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Vance meets top Iranian officials as US looks to get negotiations back on track
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and top Iranian officials are trying to build out the interim deal to end the war in Iran reached by the two sides last week. They are meeting at a Swiss mountainside resort near Lake Lucerne.
Aspen’s e-bike only business expands fleet, moves locations
Aspen's Best E-Bikes, one of Aspen's only e-bike exclusive rentals and sales businesses, has officially moved to its new location — 409 South Hunter Street.
Lynn Bartels, a former newspaper reporter who covered Colorado politics for decades, dies at 69
A journalist who covered Colorado politics for decades has died. Lynn Bartels reported for the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post, and she often worked with CBS Colorado on election coverage.
Lynn Bartels, ‘Grand Dame’ of Colorado politics, dies
Lynn Bartels, a former Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post reporter celebrated for her dogged reporting, deep sources and infectious personality, has died.
Drought drops Smith Mountain Lake 5 feet, forcing boaters and businesses to adapt
Water levels at Smith Mountain Lake are about five feet below normal, forcing lakefront businesses and boat operators to adjust as the drought continues.
Lynn Bartels, a venerable and tenacious reporter at the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, dies at 69
Lynn Bartels, a venerable Colorado journalist for more than two decades who possessed a massive Rolodex that seemed to perpetually spin with the names of the state’s biggest — and not so big — players in politics, died…
MARCO Mobile Medicine Brings Care Closer to Home
For many families across Appalachia, a doctor’s appointment can mean taking time off work, arranging transportation, traveling winding mountain roads and spending hours on the road for a visit. It’s a challenge familiar to generations of West Virginians, particularly those living in rural communities where access to specialty care can be limited. Today, Marshall Health Network is helping change […]
Woodstock business damaged in severe storm
Mountain Creamery in Woodstock was damaged when a severe storm moved through on Thursday.
Health kicks off Aspen Ideas June 22-25
Since 2014, Aspen Ideas: Health has preceded the Aspen Ideas festivals. This year, from June 22-25, it offers more than 60 sessions with seven program tracks revolving around patient care, new treatments and technology, longevity and vitality, creativity, medical enterprise, leadership and how health-related questions often lack black or white answers.
Arts and Entertainment Agenda, June 19-25
Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, June 19-21 Chefs, vintners and food lovers converge for the 2026 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this weekend from June 19 to 21. The leading culinary event has...
Share your talent at Open Mic Mondays
Do you enjoy singing and performing for an audience? Take the stage at the Waynesville American Legion's Open Mic Mondays from 7-9 p.m. every Monday in June.
Mountaineers 7th in final RMAC All-Sports Standings
Western accumulated 640.8 points to earn 7th place in the final RMAC all-sports standings for 2025-26.
CaroMont Health wants to add hospital in Cleveland County
CaroMont Health wants to add an 18-bed hospital in Kings Mountain, about 10 miles east of Atrium Health’s 241-bed hospital in Shelby and less than four miles from Atrium Health’s 67-bed hospital in Kings Mountain. The hospital would be about 17 miles west of CaroMont’s 476-bed hospital in Gastonia. CaroMont’s hospital in Cleveland County would […]
3 La Grande business could get a helping hand
LA GRANDE — La Grande’s Urban Renewal Agency and Urban Renewal Advisory Commission meet Monday, June 29, for a joint special session to allocate project funding. Mountain West Plaza, Flying […]
Mark Gongloff: The White House’s top science goal is ignorance
Shutting down scientific inquiry because it discovers things you don’t like is a bit like turning off all the instruments on your plane because they warn you there’s a mountain
West Virginia Falls Short Against North Carolina
The Mountaineers battled but come up short againt the Tarheels
‘Banana Kid’ to ride again
The Blue Hill Public Library will host a free performance of "The Legend of the Banana Kid" by Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers on Saturday, June 27, at 6 p.m.
Raiders, Intermountain Health lead Las Vegas push to break 12-hour CPR world record
Hundreds of people cycled through CPR mannequins Saturday as the Las Vegas Raiders and Intermountain Health, in collaboration with West Henderson Hospital, led
Opinion | Dennison: I’ll fight for responsible spending, reducing unnecessary regulations and help small business and more if elected
Like many Coloradans, I’ve grown increasingly frustrated watching Washington become more focused on partisan gamesmanship than solving real problems. Families, workers, retirees and small business owners across Colorado are facing challenges that politicians love to...
From the mat to Mount Elbert, Summit County’s female athletes find success in male-dominated sports
Jess Gresho’s nails are usually painted pink. She often has glitter on her face, and her athletic gear — from her ski pants to her running shoes — boasts bright colors and funky patterns. But...
Donovan McNabb Jr commits to UNLV: Dan Mullen secures pledge from son of six-time Pro Bowler
The younger McNabb joins the Mountain West's No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the 2027 cycle, according to 247Sports
After closing following a fire 14 months ago, iconic Routt County restaurant is back in business
The new Antlers Café and Bar owner, Chris Braden, is serving up his signature chicken fried steak for customers returning to the historic spot in Yampa following a fire that closed the business for 14...
Business Park Access Road Debuts in Winchester: Business NH Magazine
The Winchester Economic Development Corp. on Friday unveiled the aptly named Opportunity Drive, a 2,100-foot access road that leads to the town’s Stone Mountain Business Park.
Opinion | Dennison: I’ll fight for responsible spending, reducing unnecessary regulations and help small business and more if elected
Like many Coloradans, I’ve grown increasingly frustrated watching Washington become more focused on partisan gamesmanship than solving real problems. Families, workers, retirees and small business owners across Colorado are facing challenges that politicians love to...
Opinion | Dennison: I’ll fight for responsible spending, reducing unnecessary regulations and help small business and more if elected
Like many Coloradans, I’ve grown increasingly frustrated watching Washington become more focused on partisan gamesmanship than solving real problems. Families, workers, retirees and small business owners across Colorado are facing challenges that politicians love to...
Panel discussion on politics of AI set
CHARLESTON – Berkeley Springs will play host Sunday to a panel discussion to look at the growing use of artificial intelligence – AI – along with the data centers powering the revolution, and the politics that is growing contentious not just in West Virginia, but nationwide. Tangle News – a national news outlet that looks […]
New map estimates health impacts from oil refineries across the Mountain West
People living near oil refineries can often see or smell signs of industrial pollution. Now, a new interactive map aims to help them better understand the potential health impacts associated with those facilities.
The White House’s Top Science Goal Is Ignorance
Shutting down scientific inquiry because it discovers things you don’t like is a bit like turning off all the instruments on your plane because they warn you there’s a mountain ahead. It may satisfy your immediate urge to live in denial but will soon turn deadly.
Scientists Discover a Vast Structure Hiding Beneath Antarctica's Ice
It's huge, ancient, and shaped like a fan.
Taiwan’s tallest tree found with help of citizen science
Deep in Taiwan’s misty mountains, researchers have confirmed the tallest tree in the country: a thousand-year-old fir tree higher than a 20-story building, which they’ve named “the heaven sword of the Da’an River.” Climbers scaled the tree and dropped a measuring tape from the top to the forest floor during the Lunar New Year holiday […]
Commentary: Does science need autonomous AI?
As technology developers and researchers rush to develop autonomous AI research tools (i.e., systems that independently perform tasks by designing their workflows and utilizing available tools) an urgent but rarely […]
Aspen One’s CEO Dave Tanner gives update on state of the business
The future of the skiing industry is a more somber one than many might think.
Silverthorne hands out $40,000 in business improvement grants
The Silverthorne Town Council approved $40,000 in grants awarded to five local businesses intended for site enhancement and economic development projects. In the 15th year of the Business Improvement Grant Program, the following five businesses...
What's the deepest cave in the world?
There are two contenders for the world's deepest cave, and they're in the same mountain range.
Business roundup: Mountain Bike Specialists sells, oyster bar looking for buyer and fine dining spot files for bankruptcy
In this week’s roundup: One Durango business has changed hands, another is for sale and a third is filing for bankruptcy. Saslow said Mountain Bike Specialists “continues under new ownership wi...
Construction causes power outage at PitCo Health and Human Services
Construction work hit a buried power line at 3 p.m. on Thursday that supplied grid and backup generator power to the Pitkin County Health and Human Services building, leading to necessary repairs that will last through the weekend and into next week.
Business Briefs: June 2026
Bluebird & Co. and Commonwealth Consulting Begin a New Chapter Chelsea Powers and Flannery Buchanan, the founders of Bluebird & Co., announced last month that Powers would be leaving the business to focus on other business interests as well as her growing family. Powers is an owner of Reset and Mountain Mahj and has a
China wants to build the world’s largest astronomy base on Saishiteng Mountain
Telescopes at the remote site are set to surpass Hawaii’s Mauna Kea in light-gathering power by the mid-2030s, scientists say.
How ‘grocery store politics’ changed one state Senator’s mind on data centers
State Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, voted for data center-friendly legislation. Conversations with his constituents have since changed his stance.
West Virginia one win from MCWS after beating Cal Poly
The Mountaineers are one win from Omaha after defeating Cal Poly
Science lays out future of snowfall
In the coming decades, the Mountain West could be plagued by limited snowfall on valley floors even though snowfall may increase at higher elevations, according to research published in the
In the Smoky Mountains, a volunteer effort aims to document every species
For citizen scientists, counting thousands of species is one way to monitor climate change in America's most biodiverse national park.
Raiders 2026 OTAs
Head inside Intermountain Health Performance Center as the Raiders hold their tenth and final OTA.
Decades in the making, Deb Haaland's political rise spurs both inspiration and scrutiny
SAN FELIPE PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — As the sun peeked over the Sandia Mountains, Deb Haaland was at a familiar spot, the tribal community where she used to work, waving at motorists and encouraging them to stop and vote in New Mexico’s primary.
Greenville's Roper Mountain Science Center opens Summer Adventure program
Roper Mountain Science Center has kicked off its 2026 Summer Adventure program, which will run until July 25.
Intermountain Health and Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games Announce New Partnership to Support Athlete Health and Community Wellness
CEDAR CITY – Intermountain Health and the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games, an outreach department of Southern Utah University, today announced a new partnership that will position Intermountain as the Official Health Partner and Medical Provider of the Games, strengthening support for athletes while advancing health, wellness, and community ...
Arts and Entertainment Agenda, June 4-11
Hotel Jerome’s Twilight Tarot, June 4 Hotel Jerome’s new Twilight Tarot series will take place weekly at 8 p.m. Thursdays in the Garden Room starting June 4. A local expert tarot card reader will guide...
Scientists reveal Ötzi the Iceman's dynamic microbial world
Ötzi the Iceman died violently roughly 5,300 years ago in the Alpine region of the modern border between Italy and Austria. An arrowhead was found lodged in his left shoulder, having caused fatal bleeding when he was attacked in mountainous terrain. But, in some sense, Ötzi still lives, as new research shows.
A Psychedelics Revival Is Overdue
R. Gordon Wasson was a Manhattan banker who fancied himself a mycologist. In 1955, after decades studying the mushrooms of ancient cultures, he traveled to the remote mountains of southern Mexico to partake of what locals called the “flesh of the gods.” Wasson chronicled the experience in Life magazine — the first widely published account of psychedelic mushrooms since Spanish friars condemned their use in the early 17th century.
AVH annual health fair returns to Roaring Fork Valley
Aspen Valley Health is hosting its annual health fair from 8-11:30 a.m. June 5 and 6 at the AVH Medical Center in Aspen, and June 7 at the Eagle County Community Center in El Jebel.
Business owners discuss the impacts of low water levels at Smith Mountain Lake
WDBJ7 spoke with business owners in Franklin County about the low water levels and how they’re already having an impact on summer business.
AVH annual health fair returns to Aspen, El Jebel
Aspen Valley Health is hosting its annual health fair from 8-11:30 a.m. June 5 and 6 at the AVH Medical Center in Aspen, and June 7 at the Eagle County Community Center in El Jebel.
Raiders 2026 OTAs
View photos from day seven of OTAs at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
What’s Behind Tilman Fertitta’s $18 Billion Bet On Caesars Entertainment
Despite challenges from prediction markets, Ozempic and rising costs, the restaurateur owner of the Houston Rockets seeks to add 50 locations, and a mountain of debt, to his existing empire.
Humans Are Still Evolving Right Before Our Eyes on The Tibetan Plateau
"This is a case of ongoing natural selection."
Kurt Russell proved Hollywood wrong by ditching LA decades before the celebrity exodus began
Kurt Russell opened up about choosing Colorado ranch life over Hollywood, saying the mountains offer everything he and Goldie Hawn want in daily life.
Nancy Guthrie Update: Expert Discusses Human Remains Found Nearby
‘There’s a lot of places that an individual could get lost or pass away or hide a body,’ James T. Watson said of the Arizona desert.
Political obsession disorder is a real thing
I am an avid reader of advice columns. I don’t read the responses, but I do like to read about other people’s issues maybe because it makes me feel better about my own situation. Lately...
AI, Power & Politics: The Debates Shaping the Sector in 2026
Leaders from GreenScale, NTT, Iron Mountain & Jabil gathered at Data Centre LIVE in May to debate the sector's hottest talking points, from energy to water
Raiders 2026 OTAs
View photos from day six of OTAs at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
Roads close for final TT qualifying sessions
A daytime closure is in place around the Mountain Course for the closing qualifying sessions.
Raiders 2026 OTAs
Head inside Intermountain Health Performance Center to view photos from day five of OTAs.
Poll: Vote for Blue FCU's top girls athlete from spring sports
Vote for your top girls athlete from Fort Collins-area spring sports, with nominees from Windsor, Timnath, Rocky Mountain and Fossil Ridge.
Beyond the Game: How Utah is Leading the Charge for Mental Health and Performance in MLS and NWSL
By Isabella Rubis Mental health in sports is an increasingly important topic, highlighting the psychological challenges athletes face both on and off the field as they strive for peak performance while navigating intense pressure and public scrutiny. Through the partnership with Intermountain Health, Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC
Tapped: Worst winter in memory triggers cascading economic strain in Colorado mountain towns
Editor’s Note: The Denver metro region sits at the center of one of the American West’s most complex and consequential water challenges. This series examines the interconnected systems that determine how the region secures, stores, and conserves its water while navigating the competing demands of fast‑growing urban communities and the increasingly unpredictable mountain snowpack that […]
100% chance of Slingshot sightings on Haywood roads
An onslaught of three-wheeled slingshots will take to the roads of Haywood County this week as the annual Slingshots in the Smokies festival descends on Maggie Valley from May 28-30.
Raiders 2026 OTAs
View photos from day one of OTAs at Intermountain Health Performance Center.
CBS Stands Down After Outcry Over Stephen Colbert
The network elicited backlash following Colbert's surprise return to TV as a host after 'The Late Show' ended.
‘Banana Kid’ coming to Bucksport
Wednesday on Main will host a Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers’ performance of “The Legend of the Banana Kid” at the Alamo Theatre on Wednesday, June 3, at 5:30-6:15 p.m.
BUSINESS BRIEFS May 25, 2025: Business news in the Berkshires and beyond
Business news from Beacon Bank, MountainOne, Greylock Federal, and more.
Adorable tiny blue octopus found nearly 6,000 feet beneath the Galápagos
A mysterious little blue octopus discovered nearly 6,000 feet beneath the waters of the Galápagos Islands has officially been identified as a brand-new species. About the size of a golf ball, the tiny creature stunned researchers during a deep-sea expedition when it suddenly appeared on camera, crawling across the ocean floor near an underwater mountain.
Orville Hicks Mountain Talkers Storytelling Contest taking place on May 30
BOONE — The Orville Hicks Mountain Talkers Storytelling Contest will return to Boone on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Hickory Ridge History Museum for an afternoon celebrating Appalachian storytelling, music,
Over 20 Aspen businesses plan to shut down in some capacity for 2027 airport closure
Aspen Chamber Resort Association presented to the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority Board Wednesday on potential impacts to the workforce during the 2027 Aspen/Pitkin County Airport closure to help guide initial conversations about waiving required work hours for employee housing.
Arts and Entertainment Agenda, May 22-28
‘Summer Reading Kick Off Party,’ May 22 The annual “Summer Reading Kick off Party” will celebrate the start of the Summer Reading Program from 3 to 5 p.m. May 22 at Pitkin County Library, 120...
Waste Watch: How community colleges spent taxpayer-funded mental health recovery dollars
WLOS News 13 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Asheville, NC and nearby towns and communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina, including the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford, Haywood, Polk, Transylvania, McDowell, Mitchell, Madison, Yancey, Jackson, Swain, Macon, Graham, Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Union, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens, Greenwood, Abbeville and also Biltmore Forest, Woodfin, Leicester, Black Mountain, Montreat, Arden, Weaverville, Hendersonville, Etowah, Flat Rock, Mills River, Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton, Clyde, Franklin, Cullowhee, Sylva, Cherokee, Marion, Old Fort, Forest City, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Spindale, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Burnsville, Tryon, Columbus, Marshall, Mars Hill, Brevard, Bryson City, Cashiers, Greer, Landrum, Clemson, Gaffney, and Easley.
Live entertainment this weekend at Amberg Pub
IRON MOUNTAIN — The Amberg Pub in Amberg, Wis., will feature full weekend of entertainment. On Friday, musician Rocky will play from 7 to 11 p.m. The local band, Next Myle will perform a variety of music from 6 to 10 p.m. On Sunday, the Curious Crow of Appleton, Wis., will offer a variety rock […]
Intermountain Health St. James receives major stroke certification
Intermountain Health St. James Hospital received an important certification. The facility earned Primary Stroke Certification from The Joint Commission, which
Future-proof: Why demand for data science is on the rise
As companies gather mountains of information, they need business intelligence analysts working alongside AI to make sense of it all.
Polis signs bill aimed at easing regulatory burdens on Colorado businesses
Regulation reform is on the horizon for Colorado businesses after lawmakers approved a bill that will crack down on excessive rules — reportedly freeing up time for more care for patients, more attention for students...
Polis signs bill aimed at easing regulatory burdens on Colorado businesses
Regulation reform is on the horizon for Colorado businesses after lawmakers approved a bill that will crack down on excessive rules — reportedly freeing up time for more care for patients, more attention for students...
Business Buzz: The mountain market whiplash and the 6th graders beating Wall Street
A Tourist’s Guide to Forza Horizon 6, From A Designer’s Perspective
Take a tour through some of Forza Horizon 6's most iconic locations, and how they were designed, built and adapted for the world of Horizon.
Puzzle game Namco Legendary Mountains announced for Nintendo Switch 2, and Switch
BeXide has announced Namco Legendary Mountains for the Nintendo Switch, and the Nintendo Switch 2. The title is planned for launch this summer, with an exact release date not yet provided. Namco Legendary Mountains is similar to titles like 2048 and Suika Game in which you combine icons to create bigger ones. The twist however, is that it takes place...
BeXide announces 3D puzzle game NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains for Switch 2, Switch, and PC
BeXide, in cooperation with Bandai Namco, has announced 3D puzzle game NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains for Switch 2, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch this summer. A demo will be playable at BitSumm…
‘SNL’ Weekend Update Joke Swap Drops Jaws With Raunchy Punchlines
Colin Jost and Michael Che broke constantly during the highly-anticipated tradition in the Season 51 finale.
Juventus 0 – Fiorentina 2: Initial reaction and random observations
Juventus lost to Fiorentina 2-0 on Sunday and saw their Champions League qualification hopes go tumbling down the mountain as a result.
St. Michael's ground down in 10-0 loss to East Mountain
When the game was over, there was little doubt that the Timberwolves (28-1) had the goods to make them stand above the rest.
Mental Health Resources
As Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC honor Mental Health Awareness Month, the Club encourages all fans, staff, and players to remember that they are never alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength. Together with our partner Intermountain Health, here’s how we're working to support mental
Now What? With Carbon Pricing Eroded and Pipeline Politics Advancing, Here Are the Pathways for Climate Success
At the end of a whirlwind week of news on carbon pricing and electricity strategy, capping a madcap year of pretty much non-stop, dramatic change, the word across much of Canada’s climate and energy transition community is that climate policy in this country has been shredded. Eviscerated. Hit with a sledgehammer by policy rollbacks that have pushed the country’s 2050 net zero target “well out of reach”. That means it’s never been more important to look for the rays of hope and glimmers of possibility. To glimpse the seeds of the next set of strategies to get Canada’s climate pollution under control and the country into the accelerating global dash away from fossil fuels. And then, once we’ve spotted those possibilities, get on with the hard, day-to-day slog of trying to make them a reality. Nothing takes away from the frustration and the deep disappointment so many climate and energy hawks are expressing, the sense of betrayal by the author of Value(s) and the former UN special envoy for climate action and finance. But we knew two things as the week drew to a close. We’re looking at the world as it most definitely is. And we don’t get to give up finding the pathways to confront climate change and deliver faster, deeper carbon cuts that leave no one else behind. So really, the first question we all have to ask ourselves is: What’s next? Subscribe All the Oxygen in the Room The outpouring of anger and grief over the carbon pricing deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been absolutely understandable. So much of the climate community poured years, more than a decade, into dragging the current federal pricing regime across the finish line, then defending it from a deluge of three-syllable rhymes after the Trudeau government proved utterly incapable of delivering its own message. The policy foisted on us by neo-classical economists took up all the oxygen in the room, burned through years of climate response time that we won’t get back, while cornering climate hawks into the position that the best response to the crisis of our lifetimes is a new tax…in an era of historic anti-tax sentiment. I mean, really—what could possibly have gone wrong? Against that history, let’s appreciate columnist Max Fawcett’s point that even a modest carbon pricing agreement with a government as off-the-wall libertarian/conspiracist as Danielle Smith’s—those adjectives are mine, not Max’s—is a win worth savouring (as long as Smith keeps her promises for a change). But part of living in the world as it is (no, I’m not letting that go) is to be clear-headed about what we can and can’t control. And one thing we get to decide, after seeing this week’s carbon price festivities take up all the oxygen yet again, is whether we want to keep letting that happen. Particularly when success down that road depends on a factor that no one with a climate agenda can control or influence—a provincial carbon pricing mechanism that has been manipulated and eroded beyond its lowest possible denominator. Thankfully, that’s not the way it has to go. Not when we have so many other powerful, practical tools at our disposal, including the ones still available to us through this abominable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Alberta. Tools In Our Toolbox When I started roughing out this list, I didn’t expect it to grow to nearly a dozen bullet points. It’s probably still incomplete. Some of the greatest hits in today’s climate solutions toolbox include: • No Carbon Capture, No Pipeline: On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly stated that there’s been no change to the MOU provision that there will be no West Coast pipeline without an industry commitment to build its massive, $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage (CCUS) hub in Northern Alberta, and vice versa. The two megaprojects were joined at the hip when the MOU was signed Nov. 27, and the implementation agreement this week affirmed that they still are. A parade of independent analysts have spent years pointing to the economic and technical flaws in CCUS, while the industry kept postponing its investment decision until it could arm-twist the government for more “clarity” (by which it meant even more lavish taxpayer subsidies) on the project. Now the industry itself is running away from the CCUS hub and insisting the pipeline should proceed without it, but Carney doesn’t seem to be budging from a central tenet of the MOU to which Smith has signed on. • No Subsidies, No Investors: Climate analysts and advocates have quite rightly been hammering away at Carney and his team, insisting that any new capacity the industry wants to build must proceed without new subsidies. The government has responded with a growing collection of funding and financing mechanisms for the very wide menu of industrial development and nation-building projects they say they want to take on, and that menu always includes fossil fuel infrastructure. But it’s hard to see how even the combined fiscal clout of the federal and supportive provincial governments will deliver the financial backing private investors would need when the business case for new fossil fuel development is evaporating before their eyes. Particularly when… • No Market, No Demand, No Investors: As our friend Markham Hislop at Energi Media (our apparently sleepless friend, given the massive volume of great material he’s been churning out) points out this morning, the biggest vulnerability in any pipeline deal is the assumption that Asian buyers will want the oil or liquefied natural ga that our fossil industry is so keen to send them. Hislop writes in part: Ottawa and Alberta are effectively betting that countries like China and India will continue increasing oil imports for decades as their economies grow and energy consumption rises. That assumption underpins the entire economic rationale for expanding oil sands production and building billions of dollars in new export infrastructure. But Asian energy systems are changing rapidly… China, India, South Korea, and other major hydrocarbon importers are now investing hundreds of billions of dollars into electricity systems built around wind, solar, batteries, nuclear, hydro, and expanded transmission infrastructure. Domestic “energy sovereignty” is increasingly replacing the old energy-security model based on stable oil and gas imports. Those investments are expected to sharply slow oil demand growth and eventually reverse it, even as overall energy consumption continues rising. There are also refining constraints. Many Asian refineries and petrochemical complexes are already optimized to process discounted heavy crude from the Middle East and Latin America. That raises serious questions about how much additional Canadian bitumen Asian markets can absorb at profitable prices. Small wonder that there’s still no private sector investor for the project, despite Smith’s government desperately beating the bushes to put together a deal. For now, Alberta is acting as proponent and covering early start-up costs for a pitch to the federal Major Projects Office, which could actually turn into the next tough hurdle for Smith and her pipeline to jump. • Canada Day Looms: How ironic that Canada’s birthday this year could become a major chokepoint for the provincial premier who’s been working so diligently to tear the country apart! The July 1 target date for Alberta’s pipeline proposal is baked into the MOU, was reaffirmed by the implementation plan, but it hadn’t dawned on me that it cuts both ways. As one very smart colleague wrote in an email yesterday, “they’ve thrown the ball into Alberta’s court to get the project proposal on the table really quickly and to have to do a whole pile of work to put together a massive, complicated project that would typically take years to assemble, and they’ve given them weeks to do it.” That makes July 1 a looming deadline that Smith won’t be able to run away from politically, especially with the separatists in her party and her caucus breathing down her neck. (See previous ref to off-the-wall.) But if Alberta comes in with a sloppy, incomplete submission, even after Carney bent over backwards to simplify the application process and the rules that govern it, it may be harder for the province or the industry to blame Ottawa and insist on the faster process they claim their investors are demanding. (Oh, wait—which investors would those be??) • We’ll See You In Court (Then We’ll See You Again): If Carney did cave, that would be just one more reason for Indigenous and other affected communities to take the government and the process to court—Just as Alberta First Nations did, successfully, in response to Smith’s half-baked separation referendum. Veterans of the Harper era have been warning that a shoddy process around fossil fuel infrastructure or other major projects will be a recipe for the very delays that process seeks to avoid. And now more than ever, with renewable energy and energy storage eating fossil fuels’ lunch in import markets around the world, a delayed pipeline or LNG terminal may be as good as a cancelled one. • Charged Up, Ready to Go: With its goal of doubling Canada’s electricity supply to meet a doubling of demand by 2050, the national electricity strategy that Carney unveiled Thursday has a lot to like. With its explicit language about speeding the shift from fuels to more efficient and affordable electricity, global investment and deployment patterns that already favour that shift, an emerging bidirectional power grid, the role of front-line options like rooftop solar and heat pumps, the emergence of electric vehicles as behind-the-meter energy storage, and the domestic jobs and manufacturing to make it all happen, the document doubles down on the essential cornerstone of a faster shift off fossil fuels. The strategy envisions a more prominent role for gas and nuclear power. But some of those provisions were already in the Clean Electricity Regulations that climate hawks are now fighting so hard to defend, inserted as a compromise in a futile attempt to mollify the industry and its political representatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But once again, gas will be a tougher sell when it’s more expensive and now so much more unpredictable than the clean alternatives. The new nuclear technologies are still speculative and deeply vulnerable to cost overruns. Increasingly, utilities, developers, and investors know it. Carney declared Thursday that “it doesn’t do us good to be sitting in court all the time with provinces. It doesn’t do us good to be talking past each other. What does do us good is to come together with specific projects.” There are no guarantees, but so much of the language and narrative-building in the electricity strategy suggests the lion’s share of those projects will be renewable. • The Party Has Already Started: The electricity strategy only rarely digs down to specific projects, but provinces representing three-quarters of Canada’s population are already embracing a faster transition. Hydro-Québec is working on a 10-year, $185-billion renewable energy and grid buildout by 2035. Ontario recently brought 10 provinces and territories together in a National Energy Corridor Agreement to boost interprovincial and -territorial transmission infrastructure. And the MOU implementation agreement commits Alberta to facilitate investment in renewable energy projects, a big step back from its continuing, punitive restrictions on renewables development. The electricity strategy envisions much of the financing and infrastructure that will be needed to pull those advances together into an integrated whole. • Delivering on Affordability: The MOU implementation plan has little or nothing to say about affordability (are you surprised?), but the electricity strategy does, with a top-line pledge to reduce home energy costs for seven out of 10 Canadian households by 2050, a total saving of $15 billion across the board. It’s just a start, but it puts affordability on the government’s narrative map. If they’re serious and deliberate about patching together a least-cost energy strategy, it’ll have little if any room for oil, gas, or nuclear—not with powerful evidence, for example, that electricity prices are higher when those prices are set by gas. • Smith Proves that Canada Works: By signing a deal that makes it harder to claim the federal government is blocking a new pipeline, Smith has helped prove Carney’s constant anti-separatist refrain that “Canada works”—incurring the rage, no doubt, of her own political base. Canada also needs to work for anyone who depends on a clean environment, healthy and thriving ecosystems, and safe, stable climate. But with Smith and her separatist constituents setting up as a fifth column for annexation by Donald Trump’s United States, let’s set aside any notion that 51st state status for Canada is a recipe for anything other than climate disaster (and so much else). Resisting and withstanding Trump (just 170 more sleeps until mid-term elections, which is a damn sight better than the 730 we started with) doesn’t mean a free pass for a pipeline, but we can still appreciate it that keeping Canada whole and sovereign is still Carney’s Job One. • The Words Not Spoken: Apart from a commitment to export a million barrels of “low-emission” Alberta bitumen per day (memo to Smith and Carney: You realize that that’s less than the industry is already exporting??), the MOU implementation plan says nothing about the international trade and economic sovereignty deals that Carney has been travelling the world to negotiate. It didn’t have to. Carney doesn’t need permission from Danielle Smith, her American enablers, or her separatist allies to continue building the alliances that will ratchet down our economic dependency on our unstable, unreliable neighbour to the south. But every connection he builds with countries outside North America helps align our economy and our future with a faster shift off fossil fuels. Little if any of this was on our bingo cards a year or two ago. But it’s the pathway that has opened up to us. And if it gives Canada any climate or energy gains at all in an era still dominated by Trump and his increasingly ridiculous tariffs, his loutish trade negotiations and his continuing annexation threats, we have to take the wins. Not least because they’ll be the point of departure for what we can achieve in 2027, 2029, and beyond, as Trump’s grip and this era begin to loosen and then fade. What is Carney Doing? If this line of thought is right—and it’s a possibility, not a prediction—it means that Carney’s actions and decisions are largely about buying time. Time for Trump’s power to wane. Time for Alberta’s separatist/conspiracist virus to spread, mutate, die out, or at least die back, with help from a vaccine of federal steadiness and calm (appropriate enough, for a movement populated largely by vaccine deniers) that no conspiracy theory can dismiss. And time for the government’s trade and investment agenda to deliver results—even knowing that some of those results will bring impacts that front-line communities will not and should not accept. In the immediate moment, none of this changes the way the wider climate community has to respond, from campaigners to investors to front-line practitioners. All of our voices are still essential. But those voices will be stronger and more confident if we have a clearer sense of the brutal game we’ve been pulled into, and a plausible path (or two it three) for playing it to the win we need. This conversation also underscores our biggest task for the remaining years of what was supposed to be the “decisive” decade for climate response: if we can shift the energy narrative in Canada, make it a mainstream view that the country’s preoccupation with oil and gas has us falling farther behind a changing world, we’ll see far better results in the 2030s and beyond. For many veteran climate advocates, taking on that part of the fight will begin with recognizing that most of our friends and family, neighbours and colleagues already understand that climate change is real and right in front of us: they’re looking away and staying silent because they don’t have what climate communicator Katharine Hayhoe calls “efficacy”. As Hayhoe recently pointed out in a feature interview with The Energy Mix, it amounts to science denial to keep hammering away at the dire news about global warming without also helping audiences understand what they can do about it, with multiple studies telling us why that won’t work. Far better to open those conversations with the dominant crises like energy security, food security, emergency preparedness and business continuity, affordability, and financial security that have knocked climate change far lower on the list of public priorities, and will likely keep it there. We Knew This Would Happen Climate hawks have always known this day would come. For decades, we warned that everyone had to pay attention to climate change right now, because it would be much tougher to respond once the crisis itself started affecting our daily lives. We were right, and here we are. But now, thanks to decades of hard work, communities and countries have an alternative to doubling down on fossil fuels. “In 10 years everyone will have ‘always known’ that solar and batteries were going to win,” Morgan Solar Executive Chair Mike Andrade writes on LinkedIn. With the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz roiling energy priorities around the world, Canada and the United States are among the shrinking number of countries that are still very keen on fossil fuel development. Understanding that gap is a first, essential step in spotting the opportunities ahead, and averting the deep economic as well as environmental and social risk we face if we don’t seize them. Thanks for reading The Energy Mix Weekender! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. Subscribe Mitchell Beer traces his background in renewable energy and energy efficiency back to 1977, in climate change to 1997. Now he and the rest of the Energy Mix team scan 1,200 news headlines a week to pull together The Energy Mix and The Energy Mix Weekender. Chart of the Week BYD Eyes 20 Dealership Locations After Canada Greenlights Chinese EV Imports ‘Sledgehammer’ Carbon Price Deal Boosts Emissions by 230Mt, Aims for Fall 2027 Pipeline Approval ‘Worse Than Harper’: Regulatory Rollback Would Stop Canada from Assessing Project Impacts, Critics Warn Electricity Strategy Aims for Doubling by 2050, Allows ‘Flexibility’ for Gas Power Plants Opposition Mounts as O’Leary’s Data Centre Approved in Drought-Stricken Utah Diluted Carbon Price Misses ‘Reality of the World We’re In’, Could Impede Diversified Trade: Climate Institute $200B in Clean Energy Investment Will Need On-Time Delivery, Reliable Policies, Trade Association Says ‘Sovereign Pipeline’: CEO Pitches to Keep Trans Mountain in Government Hands What a Supercharged El Niño Could Mean for Canada Canada’s future is electric, and here’s how a power grid superhighway would get us there (Toronto Star) The Perilous Waters of Hecate Strait (Globe and Mail) Saudi Aramco profits jump despite conflict in Middle East (The Guardian) Farmers confront rising cost of fertilizer and fuel as spring seeding under way (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Clarkson forecasts 24% decline in offshore oil, gas capital expenditures (Oil & Gas Journal) Pipe Dreams: How Oil and Gas Fail to Deliver Economic Development in Africa (Oil Change International) Developing countries must hold the pen to script the fossil fuel transition (Climate Home News) Iran war threatens the dream of a post-oil economy in the Gulf (Washington Post) U.S. Oil, Gas Work Force Hits Lowest Level Since 2022 (Rigzone) Why Polestar Is Doubling Down on Net Zero as Rivals Pull Back on EVs (Bloomberg) Why this Michigan utility plans to sell its hydro dams for $13 (E&E News/Politico) Levees can no longer save New Orleans (Vox)
Inside Trump’s Midterm Strategy: a Mountain of Cash to Stem GOP Losses
Redistricting battle provides glimmer of hope for Republicans in November.
Summer, sunshine and science: Physics Day at Lagoon
Students from across the Intermountain West gathered to explore the world of science — and it was thrilling in more ways than one
Aspen launches new platform for business licensing, tax filing, STR permitting
The city of Aspen has announced the transition to a new online platform, Localgov, for business licensing, short-term rental permitting and local tax filing beginning June 1.
Winter Sports Club takes home multiple honors at U.S. Ski and Snowboard awards banquet
The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club took home several honors Tuesday when U.S. Ski and Snowboard handed out awards at a banquet in Park City, Utah. Winter Sports Club Head Coach Karl Denney was named...
Arts and Entertainment Agenda, May 15-22
Roaring Fork Rising series, beginning May 15 The Wheeler Opera House will present its second annual Roaring Fork Rising performance series designed to showcase local talent hosted at The Vault. Upcoming performances feature Aggie Flores...
SEG, Intermountain Health announce sports medicine center at South Town in Sandy
Smith Entertainment Group and Intermountain Health announced a partnership and the creation of a sports medicine center at The Shops at South Town.The "first-of
SEG, Intermountain Health announce sports medicine center at South Town in Sandy
Smith Entertainment Group and Intermountain Health announced a partnership and the creation of a sports medicine center at The Shops at South Town.The "first-of
Smith Entertainment Group and Intermountain Health Announce Groundbreaking Partnership and Creation of World-Class Sports Performance Center Co-located with Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth Practice Facilities
First-of-its-kind campus combines NBA and NHL practice facilities with a state-of-the-art sports medicine center powered by a single, integrated healthcare provider, further positioning Utah as a global leader in athlete performance, innovation, and care Intermountain Health named official healthcare partner for the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth beginning July 1,
Smith Entertainment Group and Intermountain Health Announce Groundbreaking Partnership and Creation of World-Class Sports Performance Center Co-located with Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth Practice Facilities
First-of-its-kind campus combines NBA and NHL practice facilities with a state-of-the-art sports medicine center powered by a single, integrated healthcare provider, further positioning Utah as a global leader in athlete performance, innovation, and care Intermountain Health named official healthcare partner for the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth beginning July 1,
Smith Entertainment Group and Intermountain Health Announce Groundbreaking Partnership and Creation of World-Class Sports Performance Center Co-located with Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth Practice Facilities
First-of-its-kind campus combines NBA and NHL practice facilities with a state-of-the-art sports medicine center powered by a single, integrated healthcare provider, further positioning Utah as a global leader in athlete performance, innovation, and care Intermountain Health named official healthcare partner for the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth beginning July 1,