Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Big Oil fear-mongering falls flat
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Monday, February 28, 2022
The Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island was the first US offshore wind farm. Dennis Schroeder, National Renewable Energy Laboratory ([link removed])

Despite a push by the oil and gas industry to use the Russian invasion of Ukraine to justify increased drilling in the U.S., a wildly successful lease sale of offshore wind rights shows where America's energy future lies.

The American Petroleum Institute was ridiculed on Twitter ([link removed]) after it suggested offering more oil and gas leases and permits on public lands and waters, but API's talking points were picked up verbatim ([link removed]) by several members of Congress.

As finance professor Kathy Hipple pointed out to the New York Times ([link removed]) API's demands don't make any long-term sense. “Does anyone want to continue to be dependent on oligarchs in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Canada’s oil, a handful of private companies in the United States?” Hipple said. “To my mind, that’s not resilient.”

Even as API tried to make its case for oil drilling into the future, the Interior Department brought in more than $4 billion from the sale of six wind energy leases ([link removed]) off the coast of New York and New Jersey on Friday. That's more than 22 times larger ([link removed]) than oil companies paid for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico last November, in an auction that was later thrown out by a federal judge ([link removed]) .

The wildly successful offshore wind sale is expected to produce enough electricity to power 2 million homes by the end of the decade ([link removed]) . The Biden administration says it plans to hold six more offshore wind lease sales by 2025.
Quick hits


** UN report warns climate change's effects outpacing humans' ability to adapt
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New York Times ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed])


** Big environmental questions await Supreme Court pick Jackson
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E&E News ([link removed])


** BLM director: Comments and meetings on Chaco drilling buffer ‘just the beginning of the process’
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New Mexico Political Report ([link removed]) | Aspen Public Radio ([link removed])


** From crypto to data centers: the digital world's real-world impact on the environment
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Offshore wind energy lease sale brings in $4.4 billion
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New York Times ([link removed]) | Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | CNBC ([link removed])


** Study: Utah elk outsmart hunters, leave public land when season starts
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Deseret News ([link removed])


** Opinions: Gold-rush era mining law in desperate need of updating
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Arizona Daily Sun ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed])


** Yellowstone in winter: A secluded, snowy dream
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Washington Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” It’s pretty rich for the oil and gas industry to talk about how reliable fossil fuels are when any big storm that happens, any time a war pops up, their reliability is thrown into question. Wars aren’t fought over solar energy. You don’t see these huge price spikes in clean energy.”
—Nathaniel Stinnett, founder of the Environmental Voter Project, The New York Times ([link removed])
Picture this


** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
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Welcome to Fantasy Canyon on Utah public lands! ⛰️🌩️

Here, naturally weathered sandstone rises dramatically from clay beds, exposing fantastically colored and shaped formations, located just 40 miles south of Vernal.

A nearby self-guided rock trail dotted with interpretive signs educates visitors about the surrounding natural wonders.

📸 Scott Ricks

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