A prolonged battle over a natural gas pipeline in New York is presenting state officials with a critical decision point and an opportunity to establish themselves as national leaders in climate action.
The energy regulators for France and Spain announced last week that they had rejected the controversial Franco-Spanish South Transit East Pyrenees (STEP) natural gas pipeline, the first stage in the larger Midi-Catalonia (MidCat) gas pipeline, citing costs and that it was not necessary.
Deep in the woods on either side of the border between Virginia and West Virginia, a battle is raging that pits ordinary people against the full might of the fossil fuel industry and the government agencies they control. The issue, at least on the surface, is the construction of a natural gas transmission line being built through the forest by Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, which in turn is owned by EQT Corporation.
