In the Rockies today, moving oil and coal to markets, an increase in energy use in the Pacific Northwest, and military air tankers are moved to address the shift of wildfire coverage.
The premier of British Columbia, who had yet to take a position on Enbridge, Inc.'s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline that would cross the province, came out swinging on Wednesday.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's report on Enbridge's response to the 2010 oil spill in Michigan was the catalyst for Premier Christy Clark to make it clear that better processes must be in place before the province will clear the way for the pipeline.
However, the federal government has primacy on approval of the Northern Gateway project, although B.C. must provide permits for such things as river crossings.
A new report warns about a marked increase in coal train traffic between Wyoming, Montana and ports on the West Coast, but coal and rail industry officials said the report bases the increases on the assumption that all proposed ports on the coast would be built and operated at maximum capacity, a scenario those industries' officials said was unlikely.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council released its analysis of how massive server farms of Google, Apple and other technology companies in the Pacific Northwest could change power usage in that area of the United States.
The analysis said that, by 2030, the power needed by those server farms could send regional requirements back to levels not seen since 10 aluminum smelters were in operation in the 1980s.
And finally, the military is moving six C-130 air tankers from Colorado to Wyoming and Utah, to put the air tankers closer to large wildfires in those states.