Did climate change cause this?

I’ve been lately hearing through the grapevine that ground on which properties sit around Fresno, California – where I make my home – has been sinking. Though I could be pulling your leg here, this time, however, I’m not. It’s really going on. That ground is compacting, compressing or sinking throughout this and other parts … Read more

Half of California diesel fuel replaced by clean fuels for first time

SACRAMENTO— California hit an important milestone in its shift away from polluting fuel sources, with clean fuels replacing over 50% of the diesel used in the state in the first quarter of 2023. California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which requires fuel producers to reduce the carbon intensity of fuel sold in the state, is … Read more

Open-access railroading: Needed more right now than ever before!

Open-access railroading is not a figment of someone’s wild imagination: It really does exist. In fact, according to Robinson Foster in a Jan. 16, 2023 column at climaterailalliance.org, he says the concept has been successfully applied in Europe for nearly three decades. So, what is “open-access railroading”? “Open-access railroading” is a type of operational arrangement … Read more

Appellate court rejects proposed Utahan railway permit

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court today [Aug. 18, 2023] rejected the U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s permit for the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, designed to quadruple oil production in Utah’s Uinta Basin and move crude through the Colorado Rockies to Gulf Coast refineries. Today’s [Aug. 18, 2023’s] ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the … Read more

America riding a passenger-rail-revival wave

Lots of exciting developments on the U.S. passenger-train front. Before year’s end, Brightline service will be inaugurated between Miami and Orlando International Airport. Top speed on the section between West Palm Beach and the latter, 125 miles per hour. This will be the second such domestic operation whose passenger trains will travel that fast. Quite … Read more

Breaking: Huge environmental win in historic youth-brought Montana climate case

Helena, MT – A  judge ruled in favor of Montana youth climate plaintiffs today, declaring the state is violating its own constitution by not protecting the right to a clean environment. Held v. Montana was the first-ever youth climate case to go to trial in the U.S. and now is the first victory, setting a … Read more

‘Long-dormant’ oil wells in California’s Carrizo Plain National Monument ordered shut

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif.― The Bureau of Land Management late Wednesday ordered an oil company to permanently close and remove 11 long-dormant oil wells inside the Carrizo Plain National Monument, a unique landscape in central California famous for its vibrant springtime wildflower displays and rare wildlife. The order was part of a legal agreement … Read more

Feds announce intent to fund efforts to lower oil, gas sector methane emissions

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) released a notice of intent announcing the first in a series of funding opportunities to monitor and reduce methane emissions, one of the biggest drivers of the climate crisis, from the oil and gas sector and … Read more