PublishedMay 21, 2019TopicShare/RepublishThe fight against a Texas pipeline just got a little more challenging. On Monday, the that makes interfering with pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure a crime punishable by up to a year in prison and $10,000 in fines. And just the “intent to impair or interrupt” operations could still cost you a $4,000 fine and a year behind bars.The new legislation raises the risk for landowners hoping to block construction of Kinder Morgan’s $2 billion, 430-mile natural gas pipeline from West Texas’ Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast. The proposed project...…PublishedMay 21, 2019TopicShare/RepublishThe fight against a Texas pipeline just got a little more challenging. On Monday, the that makes interfering with pipelines and other oil and gas infrastructure a crime punishable by up to a year in prison and $10,000 in fines. And just the “intent to impair or interrupt” operations could still cost you a $4,000 fine and a year behind bars.The new legislation raises the risk for landowners hoping to block construction of Kinder Morgan’s $2 billion, 430-mile natural gas pipeline from West Texas’ Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast. The proposed project...WW…

PublishedFeb 18, 2020TopicShare/RepublishThe Kominek family farm is a green expanse of hay and alfalfa in northern Colorado. The family has planted and raked crops for half a century, but as yields declined over recent years, the farm began losing money. In late 2017, Byron Kominek went looking for more profitable alternatives, including installing solar panels and selling electricity to the utility. But Boulder County’s land-use codes made it difficult to use their 24 acres for anything but farming.So the Komineks found a compromise: a solar array with plants growing beneath, between, and...…PublishedFeb 18, 2020TopicShare/RepublishThe Kominek family farm is a green expanse of hay and alfalfa in northern Colorado. The family has planted and raked crops for half a century, but as yields declined over recent years, the farm began losing money. In late 2017, Byron Kominek went looking for more profitable alternatives, including installing solar panels and selling electricity to the utility. But Boulder County’s land-use codes made it difficult to use their 24 acres for anything but farming.So the Komineks found a compromise: a solar array with plants growing beneath, between, and...WW…

PublishedOct 20, 2020TopicShare/RepublishClimate deniers and opponents of aggressive climate action have long argued that governments can’t afford comprehensive measures to confront the climate crisis. The Green New Deal, for example, has been ridiculed as a “” by the Republican Policy Committee.But then COVID-19 challenged preconceived notions about the limits of government spending. Since August, world governments have pledged more than $12 trillion in stimulus spending to dig their way out of the coronavirus-caused economic downturn — a truly mind-boggling amount of cash that represents....…PublishedOct 20, 2020TopicShare/RepublishClimate deniers and opponents of aggressive climate action have long argued that governments can’t afford comprehensive measures to confront the climate crisis. The Green New Deal, for example, has been ridiculed as a “” by the Republican Policy Committee.But then COVID-19 challenged preconceived notions about the limits of government spending. Since August, world governments have pledged more than $12 trillion in stimulus spending to dig their way out of the coronavirus-caused economic downturn — a truly mind-boggling amount of cash that represents....WW…

PublishedOct 26, 2020TopicShare/RepublishThis story was produced in collaboration with , a nonprofit newsroom in Seattle with a focus on the environment, public health, and government accountabilityIt was a scorching August day at the Hoover Dam as three Trump administration officials gathered for a little celebration honoring pollution-free hydroelectricity. Inside the dam’s Spillway House Visitor Center, air conditioning thankfully kept people comfortable as the president’s appointees heaped praise on hydropower. A U.S. Department of Interior news release about the event calls...…PublishedOct 26, 2020TopicShare/RepublishThis story was produced in collaboration with , a nonprofit newsroom in Seattle with a focus on the environment, public health, and government accountabilityIt was a scorching August day at the Hoover Dam as three Trump administration officials gathered for a little celebration honoring pollution-free hydroelectricity. Inside the dam’s Spillway House Visitor Center, air conditioning thankfully kept people comfortable as the president’s appointees heaped praise on hydropower. A U.S. Department of Interior news release about the event calls...WW…

PublishedOct 26, 2020TopicShare/RepublishMy home state of Pennsylvania is always on the receiving end of some heavy pandering by presidential candidates: some feeble stabs at the Sheetz vs. Wawa convenience store debate, pointlessly coy hints at an allegiance with the Flyers or Penguins, a professed devotion to one hideous sandwich or another.Generally, I can tolerate it. Part of the business of politics in general, and elections specifically, is to appeal to swing states using these kinds of caricatures. But the 2020 Pennsylvanian stereotype of choice perpetuated by Trump and Biden has not...…PublishedOct 26, 2020TopicShare/RepublishMy home state of Pennsylvania is always on the receiving end of some heavy pandering by presidential candidates: some feeble stabs at the Sheetz vs. Wawa convenience store debate, pointlessly coy hints at an allegiance with the Flyers or Penguins, a professed devotion to one hideous sandwich or another.Generally, I can tolerate it. Part of the business of politics in general, and elections specifically, is to appeal to swing states using these kinds of caricatures. But the 2020 Pennsylvanian stereotype of choice perpetuated by Trump and Biden has not...WW…

PublishedOct 06, 2020TopicShare/RepublishLast week, former Second Lady Jill Biden visited Michigan on behalf of her husband, Democratic nominee Joe Biden. There, she toured a cherry farm in Central Lake owned by the Kings, a family of farmers. The campaign *.“We’re having more challenges in tart cherries than ever before,” John King, co-owner of King Orchards, says in the ad. “As I think about my grandchildren and the world we live in, I think it’s very important to adopt measures to mitigate climate change.” Michigan is the nation’s No. 1 producer of tart cherries. have caused headaches...…PublishedOct 06, 2020TopicShare/RepublishLast week, former Second Lady Jill Biden visited Michigan on behalf of her husband, Democratic nominee Joe Biden. There, she toured a cherry farm in Central Lake owned by the Kings, a family of farmers. The campaign *.“We’re having more challenges in tart cherries than ever before,” John King, co-owner of King Orchards, says in the ad. “As I think about my grandchildren and the world we live in, I think it’s very important to adopt measures to mitigate climate change.” Michigan is the nation’s No. 1 producer of tart cherries. have caused headaches...WW…

PublishedOct 15, 2020TopicShare/RepublishNew York’s latest move toward its aggressive decarbonization goals makes good on the promise of a more equitable transition. On Tuesday, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), a publicly owned power utility, to work with environmental justice groups on a plan to transition six natural gas–fired power plants in New York City to cleaner technologies.These are not just any power plants. The six facilities in question are “,” designed to fire up only during times of peak demand, like hot summer days when New Yorkers are cranking up their air conditioners —...…PublishedOct 15, 2020TopicShare/RepublishNew York’s latest move toward its aggressive decarbonization goals makes good on the promise of a more equitable transition. On Tuesday, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), a publicly owned power utility, to work with environmental justice groups on a plan to transition six natural gas–fired power plants in New York City to cleaner technologies.These are not just any power plants. The six facilities in question are “,” designed to fire up only during times of peak demand, like hot summer days when New Yorkers are cranking up their air conditioners —...WW…

This originally appeared in and is reproduced here as part of the collaboration.On July 13, in Grand Junction, Colorado, a day after the coronavirus pandemic hit a local three-month peak, 45 elderly women flouted the state’s “safer-at-home” directive and withstood temperatures that reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit to meet at the Grand Vista Hotel for the Mesa County Republican Women’s Luncheon.Officially, the event was meant to spotlight an issue on this year’s ballot in Colorado, a contentious measure on wolf reintroduction in the state. But as the women milled about the hotel’s conference...…This originally appeared in and is reproduced here as part of the collaboration.On July 13, in Grand Junction, Colorado, a day after the coronavirus pandemic hit a local three-month peak, 45 elderly women flouted the state’s “safer-at-home” directive and withstood temperatures that reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit to meet at the Grand Vista Hotel for the Mesa County Republican Women’s Luncheon.Officially, the event was meant to spotlight an issue on this year’s ballot in Colorado, a contentious measure on wolf reintroduction in the state. But as the women milled about the hotel’s conference...WW…

PublishedOct 14, 2020TopicShare/Republish“We should be a little nervous,” U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California at a political conference in Georgia last October.McCarthy had little obvious reason to be on edge — the House minority leader was in the majority that day at the Washington Examiner’s annual political summit at Sea Island, a five-star resort. And for the first 15 minutes of his interview with Examiner reporter David Drucker, McCarthy exuded confidence. Republicans would win back the House in 2020, he promised. “The first number I want you to remember from now until the...…PublishedOct 14, 2020TopicShare/Republish“We should be a little nervous,” U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California at a political conference in Georgia last October.McCarthy had little obvious reason to be on edge — the House minority leader was in the majority that day at the Washington Examiner’s annual political summit at Sea Island, a five-star resort. And for the first 15 minutes of his interview with Examiner reporter David Drucker, McCarthy exuded confidence. Republicans would win back the House in 2020, he promised. “The first number I want you to remember from now until the...WW…

PublishedOct 03, 2020TopicShare/RepublishWell, it happened. After months of downplaying COVID-19 (“!”) and , President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have .The implications of this news include more than a mere “I told you so.” Trump has fallen ill with a potentially deadly virus just weeks before Election Day, and in the midst of a global pandemic, record-breaking wildfire and hurricane seasons, and a growing national reckoning with racial violence.The president’s diagnosis has also laid bare a rift in his persistent anti-science strategy of deny, deny, deny: It’s a lot harder...…PublishedOct 03, 2020TopicShare/RepublishWell, it happened. After months of downplaying COVID-19 (“!”) and , President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have .The implications of this news include more than a mere “I told you so.” Trump has fallen ill with a potentially deadly virus just weeks before Election Day, and in the midst of a global pandemic, record-breaking wildfire and hurricane seasons, and a growing national reckoning with racial violence.The president’s diagnosis has also laid bare a rift in his persistent anti-science strategy of deny, deny, deny: It’s a lot harder...WW…