LANCASTER, Calif. - In the wake of last week's massive power blackouts in Texas, there's a lot of blame to go around. But groups that fight climate change say the root problem, in every state, is burning fossil fuels.

Clean-energy advocates have said climate change is leading to more extreme weather events, from the storm that froze Texas to the heat and drought driving wildfires in California. San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon said that's why her city uses 100% renewable energy and bans gas hookups in new homes.

"When you look at a situation like Texas, so much of that is climate exacerbated," she said. "And so, we're getting into some really pretty serious, probably, feedback loops here - that we're going to have to do everything in our power to turn this around before it's too late, if it's not already too late."

As of 2019, data from the California Energy Commission show, almost half the state's energy came from natural gas. Natural-gas suppliers have countered that it's cleaner than coal and easily accessible, day or night.

Ventura County Supervisor Carmen Ramirez is a former mayor of Oxnard, a lower-income community of color that has hosted oil and gas production for decades but recently rejected a new gas-powered plant. She said the city now boasts a clean-energy storage facility.

"We've paid our dues for energy production for the region," she said. "Now, it's time for us to have a more modern source of energy that doesn't pollute, that doesn't harm the health of our people."

Rex Parris, the Republican mayor of Lancaster, noted that his city is the first to run entirely on hydrogen power.

"The only thing standing in our way of solving this crisis is the will to do it," he said. "Two years ago, I would have told you, 'We don't have the technology to save the planet.' But now we do. We just have to move rapidly. And in Lancaster, we've been moving rapidly - and making a lot of money in the process."

A study from the nonprofit Climate Central found that hurricanes, wildfires, heat storms and other extreme-weather events caused 67% more power outages in the United States in the decade ending in 2019 than in the previous 10-year period.

HELENA, Mont. - An event coming up soon looks at the prospects for clean energy in Montana.

The Energy Future Summit will be held virtually Oct. 1, hosted by the Northern Plains Resource Council. Topics for sessions at the one-day summit will include a just transition to renewable energy and the role of power companies in that transition.

Northern Plains board member Joan Kresic said she hopes the summit can demystify the process of how energy is produced, and how it gets to the average home or business to turn the lights on - a process that can be hidden.

"How we create energy, how it gets to us, whether it's good for our environment or whether it creates further harm, especially climate chaos, really matters," she said.

She said the subject of a just transition is important for Montana as supporters of clean energy tackle how to ensure fossil-fuel and coal-dependent workers will get good-paying jobs in the future.

The summit will start at 9 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, is open to the public and costs $20.

Kresich said the realities of climate change have been apparent across Montana this summer, and a recent report from the United Nations paints a grim picture of the future if the world doesn't take substantial action on climate change. However, Kresich said she's reminded of a quote from environmentalist Paul Hawken, who said, "Belief doesn't change action, but action can change belief."

"For instance, here in Livingston, the air has not been safe to breathe, day after day after day. That's really hard to bear," she said. "But what he's getting at is that, when we take action, we can create hope because we know action is possible."

Speakers and panelists at the summit will nclude Emily Rhodes from the Just Transition Fund, Mark Haggerty at the Center for American Progress and a keynote address by John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

HELENA, Mont. -- Conservation groups in Montana are calling on the federal government to overhaul oil and gas leasing on public lands.

President Joe Biden paused leasing when he came into office, but a federal judge has overturned the moratorium.

On August 31st, the Bureau of Land Management proposed 14 parcels in Montana covering more than 62-hundred acres for a lease sale in February and is seeking public comment on the proposal.

Derf Johnson, staff attorney for the Montana Environmental Information Center, said the Biden administration recognized concerns with the leasing process when they issued the pause.

"America's public lands currently are leased for oil and gas through a system that is broken," Johnson contended. "It rips off taxpayers, it doesn't protect our environment or our climate, and there's a whole slew of administrative problems with the system."

In their letter to the state director of BLM for Montana and the Dakotas, the groups proposed seven reforms to the leasing process. They include limiting the quantity and scope of sales, requiring a royalty rate of at least 18.75% for all leases, and limiting participation by speculators.

The oil and gas industry group Western Energy Alliance initially challenged the pause, arguing Biden had overstepped his presidential authority.

Aubrey Bertram, staff attorney for Wild Montana, said there is an urgent need to curb carbon emissions on public lands. She noted if our public lands were a country, they would be the fifth-largest greenhouse-gas emitter in the world.

Bertram noted the Biden administration has ambitious climate goals, and fossil-fuel extraction on public lands will play an integral role.

"I think it's fair to say that the status quo is not going to get the administration to its goals when it comes to climate resiliency and economic recovery," Bertram asserted. "We know we need to do things differently, and this is a really important chance for the administration to put their money where their mouths are."

Bertram added 20 million acres of public land is already leased across the West. Last week, House Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee voted to include reforms to oil and gas leasing on public lands in the budget reconciliation package.

CHANDLER, Ariz. - President Joe Biden's $150 billion clean-energy plan aims to rid almost half of the power grid of carbon-based fuels by 2035, but conservationists say his proposal will likely see resistance from Western states with energy-production economies.

The plan, which goes before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, would reduce the use of coal and natural gas to cut carbon emissions and to develop a green-energy economy.

Sandy Bahr is director of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club and said she agrees with Biden's assertion that time is running out to deal with the effects of climate change.

"Extreme drought, extreme temperatures, larger wildfires," said Bahr. "Those are all costing us money. For those who think it's too costly to move rapidly to clean energy, it's much more costly not to."

Under Biden's program, energy suppliers would be eligible for grants if they increase the amount of clean electricity supplied to customers by 4% compared with the previous year. Republicans are expected to oppose the measure, saying it costs too much.

Bahr said while states such as Arizona, Utah, Montana and others have set their own renewable goals, power producers are going slowly to protect their carbon-based assets.

"We need to require these large monopoly utilities to do better," said Bahr. "They move too slowly and they often have a vested interest in keeping some of these old plants running longer."

In many states, there are weak inducements to cut back on the use of coal and gas. Scott Williams, executive director of the environmental watchdog Healthy Environment Alliance (HEAL) Utah, said regulators need to rethink their incentives.

"Their primary charge in doing that is to provide power to customers at the lowest possible rate," said Williams, "although they are also charged to consider other societal benefits."

Other highlights of Biden's Build Back Better plan include funding electric-grid improvements, decarbonizing federal buildings and vehicle fleets, providing home and appliance efficiency rebates, and subsidizing solar projects in low-income communities.