Free Republic

When the Biden administration announced in 2022 that it would remove some 4 million acres of federal land in Western states from oil and gas exploration, environmental groups hailed the decision as a milestone in their fight against global warming. “With the oil and gas industry bent on despoiling American’s public lands and fueling the climate crisis, this is a critical opportunity for the Biden administration to chart a new path toward clean energy and independence from fossil fuels,” said Jeremy Nichols, a director with WildEarth Guardians. But Nichols could just as easily have slapped himself on the back: The...

Starting this month, 145,000 Wyoming ratepayers will make a down payment on what's projected to add up to billions of dollars in additional costs. Regulators recently approved Black Hills Energy's new $1.1 million surcharge on utility bills to research the viability of adding controversial carbon capture technologies to coal-fired power plants. Rob Joyce, acting director of the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the rate increases are due to the state's mandate for utilities to continue burning coal. "The people who benefit from these kinds of policies are the legislators who are connected to legacy fossil fuel companies, utilities...

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13 (King James Version) It is so incredible when you catch a liberal saying the quiet part out loud. While filming the latest Forestry Board testimony we caught them in a unrehearsed moment, and they admitted the entire song and dance of protecting the forests...

The New York Times hyped up an eco-extremist group with ties to leftist billionaire George Soros that is scheming to unleash tens of millions of dollars to ensure President Joe Biden’s reelection in 2024. The Times praised on Oct. 16 how the Climate Power group was spending $80 million on “ads to aid Biden.” As the outlet put it, “Climate Power says the lack of awareness and understanding of the president’s record on environmental issues is hurting him in the polls.” The group was founded by a coalition of three leftist entities, two of which are significantly funded by Soros:...

A federal appeals court on Monday vacated a water permit needed by developers to restart construction on the Mountain Valley pipeline in West Virginia, marking the latest setback for the $6.2 billion project. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found several defects in the review the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted before issuing the permit.

The Climate Imperative Foundation is the newest and richest anti-hydrocarbon, anti-natural gas group you’ve never heard of. How rich is Climate Imperative? According to the latest report from Guidestar, the group took in $221 million in its first full year of operation. (Guidestar calls the income “gross receipts.”) That means that Climate Imperative, which is less than three years old, is already taking in more cash than the Sierra Club, which bills itself as the “nation’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.” According to Guidestar, the Sierra Club collected $180 million in its latest reporting year. Climate Imperative is...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Dave Foreman, a self-proclaimed eco-warrior who was a prominent member of the radical environmentalism movement and a co-founder of Earth First!, has died. He was 74. The New Mexico-based Rewilding Institute, which Foreman founded as a think tank to develop long-term land conservation plans, said on its website that he died peacefully at his home in Albuquerque on Monday. A cause of death wasn’t immediately released, but friends of Foreman said he had battled a lung illness for several months. “There will never be another like him. One of the greatest conservationists ever,” the institute said....

More than two dozen environmental organizations petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of natural gas for home heating nationwide, arguing the federal agency must regulate “deadly pollution from heating appliances.” The petition, sponsored by the Sierra Club, claims fossil fuel-fired home furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers and stoves emit enough nitrogen dioxide (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) that they must be classified as “new stationary sources” of air pollutants, placing them in the same regulatory regime as power plants and factories. The petition resembles – but goes beyond Gov. Jared Polis’ Greenhouse Gas Roadmap for a clean...

The green agenda coalition now is demanding the elimination of natural gas furnaces and appliances in homes nationwide, a move that could trigger replacements costs of $12,000 for homeowners. And the plan is being slammed as representing a federal government "out of control," according to a state lawmaker. The plan is being pushed by the Sierra Club and dozens of other "environmental" groups, who are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency ban the use of natural gas for home heating – everywhere in the country. The groups' petition claims that the federal agency absolutely has to regulate "deadly pollution" from the...

(Reuters) - The Bureau of Land Management will pause oil and gas leasing on 2.2 million acres of Colorado public land after environmental groups alleged its current management plan failed to consider climate impacts, according to a settlement. The agreement was filed Thursday in Colorado federal court and requires the government to conduct a new environmental analysis of the climate impacts of oil and gas leasing on public lands in southwestern Colorado. The government also agreed to consider how the leases may impact the endangered Gunnison sage- grouse and its habitat. The Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and others...

Dozens of coal-fired power plants across the U.S. plan to stop burning coal or to shut down by the end of the decade, the Associated Press reported. The decision is not driven by climate change concerns but to comply with a new wastewater rule requiring them to clean coal ash and toxic heavy metals from the water before it's dumped back into streams and rivers. The plants had an October deadline to tell state regulators how they plan to comply. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the rule is expected to affect 75 coal-fired power plants across the country. The...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new report from the Sacramento Sierra Club shows there were three times as many fires along the American River Parkway last year compared to 2019. It attributes the increase to climate change and the surge in homeless camps in the area over the last few years. The rise in fires happened at the same time the county stopped enforcing an ordinance against illegal camping, the report states. The change followed a federal court decision that found that local governments could not ban camping unless they were providing alternatives, like enough shelters.

As an American 501(c)(3) foundation, Sea Change must disclose what funds it received from the Bahamas, but a Bahamian company or trust is not required to disclose the source of its funds. The Banks and Johnson letter states that: “According to Sea Change’s tax filings, in 2010 the group received $23 million, half of its annual contributions, from a Bahamian shell corporation linked to the Russian government. Sea Change then passed that money on to groups like the Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress that lobbied politically against fracking (…) In 2020, the Center for American Progress donated...

For years, world leaders have accused Russia of funding environmental groups in Europe to steer nations away from energy independence and strengthen Russia’s iron grip over the continent. As nations across the globe begin shunning Russian oil in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. leaders are also questioning how deep Russia’s ties go in the environmental community. "The Russians actually fund some of the most rabid environmental groups in Europe because they sic them on the energy projects that aren’t Russian," James Carafano, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign...

EXCLUSIVE: The head of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) has called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to launch an investigation into whether Russia secretly funded U.S. green groups that advocate against domestic oil and gas production. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., led a letter to Yellen Friday that cites a 2015 Washington Free Beacon report that suggested the California-based Sea Change Foundation may allegedly be a conduit for Russian oil interests in funneling money to groups like the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress.

Liberty Daily posted a Climate Depot article about a congressional report in 2018 detailing “Russian attempts to influence” and fund environmental groups to oppose fracking in Europe and the U.S. The reason is obvious since Russia relies on oil and gas exports for its very survival. There is more to this story. George Soros gives to the same groups surreptitiously. We reported this in 2018 after The Daily Signal summarized the involvement of Russia and George Soros, who now has operatives employed in the White House. Russia funneled money to a corporation that funds radical environmental groups that are vehemently...

A confirmed wolf kill was discovered near Walden, Colo., the home of one of Colorado’s wolf packs. An approximately 500 pound purebred replacement heifer was found dead after being attacked and eaten by this pack of wolves. This is the first confirmed wolf kill of livestock in Colorado in over 70 years. In early 2021, Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the existence of this pack in north central Colorado; however, individual wolves have been sited in the area previous to the pack confirmation. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are working closely with the livestock producer to learn as much from...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and climate activists generally supported President Joe Biden’s decision to release a record 50 million barrels of oil from America’s strategic reserve, even as the move appeared to contradict his long-term vision of combating climate change. Kelly Sheehan, senior director of energy campaigns with the Sierra Club, hailed Biden’s actions as a way to ease Americans’ energy burdens. But she said the current spike in oil prices was a reminder that “the only way to truly achieve energy security is to rapidly transition away from risky fossil fuels like oil and gas and make it easier...

If you’re in the market for a new home appliance and you want that purchase to be as environmentally friendly as possible, you might look for options that feature a label from Energy Star, a symbol backed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy specifically to promote energy-efficient products. Each year, Energy Star puts out a list of the Most Efficient appliances, those that the program says “save you money and protect the environment.” The list also features the “most efficient, pollution-reducing products.” Until now, that list might have included gas-powered appliances such as gas dryers, furnaces, and...

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal from former President Donald Trump to rule against funding used for the wall along the southern border. In an unsigned order, the court sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit with instructions to vacate its judgments. It also instructed a district court in the case to "consider what further proceedings are necessary and appropriate in light of the changed circumstances in this case," namely that Trump is no longer president. SUPREME COURT SUSPENDS TRUMP BORDER WALL CASE The case, Trump v. Sierra Club, frequently made...