Free Republic

When the coal-fired power plant just outside the tiny town of Nucla, Colorado, closed in 2019, it had the makings of a disaster. The plant, which opened in 1959, shut down three years ahead of schedule when it ran out of coal, leaving the town shocked and facing the loss of its largest employer. The facility provided nearly half the tax revenue to the region... ....The huge Navajo Generating Station in northern Arizona, within the Navajo Nation, also shut down in 2019. Local leaders complained that plant operators closed the facility decades ahead of schedule, although the region did have...

Drilling for oil in the Arctic and off the nation's coasts, along with legislation that would allow development in some national forests and other public lands, are hanging in the balance until Congress makes final decisions on pending budget revisions. The three initiatives pushed by influential Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, will be on the table when congressional negotiators meet as early as next month to finalize budget-cutting legislation passed last week by the House of Representatives. At the top of the list is whether to permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Drilling there appeared assured until last...