Investing in fossil fuels only fuels hardship for Americans of all generations.

December 1, 2025

The U.S. Department of Energy (click here) today renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) the National Laboratory of the Rockies. The renaming is effective immediately and will be reflected in all public communications and official correspondence.

“The energy crisis we face today is unlike the crisis that gave rise to NREL,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy (EERE) Audrey Robertson. “We are no longer picking and choosing energy sources. Our highest priority is to invest in the scientific capabilities that will restore American manufacturing, drive down costs, and help this country meet its soaring energy demand. The National Laboratory of the Rockies will play a vital role in those efforts.”

“For decades, this laboratory and its scientific capabilities have pushed the boundaries of what's possible and delivered impact to the nation,” said Jud Virden, laboratory director of the National Laboratory of the Rockies. “This new name embraces a broader applied energy mission entrusted to us by the Department of Energy to deliver a more affordable (that benefits Trump's fossil fuel cronies) and secure energy future for all.”...

The fossil fuel industries should be held responsible for these tragedies. This is not damage from a hurricane. It is complete catastrophic collapse of infrastructure due to a stalled system over the Smokey Mountains. Stalled systems such as the remains of Helene only started since 2005. These are new catastrophic events that has developed out of the Climate Crisis. There is no federal plan to deal with the climate crisis, hence, the collapse of infrastructure well planned for weather events that were normal to Earth. This stalled and catastrophic remnant of Helene was not normal and the USA was not prepared for the needs of the people or how to protect them. It was treated as a hurricane and not the burgeoning catastrophe it became.  

September 22, 2025

By Jane Winik Sartwell

Damage (click here) from Hurricane Helene on the Blue Ridge Parkway

This level of damage was noted after the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Not a hurricane. The mountain tops of the Smokeys blew apart sending enormous amounts of debris below destroying towns and killing Americans.

One year after Helene, (click here) emotions run high. Physical reminders of the destruction remain, but the anniversary is a mental reminder, one that threatens to reopen certain scars.

“It is OK to feel like you are grieving a loss right now, because we did lose a lot,” David Jackson, president of the Boone Chamber of Commerce, told Carolina Public Press.

“We lost time. We lost people. We lost places. We have been so concerned and busy with restoring that not everybody has fully processed what happened. This one-year milestone will do that.”

Beside that grief, however, is hope. For Fabrice Julien, professor of health science at UNC-Asheville, balancing the two isn’t always easy....

Russia is already a third world country.

The hideous amounts of blood and treasure it spends on Putin's obsession with rebuilding the Soviet Union has taken in back in time, not forward. It no long has space launch capacity. In addition to this failure, the Russia wing of the International Space Station is in very bad repair. It probably should be jettisoned. 

The United States of America is headed for third world status.

The Paris Accords were ignored and now the Executive Branch of the USA federal government is seeking to turn the clocks back decades for the sake of profits. This RECOMMENDATION (not regulation) was to assist the private sector to build better buildings NOT CHEAPER ONES.

The abuse of the atmospheres of Earth is extensive and needs to end. The petroleum industry is the primary driver of greenhouse gas pollution and this is more of the same. The generations of Americans have a right to a future unencumbered by past sins of climate. This is the most ridiculous use of Executive Power in this country. Trump is a sellout and nothing more. He is in office to cause problems not solve them. It is why he is trying to convince others he must be king to ensure all of the roll backs remain in place.

He and all the fossil fuel companies should be sued for reckless endangerment of human life, species destruction, ocean heating, coral loss (carbon sinks) in willful ignorance of the reality all moral people know to be paramount to Earth's benevolent climate. Trump and his minion administration has proven that death means nothing to them so long as they are safe in their beds at night.

A Notice by the Energy Department on 12/03/2025 (click here)

As outlined in Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” agencies are required to, “review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, settlements, consent orders, and any other agency actions (collectively, agency actions) to identify those agency actions that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources.” 90 FR 8353. As part of that review, DOE has identified the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building as a guidance document that does not align with Administration priorities.

The Request for Information (RFI) for the development of the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building suggests that a key impetus for the development of the standard was the Biden-Harris Administration's goal of a, “net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by 2050 and a 100% clean energy electricity sector by 2035.” 89 FR 1086. These goals were detailed in the February 2021 Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” 86 FR 7619. However, Executive Order 14008 was rescinded through President Trump's January 2025 Executive Order 14148, “Initial Rescission of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” 90 FR 8237. Thus, the goals outlined in Executive Order 14008 are no longer applicable and a guidance document that would support those goals, such as the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building, is no longer needed....