EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/2/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• Reuters: Trump floats ‘concept’ of US-Canada deal that includes pipeline talking to Carney

• Toronto Star: Trump covets the Keystone XL pipeline because its path runs through key U.S. midterm election races

• Kentucky Lantern: A WKY agency is wielding eminent domain for a gas pipeline. Landowners say they’re being bullied.

• KCRG: Watch: Here are the big takeaways from the final Iowa Gubernatorial Debate

• Terre HauteTribune-Star: Company seeks to move ahead with CO2 pipeline in Vigo and Vermillion counties

• Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate: Northwest Louisiana landowners may face a fight over a pipeline, possible land expropriation

• The Tyee: Oil Supertankers Are Too Risky for the Salish Sea, Experts Say

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• Politico: Powerful House Republican raises tribal concerns with permitting bill

• Press Release: New Mexico Ad Campaign Urges Sen. Heinrich to Abandon Dangerous Permitting Bill

• Heatmap: Why Project Certainty Is the Thorniest Part of the Permitting Bill

• Politico: ‘Clean energy is going to win out’: Permitting bill tests greens’ faith

• Press release: Rooted in Justice, against the deregulation in Permitting Reform

• Politico: The Green Agenda: A check on Trump and his tech allies

• Canary Media: Here’s how much Trump’s Iran war has added to Americans’ fuel costs

• Politico: Inside the political push to dismantle EPA’s climate authority

• Politico: SPLIT SCREEN

• Press Release: Padilla, Wyden, Merkley Demand Answers Over Planned Development of Data Centers on Public Lands

• Washington Sun: The Trump Administration Is Buoying Nearly Half of All U.S. Coal Plants

STATE UPDATES

• Bloomberg: Once-Obscure Utility Board Elections Gain Attention as Power Bills Rise

• Press release: Court Denies xAI’s Motion to Dismiss Air Pollution Lawsuit Against Elon Musk’s company

EXTRACTION

• New York Times: U.S. Oil Industry Earned Over $130 Billion in Profit During Iran War

• Reuters: Big Oil’s spending caution speaks louder than its profits: Bousso

• Washington Post: Big Tech promised to lead on climate. Now it’s driving a fossil fuel boom.

• Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA): Investors in petrochemicals industry face overcapacity, disappointing growth

• Nevada Current: Microplastics found in freshly fallen snow in Sierra Nevada

• Globe and Mail: Mitsubishi to sell down LNG Canada stake to Blackstone funds for $1.6 billion

• Calgary Herald: ‘Landed on a good place’: Smith says deal near on incentives to spur oilsands projects

• Reuters: Imperial Oil considering moving ahead with Aspen oil sands project earlier than planned

OPINION

• Des Moines Register: Eminent domain is the only thing that matters this election

• Earthjustice: Yes, the Permitting Bill Really Could Lock in Illegal Permits

• Denver Post: As a family doctor, here’s why I’m voting no on Amendment 82

• Washington Post: An environmentalist’s case for permitting reform

• Reuters: The Senate’s permitting bill is a good deal for clean, affordable energy and the climate

• Resilience.org: Senate permitting bill betrays public lands by rolling back protections
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Reuters: Trump floats ‘concept’ of US-Canada deal that includes pipeline talking to Carney
Allison Lampert in Montreal and Gram Slattery, 11/1/26

“US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his ‌administration has the “concept” of a new trade deal with Canada while Prime Minister Mark Carney said the two leaders had a good conversation on the future of trade between their countries,” Reuters reports. “…Carney earlier on Sunday posted on social media that their exchange “builds on recent constructive discussions on the outlines of a mutually beneficial trade deal” that would create jobs, improve affordability, and fully respect Canada’s languages, culture, and sovereignty… “Trump said the scope of an agreement would include the Keystone XL pipeline project that he supports, though it was not immediately clear how the project would be revived. Former President Joe Biden in 2021 revoked a key permit for the project, which was a private sector initiative. “They’re going to build the Keystone Pipeline,” Trump said on Sunday. “They’re going to pay for it. … We’re going to give them the route, and it’s largely been determined.” “…South Bow was not immediately available for comment.”

Toronto Star: Trump covets the Keystone XL pipeline because its path runs through key U.S. midterm election races
Allan Woods, 11/2/26

“It’s no great surprise that Donald Trump is talking now about the “concept” of a trade deal with Canada and the rebirth of the cross-border Keystone XL pipeline,” the Toronto Star reports. “Even though Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed he had a ”good conversation” with his American counterpart, it’s no indication that we’re any closer to an agreement over tariffs, automobile production and dueling liquor bans. Nor does it signal an imminent increase in the southbound flow of Alberta oil. It’s more a reminder that we are just hours away from the all-important midterm elections in the United States… “Those are the electoral stakes, but to understand the political logic in Trump’s bullish comments on a trade deal with Canada, you need to overlay the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline and the American electoral map. Do this, and you’ll see that the oil pipeline that Carney has promoted—and that Trump clearly covets—runs right through key election races in Montana, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas.. “Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, added that the pipeline was politically popular in states throughout the American Midwest… “When he stopped at Sunday’s election rally in Kansas, Trump said the trade dispute with Canada would be “settled pretty soon” and would include the removal of tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports.”

Kentucky Lantern: A WKY agency is wielding eminent domain for a gas pipeline. Landowners say they’re being bullied.
Liam Niemeyer, 11/2/26

“Greg Davenport says he’s not opposed to progress. But he has serious misgivings when it comes to a proposed 16-inch natural gas pipeline that a public agency wants to run through his family’s Christian County farm, property his family has owned since the 1940s,” the Kentucky Lantern reports. “ Basically, they said, “Sign this, or we’ll take you to court. Sign this, or we’ll condemn your property,” Davenport told the Lantern. “We just don’t think that this pipeline that’s going to serve other people — it’s not going to serve us at all. I don’t think it’s even going to serve our county — that we should have to bear the blunt.” Davenport’s family is involved in one of more than 20 active lawsuits in Western Kentucky courts in which the Todd County-based Pennyrile Regional Energy Agency has sued landowners, citing the state’s eminent domain laws, for easements as part of a proposed 53-mile gas pipeline project across Christian County, Todd County, Trigg County, Caldwell County, and Lyon County… “But some landowners being sued by the agency along the planned pipeline route told the Lantern the pipeline agency has refused to negotiate in good faith over easement funding or answered questions the pipeline’s path. Attorneys for these landowners have also asked questions and scrutinized — through depositions and testimony in one of these court cases — the future economic viability of the pipeline, the status of future customers, and whether geological formations, including sinkholes, could change the pipeline’s path. In late September, social media pages and a website labeled as the “Kentucky Coalition for Property Rights” were also launched lambasting the Pennyrile Regional Energy Agency over these lawsuits.”

KCRG: Watch: Here are the big takeaways from the final Iowa Gubernatorial Debate
10/27/26

“KCRG-TV9 and The Gazette hosted the final debate between Iowa Gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn, on Tuesday, October 27,” KCRG reports. “…Both candidates also said they would sign a ban on eminent domain for private CO2 pipelines if elected governor.”

Terre HauteTribune-Star: Company seeks to move ahead with CO2 pipeline in Vigo and Vermillion counties
Sue Loughlin, 10/29/26

“Wabash Carbon Services, a subsidiary of Wabash Valley Resources, has applied for a certificate of authority to construct, operate and maintain a carbon dioxide transmission pipeline in Vigo and Vermillion counties,” the Terre HauteTribune-Star reports. “…The project has also drawn considerable controversy because it involves carbon sequestration… “Pete Rimsans, WVR vice president of government affairs, told the Tribune-Star contracts are being awarded for facilities and construction is underway; equipment is being ordered. “We’re moving dirt on the ammonia synthesis plant,” he told the Tribune-Star. “It’s full steam ahead.” “…The alternative to a pipeline was to truck it,” Rimsans told the Tribune-Star. People the company has talked to, including the general public, “prefer we use the pipeline.” “…Concerned Citizens Against Wabash Valley Resources continues to object to the carbon sequestration project, and representatives plan to attend the December public information meeting. “Concerned Citizens feel it’s going to be a pipeline to nowhere,” Susan Strole-Kos of Concerned Citizens told the Tribune-Star. “They (WVR) are required to obtain 60% voluntary agreements, or easements, for the use of the pore space or storage space where they will inject the carbon dioxide underground.” “…Concerned Citizens Against Wabash Valley Resources also objects to the use of eminent domain.”

Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate: Northwest Louisiana landowners may face a fight over a pipeline, possible land expropriation
Liz Swaine, 10/30/26

“Dozens of local landowners should have received, in October, information from a Texas-based company called CapturePoint about a pipeline project that intends to go through their property,” the Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate reports. “The company has asked the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy for permission to construct and operate the 125-mile Red River Pipeline Louisiana LLC. CapturePoint is also requesting a ‘certificate of public convenience and necessity’ for the project… “According to information provided by CapturePoint, the pipeline will transport carbon dioxide “for the enhanced recovery of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons” from the Midway Unit oil field in Lafayette County, Arkansas, to the Robeline Gas Treating Facility in Natchitoches Parish, some 125 miles away… “Some of his cousins live nearby, and Garrett fears for their safety if a pipeline carrying the odorless, colorless carbon dioxide is built against his wishes, on his property… “In its filing, CapturePoint has made its ‘public purpose’ argument. The pipeline should “allow for the greater recovery of hydrocarbon reserves from mature fields…incrementally lessening the United States’ dependence on foreign oil…” “…Garrett said one lawmaker he asked for help told him he needed to hire a lawyer. “I don’t have money to hire a lawyer. Sorry, you know that’s what I elected them to do for God’s sakes.” “…I’m gonna let them know that there are people in this state who don’t want their land confiscated,” he told the Advocate of his trip to the hearing in Baton Rouge.”

The Tyee: Oil Supertankers Are Too Risky for the Salish Sea, Experts Say
Sarah Cox, 10/30/26

“Brian Kirk, the manager of Washington state’s oil spill prevention program, spent two decades as a U.S. navy officer travelling around the world on destroyers, command ships, cruisers and aircraft carriers. He’s familiar with wily currents, storms, fog and unpredictable seas,” The Tyee reports. “But these days, Kirk is focused on a choppy issue close to home: the increasing likelihood that oil supertankers will be navigating sharp turns and reef-dotted channels in the Salish Sea for the first time, as part of Canada’s new West Coast pipeline project… “Hazards in the Salish Sea make supertankers unsuitable, Kirk told The Tyee. “With a larger ship like that, with just a tremendous amount of mass, if anything goes wrong you can find yourself in trouble pretty quickly,” he told the Tyee… “Washington state banned oil supertankers in inland waters 50 years ago on the grounds that the risk of a catastrophic spill was too high. Yet if the pipeline project receives final approval next year, as expected, a supertanker carrying two million barrels of diluted bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands could travel through the Salish Sea, one of the world’s most biodiverse inland seas, every other day… “But critics of Pacific Link — including Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and non-profit organizations on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border working to protect the shared Salish Sea — say oil supertankers will put wildlife, ecosystems, coastal communities and the maritime economy at unacceptable risk.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

Politico: Powerful House Republican raises tribal concerns with permitting bill
James Bikales, 10/30/26

“House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Friday he has concerns about how the bipartisan permitting reform bill would impact tribal nations, adding that he would push for changes to the fragile compromise,” Politico reports. “The comments from one of the most powerful House Republicans indicate that concerns about how the bill would affect tribal nations extend beyond Democrats as negotiations continue. Lawmakers are facing a tight timeline to send the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk during the lame-duck session, and any issue that forces them to reopen the carefully crafted bill could put its passage in jeopardy. “I’ve alerted my leadership that’s going to be an issue for me, and I think it will be for some other members on a bipartisan basis,” Cole told POLITICO in an interview after an event at the University of Oklahoma with Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “I’d like to see some changes in terms of restrictions on tribes to govern their own land and their own economies,” added Cole, who is a member of the Chickasaw Nation… “If the upper chamber doesn’t act, he told Politico, he would look to reopen the bill when it arrives in the House.”

Press Release: New Mexico Ad Campaign Urges Sen. Heinrich to Abandon Dangerous Permitting Bill
10/30/26

“A coalition of 48 environmental, community and Indigenous organizations launched an ad campaign in New Mexico this week calling on U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich to withdraw his sponsorship of an anti-environmental permitting bill … The permitting bill — which Heinrich co-sponsored alongside fellow Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Republicans Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Sen. Mike Lee — would roll back key provisions in the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act and Endangered Species Act. It would turn federal approvals into a rubber-stamp for both data centers and the fossil fuel infrastructure that powers them, all but ensuring projects will be approved regardless of community opposition… “The Senate is expected to hold is first procedural vote on the bill Nov. 9, just days after the midterm elections that could fundamentally shift the balance of power in Congress.”

Heatmap: Why Project Certainty Is the Thorniest Part of the Permitting Bill
Emily Pontecorvo, 10/30/26

“…Many have raised concerns about the risks of one section in particular titled ‘Project Certainty’ that’s designed to prevent presidents from discriminating against projects they dislike, such as by throttling projects that are already under construction, or outright refusing to permit certain types of energy — both of which Trump has tried to do to wind farms,” Heatmap reports. “…Heinrich’s office instead forwarded my inquiry to the American Council on Renewable Energy. In an interview, ACORE’s CEO Ray Long argued that some of the concerns lawyers have raised are valid, and tweaks and technical corrections are ‘fine’ — but only if they don’t hold back the bill from a vote this year. He stressed that between the bipartisan permitting bill debated by the previous Congress and BAAJA, the Hill has been working on this issue for four years. “I think we should stop trying to make this bill perfect,” he told Heatmap. “Consider it for what it is, which is a well-intentioned bill on both sides to get to a compromise that addresses a whole range of things and move forward with that.”

Politico: ‘Clean energy is going to win out’: Permitting bill tests greens’ faith
Zack Colman, Kelsey Tamborrino, 11/2/26

“…While groups representing wind, solar, batteries and other renewable energy companies are lobbying hard to get the landmark deal through Congress by the end of the year, environmental groups are riven by the bill’s potential to cut red tape for fossil fuel projects alongside renewable ones,” Politico reports. “…They’re holding onto the laws that they won a couple decades ago that are looked at as major accomplishments of the environmental movement from the second half of the 20th century, without regard to whether or not they’re the right laws right now in our history,” Tom Matzzie, CEO of renewable energy developer CleanChoice Energy and chair of the pro-solar Invest in Tomorrow Coalition political action committee, told Politico… “Environmental advocates want to see solar and wind proliferate as a strategy for addressing climate change. But they argue the changes to those bedrock environmental laws go too far, while worrying that the legislation would allow President Donald Trump to steamroll approvals for fossil fuel projects over the next couple years — and saddle the U.S. with those emissions for decades to come… “Since BAAJA was released, environmental groups have said provisions addressing federal environmental laws are too aggressive — taking aim at their ability to challenge approved projects in the courts and reducing needed protections for water, landscapes and wildlife. And they’ve argued fossil fuels development could accelerate, even if renewables also get a leg up.”

Press release: Rooted in Justice, against the deregulation in Permitting Reform
10/30/26

“On behalf of Unitarian Universalists of faith and conscience, we oppose the version of Permitting Reform being advanced in Congress as S. 5653, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) of 2026. It fails to align with our faith teachings and values that call us to hold in love our recognition of interdependence, our need for justice, and our commitment to equity. We find the current proposal favors industry interests over the needs of people, communities, and ecosystems. It perpetuates the structural injustices of environmental racism and strikes at the foundations of the environmental policies that keep our communities safe from corporations more concerned with profit than people and planet. The bill sacrifices the sovereign rights and interests of Indigenous communities, as well as the preservation of sacred and cultural resources, at a time when the climate crisis is already forcing another generation of people from their homes. BAAJA runs counter to decades of Unitarian Universalist Social Witness statements: instead, we say, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). BAAJA shifts away from permitting solutions that respect community needs, democracy, transparency, accountability, and environmental protections. Instead, it functions as a deregulatory push that prioritizes shareholder interests while jeopardizing community agency and prioritizing corporate interests. It locks in fossil fuel use, in exchange for transmission expansion, at the cost of community health and the legal tools impacted communities use to hold industry accountable. The trade-offs are too steep a price.”

Politico: The Green Agenda: A check on Trump and his tech allies
Kevin Bogardus, 11/2/26

“Anticipating Democratic control in at least one chamber of Congress, green advocates plan to push for protections for public lands, support for wind and solar power and restored funding for government programs designed to mitigate climate change and reduce air and water pollution,” Politico reports. “They want unrelenting oversight across House and Senate committees of not only the Trump administration, but the president’s allies in the tech, oil and gas and utility sectors that have egged on his regulatory rollbacks… “Tiernan Sittenfeld, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, doesn’t want to wait until the next Congress to enact legislation. She is pushing for the ‘America the Beautiful Act’ S. 1547, which allocates more funding for park maintenance projects, to pass in the lame-duck session… “Environmentalists will also try to safeguard forestland after the administration proposed to repeal the roadless area conservation rule, RIN 0596-AD66. Mike Leahy, vice president of government relations for Defenders of Wildlife, flagged ending that rollback as a priority. “The two issues, first and foremost, will be restoring the effectiveness of our environmental laws and restoring funding for the environmental and natural resource agencies,” Leahy told Politico.”

Canary Media: Here’s how much Trump’s Iran war has added to Americans’ fuel costs
Ysabelle Kempe, 10/30/26

“Donald Trump ran for his second term promising to ​“make America affordable again.” Two years later, the president’s war with Iran has his constituents paying through the nose for gasoline and diesel,” Canary Media reports. “In fact, per-person fuel costs have risen more in the U.S. than in any other country since the start of the conflict, according to a new analysis from the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA. The group calculates that between March 1 — the day after the U.S. and Israel made their initial strikes on Iran — and Oct. 14, gasoline and diesel costs in the U.S. were $160 billion higher than they would have been otherwise. That comes out to an extra $471 per person… “U.S. consumers … use so much oil, leaving them exposed to price shocks they can’t control,” CREA co-founder Lauri Myllyvirta said in a press release. ​“The lesson is clear: The best protection against volatile oil prices isn’t pumping more oil, it’s needing less of it.”

Politico: Inside the political push to dismantle EPA’s climate authority
Jean Chemnick, 11/2/26

“Political appointees — not career regulators — were the driving force behind the Trump EPA’s efforts to dump their own authority to regulate climate change, according to a detailed review of agency records,” Politico reports. “In so doing, the political staffers appeared to sideline career staffers who would normally lead the regulatory review process. Correspondence from the weeks leading up to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s high-profile bid to stop regulating power plants’ carbon emissions shows political appointees trading regulatory text. Career scientists, analysts and lawyers are unusually absent from the correspondence about a proposal designed to deliver on the Trump administration’s pledge to permanently tank power sector climate rules… “The success of this second ‘supplemental proposal’ may determine whether a future administration can resurrect Clean Air Act climate rules for coal and gas power plants.”

Politico: SPLIT SCREEN
Benjamin Storrow, 10/30/26

“A top White House official celebrated a plan announced by Valero on Friday to buy an idled refinery in Houston,” Politico reports. “Make REFINING Great Again!” Jarrod Agen, the director of the White House National Energy Dominance Council, wrote on X. “Big move to increase US refining capacity by Valero this morning.” The $320.5 million deal for the LyondellBasell facility comes as the world faces a refining crunch… “The LyondellBasell refinery shut down in 2025. “Valero believes, as I believe most industry analysts believe, that this refinery crunch is now structural; that it’s here to stay,” Gregory Brew, an analyst who tracks oil markets at the Eurasia Group, told Politico… “Valero said it hopes to restart production of 165,000 barrels a day of light sweet crude by the end of the year.”

Press Release: Padilla, Wyden, Merkley Demand Answers Over Planned Development of Data Centers on Public Lands
10/30/26

“In September, reporting revealed that the Trump Administration aims to hijack nearly 18,000 acres of public land across Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah for the development of new data centers. The DOI subsequently released internal calendars showing that Burgum has met repeatedly with known data center developers since 2025… “For all of these reasons, we demand that you immediately cease all efforts to hijack public lands for the development of data centers, and urge you to provide full transparency on your role in the DOI’s efforts to site data centers with a written response no later than November 16, 2026.”

Washington Sun: The Trump Administration Is Buoying Nearly Half of All U.S. Coal Plants
Mara Hoplamazian, 10/30/26

“The Trump administration is providing support for nearly half of all coal plants connected to the electric grid, according to a new analysis from environmental advocacy nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund,” the Washington Sun reports. “That federal support comes in the form of taxpayer-funded payments, exemptions from pollution regulations and mandates for certain plants to continue running past their retirement dates — all actions the Trump administration has taken over the last two years to buoy an industry that has been in decline for more than a decade. As of this summer, 90 of the country’s 184 grid-connected coal plants have received some kind of federal assistance, the Environmental Defense Fund found… “Seventy coal plants have been granted Clean Air Act exemptions that allow them to get around the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Hundreds of millions in public dollars — some of which was originally appropriated for carbon-capture programs — are going to 24 plants, including two projects to build new coal-fired units in Alaska and West Virginia. And six plants have been ordered to continue operating past their retirement dates, which the Environmental Defense Fund says has “already added hundreds of millions of dollars to families’ electric bills.”

STATE UPDATES

Bloomberg: Once-Obscure Utility Board Elections Gain Attention as Power Bills Rise
Linda Poon, 10/30/26

“In an Oct. 16 Instagram video from Jane Fonda, the actress and climate activist addressed the people of Georgia, urging them to vote two Democrats into an obscure agency known as the public service commission,” Bloomberg reports. “Not many people have heard about it,” Fonda says to the camera. But “this is more important than you could imagine.” While the state’s most-watched races have been for governor and Senate, these two down-ballot contests are also top of mind for some Georgia Democrats trying to flip the state and for voters fed up with soaring power bills and new data centers… “They’re the Supreme Court justices of energy,” Charles Hua, founder and executive director of the nonprofit PowerLines, whose mission is to demystify the utility regulatory system for consumers, told Bloomberg… “While most commissions are nonpartisan, those that are elected have in recent decades been Republican-run and incumbents have largely defended their seats against Democrats and challengers from their own party. But frustration over energy unaffordability has begun to reshape the landscape in some states: Across the 15 public service commissioner races in nine states this year, only five incumbents are running. Others have lost their primaries, reached their term limits, resigned, or chosen not to run for reelection. The race in Georgia shows what’s at stake for voters. After two Democrats won commission seats last year, the board could now flip to majority-Democrat, reversing two decades of an all-Republican board.”

Press release: Court Denies xAI’s Motion to Dismiss Air Pollution Lawsuit Against Elon Musk’s company
10/30/26

“On Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi denied xAI’s motion to dismiss a Clean Air Act lawsuit brought against the company by the NAACP. The lawsuit seeks to hold the tech company accountable for its continued operation of an illegal, unpermitted power plant that supports its Colossus 2 data center. The ruling comes shortly after the Court denied a similar motion from the U.S. Department of Justice. “This decision is another important victory in our effort to hold xAI accountable. The courts have repeatedly rejected attempts by xAI and the DOJ to dismiss the NAACP’s Clean Air Act case, affirming our right to pursue justice for communities impacted by pollution. Our position has been clear: xAI cannot operate gas turbines without the required permits. Now that the motion to dismiss has been denied, we look forward to continuing to defend our position in court,” Abre’ Conner, NAACP Director of Environmental and Climate Justice said.  In its motion to dismiss, xAI claimed that citizen suits—which give communities the right to defend themselves from unlawful pollution—were unconstitutional. The court rejected this argument, finding that “because citizen suit plaintiffs sue on their own behalf, in their own name, and seek penalties that redress harm to themselves, they are not exercising the federal government’s executive power.” The tech company also argued that the dozens of unpermitted gas turbines running at its illegal power plant were somehow exempt from the Clean Air Act. The Court rejected this argument, making it clear that methane gas turbines, even so-called ‘temporary’ turbines, are subject to the Clean Air Act and require air permits. The Court held that “because the Plant is not a ‘mobile source’ according to the federal regulations…the Plant was not (and is not) exempted from permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act.”

EXTRACTION

New York Times: U.S. Oil Industry Earned Over $130 Billion in Profit During Iran War
Rebecca F. Elliott and Keith Collins, 10/30/26

“The war with Iran has been very lucrative for American oil companies, which have earned more than $130 billion in profit as people pay much higher prices for gasoline, diesel and other fuel,” the New York Times reports. “…These companies earned less than $47 billion collectively during the same period in 2025, a challenging stretch when oil was cheaper and companies were navigating the early fallout from President Trump’s trade war. The blockbuster oil profits this year highlight longstanding concerns about who gains, and who pays the price, when wars interrupt the flow of energy. As of this week, Americans had spent an extra $147 billion on gasoline and diesel since the United States and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, according to an analysis by Brown University’s Climate Solutions Lab. That amounts to more than $1,100 per household… “We certainly acknowledge that the higher fuel prices put pressure on families and businesses,” Neil Hansen, Exxon’s chief financial officer, told the Times. “But this is one of those situations and type of business where you can’t invest your way out of these conditions overnight. The decisions that matter today were made years ago.” “…For now, many companies are following a similar playbook, paying down debt and parking their extra cash rather than investing in producing more oil than they originally planned or expanding refining capacity.”

Reuters: Big Oil’s spending caution speaks louder than its profits: Bousso
Ron Bousso, 10/30/26

“Big Oil is reaping near record cash windfalls from the eight-month-old Iran war, but Western energy producers’ reluctance to ramp up spending reveals persistent doubts about the industry’s long-term outlook,” Reuters reports. “BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and TotalEnergies reported combined net profits of $56 billion in the third quarter, driven by surging oil and gas prices, record-high refining margins and strong trading results… “Yet, Big Oil has so far shied away from major new spending, suggesting the majors do not see today’s market conditions as evidence that the industry’s long-term outlook has improved… “However, energy companies have so far maintained their conservative approach, directing excess cash mostly to strengthening balance sheets and repurchasing shares… “So it is telling that the majors’ dividend policies and capital spending plans have remained largely unchanged since the start of the war… “But all signs so far indicate that any changes will mostly involve returning more capital to shareholders. What stands out in this bumper earnings season is that energy industry executives appear unwilling to treat today’s elevated prices as the start of a new supercycle.”

Washington Post: Big Tech promised to lead on climate. Now it’s driving a fossil fuel boom.
Evan Halper and Kevin Schaul, 11/2/26

“…But now Amazon and the other tech behemoths are setting a very different example. Rather than racing toward their net-zero targets, they are driving emissions sharply higher with their quest to expand AI and cloud computing,” the Washington Post reports. “…That would leave the tech industry churning out more than half the climate pollution created by global aviation or shipping — sectors long associated with driving warming… “Carbon-capture machinery can compress the greenhouse gas into liquid carbon, which can be buried underground. But almost none of the new gas megaprojects that will power data centers include such equipment. In regulatory filings, the companies point to the steep cost, environmental challenges and delays that carbon-capture technology could layer onto projects. Several firms are vowing to incorporate it at some unspecified time in the future. Advocates are doubtful they will follow through and warn that even if they do, it would be inadequate. “There is not even enough geological capacity to store the amount of carbon that would be needed for the tech industry to go that route,” Day told the Post. Some data center developers privately concede that the economics of carbon capture may never pencil out. “I don’t think the technology is there today to enable it in a market-cost-efficient manner or enable it on the timetable that we need,” a developer of one large project told the Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid.”

Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA): Investors in petrochemicals industry face overcapacity, disappointing growth
Dan Cohn, 10/29/26

“The global petrochemicals industry finds itself in deep trouble as production capacity has surged, prices have fallen, and demand has slowed, according to the latest report from Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEFFA). The industry also faces rising risks from geopolitical fragmentation, disruption of global trade, rising competition from bio-based polymers and recycling, and potential legal exposure as inquiries continue into the effects of microplastics. The petrochemicals industry produced a disappointing 7.05% annualized rate of return between 2016 and 2026, compared to 12.30% for global equity markets as a whole. The decline in petrochemical stocks suggests an extended downward trend… “In the early 2010s, technological innovation in the U.S. opened the possibility of new low-cost petrochemical production facilities in North America. Capacity additions for basic chemicals and polymers accelerated. Unfortunately for the U.S. industry and its investors, industry leaders in other countries were also increasing capacity. As a result, supply additions have resulted in a prolonged trough. A poor demand outlook and significant overcapacity will continue to create headwinds for the industry and its investors. In the longer term, these risks are exacerbated by geopolitical dislocations that disrupt trade and investment; increased regulatory risk as new multilateral agreements emerge; technological development of bio-based feedstocks and recycling that may substitute for virgin petrochemicals; and the potential for costly litigation regarding microplastics.”

Nevada Current: Microplastics found in freshly fallen snow in Sierra Nevada
Jeniffer Solis, 10/30/26

“Microplastics are everywhere — including in Nevada’s snowpack,” the Nevada Current reports. “…Over six months, Karapetrov and a team of University of California, Riverside scientists tested fresh snowfall at seven sites across the Sierra Nevada and found something they did not expect: a steady delivery of tiny plastic fibers, even in the most remote locations. “It was surprising the consistency at which we found microplastics everywhere,” Karapetrov told the Current. “It’s kind of disrupting this narrative of pristineness. I hope it brings awareness to the circularity and widespreadness of pollution. There’s this boomerang effect, and it’s important we recognize that.” The study, published this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, found significant amounts of microplastics in fresh snowfall at both remote and populated sites across the Sierra Nevada, which supplies about 60% of freshwater in northern Nevada. While populated sites had roughly three times as many microplastics as more remote locations, all sites tested contained microscopic bits of the plastic commonly used in clothing and packaging. The remote location of the sites revealed that airborne plastic from the atmosphere is being carried into the Sierra Nevada snowpack from communities miles away, rather than directly deposited by human activity.”

Globe and Mail: Mitsubishi to sell down LNG Canada stake to Blackstone funds for $1.6 billion
11/2/26

“Blackstone Inc. and four major Canadian pension funds are paying US$3.1-billion to buy a minority stake in a Mitsubishi Corp. subsidiary that owns a share of LNG Canada’s liquefaction business,” the Globe and Mail reports. “The group is acquiring a 49.9-per-cent non-controlling interest in the subsidiary owned by Japanese-based Mitsubishi, which will stay the controlling partner. Blackstone is leading the investor group that includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Investment Management Corp. of Ontario and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. LNG Canada operates the country’s first natural-gas export terminal, opened in June, 2025. Mitsubishi owns a 15-per-cent stake in LNG Canada and will continue its agreement to offtake 2.1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually.”

Calgary Herald: ‘Landed on a good place’: Smith says deal near on incentives to spur oilsands projects
Chris Varcoe, 10/30/26

“The clock is counting down on next month’s deadline to cement a landmark energy pact between oilsands producers and governments — but Alberta’s premier indicates new measures to be unveiled soon will spark production to fill a new West Coast pipeline,” the Calgary Herald reports. “In July, members of the Oil Sands Alliance and the federal and provincial governments announced the three sides would aim to finalize key parts of a memorandum of understanding by Nov. 15. That includes growth incentives to encourage spending on new greenfield oilsands projects… “But we feel like we’ve landed on a good place that will allow for us to give that certainty to industry so that they can be making these multibillion-dollar investments to fill the pipe,” Smith said. “…A key issue in recent months has focused on how to trigger more investment in growth projects by the industry to increase output. Smith has previously talked about developing a new royalty framework to incentivize oilsands growth initiatives. Earlier this fall, Ottawa unveiled plans for an accelerated federal capital cost allowance called the productivity “mega deduction.”

Reuters: Imperial Oil considering moving ahead with Aspen oil sands project earlier than planned
Amanda Stephenson and Khusbu Jena, 10/30/26

“Canada’s Imperial Oil is considering a decision to ​proceed with its Aspen oil sands project earlier than planned,” Reuters reports. “…But CEO John Whelan said on a conference call Friday the company is considering making a decision sooner on Aspen, a major proposed new oil sands development in northern Alberta that could produce up to 150,000 barrels of bitumen per day… “The announcement is a sign of growing confidence among Canadian oil sands ​producers in the wake of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to boost Canadian oil production and grow the country’s ⁠economyt… “But ​the last major new oil sands project, Suncor’s Fort Hills, started operating in 2018. Since then, companies have concentrated on smaller expansions of existing projects and have been reluctant to make the kind of major new capital investments that spur job creation and economic growth… “While no oil sands producer has yet committed to a major expansion, Whelan said Imperial is encouraged ​by steps taken by both the federal and Alberta provincial governments so far this year to improve the investment environment for Canadian oil. He said oil ​sands companies continue to target mid-November as their preferred time frame to reach definitive agreements with the Alberta and federal governments, paving the way for a potential decision to ‌construct the ⁠multi-billion-dollar Pathways carbon capture project.”

OPINION

Des Moines Register: Eminent domain is the only thing that matters this election
Jessica Mazour lives in Des Moines and is the Conservation Associate for the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club; Emma Schmit is from Rockwell City and is the Organizing Director for Bold Alliance,

“We are two lifelong Iowa voters from vastly different areas of the state, but we share common ground on being single-issue voters on a topic that did not come up in any of the televised debates. For us, like hundreds of other Iowans who have opposed risky carbon pipelines, the only issue that matters when we’re in the voting booth is where the candidate stands on banning eminent domain for carbon pipelines,” Jessica Mazour and Emma Schmit write for the Des Moines Register. “…Carbon pipelines are a microcosm of dozens of issues and support or opposition tells us everything we need to know. Where a candidate stands on the issue of carbon pipelines tells us how they’ll handle standing up to any powerful and monied interest that doesn’t have the best interest of Iowans in mind. It’s more than just opposition to carbon pipelines. It’s opposition to corruption. When a federal tax credit, not market demand, is the entire reason hazardous carbon pipelines are being proposed the system has failed us. It’s corruption when lobbying dollars decide policy instead of the best interests of Iowans… “Democracy should never protect corporate interest at the public’s expense… “If you can stand by as families have the land they have stewarded for generations destroyed in order for a corporation and its foreign investors to profit, then right and wrong have stopped mattering to you. Any politician that expects us to compromise our rights, our land, our tax dollars, our beliefs and way of life to benefit private industry is not fit to represent us.”

Earthjustice: Yes, the Permitting Bill Really Could Lock in Illegal Permits
Sambhav Sankar, 10/29/26

“The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) is, and should be, a major issue for energy and environment lawyers right now. The bill is over 400 pages long, and most people who are talking about it haven’t actually read it,” Sambhav Sankar writes for Earthjustice. “…A lot of people who aren’t lawyers, let alone permitting or NEPA experts, have been saying things that are misleading at best… “First, on the NEPA vacatur provisions, John Podesta (a lawyer and a Beltway player) got it right when he said the bill puts “a lot of restraint[s] on the ability to get courts to enjoin for NEPA violations.” But as is typical, he was being modest… “The court cannot order the project to stop, because that would require an injunction. And it cannot invalidate the permit, because that would require vacatur. All the court can do if an agency does a shoddy NEPA analysis on the second go-round is send it back for a third (or 11th) go around. It’s hard for me to see what incentive any agency has to comply with NEPA, or why any project proponent would turn over any information about its impacts or alternatives. Podesta also says that the bill hands President Trump a “loaded Howitzer to go after public lands, to permit stuff that even if it’s illegal can’t be reversed by the courts.” Here, Podesta was talking about Section 1401 of BAAJA, which applies to “projects or actions with non-federal sponsors” (that is, anything besides a project of the federal government). This provision goes far beyond NEPA. For covered projects, the federal government cannot “rescind, withdraw, terminate, suspend, amend, or alter a Federal authorization or permit in effect on or after September 16, 2026, or take any other action to interfere with or prevent the construction or operation at full capacity of a project that has secured all necessary Federal authorizations and permits actions that might indirectly impact the economic viability of a project.” This provision is intended to stop a new government from undoing the actions of a prior government… “So, yes, Podesta was right to predict a rush of permitting “like you’ve never seen” with the Trump administration “not really caring about whether they’re going through the legal steps to do it, and under this bill, those can’t be reversed.”

Denver Post: As a family doctor, here’s why I’m voting no on Amendment 82
Logan Harper is a family physician in Denver who focuses on the effects of climate change on public health. He is an advocate with Healthy Air & Water Colorado, 10/30/26

“I am a family physician in Denver, and much of my work is shaped by the air my patients breathe. I treat children whose asthma flares when air quality drops, and older adults with heart and lung disease who struggle after a stretch of bad air days. That is why I am voting no on Amendment 82, and why I am asking my neighbors to do the same,” Logan Harper writes for the Denver Post. “Amendment 82 would add two sentences to the Colorado Constitution. One gives consumers a right to buy natural gas for cooking and heating, and the other gives distributors and utilities a right to sell it to homes and businesses. Supporters say this protects your stove or your gas heater. But buying and using gas is already legal in Colorado, and a no vote would not change anything about the furnace in your basement or the range in your kitchen. So this is not a vote on whether gas is good or bad, though as a doctor I do have real concerns about it. The oil and gas industry is responsible for the majority of Colorado’s air pollution, which causes thousands of deaths every year; fracking is associated with higher rates of blood cancer for children who live nearby; and burning methane indoors releases pollutants like nitrogen dioxide that are linked to asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia. But Amendment 82 isn’t about any of that. It is about whether our state constitution should be rewritten to protect a single industry’s profits at the cost of public health, and voters should firmly reject that idea.”

Washington Post: An environmentalist’s case for permitting reform
Editorial Board, 10/30/26

“…Long licensing fights are also expensive — and annoying,” the Washington Post Editorial Board writes. “…Keep this in mind when opponents of permitting reform claim that the bipartisan deal negotiated by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) would “roll back” essential protections. That is a persuasive argument for many reasonable people. Upon closer inspection, it’s a scare tactic. The tweaks in the compromise bill would not eliminate any of the core protections in the Clean Water Act. They would merely prevent them from being weaponized… “But anyone who cares about wildlife must weigh those impacts against the threat of climate change, which requires economically competitive clean energy to address. To build and preserve that infrastructure, permitting reform is crucial… “Some environmentalist groups understand these issues but still oppose the Senate permitting deal because it would remove legal barriers for constructing fossil fuel infrastructure… “Yet these tactics, too, have been bad for the environment. The lack of pipelines in New England has not eliminated the need for energy, and renewable sources have been unable to meet the region’s needs… “For far too long, the environmental movement has been dominated by a culture of “no,” with activists focused on stopping any development.”

Reuters: The Senate’s permitting bill is a good deal for clean, affordable energy and the climate
Mindy Lubber is CEO and president of the sustainability nonprofit Ceres, 11/2/26

“For many years, and across multiple administrations, Republicans and Democrats have been trying to reform America’s broken permitting and energy grid policies. We now have a chance to remedy that,” Mindy Lubber writes for Reuters. “Nearly everyone in Congress now acknowledges the imperative… “Now, finally, a group of bipartisan negotiators, including pro-fossil fuel members and some of the Senate’s most vocal climate hawks, have a permitting and transmission solution ​that can work. To meet this challenging moment in our energy sector, lawmakers must pass it before the new Congress takes office early next year… “Still, the politics remain challenging. Already, some have raised concerns about the bill’s proposed changes to longstanding environmental law and suggested that Democrats ought to wait until the new Congress is seated next ​year to secure a more favorable deal… “But ⁠we’re in a different moment now… “This administration has only continued its crusade against offshore wind while the congressional negotiators work, but this deal is one of the best tools we have available to ensure certainty for these projects. All stakeholders should also ⁠consider what will ​happen if this bill does not pass this year because the reality is that the new Congress would ​be forced into another permitting reform debate, a repeat of the last four years that would suck up time and effort better spent on other urgent priorities.”

Resilience.org: Senate permitting bill betrays public lands by rolling back protections
Jim Pattiz is an award-winning filmmaker and conservationist who serves as the co-founder of More Than Just Parks, 11/2/26

“For years, the extraction industry has spent fortunes selling Americans a simple lie, that the laws protecting our land and water are the reason this country can’t build anything. It planted that lie in opinion pages across the political spectrum until it hardened into conventional wisdom, and this fall it finally paid off. Two of the Senate’s most prominent Democrats on public lands and climate have bought it whole, and they’re about to hand the results to Donald Trump,” Jim Pattiz writes for Resilience.org. “The bill is a wholesale assault on the foundation of American environmental law. In a single blow, it guts four of the bedrock laws that have protected our land and water for more than half a century: the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act… “Put it all together and you get a blueprint for building (or destroying) whatever this administration wants, wherever it wants it, with the public locked out of both the hearing room and the courthouse. And future administrations friendlier to public lands would be virtually powerless to stop it.”