GOLDEN CRESCENT AND 1000 ISLAND NEWS

  April 11, 2026 Several years ago, in a burst of climate optimism, Democratic-led states across the Northeast adopted some of the world’s most ambitious policies to shift away from fossil fuels and cut planet-warming emissions. But today, many of those states are scaling back or rethinking their climate plans as they miss emissions targets, struggle with soaring electricity bills and confront the Trump administration’s hostility to renewable energy. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently said the state’s goal for deeply cutting emissions by 2030 was now “unattainable” and  asked the legislature to rework  its landmark climate law. Regulators had been discussing fees on polluters to help meet that goal, but Ms. Hochul said the costs passed onto consumers would be too high. In Massachusetts, lawmakers  are eyeing cuts  to a program that adds charges to utility bills to fund heat pumps and efficiency upgrades, while Gov. Maura Healey  has pursued a flurry of...

  In New York State, the annual budget is due by April 1. Here we are on April 7, and no budget has yet emerged. Word is that the Governor and legislative leaders are hidden away behind closed doors hammering out the details. Word also is that somewhere in this “budget” process, the seemingly unrelated matter of the deadlines of the Climate Act (for starters, 70% of electricity from “renewables” by 2030) are about to get extended. When the Climate Act (officially “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act,” or CLCPA) was enacted back in 2019, the deadlines, beginning in 2030, seemed so very far away. The legislation was almost entirely activist-driven, with a willing audience of gullible and innumerate “progressive” useful idiots controlling the Legislature.  Normal people generally paid no attention and had little idea what was about to hit them.  However, as the deadlines have gotten a little closer, and as the costs of renewable generation have begun show up in u...

  March 31, 2026 For nearly a decade, residents of Sweetwater have been confronted by a jarring sight as they leave and enter this small West Texas town: thousands of used wind-turbine blades. The blades take up nearly 1 million square feet in a field off Interstate 20. Hundreds more occupy a second site nearby. Originally up to 200 feet long — nearly the wingspan of a Boeing 747 — the blades have been cut into thirds, exposing gaping openings. Locals complain they’re a haven for rattlesnakes, collect water that attracts mosquitoes and pose a threat to children living nearby. The town has repeatedly asked the company that left the blades there to remove them, with no success. “It’s really ugly,” says Samantha Morrow, the city attorney. She’s received quotes to remove the blades, but they range from $13 million to $54 million, beyond the city’s budget. Thousands of visitors come to Sweetwater each year for its rattlesnake roundup, and the town also draws traffic tied to nearby wind ...