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CopperTech Metals has entered a strategic partnership with Axiom Group, VBKOM and Fleet Space Technologies to deploy next-generation geoscience technologies at its Konkola copper mine in Zambia.

CopperTech, a US-domiciled company launched by India’s Vedanta Resources last November, holds a majority stake in the asset through its subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).

Considered one of the highest-grade copper-producing assets in the world, Konkola features ore grades of 2.9% to 3.3% and has combined reserves/resources of roughly 16 million tonnes of copper.

The new company said it intends to further develop this resource by leveraging advanced mining and AI-driven technologies. This collaboration will accelerate subsurface insights, improve decision velocity and strengthen CopperTech’s resource development capabilities, it said in Wednesday’s release.

The partnership brings together Axiom’s geoscience and VBKOM’s mining systems expertise and Fleet Space’s ExoSphere platform, a space-enabled, AI-powered data and analytics system, to enhance how near-mine exploration and resource definition are undertaken.

“CopperTech is deploying innovative technologies at KCM to strengthen our vertically integrated mining operations from exploration to metal production,” CopperTech CEO Deshnee Naidoo said in a news release.

“This strategic partnership with Axiom, VBKOM and Fleet brings together world-class partners to integrate advanced geoscience technology and earth-based applications to enhance exploration accuracy, target definition and resource confidence.”

Through this partnership, Axiom will embed Fleet’s ExoSphere and conduct a high-resolution 3-D seismic survey covering the orebody and proximal areas at KCM, generating high-resolution 3-D OBK (ore body knowledge) models, AI-driven drill targeting insights, and integrated geoscience intelligence that supports data-rich drill campaign design and execution.

This approach enables faster learning cycles, reduces exploration uncertainty and enhances the efficiency of resource delineation in complex geological settings, the Saskatchewan-based company said.

“Our work with CopperTech, VBKOM and Fleet Space represents a new model for how mining companies deploy innovation, not just to accelerate geological understanding and drill confidence, but to build long-term capability and competitiveness,” Axion CEO Doug Engdahl stated.

“By combining our global technical experience and leadership with Fleet’s real-time data systems, we are driving a change in speed, precision and confidence in exploration decision-making.”

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler

Want to lower your carbon footprint? Consider ditching your car. 

In a 2025 study, researchers at the World Resources Institute found that going car-free is the most effective step individuals can take to lower their personal emissions. In fact, it has a bigger impact than adding a home solar system and going vegan combined, they wrote, and 78 times more effective than composting.

But in much of the U.S., getting around without a car is difficult, if not impossible, due to overwhelmingly car-centric infrastructure. However, while going car-free may be hard for many Americans to imagine, this could change. As cities like Amsterdam and Paris have shown, when governments take decisive action to reduce car dependency, the results can be dramatic.

Moreover, the remedies for car dependency are well understood, at least at a high level. Decades’ worth of research from universities, government agencies, nonprofits, and design firms has created a significant body of knowledge about how to reduce reliance on cars.

Susan Handy, who leads the National Center for Sustainable Transportation at the University of California at Davis, said the main takeaways of this research are clear and compelling. 

“When people live in more compact communities where they’re in closer proximity to the places they need to go, and when they have good alternatives to driving – meaning good bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and decent transit service – they will, in fact, drive less,” she said.

(Image credit: Tejvan Pettinger / CC BY 2.0)

Must-haves for reducing reliance on cars

In 2025, Kostas Mouratidis, a professor at the University of Copenhagen, published a peer-reviewed study identifying seven strategies that have successfully reduced car dependency in Western European cities.

Two of these strategies – raising awareness about the benefits of reducing car dependency and supporting compact cities through policy – are prerequisites for the others to succeed, he wrote.

Awareness-raising is vital to creating buy-in and shaping public behavior. This can take many forms, including open streets events, which temporarily close roads to vehicles and open them to other uses. Found everywhere from Bogotá to Tucson, these events demonstrate how space currently devoted to cars could be used for things like cycling, walking, and entertainment. In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan has used open streets days to build support for permanent pedestrianization.

Governments can also use information and incentives to raise awareness about alternatives to driving. In Portland, Oregon, households moving into some multifamily buildings receive a welcome packet from the municipality containing several hundred dollars’ worth of credits for bikeshare and public transportation, along with advice for navigating the area without a car. 

This and similar initiatives take advantage of the fact that people are more likely to change their transportation habits when their lives are already in flux, said Stefanie Seskin, the director of policy and practice at the National Association of City Transportation Officials. 

“Because you’re already moving and you’re changing your patterns, it’s a great time to try riding a bike, to try walking places, to try taking TriMet, [Portland’s] transit system,” she said.

Policies that make communities denser by locating buildings and amenities closer together are also critical for sustainable transportation to flourish. 

“Without a relatively compact urban form, you cannot expect people to be able to walk or cycle to destinations that they need to cover their daily needs,” Mouratidis said.

One vital mechanism for achieving this is zoning. In many American communities, zoning regulations make it illegal to build anything other than single-family homes on 75% of residential land. Changing this policy allows apartment buildings and small businesses to pop up in areas where they have historically been prohibited, allowing more people to walk or cycle to amenities close to their homes. 

Zoning changes can also lower the number of off-street parking spots developers are required to build for different building types, freeing up space that allows structures to be built closer to one another. Since parking is expensive to build, parking reform can also make neighborhoods more affordable.

Limiting private vehicles and investing in alternatives

Once communities reach sufficient levels of public buy-in and urban density, five additional strategies can successfully help people shift away from their cars, Mouratidis said. (Governments don’t need to wait to implement them until they’ve fully attained these goals, however, he stresses.) 

These strategies are:

• Investing in public transportation
• Improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure
• Restricting car use
• Supporting shared mobility (such as car-sharing services)
• Facilitating virtual mobility (such as teleconferencing and online shopping). 

These categories encompass a wide variety of actions. To restrict car use, some cities turn to congestion pricing programs in which drivers must pay to enter designated areas. Building on successful programs in Singapore, London, and Stockholm, New York City became the first U.S. city to implement congestion pricing in early 2025, charging cars $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours. In the program’s first year, 27 million fewer vehicles entered the affected area.

Investments in public transportation, pedestrian infrastructure, and bike lanes are also critical to reducing car dependency. Although many U.S. cities are struggling to fund existing public transit systems, some have found ways to not only maintain current services but also expand and improve them. In New York City, congestion pricing proceeds are being used to maintain and upgrade the city’s subways, buses, and commuter trains. In Virginia, the state government has dramatically increased its investment in public transportation as well as pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the past decade.

Illinois offers another promising model for supporting financially vulnerable public transportation systems. A law signed by Governor JB Pritzker in late 2025 designated $1.5 billion dollars annually for mass transit in Chicago and elsewhere in the state, with part of the funding coming from gas sales taxes that were diverted away from road construction. 

This represents a “groundbreaking, transformational investment in Illinois’s transit system,” said Kevin X. Shen, a transportation policy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s not only filling the fiscal cliff gap they faced that was threatening service cuts, but also going over that hump to increase transit service in ways that are needed for communities across the state.”

Big cities aren’t the only ones investing in alternatives to the car. In Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus that’s home to approximately 50,000 people, the local government is helping extend existing bus lines, upgrading bus stops, working with regional partners to introduce bus rapid transit service, upgrading its bicycle infrastructure, working with companies that provide bike- and scooter-share programs, and partnering with developers and designers to build walkable neighborhoods. 

Obstacles to reducing car dependency

Despite these and other success stories, reliance on cars is growing around the world, Mouratidis said. 

“Car ownership is increasing, the sales of cars are increasing, and overall, little is done towards reducing car dependence,” he said. “Globally, we have some cities that are quite pioneering in reducing car dependence. But besides those, there is little that is done.”

One challenge is that although government officials may understand the high-level solutions, many aren’t sure how to implement them on the ground. 

“Anybody going through a master’s of city planning program now is probably familiar with the research about how the built environment affects car dependence,” Handy said. “[But] even if the planners and the public officials know something about that research and believe that this is what they should be trying to do, they don’t necessarily know how to do it.”

Moreover, governments often lack the support and resources they need to make progress on this issue. Opposition from NIMBY (which stands for “not in my backyard”) groups and others can block progress. 

“There’s definitely a solid base of knowledge of what works,” Seskin said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that what works is initially popular, though. And I think that’s where things get tricky.” 

The private sector also plays a vital role in determining how this issue plays out. Many businesses and other organizations take steps that reduce car dependency. For example, employer-run programs to shift people from cars to other modes of transportation are the most common and popular initiatives of this type in the country, Seskin said. 

But other private-sector actions are less beneficial. For example, developers and financiers often slow attempts to make communities more compact, since they, not governments, ultimately determine exactly what gets built where. 

“There’s a lot of inertia and risk aversion in the development community, so that’s why we keep getting the same stuff that we always get – because that’s what the private sector knows how to do,” Handy said.

Groups with economic interests in maintaining the status quo are another major barrier to progress, said Shen, who was the lead author of a 2024 report about car dependence in the U.S. 

“We found that the oil, auto, and roadbuilding industries receive more than 80% of the over $2 trillion in yearly public and private transportation spending,” he said. “And if you look through our history, they’ve lobbied for decades to prioritize cars over a more complete or affordable set of transportation options.”

“Our transportation system isn’t just a blank slate where people are vying for the best technical solution,” he said. “There are industries with real financial interests in shaping how we get around.”

Ascot Resources (TSXV: AOT.H) is proposing a rebrand of the troubled company as it looks to a fresh start under a new leadership team, with plans in place for its two projects in British Columbia.

Cambria Gold Mines Inc. — its new name — originates from the “spectacular icefield” located adjacent to the Red Mountain project east of Stewart, BC, Robert McLeod, its new president and CEO, said in a press release on Tuesday.

The new management led by McLeod, a mining executive and geologist from Stewart, views the Red Mountain project as a key part of the company’s new vision to create an integrated mine operation centered around its Premier gold project, which it briefly brought into production in 2024 and is looking to restart again.

Ascot Resources’ shares gained as much as 7.5% on Wednesday, for a market capitalization of C$55.6 million ($41 million). The stock has more than doubled since the start of 2026.

Multiple setbacks

Located 25 km from Stewart, the Premier project is home to a former gold mine that was once the largest in North America. Between 1918 and 1952, the underground mine produced over 2 million oz. gold and 45 million oz. silver.

Ascot has been working to return the historic site to production and successfully poured its first gold in April 2024. However, operations were put on hold after just five months due to insufficient underground development. The company has since faced multiple setbacks in its attempt to restart the operation, eventually placing the mine on care and maintenance in summer 2025 and initiating a strategic review.

Last month, Ascot was also penalized C$142,000 by BC’s environmental regulators for failing to prevent wastes stored at the shuttered gold mine from leaking into a local river, Business in Vancouver reported.

Hub-and-spoke plan

Under the new plan, ore from the Red Mountain project would be blended with high-grade mineralization from the Premier-Northern Lights (PNL) deposit and/or the potentially bulk-mineable mineralization from the Big Missouri deposit, both located at Premier.

According to company estimates, the Red Mountain property hosts measured and indicated resources of 3.19 million tonnes averaging 7.63 grams per tonne gold for 783,000 oz. The deposit is amenable to long-hole stoping, has existing production size underground workings and would provide the majority of mill feed for the Premier mill.

Work to advance permitting of the Red Mountain access road to transport material to Premier was initiated in the fall of 2025, led by the new management team, and included consultation with the Nisga’a Nation. Road construction is expected to begin this spring, upon regulatory approval, the company said.

“Management has been rapidly developing key permitting, geological and engineering elements to develop the Premier and Red Mountain deposits with the goal of a high-grade, hub-and-spoke gold mining operation to feed the recently constructed mill,” McLeod said.

The rebrand follows the company’s recent fundraising for proceeds of C$175 million and completion of debt settlement and restructuring to keep the business running. It also amended its agreement with Sprott to waive deliveries and missed royalty payments in exchange for equity.

21378 In November, less than one-tenth of an inch of rain was recorded at the Sanctuary. In December, we recorded 1.27 inches of rain. This was 74% of the average for the month. By January, the...

Last week, CalCAN staff attended a regenerative tree nut field day at Burroughs Family Farms in Denair, CA. Ward and Rosie Burroughs along with their five grown children grow organic almonds, olive oil, milk, cheese, and pasture-raised eggs and meats.

The post Community and Connection at the Burroughs Regenerative Tree Nut Field Day appeared first on CalCAN - California Climate & Agriculture Network.

A confidential UK government briefing forwarded by former trade envoy Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 highlighted uranium among several “high value” mineral opportunities in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, according to a BBC report.

The document, prepared by UK officials for Andrew during an official visit to Helmand that December, outlined investment prospects tied to “significant high value mineral deposits” and the “potential for low cost extraction,” including uranium, thorium, gold, iridium and marble, as well as possible oil and gas resources.

In an accompanying email, Andrew described the material as a “confidential brief produced by the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province,” the BBC reported. The briefing was compiled at a time when Britain was militarily and politically engaged in rebuilding Afghanistan and seeking to encourage commercial development alongside reconstruction efforts.

Afghanistan’s uranium potential has long been noted but remains undeveloped. Much of the country’s geological data derives from Soviet-era surveys conducted in the 1970s and 1980s, which identified uranium occurrences in several provinces, including Helmand. Subsequent assessments by the US Geological Survey have suggested Afghanistan hosts a broad range of strategic minerals, though few deposits have advanced beyond early-stage evaluation.

Uranium market gathers momentum in 2026: Sprott Potential new source

Globally, uranium production is concentrated in a limited number of jurisdictions. Kazakhstan accounts for the largest share of annual output, followed by Canada and Namibia. The nuclear fuel market is sensitive to geopolitical risk and supply concentration. Any new source of production, particularly in a frontier jurisdiction, would carry strategic implications.

Any future extraction in Afghanistan would face substantial security, infrastructure and regulatory hurdles, in addition to strict international safeguards governing uranium trade. Uranium and thorium are dual-use materials: while uranium underpins civilian nuclear power generation, it is subject to global non-proliferation oversight and export controls.

The Afghan briefing was one of several official trade-related documents Andrew appears to have shared with Epstein during his tenure as the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment from 2001 to 2011, the BBC said.

Emails reviewed by the broadcaster suggest additional reports from official visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam were also sent, along with further compressed files labelled “Overseas bids.”

‘Appalling behaviour’

Sir Vince Cable, who was Business Secretary at the time, described the sharing of the Helmand briefing as “appalling behaviour,” according to the BBC.

Thames Valley Police said it is assessing whether a criminal investigation is warranted. In a statement, the force said it is engaging with specialist Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors and that allegations of misconduct in public office involve “particular complexities.”

Andrew has previously denied wrongdoing in relation to his association with Epstein and has rejected suggestions that he used his role as trade envoy to further personal interests. He has not publicly responded to the BBC’s latest report.

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The post Take Action: Tell Senators NO funding for ICE appeared first on Stop the Money Pipeline.

White Gold (TSXV: WGO) will spin off its critical minerals projects located in Canada’s Yukon Territory in a bid to “unlock” the value of its non-gold assets amid a supportive policy environment.

The spin-out will hold six properties that host several large-scale targets prospective for copper, molybdenum, tungsten, antimony, zinc and bismuth, the Yukon-focused explorer said in a statement on Wednesday.

Together, they comprise approximately 15% of White Gold’s claim holdings, estimated at 3,051 km2 covering 21 properties in total.

Some of the key exploration targets – such as the Bridget, Isaac, and Mascot – are situated within the Dawson Range, a prolific mineral belt that hosts several significant copper-gold porphyry deposits in the region, including the Casino deposit, one of the largest undeveloped projects in Canada.

“Spinning these assets into a dedicated vehicle allows them to be advanced more effectively with the technical focus and disciplined exploration strategy they warrant,” White Gold’s VP, exploration Dylan Langille said in a news release.

“Assets such as Bridget, Isaac and Wolf exhibit the size, metal zonation, and geophysical signatures typically associated with large, fertile porphyry systems, yet remain largely untested by drilling,” he added.

Shares of White Gold rose by 4.7% to C$1.57 apiece by midday Wednesday in Toronto, taking its market capitalization to C$311.6 million ($230 million).

Mo-Cu target

In its news release, White Gold highlighted the Bridget target as the most significant to date. It comprises a standout molybdenum-copper porphyry anomaly covering a 3 x 3.5 km area, enriched with tungsten, bismuth and silver.

An initial technical report on this property will be filed in connection with the spin-out, White Gold said.

The other projects offer additional upside potential for antimony and bismuth as secondary metals across orogenic gold, intrusion-related, epithermal and porphyry systems, it added.

Government support

The spin-out process is currently underway and would require shareholder as well as regulatory and court approvals.

“The timing of this proposed spin-out aligns exceptionally well with the strong and growing support we are seeing from both the Yukon and federal governments for the responsible development of critical minerals,” CEO David D’Onofrio said.

“Recent initiatives focused on advancing critical mineral exploration, improving infrastructure, streamlining permitting, and strengthening collaboration across Western and Northern Canada reinforce Yukon’s position as a globally desirable jurisdiction for discovery and development.”

The move would also allow the company to focus solely on advancing its flagship gold project, which hosts four near-surface gold deposits that collectively contain an estimated 1.73 million oz. of gold in indicated resources and 1.27 million oz. in inferred resources.

Today’s delayed report shows the United States added even fewer jobs in 2025 than previously reported. Total job creation in 2025 was revised down from 584,000 to 181,000, or just 15,000 jobs per month. This downward revision is a worrying sign for the economy, despite the modest bump in employment last month. The unemployment rate remains elevated at 4.3%, near its highest level in four years. President Trump promised a jobs boom, but today’s data shows the economy is shedding jobs outside a small number of sectors, and more Americans are struggling to find stable work. Rising underemployment, long-term unemployment, and slow wage growth all point to a labor market buckling under the weight of Trump’s economic mismanagement.

Groundwork Collaborative’s Chief of Policy and Advocacy Alex Jacquez released the following statement:

“Today’s numbers show that the economy spent 2025 treading water while costs surged and families fell further behind. Job growth was dramatically weaker than advertised and concentrated nearly entirely in health care, leaving the rest of the labor market to stall. Opportunities are drying up outside a handful of sectors, and more and more workers are settling for part-time hours or have stopped looking for work entirely. 2025 was a lost year for American workers.”

Ontario shut down coal.
Now let’s finish the job with solar. ☀️

The post The sun is shining on Nanticoke appeared first on Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

Silver extended its run of elevated volatility on Wednesday amid forecasts of stronger investment buying and weak industrial demand in the year ahead.

Spot prices rose as much as 6.6% to over $86 an ounce, near its highest in a week, before erasing some of the gains. The white-colored metal has now recovered a third of its losses suffered during the historic crash in late January.

Rising investment to keep global silver demand steady in 2026, Silver Institute says

Earlier, a report published by the Silver Institute predicts that the market will enter a sixth straight year of deficit, as surging investment in the metal are likely to outweigh a weakening industrial demand.

According to the Institute, demand from sectors led by solar is expected to decline “moderately” in 2026, as manufacturers are now seeking alternatives to silver due to high prices.

Over the past year, silver has rallied to multiple records amid surging safe-haven demand and interest from retail investors. At its peak, the metal’s value increased by nearly four times within a year to over $121 an ounce.

Despite a historic selloff last month, where prices cratered by as much as 36%, silver remains up by more than 160% for the past year.

‘Untradeable’ metal

Given the metal’s volatility, some traders have dubbed the metal “untradeable”– as physical, sellable inventory of the metal is severely limited or unavailable. This is the case in China, where producers and traders are struggling to fill a backlog of orders due to the high speculative demand in recent months, leading to a sharp rise in front-month contract premiums.

“This exceptionally high volatility [in precious metals] is likely to have affected investor confidence,” analysts from Germany’s Commerzbank said recently. However, Aakash Doshi, global head of gold strategy at State Street, reckons that “now the markets have stabilized, you’re seeing dip buying.”

While a wave of investors is expected to lead to a shift in existing silver inventories, it’s wrong to see the market as being in “deficit,” BMO Capital Markets said in a note Wednesday. “A better metric is how the supply of silver compares to the actual consumption of the metal for ornamental or industrial purchases, demand that removes bullion from the market.”

As a result, BMO analysts see silver becoming cheaper relative to gold in the coming years, as physical availability of the metal improves.

Gold, meanwhile, rose by about 1% to above $5,100 an ounce before paring some gains.

(With files from Bloomberg)

Broad coalition of groups condemns illegal inaction, puts EPA on legal notice.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — February 11, 2026

The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to meet a Feb. 7 deadline to designate areas in violation of the strengthened 2024 national air quality standard for soot, as required under the Clean Air Act. These designations are the first step toward bringing dangerous soot pollution levels down into compliance with that health-based standard, which the EPA projects will save thousands of lives annually.

Yesterday, nearly 20 health, community, and environmental groups around the country officially put the EPA on notice of their intent to pursue legal action unless the EPA issues the overdue designations.

“The EPA’s inaction isn’t just illegal; it’s a reckless forsaking of human health,” said Seth Johnson, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “The 2024 soot standard is the law, supported by EPA’s own scientific evidence, so this is an indefensible move. It is absolutely EPA’s legal responsibility to designate the areas that are not in compliance so that they can start taking the commonsense steps the Clean Air Act requires to ensure all Americans breathe clean air. Implementing the 2024 standard is not about assigning blame, it’s about saving lives.”

Last year, EPA reversed course and asked a federal court to strike down the updated National Ambient Air Quality Standard limit for PM2.5, also known as soot, which EPA strengthened in 2024. The rule requires reductions in the amount of deadly pollution in the air people breathe to protect people’s health.  The EPA did not dispute the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the more protective standard and projects the 2024 standard will save 4,500 lives in 2032 alone.

“As physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists who treat patients with lung disease, we know air pollution kills,” said Dr. Alison Lee, MS, ATSF, chair of the American Thoracic Society Environmental Health Policy Committee.  “Exposure to particulate matter pollution triggers asthma attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, heart attacks, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and premature death.  The EPA has a duty to protect the American public from the dangers of air pollution by ensuring all communities meet the existing pollution standards.”

Health, environmental, and community groups, along with a coalition of states led by California, have asked the federal court to uphold the 2024 standard. The case is pending, and the 2024 soot standard remains in effect.

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to designate areas that are in violation of the standard as “nonattainment” and put them on a path to clean air, but the agency has failed to do so by the legally required deadline. The most recent official data shows over 75 million people live in counties that have air quality that violates the 2024 soot standard. Read more about Earthjustice’s analysis of EPA’s failed implementation.

Soot pollution stems largely from burning fossil fuels for electricity, manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture. It causes premature death and is further linked to cancer, asthma attacks, and hospitalizations and emergency room visits for severe heart and lung diseases.

See national data on soot and smog pollution.

The groups sending the letter announcing possible legal action are Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, American Thoracic Society, Center for Biological Diversity, Northeast Ohio Community Resilience Centre (Cleveland, OH), Rio Grande International Study Center (Laredo, TX), RiSE4EJ (Kansas City, KS & MO), and Sierra Club, all represented by Earthjustice; NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council); Environmental Defense Fund; Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Clean Air Council, Conservation Law Foundation, and Michigan Environmental Council, all represented by Clean Air Task Force; and CleanAIRE NC,  Savannah Riverkeeper, and Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, all represented by Southern Environmental Law Center.

“By failing to make timely designations, EPA has once again failed to take mandatory action to safeguard public health under the Clean Air Act and instead subverts its obligation to regulate air pollution and hold polluters accountable,” said Hayden Hashimoto, attorney at Clean Air Task Force. “EPA’s own findings show that reducing soot pollution would save thousands of lives, yet the Trump administration’s EPA has ignored the science in its efforts to dismantle Clean Air Act regulations. EPA’s inaction blatantly disregards the law it claims to be following – and our communities will suffer.”

“The 2024 PM2.5 standard represents a step towards stronger public health protections, especially for communities who are disproportionately harmed by continuous exposure to particulate matter. Delaying designations puts Midwest communities that need it the most at continued risk and represents a step backwards for ensuring that no community, and no child, is left to breathe unhealthy air regardless of their zip code,” said Beto Lugo Martinez, of RiSE4EJ, a Kansas City-based group.

“Nurses witness firsthand the toll that air pollution, especially particle pollution, has on people’s health,” said Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN, executive director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. “Nurses advocated for a strong and health protective PM2.5 standard because the science is clear – soot pollution harms health.  It is critical that EPA fulfill its legal obligation to protect communities across the country from hazardous air pollution.”

“Particle pollution kills thousands of people in the United States each year,” said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association. “The Lung Association and other health organizations championed these limits on soot because the science is clear: they will save lives and prevent asthma attacks. But that promise is only fulfilled if EPA does its job and ensures that places with unhealthy levels of soot put in place measures to clean it up. EPA’s failure to take this step on time means people will suffer health harms that should have been prevented.”

“Particulate matter pollution can cause asthma attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and premature death. It can harm even the healthiest, but millions of individuals across the U.S. are at greater risk if they have respiratory disease or are one of the nearly 25 million Americans with asthma. PM exposure also disproportionately impacts the health of low-income and minority communities, who often live near polluting sources,” said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.  “EPA must act now to designate areas that are not meeting the 2024 standards and hold them accountable to protect the public’s health.”

“Every day of the Trump EPA’s illegal delay is another day that over 75 million people across the country are exposed to soot pollution that kills, causes cancer, and chokes lungs,” said Ryan Maher, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Instead of shielding children, the elderly and pregnant people, who are all especially vulnerable to soot pollution, the EPA is protecting only the profits of the industries creating the filthy air.”

“Trump’s EPA is trying to weaken a life-saving health standard and keep the public in the dark about where the air is unsafe — so polluters can dodge the cleanup the law requires,” said John Walke, senior attorney and director of federal clean air at NRDC. “That’s like disabling the smoke detector and telling families to sleep through the danger.”

“EPA’s attempt to delay or dodge its obligation to give states the tools they need to reduce deadly soot pollution puts Southern communities at even greater risk, especially communities of color and those living below the poverty line often surrounded by industry,” said Caroline Cress, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Cities including Atlanta, Augusta, and Charlotte can’t afford for EPA to continue to push off designating these areas where people are already suffering from the serious health risks of breathing unhealthy air.”

“The Clean Air Act is not a suggestion; it is a mandate to protect the very air we breathe,” said Jeffrey Robbins, executive director of CleanAIRE NC. “By missing this deadline, the EPA is effectively choosing to leave millions of Americans in the dark about the safety of their air while delaying the urgent work of reducing deadly soot pollution.”

“Augusta communities have some of the highest asthma rates in the nation, and our health suffers because of poor air quality,” said Tonya Bonitatibus of Savannah Riverkeeper. “Instead of protecting human health, EPA is catering to industry and ignoring the very real risks communities are facing. Our children’s health and ability to breathe should take priority over industry saving money on air quality control controls.”

“EPA’s delay is unlawful and deadly,” said Rachel Briggs, staff attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “Soot pollution kills, and every day the agency fails to act is another day communities are left unprotected. The law is clear, the science is clear, and EPA must do its job.”

“When people inhale soot, the particles are so small that they can pass through the lungs directly into a person’s bloodstream,” said Lawrence Hafetz, legal director of Clean Air Council. “The EPA ignoring its duty to identify areas with illegally high soot levels means more unnecessary funerals, heart attacks, and cardiovascular disease, as well as more children sickened with asthma.”

“Delaying action on deadly soot pollution is a moral and regulatory failure that puts communities of color and vulnerable families at greater risk,” said Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light. “Caring for our shared Sacred Earth means ensuring that no one is forced to sacrifice their health just to breathe. Everyone deserves the right to clean air.”

“Soot is one of the deadliest types of pollution, and it puts people across the country at increased risk of serious illnesses and early deaths,” said Richard Yates, clean power attorney at Environmental Defense Fund. “EPA’s designation of areas is essential to efforts to limit this pollution in the air we breathe. But EPA has now entirely failed to make any designations – leaving numerous counties with unhealthy levels of soot. EPA must take the actions required by law to protect communities nationwide from this dangerous pollution.”

Members of Congress blasted the Trump administration for censoring American history on Tuesday while demanding answers about how Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is using the National Park Service to facilitate corruption through the president’s “Freedom 250” group.

The hearing in the House Natural Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee was dominated by questions about the National Park Service’s removal of signs about slavery and Indigenous Americans, as well as questions following a New York Times report that Freedom 250 is offering donors access to President Donald Trump for $1 million and up.

Freedom 250 is part of the congressionally-chartered National Park Foundation. During the hearing, foundation president and CEO Jeff Reinbold said the foundation created Freedom 250 at the request of the Park Service, and that it will grant anonymity to donors who request it. Reinbold also said he would not provide Congress with any contracts signed by Freedom 250 donors.

Rep. Maxine Dexter of Oregon, the ranking member on the subcommittee, said Freedom 250’s secrecy was a problem. “Hiding the flow of money means we never get to know whether he is selling more than access to his donors,” she said.

Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, testified that park rangers are struggling with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order to sanitize history in the parks.

“We are citizens of a nation with a fascinating, diverse and complex history,” Spears said. “We need the leadership of the National Park Service, unimpaired, to help us enhance our understanding of our shared experiences when it comes to American history. We want the full story.”

Quick hits Trump administration removes Pride flag from Stonewall National Monument; NYC to fly its own

Associated Press | New York Times | CNN | CBS News | Gothamist | Guardian | Washington Post | USA Today

Sweeping new rules restrict all aspects of national park communications

SFGate

Interior dept. orders all non-English content removed from websites

Federal News Network

Congress highlights history purge, corruption at Freedom 250 hearing

Associated Press | National Parks Traveler | E&E News

Major corporations spend millions to back Freedom 250 propaganda

Popular Information

Trump to repeal endangerment finding on Thursday

E&E News

How the fracking boom put an oil field in the Guadalupe River floodplain

Texas Tribune

Opinion: Land seizure advocates are using wishful thinking

Lewiston Tribune

Quote of the day

Yes, we need to celebrate how far America has come, but how the hell do we know how far we’ve come if we erase the history? How is that patriotic?”

—Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon, House Natural Resources Committee

 

Picture This

@thestonewallinn

Taking down a flag does not erase our history. But it does remind us why we cannot rely solely on governments to tell it.

Featured image: Rep. Jared Huffman during the House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on America250, Freedom 250, and censorship of American history. Screen capture: House Natural Resources Committee.

The post Corruption, censorship take center stage at Freedom 250 hearing appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

The Trump administration has a clear communication objective: Flood the zone with bad news to overwhelm us, keep us off-balance, and make us feel like we can’t stop their regressive and oppressive policies.

But even amidst this constant barrage, other patterns emerge.

They aren’t always easy to see — especially when the authoritarian objective is to convince you to close your eyes and ears. But when you do finally recognize these patterns, a hidden truth can begin to make itself clear.

For example, a few weeks ago I started to see a particular phrase in news headlines. And because I read hundreds of headlines and articles every day — the curse of working in the news business — I saw a pattern: The phrase “despite Trump.”

It appeared in The New York Times, which reported “Renewable Energy Is Booming Despite Trump’s Efforts to Slow It.”

It also showed up the Los Angeles Times, which carried the news that “Green Energy Stocks Surge Despite Trump’s Policies.”

Reuters, meanwhile, reported that “Europe Commits to Wind Energy Expansion Despite Trump Criticism.”

And that was just the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg. Other headlines crossed my desk in rapid succession:

• • EV Charging Keeps Expanding Despite Trump (Canary Media)
  • Despite Trump, Renewable Energy Keeps Surging (Yale Climate Connections)
  • “Why Companies Are Phasing Out These Super-Pollutants Despite Trump”(The Washington Post)
  • States Will Keep Pushing AI Laws Despite Trump’s Efforts to Stop Them (Stateline)
  • Clean Energy Is Still Booming in the U.S. Despite Trump’s Best Efforts(Fast Company)
  • Chart: Clean Energy Remains Dominant in the U.S. — Despite Trump(Canary Media)
  • Despite Trump, 2025 Saw Deeper Engagement With Climate Crisis (The Indian Express)
  • Solar Power and Battery Storage Are Booming Despite Trump Policy Whiplash Amid Data Center Demand(Fortune)
  • Despite Trump Admin’s Efforts, Coal Mining in Utah and the West Falls Flat(The Salt Lake Tribune)
  • Climate Action in 2026: Progress Despite Trump Rollbacks (Capital News Service)
  • Towns Built on Coal Pivot to New Businesses Despite Trump’s Coal Agenda (Associated Press)
  • Global Investment in Renewable Energy Up 10% on 2024 Despite Trump Rollback (The Guardian)
  • S. Cities Drive Energy Transition Despite Trump Resistance (Context)

Most of those had to do with renewable energy, which … despite Trump … continues to grow because it just makes business, economic, and ethical sense.

A few of the headlines, although not enough, pointed out progress in other areas:

• • Despite Trump Funding Freeze, Milwaukee Church Planted Oasis of Trees(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
  • Despite Trump Chaos, NSF Avoided Feared Dip in Research Financing(Science)
  • Seven Environmental Wins Across the U.S. in 2025 Despite Trump-Era Reversals (The Guardian)

That feels a little less dramatic than the pattern of good news about renewables, but the core message remains: People and businesses continue to stand up against the Trump administration and succeed in many other ways, often by working together and demanding change — because change is inevitable.

Once you see the “despite Trump” pattern, you see it even when news sites don’t use the phrase: The protests in Minneapolis and other cities; the rapid growth of mutual aid networks; the handful of Republican legislators stepping across the aisle to vote their consciences; the journalists standing up for the first amendment; the election officials refusing to back down as the Trump administration tries to throw monkey wrenches into the midterm elections; the governments teaming up to rebalance international power dynamics; the millions of tiny actions taking place every day, around the country, around the world, to protect people, systems, the environment, human rights, and so much more.

That’s not enough, of course. It can never be in enough in an era where masked enforcers shoot people down in the streets, where the system systematically covers up the crimes of rich abusers, where anti-regulation extremism has crippled the federal government’s climate programs, and where the president constantly seeks revenge on his perceived enemies, fantasizes about nonexistent voter fraud, and threatens to take over elections.

Still, it shows that we’re making progress despite all of that (and more). And maybe the fact that the president can’t destroy renewable energy — no matter how hard he tries — tells us there are other things he can’t destroy and other progress we can keep making.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I understand the impulse to wrap yourself in a warm blanket and shield your eyes and ears and soul from the constant painful input.

But I encourage you: Let some of that information in. Process it. Look for patterns. Look for growth. Look for opportunities. Look for the signal hiding in the noise that can help you move forward — and maybe help us all move forward in the process.

And do all of that despite Trump.

Republish this article for free! Read our reprint policy. Previously in The Revelator:

12 Environmental Commentaries That Defined Our Year in 2025

The post The Two Words Giving Me Hope — Even As the Trump Administration Dismantles More Climate Regulations appeared first on The Revelator.

Warming is accelerating, threatening a cascade of tipping points that destabilize the climate. In a new paper, scientists say the risk of "hothouse Earth" is greater than once believed.

Read more on E360 →

We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight.

This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter. Subscribe for free here. This is the last edition of Cropped for 2025. The newsletter will return on 14 January 2026.

Key developments Economic risks from nature loss

RISKY BUSINESS: The “undervaluing” of nature by businesses is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a new report covered by Carbon Brief. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) “business and biodiversity” report “urg[ed] companies to act now or potentially face extinction themselves”, Reuters wrote. 

BUSINESS ACTION: The report was agreed at an IPBES meeting in Manchester last week. Speaking to Carbon Brief at the meeting, IPBES chair, Dr David Obura, said the findings showed that “all sectors” of business “need to respond to biodiversity loss and minimise their impacts”. Bloomberg quoted Prof Stephen Polasky, co-chair of the report, as saying: “Too often, at present, what’s good for business is bad for nature and vice-versa.” 

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JAPAN’S TAKEOFF: Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, announced on 2 February that the country became the first in the world to extract rare earths from the deep seabed after successful retrievals near Minamitori Island, in the central Pacific Ocean, according to Asia Financial. The country hailed the move as a “first step toward industrialisation of domestically produced rare earth” metals, Takaichi said. 

URGENT CALL: On 5 February, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) secretary general, Leticia Reis de Carvalho, called on EU officials to “quickly agree on an international rule book on the extraction of critical minerals in international waters”, due to be finalised later this year, Euractiv reported. The bloc has supported a proposed moratorium on deep-sea mining. However, the US has “taken the opposite approach”, fast-tracking a single permit for exploration and exploitation of seabed resources, and “might be pushing the EU – and others” to follow suit, the outlet added.

CAUTIONARY COMMENT: In the Inter Press Service, the former president of the Seychelles and a Swiss philanthropist highlighted the important role of African leadership in global ocean governance. It called for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining due to the potential harmful effects of this extractive activity on biodiversity, food security and the economy. They wrote: “The accelerating push for deep-sea mining activities also raises concerns about repeating historic patterns seen in other extractive sectors across Africa.”

News and views

• ARGENTINE AUSTERITY: The Argentinian government’s response to the worst wildfires to hit Patagonia “in decades” has been hindered by president Javier Milei’s “gutting” of the country’s fire-management agency, the Associated Press reported. Carbon Brief covered a new rapid-attribution analysis of the fires, which found that climate change made the hot, dry conditions that preceded the fires more than twice as likely.
• CRISIS IN SOMALIA: The Somali government has begun “emergency talks” to address the drought that is gripping much of the country, according to Shabelle Media. The outlet wrote that the “crisis has reached a critical stage” amid “worsening shortages of water, food and pasture threatening both human life and livestock”.
• FOOD PRICES FALL: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s “food price index” – a measure of the costs of key food commodities around the world – fell in January for the fifth month in a row. The fall was driven by decreases in the price of dairy, meat and sugar, which “more than offset” increasing prices of cereals and vegetable oil, according to the FAO.
• HIGH STANDARDS: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol launched a new standard for companies to measure emissions and carbon removals from land use and emerging technologies. BusinessGreen said that the standard is “expected to provide a boost to the expanding carbon removals and carbon credit sectors by providing an agreed measurement protocol”.
• RUNNING OUT OF TIME: Negotiators from the seven US states that share the Colorado River basin met in Washington DC ahead of a 14 February deadline for agreeing a joint plan for managing the basin’s reservoirs. The Colorado Sun wrote: “The next agreement will impact growing cities, massive agricultural industries, hydroelectric power supplies and endangered species for years to come.” 
• CORAL COVER: Malaysia has lost around 20% of its coral reefs since 2022, “with reef conditions continuing to deteriorate nationwide”, the Star – a Malaysian online news outlet – reported. The ongoing decline has many drivers, it added, including a global bleaching event in 2024, pollution and unsustainable tourism and development.

Spotlight Aftershocks of US exiting major nature-science body

This week, Carbon Brief reports on the impacts of the US withdrawal from the global nature-science panel, IPBES.

The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw the US from the world’s main expert panel that advises policymakers on biodiversity and ecosystem science “harms everybody, including themselves”.

That’s according to Dr David Obura, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, or IPBES.  

IPBES is among the dozens of international organisations dealing with the fallout from the US government’s announcement last month. 

The panel’s chief executive, Dr Luthando Dziba, told Carbon Brief that the exit impacts both the panel’s finances and the involvement of important scientists. He said: 

“The US was one of the founding members of IPBES…A lot of US experts contribute to our assessments and they’ve led our assessments in various capacities. They’ve also served in various official bodies of the platform.”

Obura told Carbon Brief that “it’s very important to try and keep pushing through with the knowledge and keep doing the work that we’re doing”. He said he hopes the US will rejoin in future. 

Carbon Brief attended the first IPBES meeting since Trump’s announcement, held last week in Manchester. At the meeting, countries finalised a new “business and biodiversity” report. 

For the first time in the 14-year history of IPBES, there was no US government delegation present at the meeting, although some US scientists attended in other roles. 

Cashflow impacts

Dziba is still waiting for official confirmation of the US withdrawal, but impacts were being felt even before last month’s announcement. 

Budget information [pdf] from last October shows that the US contributed the most money to IPBES of any country in 2024 – around $1.2m. In 2025, when Trump took office, it sent $0, as of October. 

Despite this, IPBES actually received around $1.2m extra funding from countries in 2025, compared to 2024, as other nations filled the gap. 

The UK, for example, increased its contribution from around $367,000 in 2024 to more than $1.7m in 2025. The EU, which did not contribute in 2024 but tends to make multi-year payments, paid around $2.7m last year. These two payments made up the bulk of the increase in overall funding. 

Wider effects of US exit 

Dziba said IPBES is looking at other ways of boosting funds in future, but noted that lost income is not the only concern: 

“For us, the withdrawal of the US is actually much larger than just the budgetary implications, because you can find somebody who can come in and increase the contribution and close that gap. 

“The US has got thousands of leading experts in the fields where we undertake assessments. We know that some of them work for [the] government and maybe [for] those it will be more challenging for them to continue…But there are many other experts that we hope, in some way, will still be able to contribute to the work of the platform.” 

One person trying to keep US scientists involved is Prof Pam McElwee, a professor of human ecology at Rutgers University. She told Carbon Brief that “there are still a tonne of American scientists and other civil society organisations that want to stand up”. 

McElwee and others have looked at ways for US scientists to access funding to continue working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which the US has also withdrawn from. She said they will try and do the same at IPBES, adding: 

“It’s basically a bottom-up initiative…to make the message clear that scientists in the US still support these institutions and we still are part of them.

“Climate science is what it is and we can’t deny or withdraw from it. So we’ll just keep trying to represent it as best we can.” 

Watch, read, listen

UNDER THE SEA: An article in bioGraphic explored whether the skeletons of dead corals “help or hinder recovery” on bleached reefs. 

MOSSY MOORS: BBC News covered how “extinct moss” is being reintroduced in some English moors in an effort to “create diverse habitats for wildlife”. 

RIBBIT: Scientists are “racing” to map out Ecuador’s “unique biological heritage of more than 700 frog species”, reported Dialogue Earth. 

MEAT COMEBACK: Grist examined the rise and fall of vegan fine dining.  

New science

• Areas suitable for grazing animals could shrink by 36-50% by 2100 due to continued climate change, with areas of extreme poverty and political fragility experiencing the highest losses | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• The body condition of Svalbard polar bears increased after 2000, in a period of rapid loss of ice cover | Scientific Reports
• Studies projecting the possibility of reversing biodiversity loss are scarce and most do not account for additional drivers of loss, such as climate change, according to a meta-analysis of more than 55 papers | Science Advances

In the diary

• 9-12 February: Climate and cryosphere open science conference | Wellington, New Zealand
• 18 February: International conservation technology conference | Lima, Peru
• 22-27 February: American Geophysical Union’s ocean sciences meeting | Glasgow, UK

Cropped is researched and written by Dr Giuliana Viglione, Aruna Chandrasekhar, Daisy Dunne, Orla Dwyer and Yanine Quiroz.  Please send tips and feedback to cropped@carbonbrief.org

Cropped 28 January 2026: Ocean biodiversity boost; Nature and national security; Mangrove defence

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28.01.26

Cropped 14 January 2026: Wildfires scorch three continents; EU trade; Food and nature in 2026

Cropped

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14.01.26

Cropped 17 December 2025: ‘Deadly’ Asia floods; Boosting London’s water birds; UN headwinds

Cropped

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17.12.25

Cropped 3 December 2025: Extreme weather in Africa; COP30 roundup; Saudi minister interview

Cropped

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03.12.25

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The post Cropped 11 February 2026: Aftershocks of US withdrawals | Biodiversity and business risks | Deep-sea mining tensions appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Australia’s St Barbara (ASX: SBM) has unveiled an aggressive exploration strategy in Nova Scotia as it advances plans to redevelop its 15-Mile open pit gold mine and processing hub project and reshapes its global portfolio.

The company has assembled a 697 sq. km land package in the Canadian province over the past two years, consolidating ground around its proposed 15-Mile hub despite licence reviews that trimmed its overall tenure and ongoing permitting challenges as the Touquoy mine winds down.

Since acquiring Atlantic Gold in 2019, St Barbara has built a dominant position across prospective ground, identifying 56 targets within a 75 km radius of the planned hub. The targets focus on the Moose River Formation and 12 regional prospects within the Goldenville Group metasediments.

Its landholding spans 164 km of prospective anticlines, including 75 km where the favourable Moose River Formation is exposed at surface or lies beneath shallow cover, in some areas less than 30 metres deep.

St Barbara describes the targeted gold systems as classic mesothermal deposits, comparable to those in Victoria’s goldfields, New Zealand’s South Island and California’s Mother Lode belt.

(Courtesy of St Barbara.)

Fieldwork is set to begin in May, combining surface sampling and reverse circulation drilling, with targets refined through a comprehensive structural review supported by newly acquired geophysical data. The company has also secured ground at Rocky Lake to test for northeast extensions of the Mooseland Anticline.

The exploration push supports redevelopment plans at 15-Mile. A prefeasibility study released earlier this year projected annual production of 103,000 oz at all-in sustaining costs of $1,188/oz over an initial 11-year mine life. At a gold price of $3,000/oz, the project carries a post-tax net present value of A$1.4 billion and an 80% internal rate of return. St Barbara estimates the C$283 million cost to relocate the Touquoy plant and rebuild infrastructure could be repaid in about 12 months.

Spot gold remains above $5,000 per ounce. Before 15-Mile enters production, St Barbara expects to process Touquoy stockpiles containing 38,000 ounces of the precious metal.

Renewed Canadian focus

The Nova Scotia push follows last year’s aborted attempt to spin off or sell the former Atlantic Gold assets. After failing to attract sufficient interest, St Barbara opted to advance development instead, citing what it sees as a more workable permitting environment.

At the same time, the company is moving to exit its Simberi gold project in Papua New Guinea. It agreed to sell a combined 50% stake to China’s Lingbao Gold Group and PNG’s Kumul Mineral Holdings for up to A$470 million in staged cash payments and loans. The deal, expected to close by the end of March, aligns with a final investment decision on Simberi’s next phase.

St Barbara said the transaction would fully fund its share of the $325–345 million sulphide expansion, which aims to lift production to 200,000 ounces a year. Simberi’s remaining oxide operations are considered marginal due to high costs.

Shares in St Barbara rose 10.5% to 79 Australian cents in Sydney on Wednesday, valuing the company at A$950 million ($677 million). The stock has gained 34% year to date and traded traded between 19 and 82 Australian cents over the past year.

Much of the gold sector’s growth in Atlantic Canada — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island — has occurred only in the last decade, as investors are slowly discovering the region’s potential.

Diálogo de tejedores: Crianza Mutua México, Vikalp Sangam India, Crianzas Mutuas Colombia - 04/12/2021 Diálogo entre los tejedores de GTA de India, Colombia y México. Un primer diálogo para acercarse en la diversidad y tejer e inspirarse mutuamente. Un Tapiz Global de Alternativas consiste en crear espacios de colaboración e intercambio entre los tejedores, con el fin de aprender unos de otros, desafiarse de manera crítica pero constructiva, ofrecer solidaridad activa cuando sea necesario, e…

Dialogue of Weavers: Crianza Mutua México, Vikalp Sangam India, Crianzas Mutuas Colombia - 04/12/2021 Dialogue between GTA's weavers in India, Colombia and Mexico. A first dialogue to approach each other in diversity and to weave and inspire each other. A Global

Energy prices in the U.S. can swing wildly during extreme weather like we’ve had this Winter across much of the nation due to supply–demand imbalances, and peak-hour stress on the system. Those spikes hit households, businesses and public budgets—often prompting calls for new spending or major infrastructure. During extreme heat or cold, the grid turns to the costliest peaker plants, and congestion fees pile up, amplifying volatility.

Efficiency and demand-side flexibility offer market-compatible ways to trim consumption during the most expensive hours—helping stabilize prices for everyone without new subsidies or mandates. Shaving even a few percentage points off the top of the load curve can avoid high-cost generation, dampen wholesale clearing prices that flow through to bills and defer capacity and transmission upgrades.

Tools range from smart thermostats and managed water heating to building automation and EV charging controls, all triggered by price or grid signals with comfort guardrails and easy opt-outs. Most solutions are software-first, verifiable with smart meter data and can compensate customers via based on their energy savings.

Price Stability Through Efficiency

As price volatility and grid stress persist, efficient, price-responsive buildings offer fast, scalable relief. By lowering peak demand, they help moderate wholesale prices, ease system strain, and reduce overall costs—turning existing buildings into responsive grid assets.

Work with ASE: contribute a case study, request templates/talking points, or join the Innovation Policy Committee to support education efforts with Congress on the benefits of energy efficiency.

Why Peaks Move Prices

In wholesale markets, prices are set by the last (highest-cost) increment of supply needed to meet demand. During typical hours, lower-cost resources may set the price. When demand surges, additional peaking generation is dispatched—raising clearing prices.

• A small share of hours can drive a large share of annual system costs.
• Weather events and seasonal patterns (e.g., cold snaps or post-solar evening ramps) intensify the effect.
   

Efficiency: A Low-Cost Way to Flatten the Curve

Cutting demand during peak periods keeps higher-cost resources offline and dampens market prices. Analyses from national labs indicate targeted demand-side measures can materially reduce wholesale prices during critical hours—while deferring or right-sizing future upgrades.

• Benefits include improved price predictability for customers and budget certainty for public agencies.
• Think traffic: removing a small number of cars from a jam can restore flow for everyone.

Program leads: if you have a 2–3 sentence example we can feature in ASE materials, send it to jrobinson@ase.org.

 

Smarter Efficiency with Real-Time Controls

Traditional efficiency lowers baseline use; modern controls add timing and automation:

• Adjust HVAC setpoints based on price or grid signals
• Pre-cool/pre-heat buildings ahead of peak windows

A Midwestern university used its building automation system to shift load away from peak hours—cutting summer energy costs and contributing to regional stability. This approach scales to schools, offices, and public buildings.
 

Why This Matters for Energy Efficiency—and ASE’s Work

Treating efficiency and flexible demand as measurable, dispatchable resources is central to ASE’s mission: lowering costs, improving reliability, and expanding accessibility to solutions that help customers participate. Through the Innovation Policy Committee and Active Efficiency initiative, ASE convenes utilities, technology providers, ESCOs, and policymakers to advance controls, interoperability, and demand-flexibility practices in real buildings.

Interested in shaping this work? Email jrobinson@ase.org with “Interested in IPC” to get the next meeting invite.

 

A Market-Compatible Path for Public-Sector Leadership

Public buildings—courthouses, hospitals, campuses, and offices—are ideal proving grounds for price-responsive efficiency. ASE recommends paired pilots that combine dynamic pricing with automation and practical measurement:

1. Test time-of-use and real-time pricing structures in willing facilities
2. Offer limited grants/credits for controls and automation to enable participation
3. Share results through DOE’s Better Buildings and Connected Communities programs

These efforts can demonstrate how efficiency enhances affordability, reliability, and accessibility—without new subsidies.

 

Resources & Further Reading

• EIA: Wholesale Electricity Dashboard
• LBNL: Demand Flexibility (report)
• ISO/RTO Council: Market Monitoring
• ACEEE: Utility Program Cost-Effectiveness
• DOE: Better Buildings
• DOE: Connected Communities