INTERNACIONAL
Climate deadlines collide with politics as Dem-led states chase Big Oil in court but spare local refiners
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Several Democrat-led states are facing conflicting forces in their efforts to transition to 100% green power, as leaders try to shore up the power grid while other officials sue fossil fuel companies in the same light activists did to tobacco firms in the 1990s.
In that decade, dozens of states sued tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, alleging they knowingly endangered public health and misled consumers about nicotine’s addictiveness. The cases culminated in a $200 billion «master settlement» in 1998 that banned billboard advertising and reshaped corporate liability in the industry.
Today, several jurisdictions in Colorado are suing ExxonMobil and Suncor in a similar fashion, accusing them of knowing their product harms the environment and public health.
Boulder, Colorado, along with Boulder County and San Miguel County received the blessing of the Colorado Supreme Court in May to move forward with their suit, and officials claimed the energy companies «greatly contributed to an altered climate.»
SUPREME COURT MUST FREEZE THE CLIMATE EXTORTION OF OUR ENERGY INDUSTRY
A Valero refinery operates in Benicia, Calif. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)
«This case seeks to hold these companies responsible for knowingly contributing to climate change while concealing the dangers of their products,» Boulder city officials said in a statement.
According to a release from Boulder City, Coloradans could face hundreds of millions of dollars in added costs needed to «adapt» to a climate changed by continued reliance on such companies.
ExxonMobil countered that federal law preempts Colorado’s authority to apply state law to the alleged injuries.
«We’ve maintained from the beginning this case is meritless and has no place before a state court,» the company said in an emailed statement to Climate in the Courts.
NEWSOM PUSHES CLIMATE RECORD ABROAD AS CALIFORNIANS SHOULDER AMERICA’S HIGHEST GAS COSTS
Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis set a 2040 goal for moving the Centennial State away from fossil fuels, but was questioned by critics for trying to maintain fossil fuel infrastructure at the same time.
Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., previously asked the Trump administration to force Colorado to keep the Comanche power plant online to avoid an «energy emergency,» according to Colorado Public Radio (CPR).
Last week, the Polis administration joined with Xcel Energy to petition state regulators to keep Comanche Unit 2 online for at least another year. The coal plant was supposed to close December 31.
Reached for comment, Polis spokesperson Eric Maruyama told Fox News Digital that a separate Comanche coal-fired unit is broken and that the state will benefit from keeping Unit 2 operational.
NEWSOM VOWS TO BLOCK TRUMP’S REPORTED ENERGY PLAN IN CALIFORNIA, EXPERTS PUSH BACK
«Colorado is well on its way to achieving 100% clean energy and reducing emissions while saving people money and ensuring energy reliability,» Maruyama said.
«Renewable energy remains the least expensive form of energy, and thanks to Governor Polis’ leadership, in 2024, 43% of Colorado’s total electricity was produced by wind, solar or other renewable sources while maintaining among the lowest energy costs in the country.»
Reports show Coloradans have the third-lowest electricity costs in the nation relative to income.
Hawaii also sued oil firms in 2024, alleging they violated the state constitution’s «public trust doctrine,» claiming companies deceived the public regarding fossil fuels’ alleged harm done to the state’s resources.
Back on the mainland, California is dealing with its own complex energy production situation, according to critics, who point to Democratic governors over the past decade-plus who have worked to set strict deadlines for moving the Golden State away from oil and gas.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown and Gov. Gavin Newsom set a 2045 deadline for achieving carbon-free energy under SB-100. In July, the California Energy Commission under the Newsom administration held talks with «market players» to discuss the planned closure of two major oil companies’ refineries by 2026, according to Politico.
BIDEN’S GREEN ENERGY FIASCO, NOT TRUMP’S REFORMS, IS JACKING UP YOUR ELECTRIC BILL
Phillips 66 and Valero both are considering or have started the process of shutting down their operations, and a source familiar with the situation said that oil companies must regularly analyze whether costly maintenance cycles that occur on average every five years are worth funding.
Chevron already moved out, shifting its headquarters from Contra Costa County to Houston, Texas — but it continues to support some California operations.
With the state positioned against fossil fuels for the long term, these companies have to think seriously about investing in such maintenance cycles to keep their operations running smoothly, the source said.
Valero told California officials earlier this year it plans to seriously consider idling or ending production by April, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the state energy commission told the outlet it has been «actively supporting conversations with a variety of market players to discuss pathways to address the impacts of the closure intent announcements of the Phillips 66 refinery in Wilmington and Valero refinery in Benicia.»
NEWSOM CLAIMS TRUMP IS ‘HANDING THE FUTURE TO CHINA’ AT BRAZILIAN CLIMATE CONFAB THAT WH SKIPPED
CA State Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego (Reuters)
The outlet described the dynamic as an «about-face after the past two years» of «Newsom focused on preventing gasoline price spikes by increasing regulations on refiners.» Over the summer, his administration proposed loosening permitting requirements for new oil wells in the Bakersfield area.
California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, criticized Newsom’s approach.
«Social engineering and market manipulation on the part of government never end well,» he said.
«We’re seeing that now in California and everyday citizens are the ones paying the price for Gavin Newsom’s political experiments: Gasoline prices are through the roof and rising, and the average family can’t afford to survive, much less thrive, here in the Golden State.»
Jones said the affordability crisis in his state is «real» and is only exacerbated by recent and looming refinery closures.
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«We need a major course correction that puts working families over ideology. Absent that, I’m not sure this ends well.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment for purposes of this story.
cities state and local,colorado,energy,california,governors
INTERNACIONAL
US assets in Middle East positioned for ‘highly kinetic’ war, ex-Pentagon official warns
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The U.S. is in position for a «highly kinetic» campaign against Iran after launching one of its largest recent military buildups in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.
Dana Stroul, now research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.
«The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,» Stroul told Fox News Digital.
«The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater,» she said before highlighting how there is «no ally or enemy capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup.»
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S IRAN BUILDUP MIRRORS 2003 IRAQ WAR SCALE AS TENSIONS ESCALATE
The world’s largest warship, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, on its way out of the Oslofjord at Nesodden and Bygdoy, Norway, September 17, 2025. (NTB/Lise Aserud via Reuters)
Describing how the current posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets, Stroul said the U.S. has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.
«Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer,» she explained.
«The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,» she said.
While in June 2025, the US carried out limited but highly targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure to degrade key facilities without triggering a regional war, now, Stroul said the force posture is broader and more sustained.
The US has also «increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems» in the region, she explained.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN HAS 15 DAYS TO REACH A DEAL OR FACE ‘UNFORTUNATE’ OUTCOME
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)
The deployment of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has assumed heightened strategic importance.
The USS Gerald R. Ford was recently tracked transiting the Strait of Gibraltar eastward, while the USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea.
«They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater,» Stroul explained before clarifying that there could be «one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf.»
«There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East.
«The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around,» she added.
While the specific destinations of the carriers have not been publicly disclosed for operational security reasons, their presence alone signals escalatory leverage and deterrence.
WITKOFF WARNS IRAN IS ‘A WEEK AWAY’ FROM ‘BOMB-MAKING MATERIAL’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS ACTION
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner meet ahead of the US-Iran talks, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on February 06, 2026. (f Oman, on FebruarOman Foreign Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The military buildup comes as indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continue, with Oman once again serving as a mediator Feb. 26.
Stroul argued that Iran’s leadership is trying to balance brinkmanship with negotiation.
«Iran’s leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness,» she claimed.
«They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance — Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms,» Stroul said.
BUILT FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER THE US HAS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Armed NOPO special police units are on the scene as Iranians take to the streets in the downtown Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran on June 24, 2025, to celebrate the ceasefire after a 12-day war with Israel. (NEGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
«Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran’s security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program,» Stroul said.
Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region — including Hezbollah, Shiite militias in Iraq, and elements in Syria — has also been weakened after sustained Israeli military pressure.
«Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran’s defense last summer,» Stroul explained.
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«No matter what Iran’s leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months.»
«That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives,» she said. «It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision.»
iran,middle east,wars,donald trump,ali khamenei,pentagon defense,pentagon,us navy,military
La larga y sinuosa ruta de Christopher Beha desde un ateísmo bien fundamentado hasta una fe cristiana aún más cultivada comienza con una imagen poderosa: un ángel se le aparece. No es Clarence, el atolondrado amigo de Jimmy Stewart en ¡Qué bello es vivir!, sino una aparición exigente y persistente.
En su profunda reflexión sobre la fe y la filosofía, Why I Am Not an Atheist (Por qué no soy ateo), explica que el espíritu le dijo que confiara en Dios. “Esto no fue un sueño”, escribe sobre la primera visita, ocurrida a mediados de los años noventa, cuando tenía 15 años. “Estaba despierto —tan seguro de eso como de que ahora estoy despierto mientras escribo estas palabras— y una presencia aterradora se comunicaba conmigo”.
Las visitas continuaron durante años. Beha creció en una familia católica y amante de los libros en el Upper East Side de Nueva York, que lo envió a Princeton. Fue editor de Harper’s Magazine y es autor de cuatro libros anteriores, cuyos temas abarcan desde novelas sobre complicaciones emocionales hasta un repaso por los clásicos, mostrando así su versatilidad literaria.
Unos años después de que el imperioso querubín le indicara que debía acercarse a Dios, Beha comprendió que todo podía explicarse desde la ciencia. Había experimentado parálisis del sueño, un estado en el que permanecía despierto pero inmovilizado, acompañado de alucinaciones.
“Había sufrido un padecimiento físico bastante común y, en vez de buscar una causa racional, me refugié en la superstición”, escribe. “En realidad me había convencido de que Dios me enviaba un mensaje”.
Como alguien que también presenció algo inexplicable (una santa fallecida que abrió los ojos en una cripta en Italia), me resultaba más atractivo el Beha adolescente, colmado de asombro religioso. Pero al final del libro, regresa al ángel con una visión ampliada. Fue a la vez un milagro y algo real. “Sé lo que ‘causó’ esas visitas, desde un punto de vista material, pero también sé lo que provocaron después: un viaje de toda la vida en el que todavía sigo”.
Entre esos extremos se despliegan varios cientos de páginas que componen ese trayecto, casi todas centradas en los filósofos mayoritariamente ateos del canon occidental. No es una peregrinación tradicional, sino una odisea intelectual. Beha debate con los grandes maestros: Descartes, Kant, Locke, Mill, Hobbes, Camus, Nietzsche y muchos más, pero empieza cuestionando a los “nuevos ateos” como Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens y similares, a quienes considera ya superados.
Hace algunos años, el periodista Michael Kinsley describió el libro de Hitchens God Is Not Great con una frase memorable: “Hitchens es un ateo de aldea a la antigua, parado en la plaza tratando de discutir con los buenos ciudadanos que van camino a la iglesia”.
Beha no es de los que lanzan piedras ni busca peleas. Tiene una devoción casi obsesiva por las grandes mentes. Es el tipo de persona que habrías querido como compañero de habitación antes de la era de la inteligencia artificial. O tal vez no. Ha leído todo y hasta escribió una memoria al respecto, The Whole Five Feet, en la que narra el año que dedicó a leer los 51 volúmenes de los Harvard Classics. Solo mirar esa lista agota a la mayoría.
Él escaló esa montaña para que otros no tuvieran que hacerlo. Pero, a veces, en su nuevo libro se pierde en las nubes. Un ejemplo, al tratar a Immanuel Kant, el filósofo alemán: “Kant aquí invoca dos binarios que ya hemos discutido. El primero es el que existe entre la verdad a priori y a posteriori; el segundo, entre análisis y síntesis”.
Beha es sincero, honesto y resulta agradable en la página. Su historia personal resulta más interesante que la intelectual. Empezó a dudar de su fe a los 18 años, tras casi perder a su hermano gemelo en un accidente de auto. Sufrió depresión y un cáncer que puso su vida en riesgo, abusó del alcohol y las drogas. Fue ateo durante mucho tiempo.
El libro es una larga réplica a “Why I Am Not a Christian”, el célebre ensayo del polímata británico Bertrand Russell, quien calificaba la creencia en Dios como “una concepción indigna de hombres libres”. Russell fue una de las figuras que empujaron a Beha a años de escepticismo comprometido.
No le resultaba suficiente el agnosticismo tibio de los espiritualmente errantes, una condición que el comediante católico Stephen Colbert comparó alguna vez con ser “un ateo sin agallas”. Beha se entregó por completo.
El argumento de Russell es conciso, refuta cada una de las razones principales a favor de la fe. El de Beha no lo es. Descompone la visión atea en dos categorías y dedica la mayor parte del libro a detallarlas e incluso simpatizar con ellas. Una es el “materialismo científico”, que sostiene que solo existe el mundo material. La otra es el “idealismo romántico”, que él define como la creación de la propia realidad.
Durante sus largos años en el desierto de la incredulidad, Beha intentó encajar en alguna de esas narrativas, buscando “hacer significativa una vida sin Dios”.
Al final, el ateísmo le resultó insuficiente, igual que a algunos revolucionarios franceses que transformaron brevemente la catedral de Notre-Dame en el árido Templo de la Razón. La religión de la no-religión puede parecerse a la cerveza sin alcohol: ¿para qué?
Beha no pretende convencer a quienes ya han renunciado a Dios. Solo quiere explicar qué lo llevó a regresar a la fe de sus padres, “escuchando la voz susurrante en el alma”. No hay una conversión fulminante, ninguna luz cegadora. Más bien, su vida, a menudo miserable, mejora con la mujer adecuada, una confesión católica, la asistencia regular a misa. Y esa mujer —“ella era la razón por la que creía en Dios”— ni siquiera es creyente. Es episcopaliana no practicante.
Si Beha no logra necesariamente ganar su debate con Russell, al menos hay que reconocerle que cumple la exigencia de los seres conscientes: reflexionar a fondo sobre el misterio de lo que somos en un universo incognoscible.
“No creo que alguna vez vea las cosas con claridad; no en esta vida mortal”, concluye. “Lo mejor que podemos esperar es estar mirando en la dirección correcta, orientados del modo adecuado”.
Fuente: The New York Times
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