Shell Sponsors London Climate Change Conference

Senior officials from business, government, NGOs and academic institutions gathered in London this week for policy institute, the Chatham House’s annual conference on climate change. The conference, held on 3-4 November, sought to “examine opportunities to raise ambition [on climate change] and convert this into results” ahead of December’s COP 20 discussions in Lima. In addition to […]

Marcellus Shale Fracking Rush Brings Worries of Boom-Bust Cycle

Across the U.S., the shale gas industry’s arrival has been marked by wariness, not only of the environmental impacts associated with fracking, but also due to the oil and gas industry’s long history of flashy booms followed by devestating busts. In towns across the state, the lingering effects of past economic downturns – the flight of […]

“Citizen Interventions” Have Cost Canada’s Tar Sands Industry $17B, New Report Shows

Oil companies and fossil fuel investors seeking further developments in the Alberta tar sands have been dealt another setback with the publication of a report showing producers lost $17.1 billion USD between 2010-2013 due to successful public protest campaigns. Fossil fuel companies lost $30.9 billion overall during the same period partly due to the changing North […]

Energy Executive Quits Trans Mountain Pipeline Review, Calls NEB Process A ‘Public Deception'

An energy executive is weighing in on the federal review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion with a scathing letter that calls the National Energy Board’s review process “fraudulent” and a “public deception” — and calls for the province of British Columbia to undertake its own environmental assessment. Marc Eliesen — who has 40 […]

Federal Reserve Policy Keeps Fracking Bubble Afloat and That May Change Soon

In August 2005, the U.S. Congress and then-President George W. Bush blessed the oil and gas industry with a game-changer: the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Act exempted the industry from federal regulatory enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. While the piece of omnibus legislation is well-known to […]

In Starkest Warning Yet, IPCC Calls on Politicians To Rapidly Transition to Renewables to Avoid Climate Disaster

In its starkest warning yet about the challenges facing humanity, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said Sunday humans are responsible for all of the planet’s warming since 1951. The Fifth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change includes a strict carbon budget for governments for the first time. More than two-thirds of that […]

Utilities Couldn't Kill Distributed Solar, So Now They're Co-Opting The Business Model

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then they… steal your business model? Solar energy is booming: More than half a million US homes and businesses have gone solar, some 200,000 in just the last two years alone. The Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that in the first half […]

The Wars At Home: What State Surveillance of an Indigenous Rights Campaigner Tells Us About Real Risk in Canada

This is a guest post by Shiri Pasternak. Recent revelations that the RCMP spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller should not be dismissed as routine monitoring. They reveal a long-term, national energy strategy that is coming increasingly into conflict with Indigenous rights and assertions of Indigenous jurisdiction over lands and resources. A “Critical Infrastructure […]

Arvin, California Is A Town At The Tipping Point, Thanks To The Local Oil Company

This is a guest post by Tara Lohan that originally appeared on Faces Of Fracking, a project of the CEL Climate Lab in partnership with Grist that was launched to capture the stories of concerned residents who live on the front lines of fracking. My car tails a blue Honda, decked with shiny rims and […]

Faces Of Fracking: A Farmer Seeks To Protect San Benito County, California From High-Intensity Petroleum Operations

This is a guest post by Tara Lohan that originally appeared on Faces Of Fracking, a project of the CEL Climate Lab in partnership with Grist that was launched to capture the stories of concerned residents who live on the front lines of fracking. Of all the things that could threaten Paul Hain’s livelihood, squirrels […]