EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 8/21/26

PIPELINE NEWS

• Canadian Press: Trump boasts Keystone XL as trade talk win. It’s not clear it was ever off the table.

• Business Examiner: South Bow secures Prairie Connector pipeline commitments

• Energies Media: Canada’s pipeline expansion plans outpace oil sands production growth and capital investment, analysts warn

• KBJR: Judge hears arguments in Line 5 pipeline reroute lawsuit

• KBJR: $900M Enbridge Line 5 reroute reaches halfway mark in Northern Wisconsin

• KCCI: Iowa Utilities Commission faces delays in reviewing Summit’s new carbon pipeline route

• Pipeline Technology Journal: Carbon Capture & Storage - Pipelines and their Part in Fighting Climate Change

• E&E News: A White House official helped an oil company advance its projects. Now she’ll lead its DC office.

WASHINGTON UPDATES

• E&E News: Cramer puts hold on Trump picks in feud over wetland policy

• Utility Dive: Electric co-ops press for repeal of gas power plant emissions rules

• Press release: NRECA, Co-ops Push EPA for Full Repeal of ‘Untenable’ Power Plant Rule

• E&E News: USGS chief scientist reassigned by Trump administration

• Newsweek: National Parks Advocates Plan Day of Protest Against Donald Trump

• Nevada Public Radio: Outdoor enthusiasts created an app that helps people weigh in on public land policy

STATE UPDATES

• New York Times: How Trump Is Trying to Crush California’s Environmental Policies

• E&E News: Red states curb nuisance laws in response to climate lawsuits

• Maine Public: Janet Mills, other New England governors oppose major utility merger

EXTRACTION

• Carbon Herald: Texas Court Dismisses Antitrust Claims Against Exxon Carbon Pipeline Unit

• Wall Street Journal: Hyperscalers’ Off-Grid Power Push Comes With Risks

• Financial Times: Harold Hamm launches multibillion-dollar plan to drill Argentine shale

• Press release: Continental Resources Significantly Expands Permian Basin Position with Acquisition of FireBird Energy II

• WIRED: The Worst Effects of Oman’s Oil Spill May Be Beneath the Surface

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

• Antigo Daily Journal: Trees for Tomorrow expands education program access

OPINION

• Salt Lake Tribune: Behind closed doors, there are more threats ahead for our public lands

• Fraser Institute: Despite Alberta’s commitment to “decarbonizing”, large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) poses observed risks to the environment
  

PIPELINE NEWS

Canadian Press: Trump boasts Keystone XL as trade talk win. It’s not clear it was ever off the table.
Nick Murray, 8/29/26

“U.S. President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday about reviving the Keystone XL pipeline project, touting it as a win in trade negotiations with Canada,” the Canadian Press reports. “...Canadian government officials would not comment Wednesday on what — if anything — has changed regarding Keystone’s place in negotiations since Carney first pitched it, or why Trump is suddenly highlighted it as prominently as he did… “Jay Kholsa, executive director of economic and energy policy with the Public Policy Forum and a former assistant deputy minister in the Privy Council Office, told CP the combination of rising gas prices and the draining of the oil reserve could be an “Achilles heel” to Trump… “What they don’t talk about is that they are not energy dominant without Canadian source supply. And I think (Trump) knows that for sure.” “...I think on the other side is that the economics of it have changed, that you actually have an American company that’s pursuing this,” Adam Fremeth, the associate director of Energy Policy Management Center at Western University’s Ivey Business School, told CP. “At the same time, conflicts, like we see in the Strait of Hormuz, have brought some issues around energy security. And so this allows President Trump to further reinforce the energy security in the U.S.”

Business Examiner: South Bow secures Prairie Connector pipeline commitments
Thompson Okanagan, 8/21/26

“South Bow, the Calgary-based company that now owns the existing Keystone pipeline system, has secured 20-year commitments from nine customers for 465,000 barrels per day of oil service to the United States, reviving debate over whether Alberta crude should move south or west through British Columbia,” Business Examiner reports. “...The renewed US pipeline push comes as Ottawa and Alberta advance a separate proposal to build a new pipeline west through B.C. to a deepwater port near Delta, including Roberts Bank, largely following the existing Trans Mountain corridor… “Richard Masson, former CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, told the Examiner the southern route has the clearer near-term business case because it connects Alberta crude to refineries that already want it… “The reality is Canada wants to maintain and enhance the US market, because that’s a good market for us, but we also want to have diversification, which means getting to the West Coast,” Masson told the Examiner… “Masson told the Examiner the Prairie Connector proposal is being driven by companies and shippers rather than government, pointing to the customer commitments already secured. The proposed West Coast pipeline, by contrast, has only 10 per cent backing from a private partner, with most funding coming from government-owned sources.”

Energies Media: Canada’s pipeline expansion plans outpace oil sands production growth and capital investment, analysts warn
Carlos Albero Rojas, 8/20/26

“Canada has ambitious plans to expand its crude export infrastructure, with six pipeline projects in various stages of planning or development — from incremental expansions to Enbridge’s Mainline and the Trans Mountain system to a proposed 1-million-barrel-per-day east-west corridor to the Pacific coast. But analysts warn the country’s oil sands producers may not be growing fast enough to fill the pipes being planned,” Energies Media reports. “Capital investment and production growth are both lagging well behind what the proposed capacity would require… “Enbridge executive vice-president Colin Gruending acknowledged the gap plainly on a recent conference call: “Producers are behaving with discipline. I think they’ll get there. We were just a little too quick off the line here.” “...Imperial Oil CEO John Whelan put it plainly at a conference in June: over the past decade, the oil sands industry spent roughly C$10 billion per year less than it did in the decade before… “Whelan estimated that filling the proposed east-west pipeline alone — along with building the carbon capture infrastructure the Canadian government says must accompany it — would require more than C$100 billion in new capital. Not impossible, but it would demand a fundamental shift in how oil sands companies currently approach spending decisions… “When Novi Labs expanded its analysis to include longer-term projects that companies have flagged in medium- and long-term plans but haven’t committed to yet, the projected supply picture improved — but still fell short of what the proposed pipelines would require by more than 850,000 bpd… “Long-term demand uncertainty, tied to both domestic climate policy and global energy transition trends, continues to weigh on producer confidence. It doesn’t make investment impossible — but it does make the case for large, multi-decade commitments considerably harder to close.”

KBJR: Judge hears arguments in Line 5 pipeline reroute lawsuit
Eric Nordrum, 8/20/26

“A Wisconsin judge heard oral arguments Thursday in a case that would scrap permits for a pipeline reroute project,” KBJR reports. “...The lawsuit seeks to overturn a permit awarded by the Wisconsin DNR to build 41 miles of new pipeline. Environmental groups say the ongoing construction project threatens the health of tribal waterways and wetlands… “The band, environmental groups and Enbridge delivered oral arguments Thursday in a Bayfield County courtroom. The hearing ended Thursday afternoon, with more briefs due next month… “An attorney for Earthjustice alleges Enbridge is spilling drilling fluid as it constructs the reroute. The group contends the DNR violated the law when it granted the permit.”

KBJR: $900M Enbridge Line 5 reroute reaches halfway mark in Northern Wisconsin
Kyre Johnson, 8/20/26

“After nearly seven years of planning, the $900 million dollar Enbridge Line 5 infrastructure project is well underway in Northern Wisconsin,” KBJR reports. “...Enbridge Line 5 reroute construction has officially reached its peak and is now nearly halfway done, and for the first time we are getting a behind-the-scenes look at the progress as crews work to push this massive pipeline project to the finish line… “The Bad River Band and environmental groups have long opposed Line 5, citing concerns about potential oil spills and impacts on sensitive natural resources. Despite that opposition, the 41-mile reroute remains on track to be in service by the first quarter of next year. A Wisconsin judge heard oral arguments Thursday, on a case that would scrap permits for the pipeline reroute project… “During this construction season, the lawsuit seeks to overturn a permit awarded by the Wisconsin DNR to build the 41 miles of new pipeline. Environmental groups say the ongoing construction project threatens the health of the tribal waterways and wetlands, but Enbridge says the project has been thoroughly studied.”

KCCI: Iowa Utilities Commission faces delays in reviewing Summit’s new carbon pipeline route
8/20/26

“The Iowa Utilities Commission must wait for a judge to resolve legal challenges before it can review Summit Carbon Solutions’ new route for a carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa,” KCCI reports. “...Opponents of the project, including Shelby County, some Iowa landowners, and the Sierra Club, filed to stop the commission from approving Summit’s new plan until a judge addresses their appeal. The commission has filed a request asking a judge to allow it to move forward and review the new plan. So far, no court dates have been set to address the legal challenges, according to the commission.”

Pipeline Technology Journal: Carbon Capture & Storage - Pipelines and their Part in Fighting Climate Change
Daniel Onyango, 8/20/26

“As nations race to meet net-zero targets, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as a vital tool for curbing emissions from hard-to-abate industries such as cement, steel, and oil sands. At the heart of this technology lies an often-overlooked component: pipelines,” Pipeline Technology Journal reports. “...Without reliable transport, the process stalls… “The existing infrastructure remains modest. The global CO2 pipeline network currently spans just over 7,000 kilometers, with the vast majority operating in the United States, where more than 8,000 km transport tens of millions of tonnes annually—primarily for enhanced oil recovery. Europe and other regions lag, though projects are accelerating… “Yet current capture capacity remains a fraction of what is needed—roughly 40–50 million tonnes per year globally against targets requiring gigatonne-scale deployment by mid-century. Experts project that hundreds of thousands of kilometers of new CO2 pipelines will be required worldwide by 2050… “Public concerns, heightened by a 2020 incident in Mississippi, have slowed some U.S. proposals… “High capital costs, permitting delays, public acceptance, and the need for coordinated policy support, including carbon pricing and shared infrastructure hubs, slow down the pace of CCS projects implementation. Critics argue that over-reliance on CCS could delay deeper emissions cuts, while proponents counter that for sectors without ready alternatives, pipelines enable the only near-term path to deep decarbonization while supporting economic activity.”

E&E News: A White House official helped an oil company advance its projects. Now she’ll lead its DC office.
Ian M. Stevenson, James Bikales, Scott Waldman, 8/21/26

“People milling around before a press conference in Santa Barbara, California, in early June might have mistaken Brittany Kelm, a White House staffer, for an oil company representative,” E&E News reports. “During the tour of oil facilities run by Sable Offshore Corp., a company that owns an offshore pipeline which the Trump administration had recently helped to get oil flowing through, Kelm sported a Sable-branded cap and a Sable-branded shirt with her name embroidered on it, according to a photograph she posted to LinkedIn. “We’ve unleashed California’s offshore oil production!” Kelm, a senior energy adviser for the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council, wrote in the post. Less than three months later, Kelm would announce her departure from her job at the council to take over Sable’s Washington policy office. The move, even by Washington’s normally swampy standards, threatens to erode the lines between public officials and the industries they interact with, according to experts and former government ethics officials. More specifically, it gives rise to questions about how the company’s new lead at its Washington office will represent its interests while abiding by ethics requirements… “Kelm’s work as a government official subjects her to strict ethics laws before and after she took the job with Sable, according to five ethics experts. The rules should have barred her from doing any work related to Sable after starting to negotiate her new job and prohibited her for life from appearing before any federal agency on certain specific matters she worked on at the White House, they told E&E.”

WASHINGTON UPDATES

E&E News: Cramer puts hold on Trump picks in feud over wetland policy
Miranda Willson, 8/19/26

“North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer is putting a hold on President Donald Trump’s nominees until the administration agrees to change a wetland conservation program that has frustrated farmers in his state,” E&E News reports. “...The aggressive move by Cramer comes days after the administration abandoned its plans to change a wetland conservation program that protects duck and bird habits at the urging of other Republican lawmakers… “A conservative Republican and close ally of the president, Cramer has been critical of the FWS’s drain tile setbacks rule, which regulates federal easements for waterfowl habitat in the Prairie Pothole region… “ In particular, he and other North Dakota lawmakers have argued that the FWS has taken an overly aggressive stance against landowners with easements in its effort to protect the wetlands, and that people should be allowed to farm closer to the boundaries of the easements.”

Utility Dive: Electric co-ops press for repeal of gas power plant emissions rules
Diana DiGangi, 8/20/26

“Chief executives of nonprofit electric cooperatives this week called on the federal government to repeal greenhouse gas standards for gas-fired power plants that they say are hampering their ability to meet surging electricity demand, particularly from large-load data centers,” Utility Dive reports. “...New gas-fired plants with a capacity factor greater than 40% must meet a carbon dioxide standard based on highly efficient combined cycle combustion technology and install carbon capture technology to capture 90% of all CO2 emissions by 2032, according to a note from the law firm Holland and Hart. Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, said during a Wednesday press event that the rule’s 40% capacity threshold and its carbon capture requirement are “untenable,” and his trade association supports the Trump administration’s efforts to fully repeal the rule, and is “anxious” to see progress on that front… At Wednesday’s event, Oglethorpe Power Corp. President and CEO Annalisa Bloodworth called the rule “deeply flawed” and “genuinely … the most irrational environmental regulation I’ve personally encountered in my career.” “...Matheson said he supports an outright repeal of the rule as he doesn’t believe it can be modified “in a way that makes sense.”

Press release: NRECA, Co-ops Push EPA for Full Repeal of ‘Untenable’ Power Plant Rule
8/20/26

“Electric cooperatives on Wednesday continued urging the Environmental Protection Agency to fully repeal a 2024 rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, pointing to the harm it would inflict on electric affordability and reliability as demand climbs. The Biden administration rule remains the law of the land today and restricts operations at existing coal-fired plants and new natural gas facilities unless they install carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology that is not commercially available or technically feasible, co-op leaders say. The 2024 rule “puts utilities in an untenable position where they invest significant dollars into new power plants that they are then restricted from running at full capacity,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said during an Aug. 19 media teleconference. “That doesn’t make sense.” The Trump administration issued a proposal in June 2025 to roll back the requirements but has yet to finalize it. Matheson urged the agency to finalize a complete repeal of the 2024 rule immediately. “We need a full and complete repeal,” he said.”

E&E News: USGS chief scientist reassigned by Trump administration
Heather Richards, 8/19/26

“David Applegate, the chief scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey, has been reassigned to a new role at the Interior Department, according to internal emails viewed by E&E News. “...Applegate said in his email he was unaware how the acting director position would be handled following his exit and praised the natural hazards team for its resilience after ‘jarring’ cuts to the program’s leadership last year via buyouts to career staff offered by the Trump administration… “The Trump administration has attempted to slim the agency down as part of its broader effort to reduce the size of the federal government and its programs, urging Congress to carry out a nearly 40 percent reduction of its $1.4 billion budget in fiscal 2026.”

Newsweek: National Parks Advocates Plan Day of Protest Against Donald Trump
8/19/26

“National park advocates are planning a nationwide day of action against President Donald Trump’s parks agenda, calling on his administration to provide greater protection and investment for the federal workforce that maintains the country’s parks,” Newsweek reports. “The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said supporters will gather online and at events across the country on August 25 to “speak out for America’s national parks.” The group is asking the public to sign a petition urging Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to protect parks and their employees. NPCA says the National Park Service has lost a quarter of its permanent workforce over the past year, including thousands of rangers, maintenance workers and educators. Its petition warns that staffing shortages have forced parks to reduce educational programs, weakened scientific and conservation work and could affect emergency responses and visitor safety.”

Nevada Public Radio: Outdoor enthusiasts created an app that helps people weigh in on public land policy
Yvette Fernandez, 8/20/26

“Some of the most significant changes to U.S. public lands are taking place this year. One key step before policy changes are implemented is the public’s input,” Nevada Public Radio reports. “...There have been a number of recent policy reversals, changes to permitting processes, and land use controversies, like scaling down public parks or fast-tracking data centers on federal land. Typically, before policy changes are enacted, the federal government opens a public comment period before changing a policy on public land… “The Public Land Comment Hub includes interactive maps and a dashboard that is updated daily with deadlines for specific comment period timelines and is free to access and use.”

STATE UPDATES

New York Times: How Trump Is Trying to Crush California’s Environmental Policies
Maxine Joselow, 8/20/26

“The Trump administration has taken a series of extraordinary steps to attack California’s position as a national leader in environmental protection, enlisting at least a half-dozen federal agencies to undermine the state’s efforts to pivot away from fossil fuels,” the New York Times reports. “...Because of its market muscle as the world’s fourth largest economy, California’s environmental regulations have influenced the manufacturers of automobiles and other consumer goods. And its green policies have spread to some other states in what’s known as the “California effect.” “...Mr. Newsom, a loud and pointed critic of Mr. Trump, pledged soon after the 2024 election to insulate California’s environmental policies from a second Trump administration — perhaps making the state an inviting target for a president who has been using government levers to punish perceived enemies… “There are almost too many examples to list… “The state has filed a slew of lawsuits to try to undo the administration’s actions. “Donald Trump attacks California because we are building a future that doesn’t depend on fossil fuels,” Anthony Martinez, a spokesman for Mr. Newsom, told the Times. “This fading industry desperately attempts to tighten its grip on the world economy even as clean energy dominates, growing cheaper and faster to deploy than anything they can offer. Follow the money, and you will find the truth behind his war on California’s climate policies: this is a White House run for Big Oil, by Big Oil.” “...Richard Goldberg, a former senior counselor for the National Energy Dominance Council, which Mr. Trump created last year to coordinate energy policy, told the Times the White House had genuine policy disagreements with California, but it also saw a political advantage in feuding with Mr. Newsom.”

E&E News: Red states curb nuisance laws in response to climate lawsuits
Lesley Clark, Jason Plautz, 8/21/26

“Republican-led states are embracing a new way to shield the oil and gas industry from climate lawsuits — by curtailing a widely used law that activists and government officials have deployed in the past to bolster lawsuits against polluters, opioid manufacturers, social media companies and the cigarette industry,” E&E News reports. “Montana, Kansas and Utah have passed legislation in the past year that narrows their public nuisance laws. Similar bills were introduced in recent years in Indiana and Texas — and more could follow after the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council earlier this month approved model legislation along similar lines. The trend has alarmed trial lawyers and environmental groups who say the effort could weaken efforts to hold polluters accountable for damages and make it harder to challenge massive projects, such as data centers. “You’re cutting off any type of remedy for folks,” Al Smith, executive director of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, told lawmakers in Helena last year before the state legislature passed new restrictions on the state’s public nuisance law.”

Maine Public: Janet Mills, other New England governors oppose major utility merger
Kevin Miller, 8/18/26

“Gov. Janet Mills joined officials from four other New England states in opposing a major acquisition in the electricity industry that the governors suggest could could impact rates and infrastructure improvements,” Maine Public reports. “The proposed merger of Florida-based NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, which is headquartered in Virginia, would reportedly create the world’s largest regulated electric utility. The proposal is being reviewed by federal regulators. But in a joint statement released on Tuesday, the governors of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island said the deal would “concentrate an unprecedented amount of leverage in NextEra,” with potential ramifications for ratepayers… “In a separate statement released by her office, Mills said the proposal would “concentrate too many energy generation and transmission assets in a company that has worked aggressively to suppress competition in Maine and block state priorities that would reduce energy costs.”

EXTRACTION

Carbon Herald: Texas Court Dismisses Antitrust Claims Against Exxon Carbon Pipeline Unit
Violet George, 8/21/26

“A Texas Business Court judge has dismissed antitrust charges against Exxon Mobil’s carbon pipeline subsidiary Denbury, while permitting a broader lawsuit over alleged unfair business practices to proceed,” the Carbon Herald reports. “The ruling, issued by Houston Division Judge Sofia Adrogué, determined that the Texas court lacked territorial authority to rule on antitrust claims occurring outside state borders, including in neighboring Louisiana. The suit was filed by developer Clean Hydrogen Works, which is planning a $7.5 billion clean hydrogen and ammonia facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Clean Hydrogen Works alleges that following Exxon’s acquisition of Denbury, the company wrongfully revoked a pipeline connection contract for its 620-mile regional CO2 network, effectively blocking competitor access to critical regional transport infrastructure. Exxon rejected claims of anticompetitive behavior, arguing the contract termination was a standard response to project delays and missed technical milestones by the developer… “Industry analysts note that constructing alternative high-pressure carbon transport infrastructure carries immense capital costs, often exceeding $1 billion, giving legacy pipeline owners significant influence over regional market access.”

Wall Street Journal: Hyperscalers’ Off-Grid Power Push Comes With Risks
Jinjoo Lee, 8/20/26

“Big tech companies are cobbling together off-grid power systems to match their rushed timelines for AI development. What if these systems are glitchy?,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Off-grid power comes with hefty price tags and operating risks. Tech giants are pursuing them anyway. Power providers, some of whom don’t have much data-center experience, are jumping at the chance to sign deals with deep-pocketed customers. But cracks have shown at the few on-site power projects that have started up, highlighting potential costs to both tech companies and their power providers.”

Financial Times: Harold Hamm launches multibillion-dollar plan to drill Argentine shale
Jamie Smyth, 8/20/26

“US oil magnate Harold Hamm is partnering with Swiss trading house Mercuria to spearhead a multibillion-dollar drilling campaign in one of the world’s largest shale basins in Argentina,” the Financial Times reports. “Hamm told the FT his Continental Resources was buying a 50 per cent stake in Phoenix Global Resources, a company controlled by Mercuria, which plans to quadruple oil production to 100,000 barrels per day in the Vaca Muerta formation by 2031. The companies would not disclose the transaction value but told FT they expected to invest $4bn over five years to position Phoenix as one of the largest private producers in Vaca Muerta… “Hamm, an influential backer of Donald Trump, has built close ties with Argentina’s leader Javier Milei, an ally of the US president who is pursuing a radical deregulation agenda and offered incentives for major oil and gas projects… “Hamm said Continental continued to expand its operations in the prolific Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico by acquiring Firebird Energy II, a company owned by Quantum Capital Group with operations that currently produce about 32,000 b/d.”

Press release: Continental Resources Significantly Expands Permian Basin Position with Acquisition of FireBird Energy II
8/20/26

“Continental Resources today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire FireBird Energy II LLC (“FireBird”), a portfolio company of Quantum Capital Group (“Quantum”). The acquisition of FireBird, which owns approximately 54,000 net acres in the Midland Basin, significantly expands Continental’s Permian Basin position and adds high-quality, oil-weighted production and development inventory adjacent to its existing operations. The acquisition includes approximately 147,000 net resource acres across more than six stacked-pay reservoirs and is 95% operated. The assets are currently producing approximately 32,000 boepd, 69% of which is oil, and include 307 gross operated development locations.”

WIRED: The Worst Effects of Oman’s Oil Spill May Be Beneath the Surface
Omnia Al Desoukie, 8/19/26

“Oil leaking from the grounded tanker Caroline Bezengi has reached Oman’s coastline, potentially exposing coral reefs, nesting beaches and endangered species to crude oil contamination,” WIRED reports. “The tanker, carrying approximately 800,000 barrels of Russian crude, ran aground on 30 June near Al Qibliyah Island – one of the five remote islands that make up Al Hallaniyat Islands Nature Reserve… “On 10 August, Oman said the visible slick covered almost 400 square kilometres. Two days later, an oil-spill specialist who examined satellite imagery for Reuters estimated that it extended across more than 2,000 square kilometres… “The spill’s location makes it particularly dangerous: Al Hallaniyat reserve supports coral reefs, nesting sea turtles, seabirds and the endangered Arabian Sea humpback whale. “My foremost concern is the Arabian Sea humpback whale, the world’s only nonmigratory humpback population,” Ishani P Cooney, a marine microbiologist and scientific diver, tells WIRED Middle East. “Unlike other populations, it cannot relocate from contaminated feeding grounds, so degradation of these waters directly threatens the entire population.” “...However, the scale of any damage to coral or other underwater habitats around Al Hallaniyat has not yet been established.”

TODAY IN GREENWASHING

Antigo Daily Journal: Trees for Tomorrow expands education program access
8/21/26

“Trees For Tomorrow is expanding access to outdoor learning opportunities for students across the region through enhanced scholarship support for its School Outdoor Learning Experiences (SOLE) program,” the Antigo Daily Journal reports. “...In July, the center received a $40,000 grant from TC Energy that builds on a multi-year partnership and will directly fund scholarship assistance for school groups participating in the SOLE program for Grades K-12… “TC Energy’s continued partnership and generosity ensure that financial barriers never stand between students and life-changing outdoor learning,” said Cheryl Brunzo, executive director of Trees For Tomorrow… “At TC Energy, we believe strong communities are built by investing in the next generation,” said Craig Summerfield, external relations advisor at TC Energy.”

OPINION

Salt Lake Tribune: Behind closed doors, there are more threats ahead for our public lands
Charlie Luke is Utah state director for The Wilderness Society, 8/20/26

“As a sixth-generation Utahn and the Utah state director for The Wilderness Society, this is personal for me. Utah’s unique landscapes and public access hold lifelong memories, from camping trips with my parents and grandparents, to new memories made with my kids and now grandkids.Unfortunately, once again, Utah has been thrust into an all too familiar position: splashed across national headlines as ground zero in the fight to protect our public lands from the administration’s attempt to sell them off,” Charlie Luke writes for the Salt Lake Tribune. “...While public attention is focused elsewhere, the administration and Congress are using shortened (or eliminated) comment periods, obscure policy and agency changes, and legislation to systematically weaken and dismantle many of the laws, institutions and guardrails that make these lands truly public. The administration is working to weaken the very regulations mentioned in the Oval Office during last month’s monument reduction as justification to shrink protections.. “Right now, the Interior Department is running eight separate ‘reviews’ at once, across three agencies, of the guidance that safeguards nearly 200 million acres of wilderness and other relatively undeveloped wildlands. And unless you’re a dedicated reader of the Federal Register and various trade publications, all of it was easy to miss.”

Fraser Institute: Despite Alberta’s commitment to “decarbonizing”, large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) poses observed risks to the environment
Kenneth P. Green and Julio Mejía, 8/20/26

“In 2025, the province of Alberta signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Canadian government that, in return for a proposed new million-barrel-per-day pipeline to Canada’s west coast, Alberta would capture the carbon-dioxide emissions associated with oil-sand production and sequester (store) it deep underground,” Kenneth P. Green and Julio Mejía write for the Fraser Institute. “...But CCUS, a well-demonstrated technology used to enhance oil production from depleting oil fields, has undergone only limited testing at scales comparable to what is envisioned for Alberta’s future oil-sand production. It is unclear if CCUS can be feasibly scaled: previous pilot programs and early CCUS efforts have a history of failing to achieve targets for emission capture and storage, and were not sustained long-term efforts. The environmental impact of CCUS at scales under discussion is also open to question: the literature suggests that CCUS poses several threats, including threats to the human environment, health, safety, and critical economic activities such as agriculture. These observed risks include increased seismic activity (earth tremors/quakes); groundwater contamination; surface water contamination (and risks to aquatic life); soil contamination (and risks to soil organisms and plants); and concentrated leakage of carbon dioxide at concentrations hazardous to animal or human health. As CCUS has not been implemented at scales comparable to what is planned in Alberta via its proposed “Pathways” CCUS program, caution is advised.”