Wyoming’s biggest bet on clean coal is almost finished. The Integrated Test Center outside Gillette aims to host researchers who are finding ways to turn carbon emissions into marketable products. But what does this test center and clean coal mean for the state, the coal industry or climate change? Inside Energy’s Madelyn Beck takes us on a 360-degree view of clean coal to answer that question.
If Ryan Zinke is modeling himself after the Conservationist President, Teddy Roosevelt, then why is he making headlines for rolling back land protections? There’s more of an answer there than you might think. This half-hour Inside Energy special is hosted by Leigh Paterson and reported by Dan Boyce.
When a coal company wants to dig on federal land, the Bureau of Land Management figures out an environmental impact statement for them. They look at how exactly the new development will affect the environment. But not until recently did these documents start to include how they might affect climate change. A federal appellate court is moving the US a step closer to figuring that out.
The Department of the Interior is outlining steps aimed at increasing energy production on federal lands. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says boosting production of resources like oil and gas creates jobs and enhances the nation’s energy security. It’s another pro-industry headline for a secretary touting himself as not only an avid outdoorsman, but a follower of the conservation ideals of the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. If the manager of most of our federal lands is going find inspiration from someone, it would be hard to find a more appropriate muse. “Roosevelt is generally regarded as the father of the modern conservation movement,” said Whit Fosburgh, President and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “When he was President, he set aside somewhere around like 230 million acres of public lands for the future of people forever.”
That land area is larger than the states of Texas and Wyoming combined.
Wyoming and the country of Japan are working out a relationship over coal. Wyoming wants to export that coal, and Japan wants to buy it. Both want to figure out an affordable way to clean up coal emissions. Inside Energy’s Madelyn Beck reports on how this mutually beneficial relationship is facing challenges on all fronts.
Over eighty percent of new wind power last year went up in states that voted for President Donald Trump. It may sound strange when Trump’s aim is to bolster coal, not wind, but what red states usually promote is individual choice and a smart use of money. Inside Energy’s Madelyn Beck reports that wind power – both large and small – is literally changing Wyoming’s energy landscape.
Superfund cleanups are a priority for Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. He wants to cut through red tape that has left more than a thousand sites still contaminated — with everything from radioactive waste to lead. He also wants to remove sites that have already been cleaned up from the so-called National Priority List which has more than 1300 sites. Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce has the story of one superfund site that wants to be off the list, soon.
Wyoming coal companies are rehiring workers in the Powder River Basin, bringing residents home and boosting local morale. Still there’s a lot of uncertainty for the state and the coal industry overall.