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May 29, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Statement on President Trump’s Repeal of Travel Management Executive Orders – 5.29.26  Will bring unregulated motorized recreation and chaos across public lands  

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Washington, DC – Friday evening, in his latest attack on federal public lands, President Trump announced the repeal of Executive Order 11644 of February 8, 1972 (Use of Off-Road Vehicles on the Public Lands), and Executive Order 11989 of May 24, 1977 (Off-Road Vehicles on Public Lands). He further directed federal land management agencies including the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to rescind or revise their regulations implementing these Orders. Below is a statement from SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch and additional information.  

“The reality is that there are tens of thousands of miles of dirt roads and trails in Utah’s canyon country open today to motorized vehicles. Far from motorized vehicles being kept out of public lands, it’s quite the opposite: it’s the wildlife and visitors trying to picnic or camp with their families that are being chased out at every turn,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “These executive orders provided the foundation for common-sense management of motorized vehicles on public lands. They recognized the destructive impact unmanaged motor vehicles have on our public lands and required federal agencies to minimize the damage. The impacts of today’s Order will be significant, long-lasting, and devastating.” 

About Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 

Presidents Nixon and Carter issued Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 in 1972 and 1977, respectively, in response to the growing use of dirt bikes, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and other off-road vehicles (ORVs) and corresponding environmental damage and conflicts with non-motorized recreationists. These executive orders require federal land managers to plan for ORV use to protect resources and other recreational uses. Specifically, the executive orders require that, when designating areas or trails available for ORV use, the agencies locate them to: 

(1) minimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, and other resources of the public lands;  

(2) minimize harassment of wildlife or significant disruption of wildlife habitats; and  

(3) minimize conflicts between off-road vehicle use and other existing or proposed recreational uses of the same or neighboring public lands.   

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post SUWA Statement on President Trump’s Repeal of Travel Management Executive Orders – 5.29.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

A historic gold mine re-opened using modern technology, to scour out minerals the old-timers couldn’t get at? Twenty kilometres from Tofino? Is this the best we can hope for, a third of a century after the historic 1993 Clayoquot Summer peaceful protests put the region on the map of global ecological hotspots?

It seems that’s what the BC government wants. This spring, they issued mineral exploration permits to Vancouver-based Imperial Metals. The permits would allow Imperial to explore in the territories of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN), in Clayoquot Sound. This despite 2 years of consultation, in which TFN made it clear that mining is not a permissible activity in their territories.

The permits issued allow for 22 drill pad sites, 6 trenches, and 3 helipads in the Tranquil Creek watershed, which is designated as a Tribal Park by Tla-o-qui-aht. They will not expire until 2031. Imperial Metals also holds mineral rights on Catface Mountain (čitaapii), just 13 kilometres from Tofino.

A disaster that changed the conversation around mining in BC

Imperial Metals is notorious for the catastrophic 2014 failure of the tailings dam at their Mount Polley mine, spilling 25 million cubic metres of toxic tailings and slurry into pristine Quesnel Lake—home to a quarter of the Fraser River’s sockeye salmon. It was one of the biggest mining disasters in the world. They are currently facing 15 charges under the federal Fisheries Act in relation to this disaster. Mount Polley is located in the traditional territory of Xat’sull First Nation, near Likely BC in the Cariboo region.

“The province of BC should be respecting our vision for our territories, not issuing permits for mineral exploration without our consent and against our wishes,” said Saya Masso, Tla-o-qui-aht Manager of Lands and Resources. “We’ve seen some positive steps from the BC NDP government, but this move jeopardizes efforts towards reconciliation here in Clayoquot Sound.”

Clayoquot Action has stood united with Tla-o-qui-aht against mining since our founding in 2013, and will continue to oppose any attempts to open mines here in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region.

Take action now. Please make your voice heard—send your letter now using our simple online tool. The letter is already written; it only takes a minute! Send the letter HERE

The post No mines in Clayoquot Sound appeared first on Clayoquot Action.

By Cecilia Allen, Global Projects Advisor, GAIA

(c) Nipe Fagio

Once seen as the domain of dreamers, zero waste is now mainstream. It has even entered the language of the UN: the body created a resolution urging governments to “promote zero‑waste initiatives,” an International Day of Zero Waste, and a Zero Waste Advisory Board, and UNEP, UN‑Habitat and other UN bodies use the concept in campaigns and reports. This year, zero waste was named one of the top priorities on the Global Climate Action Agenda. Türkiye’s Zero Waste Foundation, a leading promoter of these efforts, is organizing its second Global Zero Waste Forum under the motto Road to Antalya: Zero Waste as Climate Action. Türkiye will be the host of climate COP31. 

While this progress is exciting, words matter. When the same UN bodies that are meant to promote zero waste recognize waste-to-energy incineration plants and reuse of the highly toxic incinerator fly-ash as a zero waste solution, it means something is off. Likewise, when Pakistan claims to pursue a “zero waste” economy by increasing waste-to-energy capacity, alarm bells go off among zero wasters worldwide: Incineration is an oxymoron to zero waste. What these examples show us is that a true definition of zero waste needs to be adopted and vigorously defended.

What is zero waste?

The concept of “zero waste” emerged 30 years ago by adapting manufacturing targets such as “zero defects” to solid waste.  Zero waste is both a vision and an action plan. As an action plan it includes strategies to design out the idea of “waste”: waste prevention, redesign, reuse, changes in consumption patterns, recycling, composting, and other methods to reprocess organic material. Zero waste is guided by the goal of progressively reducing disposal in landfills and incinerators, a yardstick for judging the effectiveness of waste programs and policies.

As a vision, its ultimate objective is to change how we produce, consume and process discards so our materials economy fits within planetary boundaries. This concerns not only materials but our relationship with them, the environment, and one another. That is why zero waste is rooted in environmental justice– supporting the flourishing of everyone regardless of race, class, or any other identity, and the rights of nature. Zero waste systems are community‑based, recognize waste pickers as workers, eliminate “sacrifice zones” that disproportionately burden poor and marginalized communities, and put people at the center of solutions.

That is the beauty of zero waste: it offers an encouraging alternative to a linear waste system that perpetuates disposal, resource depletion, climate change and pollution that threaten public health and well-being. It will not happen overnight, but it sets a clear direction.

Defending zero waste

There are multiple conversations within the environmental movement about the co-option of the zero waste concept. Should we let it go? Defend it? There are solid arguments on all sides of the table. But our objective is to expand true zero waste worldwide. Mainstreaming means ideas become accepted as normal because most people share them — that is what thousands of communities, government officials and businesses have worked toward for decades. Fighting this co‑option is therefore an inevitable part of mainstreaming.

Every time a waste‑to‑energy or plastics‑to‑fuel project is presented as “zero waste,” authorities in the field must set the record straight. Waste‑to‑energy incineration perpetuates waste generation because it requires feedstock to burn, competes with reuse and recycling for high‑calorific materials, relies on fossil‑based feedstocks such as plastics, produces greenhouse gas emissions, and creates hazardous residues. None of that could be farther from zero waste. 

Most importantly, zero waste is not just an abstract concept. For over three decades, hundreds of cities, thousands of communities and many waste practitioners have led the transition toward it. They have shown that it is possible to achieve over 90% source separation, diversion rates of 80% and higher, improved working conditions for waste pickers, and local economies based on repair and reuse. They also demonstrate that following the waste hierarchy creates more jobs, reduces more methane emissions, and improves public health.

Enabling zero waste implementation 

In recent years more governments, financial institutions, universities, and waste practitioners have embraced the zero waste vision and prioritized upstream measures over disposal. That is encouraging, but much more is needed. For example, only 1% of international finance aimed at methane abatement in the waste sector goes to zero waste strategies such as composting.

If multilateral development banks and other international financial institutions directed the remaining 99% shifted from harmful end‑of‑pipe systems like incinerators and megalandfills to community‑based organic waste prevention and recovery, the the playing field would level: there would be more incentives for a shift in production and consumption patterns, and local governments and communities would speed up the zero waste transition. If governments that claim to pursue zero waste acted accordingly, they would lead the transition and inspire others.

UN bodies such as UNEP, UN‑Habitat and the Zero Waste Advisory Board have a special responsibility to set a clear vision for governments and institutions, and promote an authentic zero waste agenda to advance environmental sustainability, social equity and economic systems that respect natural boundaries.

As we continue the work toward a zero waste future, let us honor its true spirit that drives systems change. And let us support and scale up the proven programs and policies that governments, communities, waste pickers, NGOs, and businesses are sustaining.  Let us protect the term, and honor the practice: put real zero waste into action.

Rommel Cabrera/GAIA, 2019. Waste pickers collecting separated waste from households. Tacloban City, the Philippines.

The post Defending the Real Spirit of Zero Waste first appeared on GAIA.

ICYMI: Clean fuels report card is A+++ Leah Missik Fri, 05/29/2026 - 1:19 pm

  Nicolas Salmon In our experience working on nature-based solutions in cities across Ecuador and Latin America, the problem is not that we do not know participation matters. Everybody says participation matters. The problem is that almost everything in the way projects are designed — timelines, funding structures, institutional cultures, and even expert anxieties — […]

Least Terns are small seabirds that nest on the beach, typically in large colonies. These coastal birds depend on expanses of clean, healthy habitats to raise their families, and are increasingly...

 

Backbone Intern Giacomo Moody's Story Map for We the People is now LIVE!.

The Story Map traces the journey of this Iconic image, from its 2007 debut at Seattle Center to its current deployments in pro-democracy protests around the country. Check out Giacomo's great work and the amazing fruits of our collective labors.

Learn more about joining us in DC or pitching in to support our team going to Washington, DC to mark the 250th Birthday of this country. We'll once again take the streets in a defiant and beautiful expression of common cause and our shared commitment to fulfilling mission of creating a more just, sustainable, and democratic nation, and a future we can be proud to hand our children.

Check out the We the People Story Map at BackboneCampaign.org/WeThePeople.

 

 

For Immediate Release:

May 29, 2026

Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org

STOCKTON, CA — Today, Restore the Delta released a new report detailing one of the many local solutions outlined in the recently unveiled Water Renaissance Plan: expanding rice farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a strategy to combat land subsidence and support a more sustainable regional economy.

Supported by BEAM Circular, which sponsored the critical research for the region, the report documents that Delta rice acreage has increased fivefold over the past eight years and lays out the environmental and economic benefits of rice cultivation as a strategic defense against subsidence.

“Without major levee investment in the next 25 years, over $10 billion in infrastructure faces severe flood risk,” said Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs for Restore the Delta. “Flooded rice cultivation restores the anaerobic conditions that slow and may stop peat oxidation that has already caused some Delta islands to sink as much as 25 feet. Pairing Delta levee investment with rice farming and wetland restoration benefits ecosystem health, as well as driving new economic opportunities for the region.”

The report maps current residue management practices and emerging bioproduct pathways, while identifying a major economic gap in which nearly all milling value from Delta-grown rice currently leaves the region for Sacramento County. To address this, the report’s central recommendation calls for the development of a regional grain mill that would:

• Consolidate agricultural residue streams
• Reduce transportation emissions
• Support local bioproduct innovation
• Create new jobs tied to the local agricultural economy

Rice hulls already contribute to electricity generation in the Sacramento Valley, and the report argues that a local processing economy could make rice farming more financially viable for Delta landowners.

The report arrives shortly after the release of the Water Renaissance Plan, a statewide framework that shifts California away from expensive and unreliable imported water systems toward local, sustainable solutions that provide long-term water reliability at an affordable cost.

This latest research builds directly on that vision. By documenting the Delta’s expanding rice industry, available feedstock supply, infrastructure gaps, and emerging bioproduct opportunities, the report strengthens the economic case for the Water Renaissance Plan’s broader approach to water and land management, one that depends on maintaining healthy peat soils, protecting levees, and supporting resilient local agriculture. 

“This is about more than rice,” said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta. “It’s about creating a durable economic model that helps protect California’s water infrastructure, supports local communities, and keeps the Delta landscape functioning for generations to come.” 

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We the People featured at NW Folklife Festival this weekend!

Two copies will be at Seattle Center this weekend at the NW Folklife Festival, one at the Mural Amphitheater Stage, near the Space Needle and another in the International Fountain Pavilion, with pens for signing. Use this chance to add your signature in time for it to be taken to DC this July 4th!

Over the last 19 years, Backbone's giant We the People banner has served as an icon of people power and our aspirations to fulfill the shared mission of creating a more perfect union. Adding two more Preamble sections has allowed it to appear in even more cities in the past year, collecting signatures and grabbing the attention of the press and public as a symbol of resistance and resilience.

In early May, we held our first-ever Northwest Transmission Summit in Boise, Idaho. Stakeholders from around the region, including Tribal, environmental, and community leaders, nonprofits, developers, policymakers, and energy and transmission experts gathered at the Boise Centre for two days to learn, share perspectives, and take action to build our prosperous future.  

Thank you so much to Renewable Northwest who partnered on the planning of the summit and co-sponsored the event. Thank you to our sponsors:

Thank you to our speakers, to the Boise Centre for hosting, to everyone who attended, and to our community partners who helped us spread the word about the event.  

We are so grateful for the diverse perspectives, insights, and deep engagement everyone brought to this summit. We recorded all of the panel discussions and have linked them below in case you missed the conference or want to dive in again.  

What We Learned

At the end of day two, our Senior Policy Associate and event host Ben Otto wrapped up the summit with an incredible summary of the themes and key takeaways that emerged throughout the event. Attendees also asked questions and shared what stuck with them.  

We didn’t solve every problem, but we made great progress on some challenges, reflected on innovative solutions, and came up with more questions to stimulate lots of future conversations and actions. Stay tuned for a future blog on our learnings from the summit and our next steps.   

Summit Highlights

We opened and closed the conference with a few polls of the audience to gauge everyone’s interest, understanding of, and commitment to work on transmission issues. It was incredible to see the results on day two: participants’ understanding of transmission issues and how to engage in the region had markedly increased.  

Our shared understanding of the primary barriers to building transmission also transformed after two days of discussion at the summit.  

We were inspired by attendees’ key takeaways:  

We look forward to building on the momentum from the summit and will share more transmission-related programming soon. We also welcome you to join us at our fall conference on October 15 at the University of Washington HUB in Seattle—check back here soon for registration information. 

Keep in touch with us: email nwec@nwenergy.org or sign up for our newsletter.  

Panel Discussions

Panel 1 

The Grid We Share: History and Perspectives on Regional Transmission 

Panelists:  

• Jillan Hanson, Climate and Renewable Energy Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy in Idaho 

• Brant Johnson, Senior Vice President of Development, Grid United 

• Jamie Hearn, Climate and Community Planning Lead, Front and Centered 

• Donald Williams, Founder/Principal/CEO, From the Light Consulting 

• Mike McArthur, Renewable Northwest  

Moderator: Stephanie Lenhart, Associate Professor, Boise State University 

Panel 2 

Looking Ahead: Opportunities to Expand the Transmission System 

Panelists:  

• Casey Baker, Senior Program Manager, GridLab 

• Hamody Hindi, Manager of Transmission Planning, Bonneville Power Administration 

• Kyle Unruh, Director, Montana & Idaho, Renewable Northwest 

• Curtis Westhoff, System Consulting Engineer, Idaho Power Planning Department 

Moderator:  

• Shanna Brownstein, Head of Utility Partnerships, GridCARE 

Panel 3 

Issues and Solutions Part 1: Community and Environmental Impacts and Siting Processes 

Panelists:  

• Shannon Stewart, VP of Environmental Compliance & Strategy, Invenergy 

• John Robison, Public Lands & Wildlife Director, Idaho Conservation League 

• Reuben Martinez, Energy Program Manager, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) 

• Jeff Hough, Bannock County Board of Commissioners 

Moderator:  

• Aaron Menenberg, Idaho Policy Manager, Renewable Northwest 

Panel 4 

Issues and Solutions Part 2: Regional Planning and Coordination 

Panelists:  

• Rich Glick, Principal, GQS New Energy Strategies 

• Caitilin Liotiris, Principal, Energy Strategies 

• Donald Williams, Founder/Principal/CEO, From the Light Consulting 

Moderator: 

• George Lynch, Deputy Director, Western Interstate Energy Board 

Panel 5 

Issues and Solutions Part 3: How Costs and Benefits are Determined and Allocated at the State Level 

Panelists:  

• John Hammond, Idaho Public Utilities Commission 

• Les Perkins, Oregon Public Utility Commission 

• Brian Rybarik, Chair, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission 

Moderator:  

• Megan Decker, Staircase Advisory 

Panel 6 

Issues and Solutions Part 4: Workforce and Construction 

Panelists:  

• Jake Pollack, Senior Director, Strategy & Impact, Strategic Energy Innovation 

• Erich Orth, Bonneville Power Administration 

• Jason Hudson, Government Affairs Director, IBEW 77 

Moderator:  

• Kate French, Senior Policy Manager, Power Sector, BlueGreen Alliance 

The post 2026 Northwest Transmission Summit Digest first appeared on NW Energy Coalition.

This first edition of CELDF's State of Rights of Nature Report represents yet another important contribution from CELDF to those studying, documenting, or actively working for rights of nature.

The post CELDF Publication – State of Rights of Nature Report appeared first on CELDF - Community Rights Pioneers - Protecting Nature and Communities.

As the crisis facing Great Salt Lake continues to garner ongoing local and national attention and concern, National Audubon Society welcomes the growing array of committed organizations and...

African countries are increasingly looking to renewable energy to meet growing power demand.

Read more on E360 →

For 60 years, Double Kwik has provided Eastern Kentucky with gas, essentials, and homecooking, like their infamous pizza rolls. As a convenience store brand, it might not be the first place people think of when they picture community leadership, but today they serve as an unlikely hero in many ways.

The company was started by Don Childers in 1966 with a handful of fuel trucks delivering to remote coal camps and job sites. By 1972, Don and his wife, Peggy, opened one of the area’s first self-service gas stations. Over time, they built a company that now serves 40 communities across the region with fuel, a selection of food including basic groceries and household goods, and in-store kitchens cooking up favorite dishes.

Having grown up around the business, Missy Matthews, daughter to Don and Peggy, is the President of the company which today employs around 850 people. Missy is a person many in the community turn to for her creative leadership and problem-solving.

A Building Reimagined for Public Health

After a bold move by Missy and Double Kwik’s leadership, Double Kwik headquarters now shares space with the Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg, and has transformed a once underutilized building into an amazing asset, lifting a burden off the taxpayers of Letcher County.

Originally constructed by the county in 2008 to house the Health Department and additional providers, the facility was never fully occupied. It quickly became a financial burden on the county, particularly after the 2022 flood introduced a new host of economic challenges to overcome.

Though they had originally planned their headquarters for Jenkins, after the flood, Missy knew they needed to find as many ways to support the area as possible. They decided to buy the building from the county, and lease the first floor back to the health department, allowing the county to save the taxpayer dollars and reduced lease costs for the health department.

“Now, we bring anywhere from 45 to 80 people into downtown on any given day,” Missy said. “They’re walking to get lunch or coffee, supporting fellow local businesses.”

Finding Ways to Save

After purchasing the building, they renovated the second and third floors to include office space, a training kitchen and training spaces. At the same time, they looked for ways to combat rising energy costs.

“We pay an enormous amount of energy bills as a company—it’s one of our biggest expenses. Finding ways to manage that has always been important,” Charles ‘Junior’ Matthews, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, said.

After consulting with other local business owners with solar, including Kentucky Mist Moonshine, solar became “almost a no-brainer.” With facilitation by the Mountain Association’s Energy Team, they received a USDA Rural Energy for America Program grant, covering half the costs of the installation. The system now brings $18,660 in annual savings to the company.

Junior said the system has proven seamless and that they love to pull up their solar tracking app to see the savings rolling in on sunny days.

Commitment to Eastern Kentucky

Looking ahead, the company is exploring additional solar and savings opportunities, continuing its efforts to reduce costs and increase resilience. For each dollar they save, they can put more investments into our region and quality jobs they create.

Staff Going Out on a Clean-up

Double Kwik has a strong history of supporting local students through scholarships, hosting teacher appreciation events, sponsoring community initiatives, and finding new ways to bring joy to their communities – like Elf on the Shelf pop-ups and their Pizza Rollsie mascot. In her role as tourism director, Missy has gotten the company involved in new initiatives, like community cleanups. Nine years ago, she began signing up for the toughest seven-miles of road between the turn off to Bad Branch and Pine Mountain Grill where their team collects nearly 300 bags of trash each year.

“We’ve always believed our responsibility goes beyond our stores. We know that if our communities are strong, we’re strong,” Missy said.

Whether through its stores, its headquarters, or its community efforts, they show up for our communities. From its start with a few fuel trucks in 1966 to a company helping sustain public health and community infrastructure, Double Kwik has become an essential part of the fabric of Eastern Kentucky.

The post Pizza Rolls & Public Health: How Double Kwik Created a Solar-Powered Hub for Community Care appeared first on Mountain Association.

“In a lot of the partnerships that have been established around some of these technologies, it's really the tech companies that are taking on a lot of the risk,” Priya Barua, CEBA's senior director of utility partnerships and innovation, told Utility Dive.

Nearly twice as many Reform UK voters would back a solar farm in their area than support fracking, according to a new poll published today.

Gooseneck at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road shale gas site, 5 August 2019. Photo: Ros Wills

The findings, for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, are at odds with Reform’s national support for fracking.

The poll found that 43% of people who planned to vote Reform UK in this month’s local elections said they would back a solar farm as the best way to create energy locally.

This compared with 23% who said they would support fracking.

Among all voters, 60% said they would pick solar. Just 10% supported fracking.

Higher-volume fracking is currently prevented by a moratorium in England.

But Richard Tice, Reform UK’s energy spokesperson and deputy leader, has repeatedly called for a revival of fracking, particularly in Lincolnshire. He has also opposed renewable energy, including solar farms.

The party’s mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, has had talks with Egdon Resources, which wants to frack for shale gas in the Gainsborough Trough. Egdon is owned by the Texas-based oil and gas firm, Heyco Energy, which has used multi-stage hydraulic fracturing in the US Permian Basin.

Despite Reform UK’s national support for fracking, some of its local authorities have opposed the operation.

Lancashire’s Reform-led council said last year the countywas “not conducive” to fracking”. The Fylde region, near Blackpool, experienced experienced many small earthquakes caused by fracking by Cuadrilla at its Preston New Road site in 2018 and 2019.

Scarborough’s Reform-led town council unanimously opposed plans for lower-volume fracking in the North Yorkshire village of Burniston.

Alasdair Johnstone, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said today:

“Reform’s pro-fracking, anti-solar stance appears not only at odds with broad public opinion, but also the opinion of their voters who would prefer a quiet solar farm over a noisy fracking pad in their area.

“That divergence is also playing out between the national level of the party and local councils some of which have said they don’t want fracking in their area.

“Public opposition aside, Reform would find it tough to emulate Trump’s pro-fracking push as British geology is very different to that in the US.

“Reform voters clearly back renewable energy which is helping to reduce the UK’s dependence on volatile gas markets and foreign imports.”

• Polling by More In Common was carried out from 21-27 April 2026 with 1,441 adults living in areas of England where there were local elections.

A Conservative-led council has urged the UK government to deliver its promise to ban fracking.

Photo: DrillOrDrop

East Riding of Yorkshire Council voted unanimously last month in favour of a motion opposing fracking in the county.

The motion focussed on plans for lower-volume fracking at Rathlin Energy’s West Newton-A oil and gas site in Holderness.

But it also included a resolution to write to the energy secretary, Ed Miliband.

In a letter sent this week, the council requested “progress and urgency for the legislation detailed in their [the Labour government’s] election manifesto to outlaw such high pressure and extreme procedures.”

The council also wrote to the oil and gas industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA). The letter said:

“the council wishes to place on record its view that proposals to authorise hydraulic fracturing or similar extreme extraction techniques beneath or near West Newton raise serious concerns.”

It added:

“This letter is intended to ensure that the Council’s opposition is clearly understood, formally recorded, and taken into account in the discharge of the NSTA’s statutory duties in relation to any proposals affecting the East Riding of Yorkshire.”

The letter urged the NSTA to carry out a “fully independent assessment of safety and risk” before granting consent for any form of high-pressure stimulation.

The assessment should be accompanied by “the publication and transparent scrutiny” of the hydraulic fracture plan (HFP), the council said. An HFP is a required document for any form of fracking in England. It is intended to describe how seismic events caused by fracking would be managed and minimised.

• The HFP for fracking plans at West Newton-A is part of a legal challenge brought by a local campaigner against the Environment Agency. More details here

'Kant versus Schmitt debate' misses Marx's understanding of destructive capitalism

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