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Ted Zukoski

@tedzukoski.bsky.social
1.2K followers 490 following 675 posts

Lawyer working to protect public lands & the climate in the US Southwest. Would-be backpacker. Birder. "World's Okayest Dad" (says 1 of my kids). Personal (not professional) account.

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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 1h
Advice to Yale University from former NYT general counsel: "The rule in a dispute with Donald Trump has long been simple: Never settle. This is the mantra adopted by virtually every lawyer in New York City, where Trump had his rise." yaledailynews.com/articles/nev...
yaledailynews.com
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Trump’s policies kill Ukrainians who are trying to get gas and raise prices for Americans who are trying to get gas. And he wants the Americans to blame the Ukrainians. This is wrong and despicable. snyder.substack.com/p/a-meditati...
snyder.substack.com
A Meditation on Gas Stations
On Total War and Individual Responsibility (1/2)
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
The oil and gas industry is happy to privatize benefits and make the public - and the liveability of our communities - pay the cost.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
More destruction for the wall. tucson.com/news/local/b...
tucson.com
Tohono O'odham brace for conflict as feds plan to uproot sacred saguaros
The Tohono O'odham Nation is preparing for confrontations as federal contractors plan to remove thousands of sacred saguaros for border wall construction, which the tribe opposes, setting up emergency...
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
🚨No less than Jody Freeman, Professor of Law at Harvard, warns that BAAJA is: "structurally designed to lock in and subsidize natural gas & other fossil projects over cleaner renewables for years to come." 1/n @volts.wtf @ghgpolicy.org @kevinjkircher.com
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 13/10/2026
“For Sen. Heinrich, it’s a very short-sighted approach. This isn’t going to bode well back in his home state because tribes see through this. They know it’s a farce. When clean energy literally bulldozes some of these site locations, it’s going to be problematic out there.”
punchbowl.news
Martin Heinrich faces backlash from tribes over permitting deal
Opposition from Native American tribes is emerging as a threat to the Senate’s bipartisan permitting reform bill.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 13/10/2026
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com Fast-moving, virtually irrepressible wildfire events “are not the seasonal burns of decades past; they are the hazard lights of a heating climate, and they are flashing furiously,” John Vaillant writes.
nyti.ms
Opinion | What Happens When You Can No Longer Fight a Wildfire?
This year’s fast moving, virtually irrepressible events are not the seasonal burns of decades past.
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
A reminder that the Senate permitting deal would hobble the power of a future POTUS to put in place a robust, ambitious climate action plan—one that transitions the U.S. from fossil fuels to renewables, respects people and place, and doesn’t cede our future to tech, energy, and finance oligarchs..
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 10/10/2026
NEW: Early on Aug. 25, the Tohono O’odham Nation received a one-minute notice from Border Patrol. A convoy of contractors — guarded by masked agents — was en route to conduct testing for a coming border wall. The tribe was warned: Do not interfere.
propublica.org
As Trump’s Wall Closes in, DHS Intimidates a Border Tribe With Surveillance, Masked Agents and Drones
For decades, the Tohono O’odham Nation collaborated with DHS to stave off a border wall. Despite their cooperation, the Trump administration is barreling forward with a project that would divide their...
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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The Senate will take up permitting reform in early November, so it's time to grapple w what Dem negotiators gave up to streamline permitting for clean energy. @jeremysymons.bsky.social finds that the provisions won by the fossil & tech lobbies would cause lasting damage to our climate & clean air.
substack.com
This is not the permit reform deal that was advertised
Dangerous provisions would hand Trump broad powers to block future presidents from acting on climate change and restoring the Clean Air Act
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No Pollution in the Constitution | No on Amendment 82 @voteno82.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Thank you @pettersen.house.gov for adding your voice to the fight against the inclusion of a single corporate industry in Colorado's constitution. Don't give this industry the power to regulate your energy consumption or your energy bills! #VoteNo82 #NoOn82 #NoPollutionInTheConstitution
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"DHS also cites a concurring opinion issued last year by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh stating that agents can consider factors like “apparent ethnicity” when making stops." #KavanaughStops
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Antonia Juhasz @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Critical note in #SCOTUS Suncor & Exxon v Boulder: Big Oil fully acknowledges reality of the climate crisis: Attorney Shanmugam, representing the industry, said yesterday in court: “Climate change is certainly one of the most pressing issues” facing the country.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Telling it like it is. The "permitting reform" bill is a "turd grenade" that will shred our bedrock environmental laws and is a gift to the climate-warming polluters of the fossil fuel industry. www.landdesk.org/p/newswire-b...
landdesk.org
NEWSWIRE: Bipartisan lawmakers drop a “turd grenade” of a permitting bill on the enviro movement
🔭 OVERSIGHT 👮🏼
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
While I should beg to differ, I salute your tasty looking dinner. Battle on!
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Zak 🦦 Podmore @zakpodmore.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
RIP to a real one. Let the river run! www.sltrib.com/news/2026/10...
sltrib.com
Ken Sleight, Utah environmentalist who inspired a main character in ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang,’ dies at 97
Ken Sleight sat on the edge of a raft with Edward Abbey, dreaming up ways to eliminate Glen Canyon Dam. He later became immortalized in Abbey's 1975 book "The Monkey Wrench Gang," serving as inspirati...
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Morgan Sjogren @morgansjogren.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
As we embark on the next chapter of Glen Canyon, one where climate change and mismanagement bring to life some of what was lost, we are all humbly walking in Sleight’s footsteps through sandy washes and muddy river banks. wildwords.substack.com/p/so-long-se...
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
NY Times story: Judge Blocks Border Wall Construction in Big Bend in Texas www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/u...
nytimes.com
Judge Blocks Border Wall Construction in Big Bend in Texas
The ruling dealt a setback to the Trump administration’s plans for hundreds of miles of barriers that have drawn local opposition.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Thank you!
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
BREAKING: A federal judge in El Paso today issued an emergency injunction blocking the Trump administration's border barrier and road construction across the Big Bend region. #BigBend #NationalParks biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. Photo credit: Laiken Jordahl, Center for Biological Diversity
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 02/10/2026
Also idiots: the silicon capitalists
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Lifting up this specific post & the thread below it b/c it relates to how the permitting deal dramatically weakens Endangered Species Act protections for imperiled wildlife, from grizzly bears and wolverine vulnerable to climate change, to wolves which help restore ecological structure & function.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
And anyone who says that this👇 is ok, because the law would apply to both sides, is too naïve or ideological to be listened to. Or maybe they just haven't been noticing that the Republicans have been breaking laws and ignoring the courts with impunity almost every day since January 2025.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
What he said. ⬇️
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
How does eliminating tribal consultation on projects benefit marginalized communities? I understand the bill makes consultation under the NHPA optional. And we all know what that means....
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Excellent, sensible, and welcome thoughts from @rephuffman.bsky.social, ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, on the Senate permitting deal.
My thoughts on the Senate's permitting reform bill: 
 
Passing a good permitting reform package will be one of my top priorities for the next Congress, so I'm very interested in these Senate negotiations. 
 
From what I've seen, Senators Whitehouse and Heinrich have done some good work, but they've been negotiating from a position of weakness and the tentative deal unveiled today raises significant questions and concerns that would have to be resolved before most Democrats could support it. 
 
I'm all for streamlining transmission and clean energy buildout, but the threshold requirement before making major policy concessions is to actually end Trump's war on renewables so that hundreds of bottled-up clean energy projects can bring that affordable power to the grid. Further, we can't throw states, tribes, impacted communities, and threatened and endangered wildlife under the bus. And as we streamline and cut red tape, we must make sure the American people — not just powerful corporate interests — have a say in government decisions about what happens to our air, water, and public lands. That's what serious, responsible permitting reform looks like.There's a way to get there, and parts of this deal are helpful, but some of it concedes too much. Hollowing out the Endangered Species Act through the delegation of authority and problematic definitions, for example, is so extreme that a milder version of it spooked several House Republicans off of Bruce Westerman's ESA bill earlier this year, so you can imagine how it's going to land with the American people who overwhelmingly support protecting wildlife. And the provisions that seek to guarantee fair treatment for wind, solar, and battery storage are novel, untested, and don't really end the war on clean energy, but they will still trigger cries of "Green New Deal" and fierce opposition from the House Freedom Caucus, clouding any path to pass this deal through the House unless it gets much worse. And knowing the GOP players, that's exactly what will happen if this bill advances in the lame duck. 
 
The bottom line for me, and I believe most Democrats, is that November 3rd is coming and we are likely to soon have a far better negotiating position. Folding our hand now or in the lame duck makes no sense when we can keep working on this and, in a few more months, have a much better deal that works for everyone.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Hear from @westernlaw.org about why this bill is a Trojan horse for gutting bedrock ends gered species and clean water protections. westernlaw.org/5-alarm-fire...
westernlaw.org
Five-alarm fire: Radical Senate ‘permitting reform’ bill threatens to eviscerate environmental, wildlife, water, climate laws - Western Environmental Law Center
The Republican-controlled Senate will soon formally announce a legislative “permitting reform” deal to speed the development of AI data centers and energy infrastructure. We expect the Senate will the...
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Despite the fact that the bill rolls back endangered species protections, clean water act mandates, and community involvement? biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Democrats Abandon Environmental Laws to Advance Pro-Fossil Fuel ‘Permitting Reform’
Center for Biological Diversity: Legislation Would Dismantle Protections for Hundreds of Endangered Species to Speed Approvals for Corporate Polluters
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Nice to get that information. But is this all the sugar one needs to swallow the bitter bill of the biggest rollback of US bedrock environmental laws in history? biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Democrats Abandon Environmental Laws to Advance Pro-Fossil Fuel ‘Permitting Reform’
Center for Biological Diversity: Legislation Would Dismantle Protections for Hundreds of Endangered Species to Speed Approvals for Corporate Polluters
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here are some things to dig into - the biggest rollback in bedrock environmental laws in history: biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Democrats Abandon Environmental Laws to Advance Pro-Fossil Fuel ‘Permitting Reform’
Center for Biological Diversity: Legislation Would Dismantle Protections for Hundreds of Endangered Species to Speed Approvals for Corporate Polluters
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We'll also get to see how gutting laws to protect endangered species and clean water, and limiting judicial review, have helped the fossil fuel industry. Thanks, no thanks. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...
biologicaldiversity.org
Democrats Abandon Environmental Laws to Advance Pro-Fossil Fuel ‘Permitting Reform’
Center for Biological Diversity: Legislation Would Dismantle Protections for Hundreds of Endangered Species to Speed Approvals for Corporate Polluters
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Colorado sues to stop new immigration detention center from opening in Hudson coloradosun.com/2026/09/29/c...
coloradosun.com
Colorado sues to stop new immigration detention center from opening in Hudson
A lawsuit filed by Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a judge to throw out $530 million GEO Group contract with ICE.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
NO ON 82, Colorado. No pollution in our constitution!
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This thread ⬇️
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Only if they hear from us
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The "largest rollback of environmental laws in American history" is being led by @heinrich.senate.gov & @whitehouse.senate.gov. They apparently have drunk the oil industry Kool-Aid that the only way to "build things" is to cut public involvement & gut laws that protect our communities, air, & water.
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Deb Krol @debkrol.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
www.azcentral.com/story/news/t... by @abecenti.bsky.social
azcentral.com
State drops Havasupai challenge of arsenic levels at uranium mine
Havasupai tribal officials say the appeals board ignored the threats to a critical water source.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Coal is dirty, ugly, and bad for our shared climate, Exhibit #4,216.
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Jennifer Molidor @jennifermolidor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Terry Tempest Williams: Citizens & scientists with the @biologicaldiversity.org will request protection for the (eared grebes) under the ESA this winter. The grebe is one of Utah’s local heroes, revered and grieved as it nears the quicksand of extinction www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Are We Doing to Our World of Wonder?
What if 50 years from now, having destroyed the habitat for the creatures around us, we are plagued by an inconsolable loneliness?
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
OK. Huge baseball fan here, and I've also backpacked the Teton Crest Trail. Building a baseball stadium at a national park is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. It's insane that MLB would ask, and worse that the National Park Service would consider Grand Teton.
washingtonpost.com
Trump administration considers building baseball park in Grand Teton National Park
Major League Baseball contacted the administration about hosting a game in a national park, with an agency official scouting Grand Teton as a possible location.
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Half Moon Rising @half-moon-rising.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
#ClimateCrisis #Polluters #ChildhoodAsthma #Colorado #VoteNO Amendment 82 is a disaster. It guts the ability to address the climate crisis, consumer protection, & childhood health at any government level. Vote NO on Amendment 82!
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Hey Colorado: Keep pollution out of our constitution! Vote no Amendment 82, which will handcuff Colorado's ability to hold oil & gas polluters accountable, & give them a powerful new tool to overturn commonsense rules that limit toxic water pollution & gas fracking near homes & schools. no82.org
no82.org
NO POLLUTION IN THE CONSTITUTION | Protect Colorado Communities – Act Now
Oppose Amendment 82 to prevent enshrining corporate polluter rights in Colorado's constitution and protect communities from pollution and industry influence.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Looking forward to voting for this. The increased revenue supports education.
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Lower 48: this AI thing has gone too far. Alaska: hold my beer. www.adn.com/alaska-news/... #AI
adn.com
Alaska fishing and wildlife groups raise alarm over proposal for underwater Cook Inlet data center
The public comment period is open through Nov. 2.
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Man, the framing of this bill is so rooted in insider DC politics. The idea that Ds have secured “major concessions”—i.e., a Trump promise to ease his oppo to renewables, esp. wind, which was lawless to begin with & unlikely to manifest beyond a handshake deal (not law)—strikes me as so bogus.
Politico: “Not dead yet: What’s next for permitting reform
Democrats are betting that they’ll be able to hold onto major concessions made by Republicans and the Trump administration with a vote after the election.”
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The first sentence here highlights the potential cost to industry. Clean air is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue. Ozone pollution can cause "premature death," burdens those with asthma, etc. Air pollution lets the oil & gas & other industries privatize financial benefits while putting costs on the rest of us.
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Arlyssa D. Becenti ✍️🗞️ @abecenti.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
From me: Navajo Nation designates Colorado, Little Colorado confluence as sacred
azcentral.com
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Erik Schneider @erikschneider.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The need for more oil and gas profit is undeniable — pass “permitting reform” now.
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Earthjustice @earthjustice.org · 21/09/2026
Forests on our public lands are under attack. The U.S. Forest Service took action to rescind the Roadless Rule, one of the most important land and forest protection measures of our lifetime, but we have a chance to stop them. There's a public comment period open now until October 6. Take action! ⬇️​
earthjustice.org
Protect forests from massive expansion of logging
Protect forests from massive expansion of logging
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Ted Zukoski @tedzukoski.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Kavanaugh stop?
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