Energy
Activists using the courts in attempt to hijack energy policy

2016 image provided by Misti Leon, left, sits with her mom, Juliana Leon. Misti Leon is suing several oil and gas companies in one of the first wrongful-death claims in the U.S. seeking to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its role in the changing climate.
From theĀ Daily Caller News Foundation
By Jason Isaac
They twist yesterdayās weather into tomorrowās crisis, peddle apocalyptic forecasts that fizzle, and swap āglobal warmingā for āclimate changeā whenever the narrative demands. They sound the alarm on a so-called climate emergency ā again and again.
Now, the Left has plunged to a new low: weaponizing the courts with a lawsuit in Washington State that marks a brazen, desperate escalation. This isnāt just legal maneuveringāitās the exploitation of personal tragedy in service of an unpopular anti-energy climate crusade.
Consider the case at the center of a new legal circus: Juliana Leon, 65, tragically died of hyperthermia during a 100-mile drive in a car with broken air conditioning, as a brutal heat wave pushed temperatures to 108 degrees Fahrenheit.
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The lawsuit leaps from this heartbreaking event to a sweeping claim: that a single hot day is the direct result of global warming.
The lawsuit preposterously links a very specific hot weather event to theorized global warming. Buckle upātheir logic is about to take a wild ride.
Some activist scientists have further speculated that what may be a gradual long-term trend of slight warming thought to be both cyclical and natural, might be possibly exacerbated by the release of greenhouse gases. Some of these releases are the result of volcanic activity while some comes from human activities, including the burning of oil, natural gas and coal.
Grabbing onto that last, unproven thread, the plaintiffs have zeroed in on a handful of energy giantsāBP, Chevron, Conoco, Exxon, Phillips 66, Shell, and the Olympic Pipe Companyāaccusing them of causing Leonās death. Apparently, these few companies are to blame for the entire planetās climate, while other oil giants, coal companies, and the billions of consumers who actually use these fuels get a free pass.
Meanwhile, āclimate journalistsā in the legacy media have ignored key details that will surely surface in court. Leon made her journey in a car with no air conditioning, despite forecasts warning of dangerous heat. She was returning from a doctorās visit, having just been cleared to eat solid food after recent bariatric surgery.
But letās be clear: this lawsuit isnāt about truth, justice, or even common sense. Itās lawfare, plain and simple.
Environmental extremists are using the courts to hijack national energy policy, aiming to force through a radical agenda they could never pass in Congress. A courtroom win would mean higher energy prices for everyone, the potential bankruptcy of energy companies, or their takeover by the so-called green industrial complex. For the trial lawyers, these cases are gold mines, with contingency fees that could reach hundreds of millions.
This particular lawsuit wasĀ reportedlyĀ pitched to Leonās daughter by the left-leaningĀ Center for Climate Integrity, a group bankrolled by billionaire British nationalĀ Christopher HohnĀ through hisĀ Childrenās Investment Fund FoundationĀ and by theĀ Rockefeller Foundation. Itās yet another meritless claim in the endless list of climate lawsuits that are increasingly being tossed out of courts across the country.
Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania judgeĀ threw outĀ a climate nuisance suit against oil producers brought by Bucks County, citing lack of jurisdiction. In New York, Supreme Court Justice Anar PatelĀ dismissedĀ a massive climate lawsuit by New York City, pointing out the city couldnāt claim both public awareness and deception by oil companies in the same breath.
But the Washington State case goes even further, threatening to set a dangerous precedent: if it moves forward, energy companies could face limitless liability for any weather-related injury. Worse, it would give unwarranted credibility to the idea ā floated by a leftwing activist before the U.S. Senate ā that energy executives could be prosecuted for homicide, a notion that Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz rightly called āmoonbeam, wacky theory.ā
The courts must keep rejecting these absurd lawfare stunts. More importantly, Americaās energy policy should be set by Congressāelected and accountableānot by a single judge in a municipal courtroom.
Jason Isaac is the founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute. He previously served four terms in the Texas House of Representatives.
Alberta
Temporary Alberta grid limit unlikely to dampen data centre investment, analyst says

From the Canadian Energy Centre
By Cody Ciona
āAlberta has never seen this level and volume of load connection requestsā
Billions of investment in new data centres is still expected in Alberta despite the provinceās electric system operator placing aĀ temporary limitĀ on new large-load grid connections, said Carson Kearl, lead data centre analyst for Enverus Intelligence Research.
Kearl cited NVIDIA CEO Jensen HuangāsĀ estimateĀ from earlier this year that building a one-gigawatt data centre costs between US$60 billion and US$80 billion.
That implies the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)ās 1.2 gigawatt temporary limit would still allow for up to C$130 billion of investment.
āItās got the potential to be extremely impactful to the Alberta power sector and economy,ā Kearl said.
Importantly, data centre operators can potentially get around the temporary limit by ābringing their own powerā rather than drawing electricity from the existing grid.
In AlbertaāsĀ deregulated electricity marketĀ ā the only one in Canada ā large energy consumers like data centres can build the power supply they need by entering project agreements directly with electricity producers.
According to theĀ AESO, there are 30 proposed data centre projects across the province.
The total requested power load for these projects is more than 16 gigawatts, roughly four gigawatts more than AlbertaāsĀ demand recordĀ in January 2024 during a severe cold snap.
For comparison, Edmontonās load is around 1.4 gigawatts, the AESO said.
āAlberta has never seen this level and volume of load connection requests,ā CEO Aaron Engen said in a statement.
āBecause connecting all large loads seeking access would impair grid reliability, we established a limit that preserves system integrity while enabling timely data centre development in Alberta.ā
As data centre projects come to the province, so do jobs and other economic benefits.
āYou have all of the construction staff associated; electricians, engineers, plumbers, and HVAC people for all the cooling tech that are continuously working on a multi-year time horizon. In the construction phase thereās a lot of spend, and that is just generally good for the ecosystem,ā said Kearl.
Investment in local power infrastructure also has long-term job implications for maintenance and upgrades, he said.
āAlberta is a really exciting place when it comes to building data centers,ā said Beacon AI CEO Josh Schertzer on a recent ARC Energy IdeasĀ podcast.
āIt has really great access to natural gas, it does have some excess grid capacity that can be used in the short term, itās got a great workforce, and itās very business-friendly.ā
The unaltered reproduction of this content is free of charge with attribution to the Canadian Energy Centre.
Energy
CNNās Shock Climate Polling Data Reinforces Trumpās Energy Agenda

From theĀ Daily Caller News Foundation
As the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress move aggressively to roll back the climate alarm-driven energy policies of the Biden presidency, proponents of climate change theory have ramped up their scare tactics in hopes of shifting public opinion in their favor.
But CNNās energetic polling analyst, the irrepressible Harry Enten, says those tactics arenāt working. Indeed, Enten points out the climate alarm messaging which has permeated every nook and cranny of American society for at least 25 years now has failed to move the public opinion needle even a smidgen since 2000.
Appearing on the cable channelās āCNN News Centralā program with host John Berman Thursday, EntenĀ cited polling data showing that just 40% of U.S. citizens are āafraidā of climate change. That is the same percentage who gave a similar answer in 2000.
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Entenās own report is an example of this fealty. Saying the findings ākind of boggles the mind,ā Enten emphasized the fact that, despite all the media hysteria that takes place in the wake of any weather disaster or wildfire, an even lower percentage of Americans are concerned such events might impact them personally.
āIn 2006, it was 38%,ā Enten says of the percentage who are even āsometimes worriedā about being hit by a natural disaster, and adds, āLook at where we are now in 2025. Itās 32%, 38% to 32%. The numberās actually gone down.ā
In terms of all adults who worry that a major disaster might hit their own hometown, Enten notes that just 17% admit to such a concern. Even among Democrats, whose party has been the major proponent of climate alarm theory in the U.S., the percentage is a paltry 27%.
While Enten and Berman both appear to be shocked by these findings, they really arenāt surprising. Enten himself notes that climate concerns have never been a driving issue in electoral politics in his conclusion, when Berman points out, āPeople might think itās an issue, but clearly not a driving issue when people go to the polls.ā
āThatās exactly right,ā Enten says, adding, āThey may worry about in the abstract, but when it comes to their own lives, they donāt worry.ā
This reality of public opinion is a major reason why President Donald Trump and his key cabinet officials have felt free to mount their aggressive push to end any remaining notion that a government-subsidized āenergy transitionā from oil, gas, and coal to renewables and electric vehicles is happening in the U.S. It is also a big reason why congressional RepublicansĀ included languageĀ in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to phase out subsidies for those alternative energy technologies.
It is key to understand that the administrationās reprioritization of energy and climate policies goes well beyond just rolling back the Biden policies. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is working on plans toĀ revoke the 2010 endangerment findingĀ related to greenhouse gases which served as the foundation for most of the Obama climate agenda as well.
If that plan can survive the inevitable court challenges, then Trumpās ambitions will only accelerate. Last yearās elimination of theĀ Chevron DeferenceĀ by the Supreme Court increases the chances of that happening. Ultimately, by the end of 2028, it will be almost as if the Obama and Biden presidencies never happened.
The reality here is that, with such a low percentage of voters expressing concerns about any of this, Trump and congressional Republicans will pay little or no political price for moving in this direction. Thus, unless the polls change radically, the policy direction will remain the same.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
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