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


** Climate looms large in State of the Union
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Alan Harvey/UK Government, CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 ([link removed])

On the heels of a major new climate report warning the world that "delay means death ([link removed]) ," President Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight. Bloomberg reports that the president will use the address to push for major climate legislation ([link removed]) , making the case that a package of increased tax credits and climate spending will save families money and keep rising energy prices in check.

Conservation groups have been pressing Biden ([link removed]) to make climate change a major focus of his address. Mustafa Santiago Ali, vice president for Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation, points out that dependence on fossil fuels links the climate crisis and Russia's invasion of Ukraine ([link removed]) .

"It is up to the U.S. to show the world the way out of the climate crisis," Santiago Ali writes. "If Congress cannot rally around this important cause, the changing climate will only strengthen Putin’s hand in establishing Russian hegemony in eastern Europe and beyond."

Writing at Columbia Journalism Review, journalist Andrew McCormick calls on reporters to explicitly make that same connection ([link removed]) , and challenge President Biden should he paint an overly rosy view of America's climate future. "Science is unequivocal that humanity is on the brink of climate breakdown," he says. "The press should expect leaders to articulate both the threat and its solutions."
Quick hits


** Biden administration won't appeal judge's ruling revoking Gulf oil leases
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Supreme Court appears eager to gut the EPA, but can’t figure out how to do it
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Vox ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]\) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])


** High stakes for Biden in State of the Union climate message
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Roll Call ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Columbia Journalism Review ([link removed])


** Opinion: Fossil fuels link Russia and climate crises
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Bloomberg Law ([link removed])


** Wyoming politicians consider more sage-grouse farms despite science warning against it
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Zion National Park breaks record with 5 million visitors, straining resources like never before
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KSL ([link removed]) | The Spectrum ([link removed]) | Fox 13 ([link removed])


** A fight to the finish for a rare daisy and a gold mine near Death Valley
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Opinion: Historic Castner Range should be America's next national monument
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The Hill ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” I hope [Biden] explains that he’s looking at the big picture and not just this myopic attempt by the fossil fuel industry to exploit this moment into decades of additional dependence on fossil fuel.”
—Rep. Jared Huffman, E&E News ([link removed])
Picture this


** @nationalparkservice ([link removed])
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No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied—it speaks in silence to the very core of your being.”— Ansel Adams

Tall and proud, the Tetons rise dramatically from the grasslands, cutting through bluest skies and brightest sunrises. Snowcapped in the winter and stark gray in summer, these granite masterpieces are home to all seeking serenity in mountains. Few landscapes in the world are as striking and memorable as that of Grand Teton National Park.

Image: Two moose walking along a still lake at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Photo by Adam Jewell (www.sharetheexperience.org) @grandtetonnps ([link removed])

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