** Udall & Grassley propose 50% increase for oil and gas royalties on public lands
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Thursday, December 3, 2020
California oil and gas operations. Photo by John Ciccarelli, BLM ([link removed]) .

A pair of U.S. Senators has introduced legislation ([link removed]) to increase royalty rates for oil and gas production on public lands by 50 percent. New Mexico Senator Tom Udall and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley announced their intent in an opinion piece in the New York Times ([link removed]) earlier this week, calling attention to the fact that current royalty rates have barely budged in the last hundred years, resulting in an "outrageous giveaway ([link removed]) " to Big Oil, as Grassley says.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the proposed increase would raise $200 million ([link removed]) in federal revenue over the next 10 years as it is phased in, with an equivalent amount going to the states where the oil or gas is being extracted. Many states already collect a much higher royalty rate for extractive activities—the current federal royalty rate of 12.5 percent is half what it is in Texas.

Grassley and Udall said in their op-ed ([link removed]) , “As senators from different parties, we have our share of policy differences. In this case, we agree that oil and gas companies should pay fair market value for the public resources they extract and sell. They aren’t doing that now — not even close — and the American public is the big loser.”
Quick hits


** Map of 20 examples of the impacts of climate change from across the West
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High Country News ([link removed])


** EPA turns 50, reflects on accomplishments & challenge of restoring the agency after four years of Trump
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Al Jazeera ([link removed])


** GOP picks Rep. McMorris Rodgers & Rep. Westerman for Energy & Commerce, Natural Resources Committee posts
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Politico ([link removed])


** Senators Grassley & Udall propose 50% increase for oil and gas royalties on public lands
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The Gazette ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Group who removed mysterious Utah monolith says they did it to protect public lands from further damage
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KSL TV ([link removed]) | KUTV ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | Fox13 ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | WOKV ([link removed])


** The meaning of California's commitment to conserve 30% of its land and water by 2030
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Bay Nature ([link removed])


** Dealing with human waste left behind by visitors to national parks is "the worst work in the world"
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The Guardian ([link removed])


** Editorial: Trump used the Great American Outdoors Act as a political pawn
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Las Vegas Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Our wild areas are not assets to be exploited by a single generation — they are assets that need to be preserved and managed for future generations as well. Putting the politics of the moment into play is a formula for long-term disaster.”
—Las Vegas Sun Editorial Board ([link removed])
Picture this


** Sandhill Cranes, Moonrise over Blanca Peak in southern Colorado. Photo: NPS/Patrick Myers ([link removed])
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