Latest news with #DougBurgum
Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Why NPS's latest revamp of Muir Woods National Monument has sparked a row
The Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, California, has become the subject of controversy over its removal of an explainer that accompanied an exhibit remembering the role of women in the creation of the monument. The U.S. National Parks Service logo is displayed at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on July 10, 2025 in Page, Arizona. (Getty Images via AFP) According to reports, the National Parks Service (NPS) has removed the explainer in it's latest revamp of the park. It also removed the mention of the racist past of some of the celebrated figures associated with the park. A report by the San Francisco-based news website, SFGATE, cited a forest ranger who worked on the exhibit's removal to confirm that it was removed as part of a NPS revamp. The report stated that the removal was done as per a directive from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking the removal of what President Donald Trump has called "improper ideology" from monuments and parks. A ranger, cited in another report by 19thNews, said that the removal took place last week under an initiative by NPS called 'History Under Construction.' The objective of the initiative was to fill the gaps in the park's historical timeline to provide a more 'comprehensive history', the report stated. Also read: Trump was informed by Pam Bondi's DOJ that his name is in the Epstein files: Report What did the removed exhibits contain? The website of NPS stated that the removed signage was added to the exhibit at the Muir Woods National Monument in 2021. It highlighted the work of 'The California Club' - an all-women's club that launched the first campaign in 1903 to save the iconic old-growth redwood trees in the park. Additionally, the role of some of the indigenous tribes in conserving the area, such as the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo tribes, has also been removed. The changes made in the 2021 revamp also included highlighting the racist background of some of the otherwise celebrated men associated with the park. The report by 19thNews stated that among the figures whose political background has been cleaned in the latest revamp are William Kent, the man who bought and donated the park to the federal government; the eugenics links Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the US Forest Service, among others.
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
, PIX Blaming Trump, Equinor makes $955 million US offshore wind writedown
OSLO, July 23 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor ( opens new tab booked on Wednesday a $955 million impairment on an offshore wind project in the United States, citing U.S. tariffs and the uncertainty of the U.S. regulatory environment under President Donald Trump. Hopes the industry had harboured that projects in the United States would revive the sector were dashed on Trump's first day back in office in January when he suspended offshore wind leases. Then in April, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shut down Equinor's Empire Wind development in New York state. He later lifted the stop-work order on the project. For Equinor, however, the damage has been done. On Wednesday, it reported its net operating income for the second quarter fell due to having to book a near-billion dollar impairment on its U.S. offshore wind projects. "This is impacted by an impairment of $955 million due to regulatory changes causing loss of synergies from future offshore wind projects and increased exposure to tariffs," Equinor said in a statement on Wednesday. "Of this, $763 million is related to Empire Wind 1/South Brooklyn Marine Terminal project and the remainder is related to the Empire Wind 2 lease." Equinor, majority-owned by the Norwegian state, had won a federal lease for Empire Wind in 2017 under Trump's first administration and secured approval for its investment plans in 2023 during former President Joe Biden's time in the White House. The global offshore wind market, once touted by governments as a cornerstone of efforts to cut carbon emissions, has faltered under escalating costs and logistical setbacks. Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan said the U.S. administration changing its mind on developing offshore wind had affected the value of the group's large onshore terminal in South Brooklyn, built to serve offshore wind farm installations. "It is a result of changing regulations so there is very little probability for more offshore wind projects coming in the U.S. over the foreseeable future and that is impacting a project that we have related to staging facilities," he told Bloomberg TV. Equinor would not develop the second phase of the Empire Wind farm, as it had earlier planned, he added. "We don't intend to push it forward currently," Reitan said of Empire Wind 2. The total book value after the latest impairments was $2.3 billion, Equinor said on Wednesday. With a planned installed capacity of 810 megawatts, Empire Wind 1 could generate enough electricity to power half a million homes a year and was expected to begin operating in 2027. Equinor on Wednesday also reported a decline in core second-quarter results, as expected, due to lower oil prices.
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Blaming Trump, Equinor makes $955 million US offshore wind writedown
OSLO, July 23 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor ( opens new tab booked on Wednesday a $955 million impairment on an offshore wind project in the United States, citing U.S. tariffs and the uncertainty of the U.S. regulatory environment under President Donald Trump. Hopes the industry had harboured that projects in the United States would revive the sector were dashed on Trump's first day back in office in January when he suspended offshore wind leases. Then in April, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shut down Equinor's Empire Wind development in New York state. He later lifted the stop-work order on the project. For Equinor, however, the damage has been done. On Wednesday, it reported its net operating income for the second quarter fell due to having to book a near-billion dollar impairment on its U.S. offshore wind projects. "This is impacted by an impairment of $955 million due to regulatory changes causing loss of synergies from future offshore wind projects and increased exposure to tariffs," Equinor said in a statement on Wednesday. "Of this, $763 million is related to Empire Wind 1/South Brooklyn Marine Terminal project and the remainder is related to the Empire Wind 2 lease." Equinor, majority-owned by the Norwegian state, had won a federal lease for Empire Wind in 2017 under Trump's first administration and secured approval for its investment plans in 2023 during former President Joe Biden's time in the White House. The global offshore wind market, once touted by governments as a cornerstone of efforts to cut carbon emissions, has faltered under escalating costs and logistical setbacks. Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan said the U.S. administration changing its mind on developing offshore wind had affected the value of the group's large onshore terminal in South Brooklyn, built to serve offshore wind farm installations. "It is a result of changing regulations so there is very little probability for more offshore wind projects coming in the U.S. over the foreseeable future and that is impacting a project that we have related to staging facilities," he told Bloomberg TV. Equinor would not develop the second phase of the Empire Wind farm, as it had earlier planned, he added. "We don't intend to push it forward currently," Reitan said of Empire Wind 2. The total book value after the latest impairments was $2.3 billion, Equinor said on Wednesday. With a planned installed capacity of 810 megawatts, Empire Wind 1 could generate enough electricity to power half a million homes a year and was expected to begin operating in 2027. Equinor on Wednesday also reported a decline in core second-quarter results, as expected, due to lower oil prices.
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Trump likes renaming people, places and things. He's not the first to deploy that perk of power
FILE - President Donald Trump holds up a signed proclamation declaring Feb. 9 Gulf of America Day, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum watches aboard Air Force One as Trump travels from West Palm Beach, Fla. to New Orleans, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) BC flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
E&E News
a day ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Burgum urges House GOP to target Biden-era energy policies
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urged House Republicans in a meeting Tuesday morning to continue to roll back Biden administration energy policies — and largely glossed over the GOP megabill's energy provisions, according to multiple people in the room. Burgum's early morning speech at Republicans' weekly meeting was an opportunity for members to hear about the Interior Department's energy and natural resources priorities just weeks after Republicans passed their reconciliation bill and as Burgum takes a leading role in President Donald Trump's push to stymie wind and solar. House Republicans are leaving Washington later this week for a six-week recess in which they will work to highlight the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — including its energy and natural resources provisions — while under fire from Democrats who say the bill will increase energy costs and result in project cancellations and layoffs. Advertisement Burgum, meanwhile, is leading the Trump administration's National Energy Dominance Council and working to implement the policies in the megabill. Separately, because of a recent Trump executive order, he is now in charge of personally signing off on any action advancing solar and wind power projects under federal review. 'Priorities were our energy grid, critical minerals, vulnerability — clearly, this administration's priorities are showing that aspect of it — and then unwinding the last four years,' said Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who served as Interior secretary during the first Trump administration. 'On the EV side of it, rolling back credits for it and making sure that there's a [specific] place for solar,' Zinke said. 'It's just not going to power the AI side of it.' Members leaving Tuesday's meeting said Burgum pressed the importance of continuing to roll back Biden administration laws and regulations that favored renewables. Congress' Republican majorities have already used the Congressional Review Act and their reconciliation bill to repeal and rescind funds for dozens of clean energy and climate programs that Democrats approved in the last Congress. 'They're going back' and looking at Biden-era policies to target, Zinke said of the Interior Department. 'A lot of what they're doing is unwinding the last four years,' he said. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, said Burgum 'talked about domestic mining and energy independence and making sure that we reverse some of the disastrous pieces of legislation and rules brought in by the last administration.' 'We're working at light speed to try to reverse it,' Stauber said. Some members said Burgum discussed the ways in which the One Big Beautiful Bill Act supported the administration's 'energy dominance' agenda but that he did not dive into any specifics. House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) said Burgum 'talked about the wins that were in the bill,' such as 'producing more energy.' He said the secretary's message was 'alluding to the ability to use the resources on our federal lands.' The reconciliation law contains provisions requiring more onshore and offshore oil and gas lease sales and provisions to support mining projects. It also includes language to fast-track approvals for certain fossil energy projects. Westerman noted that Burgum highlighted his proposal to develop a 'balance sheet,' or comprehensive inventory, of the United States' federal land and mineral assets. He has said the plan could potentially help maintain or improve the country's credit rating. House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), who hosted the meeting with Burgum, later told reporters that Republicans will use the upcoming August recess to sell the reconciliation bill's wins to constituents. The goal, McClain said, is to 'remind the Democrats that it's the Republicans that are actually unleashing American energy. You know, putting money back into our economy, making us energy-independent again.'
