ESG

Fervo Energy’s geothermal drilling rig is pictured Monday, May 12, 2025, in Beaver County, Utah. Fervo has drilled over 75% of the wells for Phase I of the development. Industrial geothermal energy has been used for nearly two centuries. It‘s not a new concept, but in the United States, it‘s taken a backseat to other renewable energy sources like wind and hydropower. One company is trying to change that. Founded in 2017, Texas-based Fervo Energy is making groundbreaking moves in the clean energy landscape, and they’re doing it in Utah’s...

Fox News host Jesse Watters defended Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for swimming in a sewage-contaminated creek on Tuesday, arguing the water looked “clean.” Reacting on The Five to Kennedy’s controversial dip at Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., where swimming is banned due to “high levels of bacteria,” Watters said he had seen Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth swim in dirtier water wearing just a pair of Speedos. “That creek looks clean. It doesn’t look like it’s filled with sewage,” said Watters. “And I have...

On Feb. 17, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek released a video assuring Oregonians that Donald Trump would not derail the progressive state’s efforts to combat climate change. As promised during his presidential campaign, Trump had issued executive orders during his first week in office aimed at halting new sources of wind power and freezing Biden-era funding for renewable energy. Oregon, Kotek said, had been “leading the way for years on courageous state policies to fight climate change.” Along with neighboring Washington state, Oregon has set an ambitious mandate for electric utilities...

Vermont Governor Phil Scott paused the state’s electric vehicle sales requirements for passenger cars and medium and heavy-duty trucks on Tuesday, amid broader concerns about the feasibility of zero-emission vehicle rules pioneered by California. Vermont is one of 11 states including New York, Maryland and Massachusetts that have adopted California’s zero-emission vehicle rules, which seek to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. California’s rules require 35% of light-duty vehicles in the 2026 model year to be zero-emission models.

Six people were appointed Monday by the Town Council to serve on Chesterton’s newly formed Sustainability Commission that is charged with examining environmental solutions for the community. Chesterton is following a trend of communities establishing an environmental commission. The neighboring Town of Porter has had an Environmental Sustainability Commission operating for about a year and Valparaiso recently formed its own Environmental Advisory Board. Those appointed for two-year terms are Emily Bretl, Matt Carter and Joshua Van Nevel.

About 200 people attended a public hearing by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Zenith Energy’s draft air quality permit, a document the company needs to continue offloading and storing crude oil and renewable fuels in Northwest Portland. The hearing on Monday night marked the relaunch of Zenith’s air permit process after state regulators put it on hold last fall in the wake of an unannounced inspection and a $372,600 fine issued to the company over unauthorized use of a dock near its terminal on the Willamette River. Zenith...

Isaac Allen, owner of Red Barn Diesel Performance, was sentenced May 7 to three years of probation for tampering with environmental monitoring devices on multiple diesel vehicles and obstructing the investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Maine, U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Allen to a three-year term of probation and a $40,000 fine, the maximum recommended amount for his offense level. Allen initially pled guilty to the crime in November 2024. As part of his...

Honda employees work along the vehicle assembly line before an event announcing plans for a Honda electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., on April 25, 2024. Honda employees work along the vehicle assembly line before an event announcing plans for a Honda electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., on April 25, 2024. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette Honda Canada is delaying a $15 billion investment project in electric vehicles in Ontario, including a planned EV battery manufacturing facility and an upgraded vehicle assembly plant. Honda Canada spokesman Ken Chiu...