Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Youth file lawsuit against Utah for fossil fuel-friendly policies
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Friday, March 18, 2022
Inversions are an all-too-common occurrence along the Wasatch Front during the winter. Photo: Utah Department of Environmental Quality ([link removed])
Fifteen-year-old Natalie Roberts of Salt Lake City is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed this week against the state of Utah ([link removed]) because of its policies related to fossil fuel development. She is joined by six other young Utahns who argue the state's actions are hurting their rights to life, health, and safety.
“I've lived in Utah my entire life, and it's been very easy to see that we are in a crisis at this point in time,” Roberts said ([link removed]) . “If we don't change our behavior, if we don't get the government to change their behaviors, it's not going to end well. Like we can see the effects that are happening now, we’re all experiencing them.” She said she and others her age are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change caused by Utah's continued exploration, extraction, and exploitation of fossil fuels that are exacerbating problems with air quality, drought, and extreme heat.
Andrew Welle, a senior staff attorney with Our Children’s Trust, which works with kids and teens in these cases, is asking the court to declare some of Utah’s laws unconstitutional ([link removed]) . According to the Trust, “It's not that the state is not doing enough to address air quality and climate change issues—they're actively making them worse. They've enacted policies in Utah statutory code that make that clear, that their aim is to maximize fossil fuel extraction, knowing of the dangers to it.” The suit names Governor Spencer Cox, the Department of Natural Resources’ Office of Energy Development and the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.
Quick hits
** Money flows to states for cleaning up orphaned wells
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ABC News ([link removed])
** Youth sue Utah over fossil fuel development-friendly laws
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KUER ([link removed])
** The West's megadrought is expected to persist, get worse in the coming months
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CNN ([link removed]) | Oregon Public Broadcasting ([link removed])
** Biden calls "malarkey" on people blaming him for high gas prices
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Public Notice ([link removed])
** Haaland touts Indigenous, conservation work in first year as Interior Secretary
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Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])
** New Mexico oil and gas companies fined $275K for not reporting methane pollution
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])
** "Keep Big Bend Wild" effort aims to designate more of Big Bend National Park as Wilderness
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Texas Monthly ([link removed])
** Bad asses! Burros are destroying Horseshoe Canyon
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Corner Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” It's a fundamental part of our energy transition in this country to make sure that we don't leave these orphan wells behind."
—U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, ABC News ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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There’s no pot of gold at the end of these rainbows, but you will find priceless treasures at Glacier National Park including pristine forests, alpine meadows, rugged mountains and spectacular lakes. Photo @GlacierNPS ([link removed]) courtesy of Kyle Bitney.
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