Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Biden takes on oil profits, fails to mention existential crisis in the West
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Wednesday, February 8, 2023
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address, The White House ([link removed])
In his State of the Union address, President Biden touted the climate-focused agenda ([link removed]) of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—he celebrated the creation of jobs to build clean energy infrastructure, trumpeted the tax credits offered to those buying electric vehicles, and promoted the creation of new electric grids that will withstand worsening storms. He even noted the exorbitant profits ([link removed]) that oil and gas companies raked in last year, calling artificially inflated gas prices amid a global energy catastrophe “outrageous”.
Though the IRA offered noteworthy provisions for climate action, they could be easily reversed by a future administration unless formal rulemakings are completed ([link removed]) . The oil and gas leasing system was one of the targeted reforms of the IRA, eliminating anonymous leasing nominations on public lands, ending non-competitive leasing, and increasing royalty rates. These reforms are currently being implemented via Instruction Memoranda rather than a more durable rulemaking, where rules go through an extensive review and public comment process and can only be revised if they go through the same rulemaking process.
President Biden failed to acknowledge the Colorado River crisis, which impacts the lives of the nearly 40 million people ([link removed]) who rely on the river for water, food, and recreation. In light of the ongoing 23-year-long megadrought ([link removed]) , Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the nation’s largest reservoirs, now contain a fraction of the water they did during their peak in the 1980s, and they are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes. ([link removed])
This is largely due to unprecedented demand for Colorado River water, and exacerbated by Western aridification caused by climate change. According to water scientist Brad Udall ([link removed]) , even if the West experienced ten consecutive wet years, basin states’ demand for water would inhibit the lakes from filling.
Quick hits
** Tribes not consulted as state tries to save Great Salt Lake
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Showtime documentary focuses on cases of missing, murdered Indigenous girls
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Montana Free Press ([link removed])
** $580M headed to 15 tribes to fulfill water rights
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Two wolves captured, collared by Colorado wildlife biologists
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Colorado Sun ([link removed]) | 9NEWS ([link removed])
** Glen Canyon revealed
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High Country News ([link removed])
** SOTU: Biden rushes to meet 2035 climate goal
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E&E News ([link removed])
** 36.3 million trees died in California last year to drought, disease
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” You may have noticed that Big Oil just reported record profits. Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis. It’s outrageous.”
—President Joe Biden, The White House ([link removed])
Picture this
** @usinterior ([link removed])
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A beautiful phenomenon with a funny name, hoarfrost forms during clear, calm nights turning America’s public lands into picturesque winter wonderlands.
Needle-like in appearance, these fragile ice formations form when vapor transitions directly from a gas to a solid in a process called deposition. The morning is the best time to look for hoarfrost because the fragile crystals are melted quickly by the sun.
Photos @yellowstonenps ([link removed]) by Jacob W. Frank
#winter ([link removed]) #winterwonderland ([link removed]) #frosty ([link removed])
ALT TEXT:
Photo 1: Hoarfrost covers trees and grasses along a small creek.
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