Department's, Interior Department's U.S . Bureau of Land Management, Department, Thomson Locations: Ft . Laramie , Wyoming, Wyoming, Dubai, Interior, Interior Department's U.S, Converse County, New Mexico , Oklahoma , Nevada , North Dakota, Utah, U.S

The leader of a South Dakota tribe is expected to declare an emergency on the state’s largest Native American reservation because of rampant crime that he said hasn’t been curbed due to the U.S. government’s inadequate funding for law enforcement. Only 33 officers and eight criminal investigators are responsible for more than 100,000 emergency calls each year across the 5,400-square-mile (14,000-square-kilometer) reservation, tribal officials have said. Oglala Sioux officials contend the tribe is entitled to federal funding for 120 fully equipped officers for the reservation, something the federal government has disputed. Giovanni Rocco, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, noted in an email to the AP that the department’s Law Enforcement Task Force has recommended the federal government increase law enforcement staffing levels on reservations. Lange, the judge in the Oglala Sioux case, has noted the Pine Ridge reservation is among the most impoverished places in the country.

Persons: hasn’t, Frank Star, “, ”, Ben Fenner, Roberto Lange, it's, They're, Giovanni Rocco, Robert Miller, Miller, Lange, ” ___ Trisha Ahmed, @TrishaAhmed15 Organizations: U.S, Oglala Sioux, Sioux, Interior Department, of Indian Affairs, The Associated Press, District, AP, Force, Arizona State University, ., Shawnee Tribe, Tribal, Northern Cheyenne, Associated Press, America Statehouse News Initiative, America Locations: South Dakota, Oglala, U.S, States, Connecticut, reevaluate, United States, Oglala Sioux, Shawnee, Oklahoma, Montana, Pine

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Advocates are calling out New Mexico’s Democratic governor for disbanding a task force that was charged with crafting recommendations to address the high rate of killings and missing person cases in Native American communities. Political Cartoons View All 1253 Images“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community,” Haaland said when the recommendations were announced. Still, advocates in New Mexico say more work needs to be done to address jurisdictional challenges among law enforcement agencies and to build support for families. The organization wants state officials to outline a clear plan for advancing New Mexico’s response to the problem. Aaron Lopez, a spokesperson for the agency, said the task force's work remains foundational for the state in determining the best strategies for curbing violence against Native Americans.

Persons: Michelle Lujan Grisham’s, Deb Haaland, ” Haaland, “, Aaron Lopez, James Mountain Organizations: —, New Mexico’s Democratic, Coalition, Gov, U.S . Justice, Justice Department, New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, The New, General's, Navajo, Indian Affairs Department Locations: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M, U.S, Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, Alaska, The, The New Mexico, Arizona, Utah

☆ ConocoPhillips' $8 billion Willow project approvals upheld by US judge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Clark Mindock | Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies US judge upholds approvals for $8 billion Willow projectGroups say they are considering an appealNov 9 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Alaska on Thursday upheld U.S. approvals for ConocoPhillips’ multibillion-dollar Willow oil and gas drilling project in the state’s Arctic, rejecting environmental and tribal groups' concerns that the project poses too large of a climate threat. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental and tribal groups challenging the $8 billion project's approvals, which the U.S. Opponents claim the project would release hundreds of millions of tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere, aggravating climate change and damaging pristine wilderness. The approvals give ConocoPhillips permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8 miles of gravel roads, an air strip and hundreds of miles of ice roads. The environmental and tribal groups challenged the approvals in two lawsuits filed in March.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Sharon Gleason, Gleason, Erik Grafe, ConocoPhillips didn't, Joe Biden's, Iñupiat, Ian Dooley, Carole Holley, Earthjustice, Bridget Psarianos, Suzanne Bostrom, Rickey Turner, Paul Turcke, Ryan Steen, Whitney Brown, Jason Morgan, Luke Sanders, Stoel, Clark Mindock Organizations: ConocoPhillips, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, ConocoPhillips ’ multibillion, U.S, U.S . Interior Department, Earthjustice, Interior Department, of Land Management, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Environmental, of Land, for Biological, District of, Trustees, U.S . Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Alaska, Anchorage, District of Alaska

(AP) — Victims of government-backed Native American boarding schools are expected to share their experiences Sunday as U.S. officials make a final stop in Montana on their yearlong tour to confront the institutions that regularly abused students to assimilate them into white society. For over 150 years, Indigenous children were taken from their communities and forced into the boarding schools. A Native American boarding school school in the town of St. Ignatius on the Flathead Reservation was open until at least 1973. In southeastern Montana the Tongue River Boarding School operated under various names until at least 1970, when the Northern Cheyenne Tribe contracted it as a tribal school, according to government records. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition has tallied an additional 113 schools not on the government list that were run by churches and with no evidence of federal support.

Persons: Deb Haaland, Wizipan Garriott, Garriott, They’ve, Fort, Ignatius, — Organizations: —, Montana State University, Interior Department, Boarding School, Northern Cheyenne Tribe, National, American Boarding School, Coalition Locations: BOZEMAN, Mont, Montana, Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, Bozeman, U.S, Alaska, Hawaii, Rosebud Sioux, Oklahoma , South Dakota , Michigan, Arizona, Blackfeet, Fort Peck, Fort Belknap, St

In total, the cancellations equate to nearly one-fifth of President Joe Biden’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. Despite the setbacks, offshore wind continues to move forward, the White House said, citing recent investments by New York state and approval by the Interior Department of the nation’s largest planned offshore wind farm in Virginia. Hardy spoke at the American Clean Power industry group’s offshore wind conference in Boston last month on a panel with Morris. Phil Murphy, has established increasingly stringent clean energy goals, moving from 100% clean energy by 2050 to 100% by 2035. “Offshore wind is a lot bigger than Ørsted.”The first U.S. commercial-scale offshore wind farms are currently under construction: Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts and South Fork Wind off Rhode Island and New York.

Persons: jeopardizing, Ørsted, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Timothy Fox, “, Molly Morris, David Hardy, Hardy, Morris, “ We’re, ”, Walt Musial, Musial, Conor Bambrick, Phil Murphy, Murphy, Catherine Klinger, Catherine Bowes, ″ Bowes, Michael Brown, ” ___ McDermott Organizations: WASHINGTON, Biden, Interior Department, Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Industry, ClearView Energy Partners, Ørsted, American Clean, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy Department, P, Environmental, ., Democratic Gov, New, U.S, Offshore, Ocean, ___, AP Locations: New Jersey, U.S, Danish, New England, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Interior’s, Gulf of Mexico, East Coast, Washington, Norwegian, Jersey, United States, Boston, Europe, Virginia Beach, Rhode Island, . New Jersey, Rhode, North America, Providence , Rhode Island, Hill, Albany , New York, Catalini, Trenton , New Jersey

☆ Biden Administration Approves Biggest Offshore Wind Farm Yet, in Virginia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Brad Plumer | More About Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Interior Department on Tuesday approved a plan to install up to 176 giant wind turbines off the coast of Virginia, clearing the way for what would be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm yet. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, to be built by Dominion Energy, is the fifth commercial-scale offshore wind project approved by the Biden administration. The decision comes at a perilous time for the offshore wind industry. To fight climate change, the Biden administration wants to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power in the United States by 2030. In New York, the developers of four proposed offshore wind farms recently asked the state for more money before moving forward.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Interior Department, Dominion Energy, Commonwealth, York Locations: Virginia, United States, Pacific, Massachusetts, New York

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A power company's plans for an enormous offshore wind farm off Virginia's coast gained key federal approval Tuesday after the Biden Administration evaluated the project's potential impact on the environment. The utility will still need federal approval of its construction and operation plans before more pilings rise above the Atlantic Ocean. Dominion said its project will be the largest offshore wind farm under development in the United States. The administration said it wants to build 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 — enough to power more than 10 million homes. The Southern Environmental Law Center cited the importance of offshore wind for cutting carbon pollution, which fuels climate change.

Persons: what's, “, Deb Haaland, Joe Biden's, Glenn Youngkin, Will Cleveland, Michael Town, ” Organizations: Biden Administration, Dominion Energy, of Ocean Energy Management, Dominion, Interior Department, Republican Gov, Southern Environmental, Virginia League of Conservation Voters Locations: VIRGINIA BEACH, Va, Virginia's, Atlantic, Virginia Beach, United States, Virginia

Oct 18 (Reuters) - An Alaska state agency on Wednesday sued the Biden administration over its decision to cancel oil and gas leases in the state’s North Slope, one of the country's largest reserves of pristine federal land. Interior Department’s Sept. 6 decision to scrap seven oil and gas leases in Alaska’s 19 million-acre (7.7 million-hectare) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area that is acutely vulnerable to climate change and home to grizzly and polar bears, herds of moose and snowy owls. The canceled leases were sold during the waning days of the Trump administration following a decades-long effort by Alaska officials to open up drilling in the refuge and bolster the state's petroleum-reliant economy. The state agency emerged as the sole bidder for most of the acreage after major oil and gas companies chose to skip the sale in 2020, which generated around $14.4 million. The two other entities that won leases at the 2020 sale withdrew from their holdings in 2022.

Persons: ”, Mike Dunleavy, Trump, Clark Mindock, Alexia Garamfalvi, Jamie Freed Organizations: Wednesday, Biden, Washington , D.C, U.S . Interior, Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Industrial Development, Export Authority, U.S, District of Columbia, Republican, U.S . Interior Department, Department, Thomson Locations: Alaska, Washington ,, U.S, Alaska’s, Republican Alaska, North

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — One person died and at least two more were injured by gunshots near a pro-democracy demonstration in Guatemala on Monday, local authorities said. Victor Gomez, spokesman for the volunteer firemen in Malacatan, near the border with Mexico, said it was not clear whether the victims were protesters themselves, or just caught nearby. The incident is the latest violent episode after 15 days of protests and roadblocks in the Central American country. On Sunday, Porras' supporters in Guatemala City called for violence against demonstrators blocking roads. They have called for the resignation of Porras, prosecutors Rafael Curruchiche and Cinthia Monterroso, and Judge Fredy Orellana.

Persons: Victor Gomez, General Consuelo Porras, Bernardo Arévalo, Alejandro Giammattei, Arévalo, ”, Porras, Napoleón Barrientos, Rafael Curruchiche, Cinthia, Judge Fredy Orellana Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, National Police, Interior Department, Central American, Movement Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemala, Malacatan, Mexico, Guatemalan, Guatemala City, El

Biden's Interior Department on Friday unveiled a congressionally mandated five-year plan for offshore oil drilling that included just three sales, all in the Gulf of Mexico -- the lowest number in any five-year plan since the government began publishing them in 1980. Previous five-year offshore lease programs have ranged between 11 and 41 sales, according to Interior's U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate change law passed last year, made oil and gas lease sales a prerequisite for new offshore wind power auctions. Biden sees offshore wind power as a key element to his plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050. In a sign of the litigious nature of U.S. drilling policy, Biden's administration had been scheduled to hold a Congressionally mandated Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease auction this month.

Persons: Biden, Erik Milito, Abigail Dillen, we've, Mike Sommers, Bill Cassidy, Vladimir Putin, Cassidy, Trump, Nichola Groom, Jamie Freed, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Biden's, Department, Reuters, National Ocean Industries Association, U.S . Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior Department, Biden, American Petroleum Institute, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast, OPEC, Organization of, Petroleum, ., Interior, Thomson Locations: Gulf of Mexico, U.S, Gulf, Mexico, Putin, Louisiana, Russia, California

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (AP) — The endangered red wolf can survive in the wild, but only with “significant additional management intervention,” according to a long-awaited population viability analysis released Friday. It calls for spending nearly $328 million over the next 50 years to get the red wolf off the endangered species list. The red wolf once roamed from central Texas to southern Iowa and as far east as Long Island, New York. “We have not yet identified locations for establishing new Red Wolf populations,” the report said. But the viability study cautioned that such releases be done very carefully, so as not to reduce the genetic diversity within the captive-bred population.

Persons: “, rufus ” —, Red Wolf, Parks Shannon Estenoz, Wolf, ”, Ramona McGee Organizations: Fish, Wildlife Service, Wildlife, Parks, Texas -, Southern Environmental Law Locations: N.C, U.S, United States, Fish, North Carolina, Texas, Iowa, Long, , New York, Texas - Louisiana, Smoky

The five-year plan includes proposed sales in the Gulf of Mexico — the nation’s primary offshore source of oil and gas — in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development. The lease program will guard against environmental damage caused by oil and gas drilling and other adverse impacts to coastal communities, Haaland said. “The (oil leasing) program is definitely informed by the IRA and the connection that the IRA makes between offshore oil and gas leasing and renewable energy leasing,” he said Thursday, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act. The Interior Department can’t sell the rights to drill for oil and gas offshore without first publishing a schedule that outlines its plans.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Democratic Sen, Joe Manchin, Manchin, Harris, Deb Haaland, ”, Haaland, “, Biden's, Ryan Lance, Willow, Dyani Chapman, Tommy Beaudreau, Interior Department can’t, Rene Santos, Santos, Beth Lowell, Abigail Dillen, Sen, Dan Sullivan, ___ Brown, Becky Bohrer Organizations: WASHINGTON, Democratic, Biden, Interior Department, Interior Department’s, of Ocean Energy Management, drillers, BP, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Alaska Environment, Interior, P, Gulf, American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, Associated Press Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Gulf, Mexico, West Virginia, Chevron, Brazil, Guyana, Louisiana, Oceana, Gulf Coast, Billings, Mont, Juneau , Alaska

The White House is expected to argue on Friday that holding oil lease sales is the price to pay if it wants to achieve its ambitious wind energy goals. Biden sees offshore wind power as a key tool in his administration's effort to decarbonize the economy. "The number of oil and gas lease sales will be the lowest in history and will enable the rapid expansion of the offshore wind industry," the source said. The Interior Department is required by law to create a national oil and gas leasing schedule every five years. The Biden administration unveiled a proposed plan in July last year that had contemplated between zero to 11 lease sales.

Persons: Jessica Resnick, Ault, Biden, Trump, Joe Biden's, Deb Haaland, Jarrett Renshaw, Nichola, Marguerita Choy, David Gregorio, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Reuters, Biden, Interior Department, Interior, Thomson Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Alaska, California, U.S

Cain's Sept. 22 order had been celebrated by the oil and gas industry, which had sued in August alongside the state of Louisiana over an earlier decision by the Interior Department to scale back the auction. Representatives for the Interior Department, environmental groups, the Louisiana attorney general's office and the American Petroleum Institute did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Interior Department finalized plans for a reduced lease sale in August, after last year's Inflation Reduction Act mandated the auction move forward. The sale made about 67 million acres in the Gulf available for bids. Those groups had claimed the whales can be harmed or killed by oil spills, vessel strikes, noise, marine debris and other impacts of oil and gas exploration and development.

Persons: Biden, James Cain's, Joe Biden, Nichola Groom, Clark Mindock, Sandra Maler, Alexia Garamfalvi, Richard Chang Organizations: Chevron Corp, Monday, Circuit, U.S . Interior Department, Interior Department, U.S, District, of Ocean Energy Management, American Petroleum Institute, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S

☆ U.S. judge orders expansion of Gulf of Mexico oil lease auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered an expansion of next week's sale of oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, saying the Biden administration must include additional acreage, according to a court ruling issued late on Thursday. U.S. District Judge James Cain said the Interior Department must proceed with the lease sale by Sept. 30, the ruling said. Environment groups had opposed including the additional acres, citing the need for adequate safeguards for the endangered Rice's whale. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had no comment on the ruling, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg News. Reporting by Jarret Renshaw and Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina ChiacuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Biden, James Cain, Jarret Renshaw, Susan Heavey, Doina Organizations: Interior Department's, of Ocean Energy Management, District, Interior Department, Department of, American Petroleum Institute, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico, U.S

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A U.S. agency said Friday it will nominate the vast, federally protected wildlife refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp for listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Okefenokee refuge covers more than 90% of the swamp and is the largest national wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River. Designation as a World Heritage site wouldn't impose any added restrictions or regulations for the Okefenokee. Ossoff said a World Heritage site designation would have both environmental and economic benefits for the Okefenokee and surrounding Georgia communities. Conservationists sounded doubtful that the World Heritage site nomination would directly affect the decisions of Georgia regulators.

Persons: Kim Bednarek, ”, Elise Bennett, It’s, Buddy Carter, Democratic Sen, Jon Ossoff, Ossoff, Deb Haaland, “ They’re, Ben Prater, Bednarek Organizations: —, UNESCO, National Park Service, U.S, of Liberty, UNESCO's World, U.S . Fish, Wildlife Service, Center for Biological Diversity, Fish and Wildlife Service, Republican, Democratic, U.S . Interior Department, Twin Pines Minerals, of Wildlife Locations: SAVANNAH, Ga, U.S, Washington, Georgia, Florida, blackwater, Yellowstone, Yosemite, ”, Arizona, of, Ohio, Mississippi, Caribbean, Twin Pines

That area was reduced to 67 acres (27 hectares) in August when Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced final plans for the sale. Chevron, Shell Offshore, the American Petroleum Institute and the state of Louisiana sued to reverse the cut in acreage and block the inclusion of the whale-protecting measures in the lease sale provisions. They also said the changes after the initial lease sale was proposed in March violate federal law because they were adopted arbitrarily, without sufficient explanation of why they are needed. Political Cartoons View All 1173 ImagesMeanwhile, rival litigation filed by Earthjustice and other prominent environmental groups seeks to halt the lease sale. The organizations say the lease sale violates the National Environmental Policy.

Persons: Biden, James David Cain Jr, Lake Charles, BOEM, Earthjustice, ” Erik Milito, Steve Mashuda Organizations: ORLEANS, —, Interior Department, Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, District, Shell, American Petroleum Institute, Environmental, Energy, National Ocean Industries Association Locations: Gulf, Mexico, Lake, Maryland, Chevron, Louisiana, Gulf Coast

☆ House passes bill to improve wildfire prevention accountability after NBC News report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Adiel Kaplan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A wildfire burns on the island of Maui near an intersection in Lahaina, Hawaii, August 9, 2023. A bill to improve how the federal government tracks wildfire prevention work passed the House in a near-unanimous 406-4 vote on Wednesday, a month after the nation's deadliest wildfire in over 100 years killed at least 115 people in Hawaii. A 2022 NBC News investigation found that the United States Forest Service had overstated how much land it treats to reduce wildfire risk by an estimated 21% over a 15-year period. Tiffany, chairman of the House Natural Resources committee's federal lands subcommittee, cited NBC News' reporting when he introduced the bill. The bill applies to hazardous fuel reduction done by federal land management agencies, which mostly work on federally owned land.

Persons: Tom Tiffany, I'm, Tiffany, Sen, Joe Manchin, John Barrasso Organizations: NBC, United States Forest Service, Natural Resources, Service, Interior Department, Senate Energy, Natural Resources Committee Locations: Maui, Lahaina , Hawaii, Hawaii, Lahaina, California, Paradise

☆ In Renaming of Mount Evans, Colorado Grapples With Its Violent Territorial Past
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Matt Whittaker | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +8 min

An hour-and-a-half drive away from the museum – and roughly 9,000 feet above it – stands Mount Evans, a popular tourist destination and towering testament to a key figure behind the massacre. It can be replaced with a name that brings healing.”Now, yearslong efforts to rename Mount Evans are tantalizingly close to fruition. JoyHeart emphasizes that the ongoing conversation about changing the name of Mount Evans highlights the enduring influence of historical events on present-day Native communities. But in March, the board deferred a vote on the name change after the Montana-based Northern Cheyenne tribe requested a consultation on the new name. I look at it as a process that’s continuing.”The Mount Evans debate comes amid a broader national push to rename places that use titles offensive to Indigenous Americans.

Persons: birdsong, John Evans, ” –, Mount Evans, Evans, ”, MorningStar Jones, Rhyia JoyHeart, Jimena Peck, Sam Bock, Bock, Sarah Ortegon Highwalking, “ Evans ”, Matthew Makley, Jared Polis, William Walksalong, ” Walksalong, “, Reggie Wassana, Deb Haaland, Cris Stainbrook, Stainbrook, Jones, ” Ortegon Highwalking, hasn’t Organizations: DENVER, History Colorado Center, Gov, Denver, Northern Cheyenne Nation, U.S . Board, Geographic, Northern Arapaho, United Indigenous, USN, North, North Art District, Mount, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Capitol, Blue, Arapaho, Sky, U.S . Interior Department, Cheyenne, Southern, Arapaho Tribes, Southern Cheyenne and, Mount Blue, Arapaho Tribes Gov, Interior Department, Sec, Tenure Foundation, Eastern Shoshone Locations: Cheyenne, Arapaho, Colorado, Mount, Eastern Shoshone, Northern, Lakewood , Colorado, Sand, North Art, Denver, ”, Creek County, U.S, Montana, Arapaho . Colorado, Southern Cheyenne, Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho, Oklahoma, Wyoming, American, United States, Alaska, Eastern

[1/3] Brett Isaac, founder and co-CEO of Navajo Power, attends the first annual Tribal Energy Equity Summit in Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S., May 22, 2023. Tribes cannot access key incentives for larger clean energy projects until they secure an agreement to connect to the regional electrical grid. That could jeopardize a "once in a lifetime opportunity,” according to Cheri Smith, president of the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, a nonprofit that is helping tribes develop clean energy. The Standing Rock Sioux have so far spent $3 million on technical studies and fees to remain in the queue, with no guarantee of approval. A NEW DAYThe Standing Rock Sioux tribe's development authority, called SAGE, proposed the 235MW wind farm three years ago.

Persons: Brett Isaac, Sarah Arnoff Yeoman, Cheri Smith, Smith, Joe McNeil, McNeil, Eileen Briggs, Greg Anderson, Alliance's Smith, Jeremiah Baumann ,, Willie Phillips, Alliance’s Smith, Celeste Miller, It’s, ”, Valerie Volcovici, Richard Valdmanis, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: Navajo Power, Tribal Energy Equity Summit, REUTERS, Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, Reuters, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy Information Administration, SAGE, Dakota, Interior Department, Southwest, Sierra Club Foundation, Wallace Global Fund, Bush Foundation, Moapa, Tesla, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Energy, Interior, Infrastructure, DOE, FERC, Thomson Locations: Navajo, Saint Paul , Minnesota, U.S, Sioux, North, South Dakota, United States, Phoenix, Bismarck , North Dakota, philanthropies, Paiute, Nevada, Las Vegas, St, Paul , Minnesota

☆ Biden Approved a Big Oil Project. Now, He’s Cracking Down on Drilling.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Lisa Friedman | More About Lisa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past several months, the administration has moved to bar drilling on 1.8 million acres of sagebrush steppe in Wyoming and on more than a million acres of public land in Colorado. It insulated more than 336,400 acres of public land around Chaco Culture National Historical Park from new oil and gas leasing and mining claims for the next two decades. And last month, it said it would remove about six million acres of potentially oil-rich areas from an upcoming federal lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico that is required by law. The Bureau of Land Management also wants to change how it manages the 245 million acres under its control by allowing conservation leases, similar to the way the agency auctions off parcels for drilling and mining. Administration officials said the conservation efforts were not new and many of the drilling restrictions had been underway for months.

Persons: Biden’s Organizations: Chaco Culture, Interior Department, Land Management, Administration Locations: Wyoming, Colorado, Chaco, Gulf of Mexico

Now, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Interior Department should work together to ease the damage, the GAO said. A Customs and Border Protection spokesman said Wednesday that the agency is working on a response to the report. An Interior Department spokeswoman said the agency would have no comment. “The wall saved lives and disrupted the cartel’s ability to improve their operational control of our country’s borders.”Environmental groups said the GAO report confirmed their earlier complaints. They said future repair work could benefit from more involvement by the Interior Department, a lead manager of the federal land where much of the damage occurred.

Persons: Donald Trump, ”, Raul Grijalva, Grijalva, Trump, Mark Morgan, Morgan, Laiken, Michael Dax, Emily Burns, Joe Biden, Damage Organizations: PHOENIX, Government, Office, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, Interior Department, GAO, Customs, U.S, Arizona Democrat, Homeland Security, Forest Service, Border, Heritage Foundation, Center for Biological Diversity, Department of, Wildlands, Sky Islands Alliance, Department of Defense, Kumeyaay Locations: U.S, Mexico, cactuses, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Southwest, California , Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, California, Rio Grande Valley, Arizona's Sonora, Quitobaquito, Rio Grande

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