** Haaland vs. the anti-science caucus
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Thursday, February 25, 2021

The second day of Rep. Deb Haaland's confirmation hearing took a strange turn when several senators with a history of supporting unscientific policies ([link removed]) accused President Biden's Interior Secretary nominee of being anti-science.

Senators John Barrasso, Steve Daines, and Bill Cassidy all took issue with a tweet thread ([link removed]) during the vice presidential debate of October 2020 in which Haaland noted that the Trump administration had erased the word "science" from several government websites.

Haaland clarified to Barrasso that “yes, if you’re a doctor, I would assume that you believe in science.” She did not mention a long history of anti-science votes by Barrasso and other GOP members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which HuffPost recounted ([link removed]) after the hearing. Most glaringly, in 2015, Barrasso, Daines, and Cassidy all voted to reject the overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity is “a significant contributor” to climate change.

The anti-science detour did not derail Haaland's nomination, which appears headed for approval after ranking member Joe Manchin signaled he would vote to confirm Haaland ([link removed]) .
Quick hits


** Haaland vows balance, touts bipartisan record as Manchin says he'll confirm
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | NBC News ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | HuffPost ([link removed]) | Outdoor Life ([link removed])


** Haaland commits to Colorado visit to consider Bureau of Land Management HQ
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Denver Post ([link removed]) | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** White House endorses CORE Act as public lands package heads towards a House floor vote
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Vail Daily ([link removed]) | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed]) | RealVail ([link removed])


** Opinion: Senators' fealty to the oil industry was embarrassing to watch
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Independent ([link removed])


** Xcel energy plans to double renewable energy by 2030, retire Colorado's newest coal plant 30 years early
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Colorado Daily Sun ([link removed]) | CPR News ([link removed])


** Tribal nations could play crucial role in achieving 30x30 goal
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Audubon Magazine ([link removed])


** Interior makes “sweetheart” deal letting coal company settle unpaid royalties for pennies on the dollar
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Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed])


** Wildlife commission says it will go slow on wolf reintroduction in Colorado
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Associated Press ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The markets for coal have pretty much collapsed, investors are no longer interested in putting money into coal, and so the long-term prospects for these companies are just not good. And so, trying to figure out a way to exit without depriving state and federal coffers of that money down the road is an important issue. The government just doesn’t seem to have done a great job here doing that.”
—Prof. Mark Squillace, University of Colorado Law School
Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed])
Picture this


** @nationalparkservice ([link removed])
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We’ve seen it before. Sometimes, melting at the margin of a glacier may cause small caves to form within the ice, between the ice and the bedrock, or between the ice and the sediment beneath it. Ice caves can also form where water exits from beneath the glacier or where the ice flows over a large bump its bed. Glacier ice caves are cold, with icy water dripping from their roofs. Sometimes, rocks and debris that the glacier has picked up melt out and drop into the caves.⁣
⁣
Image: Interior view of an ice cave at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. NPS/Kevin Haney⁣

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