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Angus Taylor has been elected leader of the federal Liberal Party, deposing Sussan Ley just nine months into her stint as the first woman to head the party.

The post “Well done, Angus:” Liberals elect “failed” former energy minister to lead party appeared first on Renew Economy.

In this episode, Kate and Aaron are joined by Professor John Ruple, a public lands law expert at the University of Utah and former attorney at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to discuss the Trump administration’s dismantling of the CEQ’s authority over NEPA regulations. He breaks down what the Trump administration means when it claims to have ended NEPA’s “regulatory reign of terror” and why removing uniform environmental review standards creates chaos for public lands.

News

• For $1 Million, Donors to U.S.A. Birthday Group Offered Access to Trump – New York Times
• Potential conflicts over celebrating America’s 250th anniversary spill out in congressional hearing – Associated Press
• Concessionaire Nominated To Run National Park Service – National Parks Traveler

Resources

• Watch this episode on YouTube

Credits

• Produced & hosted by Aaron Weiss and Kate Groetzinger, edited by Lilly Bock-Brownstein
• Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
• Music: Purple Planet
• Featured image: David Korzillus, BLM

The post What gutting the Council on Environmental Quality means for public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Another five-hour battery reaches financial close, this one to piggy back over an existing gas connection in Australia's most advanced renewable state.

The post New five-hour battery reaches financial close, next to existing gas generator in renewable hotspot appeared first on Renew Economy.

Sam Reynolds, the head of Octopus Australia, on why he hopes to build the country's biggest battery, and the emergence of solar-battery hybrids. Plus: AGL and Origin's fossil fuelled profits, with a green tinge.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Why batteries are getting bigger and marrying solar appeared first on Renew Economy.

Sometimes finding the love of your life is as simple as stepping away from the computer screen for a bit and enjoying the great outdoors. That’s how David met Serena–on a wildflower hike in the Marin Headlands—a meeting that almost didn’t happen if it weren’t for some “lucky stars” and the motivation to go explore. Thirteen years later, the couple is still going strong. This is their Greenbelt Alliance love story.

It was April 28, 2013. He was David D. Schmidt, Bay Area native and veteran Greenbelt Alliance outings leader since ’92. On this beautiful spring day (naturally), David was co-leading a wildflower hike in the Marin Headlands with Greenbelt Alliance Outings Coordinator and possible Cupid-in-disguise, Ken Lavin. She was Serena Enger, a recent Bay Area transplant by way of Boston and veteran Greenbelt Alliance outings-goer since 2008. So was it love at first sight?

As he puts it, “ When we sat down for lunch, I looked around and saw her, and I wanted to have lunch with her. So I sat down next to her, and we talked for a while. At the end of the hike, I wanted to keep in touch, so we exchanged numbers. I was working six days a week, long hours, and I almost missed the hike because I thought I needed a rest—I almost missed meeting Serena!  I thank, as the saying goes, my lucky stars that I went.”

She says, “He came bearing books, and as a librarian and passionate reader, I was pleased. He had such an impressive and poetic knowledge of wildflowers, the history of the bay, sustainable development, and so forth, but he was also a very kind person, and that attracted me to him.”

Their ensuing courtship reads like a Greenbelt Alliance outings calendar. On that first date, they went for a hike in Sonoma’s Jack London State Historic Park. On date two, they explored the Presidio and Golden Gate Park together. Date three took place in Rancho Corral de Tierra, a big swath of land stretching southward from Montara Mountain to Half Moon Bay.

David and Serena were a match made in the greenbelt. They’re both avid readers. They both enjoy history and politics. They like watching foreign films together at the Castro Theater. And they obviously both love Greenbelt Alliance outings. 

Six months after meeting, David proposed to Serena atop Mount Tamalpais.

“We hiked along the Matt Davis Trail on Mount Tam that’s above Stinson Beach—it’s a beautiful area with those quintessential rolling, mound-like hills of Marin County with great views of the Pacific and the whole Bolinas Ridge,” Serena recalls. “And David proposed to me on the trail as the sun was setting and we had this tremendous view of the Pacific Ocean behind us.”

To celebrate their love, they go on wildflower hikes in the Marin Headlands every April, where it all started. And their bonding love for nature endures. They spend a lot of time hiking and are currently re-landscaping our home with California indigenous plants and flowers. “It’s restorative, rejuvenating, for us.” David has also just published the book, San Francisco Bay Area:  An Environmental History (with incredible tidbits of history about Greenbelt Alliance, too).

So, this weekend if you find yourself still looking for love in all the wrong places, skip the dating apps—try looking elsewhere, like David and Serena. Maybe in the greenbelt. On one of our upcoming outings, perhaps?

“Greenbelt hikes make you feel good in two ways: First, you’re in a beautiful natural area, breathing deeply, and you always feel relaxed at the end, even if you’re tired.  Second, you learn about the great ongoing work of the Greenbelt Alliance to save natural places and foster resilient, vibrant urban places – a positive, hopeful vision we all need! You always meet other people who love nature, and you just might meet someone special!,” said David.

Happy Valentine’s Day from the matchmakers at Greenbelt Alliance!

 

 

 

Originally published on February 13, 2015, by Alex Chen. Updated by Daniela Ades with information from David Schmidt and Serena Enger.

The post A Match Made in the Greenbelt appeared first on Greenbelt Alliance.

Time to act on animal welfare Channel Comment brendan 13th February 2026 Teaser Media

Concern about system security has already delayed the closure of Australia's biggest coal generator. But a landmark battery project may provide a quicker and cheaper solution.

The post The little battery that could pave the way for ageing coal generators to be shut down on schedule appeared first on Renew Economy.

03-05 * 13:00 - FT Meeting (franco)

As Queensland communities begin to recover from devastating flood events, environment groups have slammed the Albanese government for approving another open cut coal mine expansion in central Queensland this week. 

Renewable energy accounted for over half of the total energy mix in Spain during 2025, with the trend continuing into the first month of 2026.

The post Renewables account for more than 55 pct of Spain’s energy mix in 2025, and in first month of 2026 appeared first on Renew Economy.

Many households only realise after installation they’ve bought a battery system that is locked to a single manufacturer’s software.

The post Australia’s home battery boom risks locking households into closed ecosystems appeared first on Renew Economy.

Who doesn’t love a Northern Cardinal? The appeal of these abundant, widespread songbirds is undeniable: They brighten drab winter days with a pop of bright red. Weeks before spring, they’re among...

Heading into the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, skiers and snowboarders were already adjusting to a ban on fluorinated waxes long prized for making their equipment faster. This week, the Winter Games saw their first enforcement of that rule, which is aimed at protecting public health and the environment.

South Korean cross-country skiers Han Dasom and Lee Eui-jin were disqualified from the women’s sprint event on Tuesday. That came one day after Japanese snowboarder Shiba Masaki was disqualified from the men’s parallel giant slalom. In all three cases, routine testing found banned compounds on their equipment.

For decades, elite snow sports athletes have relied on waxes with fluorocarbons that are exceptional at repelling water and dirt. Former U.S. cross-country racer Nathan Schultz told Grist the so-called “fluoro” waxes provide a “really ridiculous speed advantage,” especially in warmer conditions like those experienced at these Games.

But these waxes also contained PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. This class of 15,000 so-called “forever chemicals” are notorious for never breaking down. Studies have linked exposure to PFAS to thyroid disease, developmental problems, and cancer, and research has found elevated levels in ski technicians who regularly handled the waxes. PFAS have also been detected in soil and water near ski venues, including wells drawing from aquifers in Park City, Utah, suggesting broader environmental contamination.

Amid growing concern over the environmental impacts and the risks to skiers, their technicians, and others, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, or FIS, called for a ban in 2019. The prohibition took effect in 2023, and applies to all events governed by the federation, including nordic, alpine and freestyle skiing, ski jumping, and snowboarding.

Officials test multiple points on each competitor’s equipment, using a technique known as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to detect fluoros. If a given spot on a ski or snowboard turns green, it passes. A red result indicates the presence of the banned substance. Three or more red spots leads to disqualification.

Representatives for the Japan team did respond to comment. A spokesperson for the Korea Ski Association initially told the South Korean news agency Newsis that the organization was “perplexed” by the results. “They tested negative in all previous international competitions with no prior issues,” they said. “We will consult experts from wax and ski manufacturers to investigate whether the issue lies with the wax or skis.” 

In an emailed statement, the Korean Olympic Committee told Grist that fluoride was detected in what it believed to be fluoride-free waxes. “The Ski Association has purchased fluoride-free wax products, so it will protest,” wrote the spokesperson. The team will also replace the wax and check the skis again after cleaning to “prevent recurrence.”

It is unclear if a protest was ever officially filed or what the outcome was. The Korean team declined to elaborate and FIS did not immediately respond to Grist’s questions. But unlike some infractions, like those related to doping, discipline for unintentional fluoro use generally applies only to the event in question. The Korean athletes competed again Thursday in the 10-km freestyle event, finishing 73rd and 80th. 

This time the results stood.

toolTips('.classtoolTips12','An acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS are a class of chemicals used in everyday items like nonstick cookware, cosmetics, and food packaging that have proven to be dangerous to human health. Also called “forever chemicals” for their inability to break down over time, PFAS can be found lingering nearly everywhere — in water, soil, air, and the blood of people and animals.
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This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The Olympics just saw its first ‘forever chemical’ disqualifications on Feb 12, 2026.

Some deals take longer than others. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a gas-fired power plant in Illinois secured $875 million in debt financing just three months after appointing bankers and investors to arrange the loan. In November 2023, an innovative lithium mine in Germany took eight times as long to raise a comparable debt package, despite booming demand for critical minerals and a marquee investor roster.

The difference wasn’t project quality. It was risk perception and the complexity of financing new business models and critical infrastructure.

Markets know how to fund what they’ve seen before: pipelines, data centers, solar farms. But for emerging, low-carbon technologies, such as thermal batteries and sustainable aviation fuel, even shovel-ready projects can stall in years of finance negotiations. Bankers must align dozens of stakeholders (investors, customers, suppliers, insurers, technology providers, construction firms, accountants, regulators, etc.) around key terms and risk-sharing structures before the project developer runs out of money.

These delays make projects that deploy emerging technologies expensive, risky, and often unviable. This is dampening enthusiasm for energy transition investment opportunities at a time when it must be rapidly expanding.

RMI’s Deal Lab breaks this cycle.

By encouraging earlier engagement in the deal cycle from key transaction participants, RMI’s Deal Lab helps shape projects, improve bankability, and accelerate financing readiness. In our Role of Banks report, we outlined the need for a recalibration of expectations on banks’ role in the energy transition, oriented around getting transactions done by playing to the strengths of different actors across the financial ecosystem. RMI’s Deal Lab sets both the new expectation and provides the means to implement climate leadership. It invites financial institutions to demonstrate commitment through the giving of time, capacity, and capital to get lighthouse transactions over the finish line.

RMI calls this new effort “Deal Lab” not to evoke experimentation, but to highlight the often-overlooked role of financial learning in commercializing new technologies. This corrects a key flaw in target-setting to date: the separation of climate ambition from the core services and smart investing strategies that banks provide.

Vulcan Energy Resource’s (Vulcan) lighthouse lithium deal presented a novel underwriting challenge to investors because it featured several innovative elements. On the technical side, the project combined on-site geothermal heat and power generation with lithium refining. Financial innovations included “preferential supplier status” to attract specific equity co-investors.

Nearly two years after formally appointing BNP Paribas as financial advisor, it secured over €1.2 billion in debt commitments, signaling investor confidence once the risks were understood and appropriately shared.

In Vulcan’s case, BNP showed what bank leadership looks like: being in the room when market-making happens. The investors who show up early are the ones who will learn first, and the ones the market will trust as these opportunities scale. That’s the role (and opportunity) of banks and finance.

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For the investment banks (like BNP in the example above) that usually do much of the stakeholder coordination behind the scenes, time is money. Every minute bankers spend learning the ins-and-outs of a new technology or market is a minute not spent on a simpler deal that could be generating structuring fees sooner.

Still, some institutions see these early, complex transactions as where long-term value begins.

“Lighthouse transactions require sustained commitment from institutions willing to engage early, stay close to the deal, share learnings, and build new norms among counterparties,” said Nabil Bennouna, Principal on RMI’s Climate Finance team. “RMI’s Deal Lab helps ease the burden on any individual dealmaker as they navigate the complexity of financing the scale-up of new technologies.”

RMI will accelerate bankers’ and investors’ learning process by applying lessons from years of successful and continued first-of-a-kind (FOAK) project advisory work. Doing so will lower transaction costs by reducing the time spent on diligence and negotiations. From August 2022 to December 2024, RMI’s 100-person Industries program advised 18 large projects (50 percent reached final investment decision compared with 20 percent globally) and conducted three critical functions that banks normally play when there is sufficient commercial incentive to do so:

1. Clarifying upside opportunities and downside risk management through consensus-driven financial modeling and technoeconomic due diligence.
2. Developing new deal terms to manage nascent market risks and align a deal’s risk-return profiles with investors’ appetites.
3. Kickstarting norms and translating key metrics between developers and the varied types of investors in complex capital stacks and across new commercial agreements.

RMI’s dedicated support helped cut through the noise of competing priorities to ensure that attention and resources stayed focused on these lighthouse projects. RMI’s Deal Lab will play three roles until the market can take over:

1. Upskill developers and professionalize investor relations: Help developers move from expensive equity to cheaper commercial debt by translating their project value propositions into terms that align with later-stage investors’ norms and expectations.
2. Innovate deal structures: Create new templates to align different capital providers’ (equity, credit, insurance) risk-return profiles through multilateral syndicate working sessions that simulate real deal conditions.
3. Build an investment engine: Make a stronger case for targeted concessional capital interventions in high impact projects and crowd-in private capital by participating in the development of new investment vehicles.

When learnings from Deal Lab are made public, other advisors and investors can replicate the lighthouse transactions at speed and scale. RMI will share learnings from these deal labs via:

1. Investor roadshows that identify and brief potential project funders
2. Publicly accessible data rooms that give funders information (e.g., technology performance assumptions, project finance models, energy transition scenarios, comparable legal contracts, etc.) to efficiently diligence similar deals

Roadshows will widen the project’s prospective pool of funders while public data rooms will deepen it. Together, they should help shorten financing timelines because capital markets have already been prepared to diligence and fund innovative deals in that sector. This should mitigate some first-mover risk that can prevent pioneering dealmakers from entering the market.

From 2020 to 2025, the sustainable finance community mainly focused on standards and disclosures. The next five years must see a shift towards transaction-level support, and ultimately, increased deal flow.

The wind and solar industries took around 20 years (and many expensive iterations) to attract cheap, plentiful capital. We don’t have time for this maturation to happen organically in other critical sectors. Lighthouses shine a pathway for others, but someone must first build the lighthouse. RMI’s Deal Lab will enable lighthouse transactions by aligning key counterparties around technical assumptions, contract design, risk management mechanisms, and monetizing new sources of value much earlier and faster than would happen without constructive intervention.

If you are a financial institution, funder, law firm, insurer or project developer interested in learning more or partnering, reach out to RMI’s Deal Lab lead Nabil Bennouna at nbennouna@rmi.org.

 

The post How We’re Building Lighthouses for the Financial Sector appeared first on RMI.

The move eliminates ‘endangerment finding’, the scientific basis for limiting greenhouse gas emissions and public health safeguards  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced today the shattering of the landmark “endangerment finding,” a cornerstone of scientific research that has guided U.S. climate action for nearly two decades. The EPA’s unconscionable action to revoke the 17-year-old finding dismantles the legal and scientific foundation that allows the U.S. government to regulate the emissions from greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. This decision will undermine pollution standards from sources, including vehicles and dirty power plants that were built on that finding, and put Americans’ health and safety at risk. 

This unprecedented move threatens pollution standards that have protected Americans from harmful emissions and decades of progress in addressing climate change. Trump’s EPA continues its aggressive approach to rolling back pollution regulations. This week, it is the “endangerment finding”; next week, additional rollbacks are expected for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, coal ash ponds, and more in the coming weeks and months. Trump and his allies may continue to dismiss climate change as a hoax,  but ignoring the everyday impacts of a warming planet will make Americans more vulnerable to higher costs, extreme weather events, and adverse health impacts. 

Quentin Scott, Federal Policy Director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), released the following statement:

“As expected, the Trump Administration continues to be in the pockets of big polluters and ignores the impacts of climate change on Americans’ lives. The ‘endangerment finding’ is rooted in credible scientific evidence and well-established legal underpinnings. Relying on junk science to shatter the ‘endangerment finding’ will cost Americans in dirtier air, more preventable disease and deaths, and a higher cost of living to mitigate downstream impacts of pollution. Once again, Trump fails to deliver for the American people while enriching himself and his allies. Congress must step in and use the Congressional Review Act to reverse this unconscionable decision.”

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC and beyond.

The post Trump’s EPA Guts Landmark Climate Foundation, Putting Public Health at Risk appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Advice has been reversed on whether expansion of the Wressle oil site in North Lincolnshire needs a detailed study of the environmental impacts.

Proposed expansion at the Wressle oil site near Scunthorpe. Source: planning application

North Lincolnshire planners had been advised twice that the proposal did not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

But the author of the advice, an official at Surrey County Council, has now changed her mind.

The U-turn by Dr Jessica Salder, follows a challenge to her advice from the local campaign group, Fossil Fuel Free Lincolnshire.

Now Dr Salder has advised the council:

“I recommend amending your position on the proposal’s EIA status.”

She said:

“Classing the scheme as ‘EIA development’ will enable your Authority to consider all pertinent environmental information, including that offered by statutory and other consultees, when determining the application.”

Dr Salder also referred to the government’s proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework.

Fossil Fuel Free Lincolnshire has greeted the U-turn:

“It is welcome — if overdue — that the Council’s advisor, Dr Jessica Salder, of Surrey Council, has revised her earlier advice and now agrees with us that this development should be screened in for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).  

Delays and landmark Supreme Court ruling

The proposals to expand the Wressle oil site date back to October 2023.

At the time, Wressle had recently begun formally extracting oil and was the UK’s second largest onshore producing field, after Wytch Farm in Dorset.

In March 2024, the Wressle operator, Egdon Resources, submitted a planning application to drill and carry out lower-volume fracking on two new wells targeting both oil and gas.

The company also sought permission for:

• long-term oil production
• one-third increase to the site footprint
• new processing equipment
• underground gas pipeline

But the planning process became delayed by the successful Supreme Court challenge over onshore oil EIAs, brought by the campaigner, Sarah Finch. The court ruled in June 2024 that decisionmakers must consider the impact of carbon emissions from combustion of UK onshore oil production.

In September 2024, planners at North Lincolnshire Council, using delegated powers, granted planning permission for the Wressle expansion. Their decision, just three months after the Supreme Court ruling, did not consider the likely carbon emissions from combustion of Wressle oil because there was no EIA.

Two months later, in November 2024, the planning permission was quashed following the threat of a legal challenge by environmental campaigner, Sandie Stratford. North Lincolnshire Council did not contest the case.

In March 2025, Dr Salder first advised North Lincolnshire that an EIA was not needed.

The planners took her advice and in May 2025, they ruled again that the Wressle proposal would not need an EIA, even though they acknowledged the scheme would contribute to climate change.

In June 2025, campaigners restarted a legal challenge against the council. They argued in a pre-action legal letter that the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from an expanded site would be significant and should not be dismissed.

Dr Salder, a key witness for the losing side in the Supreme Court case, issued her second advice to North Lincolnshire Council on 20 November 2025. She said then:

“it is unlikely that EIA should be required in this case”.

She said the proposal did not meet the EIA criteria. Along with other committed and projected developments, Wressle would not prevent the achievement of the UK’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, she said.

Fossil Fuel Free Lincolnshire challenged Dr Salder’s advice on 8 December 2025. It said the council’s previous EIA decision was unlawful and should be withdrawn.

The group described Egdon’s greenhouse gas assessment for Wressle as “flawed and simplistic”. The assessment failed to consider the worst-case scenario or the cumulative effects of Wressle along with other committed oil and gas production, the group said.

The group also said Egdon had failed to take account of supplementary guidance from the government.

The greenhouse gas effects from Wressle could be significant and an EIA would enable decisionmakers to consider them in detail, the group added.

Fossil Fuel Free Lincolnshire said today:

“Even before the Finch ruling in June 2024, the serious climate harm caused by fossil fuel developments was undeniable.  

“Since that judgement, there is simply no excuse for planning authorities to ignore it – particularly in this case where we have repeatedly raised these concerns with the Council over the past year or more.

“Hopefully, North Lincolnshire Council will now act accordingly by reversing its flawed negative Screening Opinion and ensuring that the greenhouse gas emissions from this development are properly assessed and subjected to full public scrutiny.”

DrillOrDrop asked North Lincolnshire Council whether it had changed its EIA ruling on the Wressle expansion following Dr Salder’s latest advice. The council has not responded.

Key documents 250317 Jessica Salder to NLCDownload 251120 Jessica Salder to NLCDownload 251208 Fossil Fuel Free Lincolnshire to NLCDownload 260107 Jessica Salder to NLCDownload

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 12, 2026

Bold’s Jane Kleeb Delivers Testimony in Support of LB 1111 to Regulate Data Centers in Nebraska

Lincoln – On the crucial issue of data centers, and their potential impact on our water and utility bills, Bold founder Jane Kleeb will appear at the Capitol on Thursday to testify and encourage Nebraskans to support LB 1111, a bill to regulate data centers built in Nebraska that introduced by Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, with Senators Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey signed on as co-sponsors.

The bill would put in place regulations on data centers that require them to pay the full cost of providing new electricity services, including any necessary new infrastructure, so that cost is not passed on to individual ratepayer customers. LB 1111 would also require that power suppliers make available to the public the name of the project, developers and owners, location of any proposed data center, its proposed size and electricity demand, as well as details on the customer types and term lengths of contracts with proposed data center customers. The bill also requests that the projects have a decommissioning plan and a Community Benefits Agreement.

Bold Nebraska founder Jane Kleeb will deliver public testimony in support of LB 1111 at today’s hearing, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Room 1023 at the Nebraska State Capitol. Bold is also encouraging Nebraskans to submit comments and contact Senators to support LB 1111.

Testimony of Jane Kleeb in support of LB 1111

Chair Brandt and Members of the Natural Resources Committee:

My name is Jane Kleeb. I am the Founder and Executive Director of Bold and I live in Hastings. I testify today in support of LB 1111.

Right from the beginning, I want to be clear that Bold is not advocating that data centers can not be built. First and foremost, we do not believe any corporation should have access to the use of eminent domain for their private gain.

That holds true for data centers.

Bold is advocating for guardrails on an industry that is growing fast, using resources, has very little transparency and is leaving very little money behind for those that live near these massive projects let alone our counties and the state.

We can lead the nation in providing a clear path, which I believe LB 1111 does, on basic steps a data center must take including community benefit agreements and dividends like Bold did with the recent Tallgrass project here in Nebraska or the Flikertail project in North Dakota.

Bold is deeply concerned about the electricity sales and rate data which shows skyrocketing demand for electricity by commercial customers, including data centers. Over the past three years, commercial electricity sales have increased by an astonishing 34%, for the first time exceeding both residential and industrial sales. During this same period, electricity rates for commercial customers decreased by five percent while rates for residential customers increased by seven percent. That’s a twelve percent spread.

Since 1990, when the federal government began collecting this data, there has never been as large an increase in demand in any sector, and there has never been as large a divergence between residential and commercial electricity rates. These circumstances are unprecedented.

Something big is happening. And that something big is data centers.

While the state’s public utilities might have an explanation for jacking up residential rates while lowering commercial rates, it seems likely that these remarkable changes are the result of data center construction and operation. My understanding is that there are now approximately 40 data centers operating, under construction, or planned in Nebraska, including at least three hyperscale centers in the Omaha area. We have heard rumors that this number is closer to 80.

Why are data centers building in Nebraska? One factor is our low electricity prices. The federal data shows that Nebraska’s commercial electricity rates are significantly lower than all of its neighboring states.

(Source: U.S. Energy Information Agency)

Operating in Nebraska substantially reduces data center electricity bills. The only state that comes close to our commercial rates is Wyoming, and it, too, has experienced a major spike in commercial sector electricity demand.

We enjoy low rates in part because utilities in Nebraska are 100 percent publicly owned, meaning our rates don’t include profit and return on investment for billionaires. Our state’s leaders wisely decided that utilities should be publicly owned.

If current trends continue, this legacy of affordable public power could be squandered to serve the interests of data centers. They will demand construction of expensive new generation and transmission infrastructure and seek to load the cost of these facilities onto the backs of hardworking Nebraskans. Low-cost electricity could end.

LB 1111 would require that data centers pay the full freight for their energy costs and prevent the transfer of these costs to other types of ratepayers. That’s only fair. LB 1111 also facilitates self-generation by data centers, including via renewable energy, as this will help ensure that data centers bear the costs if (or when) their industry booms and busts. It also requires decommissioning plans, just as are required for renewable energy facilities, so local communities are not left with disintegrating eyesores, and it requires that data centers negotiate community benefit agreements that help mitigate local impacts.

Nebraskans are deeply concerned about the potential impacts of data centers on electricity costs, water, and local communities. They distrust the billionaire class and politicians who allow our tax dollars and our land to be used by them.

I ask the Committee to protect Nebraskans by incorporating the policies contained in LB 1111 into state law.

Thank you for your time and attention.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

A group of House members, all representing districts served by powerful water agencies, has urged the Newsom administration to roll back a key environmental rule governing operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The rule includes critical limits intended to protect the ecological health of the state’s largest and most fragile estuary.

Both the Newsom and Trump administrations have sought to increase water exports this year, easing environmental protections in order to pave the way for large, expensive water infrastructure projects. Environmental, Tribal and fishing organizations have sharply opposed those efforts, warning they would further imperil endangered species such as Chinook salmon and Delta smelt.

Restore the Delta and our partners are now calling on the state to reject proposals to increase pumping and water exports. Weakening or reversing the 25-year-old water quality rule would cause irreversible harm to already threatened habitats, ecosystems, and water supplies that Delta fish and communities depend on.   

“Regulations for water quality are essential to protect communities and ecosystems that live throughout the Bay-Delta. Weakening salinity requirements as requested by these legislators will have a direct and negative impact on Tribes, communities, Delta farms, and the Delta economy. Water quality regulations are meant to protect all beneficial uses and the public trust, not the greed of industry and wealthy agricultural interests,” said Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs at Restore the Delta.

Read the article from E&E News by Politico here.

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These Olympics are first to feature a ban on ‘forever chemicals’ in ski and snowboard wax Monica Amarelo February 12, 2026

For decades, elite skiers and snowboarders chased medals with the help of high-performance wax made with the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. 

Winter sports enthusiasts usually slicked fluorinated, or “fluoro,” wax on the bottom of their equipment. The wax gave athletes a powerful advantage, especially in wet snow, and delivered what some described as “ridiculous” speed, not to mention potential harm to people and the environment. 

Fluorine indicates the likely presence of PFAS. 

But that era is over.

For the first time in Olympic history, the games will be completely free of toxic, fluorinated ski waxes. The shift follows a total ban by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which took effect during the 2023-2024 season. 

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games will serve as the ban’s highest-profile test yet. 

These Olympics mark a turning point for athlete safety, environmental protection and the global effort to phase out toxic forever chemicals. 

How the ban works

In 2019, the federation announced plans to ban fluorinated waxes. But enforcement required reliable ways to detect fluorine on race skis, a process that took several seasons to perfect.

In 2023, the International Biathlon Union also banned ski preparation products containing fluoro chemicals. Top-tier events, including the World Cup and World Championships, began to conduct mandatory PFAS tests. Random tests were also introduced at lower-level competitions to ensure the rule applied across the sport, not just on its biggest stages.

Officials are enforcing the rule at these Olympics, ensuring they take place on a level, fluorine-free playing field. Every pair of skis competing at the Olympics will be tested for the presence of fluorine. Athletes can be disqualified if random checks for fluorinated compounds detect them.

In fact, two Olympic skiers, Han Dasom and Lee Eui-jin of South Korea, were banned from these games after tests found PFAS on their skis. 

Why were PFAS used in ski wax?

At the highest levels of competition, even just a few fractions of a second can mean the difference between earning the gold and going home empty-handed. That’s why, since the 1980s, elite skiers and snowboarders have turned to these types of waxes.

PFAS repel water and reduce friction, allowing skis and snowboards to glide more quickly, particularly in wet snow and slush. In events where glide can determine who reaches the podium, that water-shedding power translated into a measurable competitive advantage.

Over time, manufacturers developed more concentrated forms of PFAS to boost the speed advantage. But the performance jump came at a steep cost.

Application of fluoro wax requires heat, and technicians often worked in dedicated enclosed cabins where fumes could build up. 

Those technicians, many of whom worked daily with the products, faced some of the highest exposures, inhaling vaporized PFAS season after season of working with the contaminated wax. As evidence mounted about the chemicals’ health and environmental harms, the competitive edge they provided became harder to justify. These concerns paved the way for the ban.

Environmental contamination from ski wax 

The environmental impact is also significant. With use, wax continuously wears off equipment, shedding tiny particles into the snow. Studies measuring PFAS in melted snow, nearby soil and aquifers and surface water after ski competitions have found strikingly high concentrations of these toxic “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment or in our bodies. But contamination doesn’t stay on the mountain. PFAS from decades of fluorinated wax use can persist in alpine ecosystems, leaching into waterways and moving through food chains, affecting wildlife and downstream communities for decades.

The health risks of PFAS exposure

As the science became clearer, so did the stakes. Was a marginal gain in speed worth exposing elite athletes, technicians and communities to chemicals that can cause long-term health issues?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected PFAS in the blood of 99% of Americans, including newborn babies.

Very low doses of PFAS have been linked to suppression of the immune system. Studies show exposure to PFAS can also increase the risk of cancer, harm fetal development and reduce vaccine effectiveness, among other serious health concerns.

What this means for consumers

Consumers shouldn’t have to bear the burden of protecting themselves from toxic chemicals. That is the responsibility of federal regulators. But until laws catch up with the science, informed choices protect both your personal health and the winter environment you love.

Ski wax is just one item on a long list of products historically treated with these chemicals. Many states, like Maine and Minnesota, are banning PFAS in consumer products, but the chemicals can still be found in certain foods and in soil, as well as some sources of drinking water, nonstick cookware, firefighting foam, personal care products, textiles and many others.

In April 2024, EWG President Ken Cook spoke with Peter Arlein, a former ski-shop wax technician who decided to take matters into his own hands. He founded the Colorado-based company mountainFLOW, which produces ski wax and bicycle lubricants without PFAS. You can listen to that episode here.

If you ski or snowboard recreationally, you can enjoy the snow without the toxic footprint. PFAS-free wax is now widely available and highly effective.

• Ask before you wax. If you get your equipment professionally serviced, ask your local shop what type of wax they use. Many shops have already pivoted to PFAS-free alternatives, and some manufacturers have stopped producing fluorinated wax entirely.
• Check the label. If you apply wax yourself, look for products labeled PFAS-free or fluoro-free. Companies like Colorado-based mountainFLOW have pioneered high-performance wax made without toxic chemicals.
• Safety first. When applying any wax at home, work in a well-ventilated area. Even with safer PFAS-free alternatives, it is a good practice to wear a mask during the heating and scraping process to avoid inhaling fine particles.

Areas of Focus Toxic Chemicals PFAS Chemicals Here’s why it’s relevant beyond the slopes Authors Monica Amarelo February 12, 2026

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