Pennsylvania Environmental Regulators Flunk State's Own Shale Gas Audit
In January 2013, Pennsylvania’s auditor general announced that he would conduct an investigation into whether state regulators were effectively overseeing the impacts from the shale gas drilling rush. A year and a half later, the results are in: the state’s environmental regulators are failing badly in at least eight major areas, at times declining to cite […]
BNSF Nears Shift To One-Member Crews, Possibly Even on Dangerous Oil Trains
This is a guest post by Cole Stangler. For decades, the U.S. railroad industry has successfully shed labor costs by shifting to smaller and smaller operating crews. Now, it’s on the verge of what was once an unthinkable victory: single-member crews, even on dangerous oil trains. A tentative agreement reached by BNSF Railway and the Transportation […]
Maine Residents Fight American Petroleum Institute Lobbyists Over Ban on Tar Sands Shipments
Portland, Maine, has become the latest battleground in the fight against tar sands oil, with local residents facing off against energy industry forces in an attempt to ban tar sands oil from the city’s port. The South Portland Clear Skies Ordinance, would ban tar sands oil from being loaded on to ships at the local port. […]
California Orders Emergency Shutdown Of Fracking Wastewater Injection Sites Over Fears of Contaminated Aquifers
California officials ordered an emergency shutdown of 11 oil and gas waste injection sites in Kern County earlier this month, fearing they may be contaminating sources of drinking water that are sorely needed in the drought-stricken state. No contamination has actually been found in any drinking or irrigation water, but, according to The Bakersfield Californian, “Pollution has […]
Exclusive: E-mails Reveal Feds and Rail Companies Pressured States to Keep Oil-by-Rail Information Secret
Documents released to DeSmogBlog by the Washington State Military Department reveal that both the Department of Transportation (DOT) and rail companies attempted to pressure states including Washington to keep information about Bakken crude oil trains from the public. As previously reported on DeSmogBlog, while rail companies have been asserting that information about the frequency and routes […]
Climate Failure: U.S. Passes Saudi Arabia As World’s Largest Oil Producer
Is President Obama’s “all of the above” energy policy a success? Or a climate failure? A report issued recently by Bank of America declared the United States has now surpassed Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer. The daily output average for the first quarter of 2104 exceeded 11 million barrels, a significant increase from […]
U.S. Joins Canada and Oil Industry's Lobbying Offensive To Keep Europe Open to Oilsands Imports
For five long years the federal government and the oil industry have lobbied against the European Union labeling oilsands (also called tar sands) bitumen as ‘dirty oil’ in its Fuel Quality Directive (FQD). A new report released yesterday reveals the recent involvement of the U.S. in the lobby offensive to keep the EU market open […]
Oklahoma Earthquake Swarm Spurs Fracking Wastewater Disposal Debate
Last weekend, a swarm of seven earthquakes in just 14 hours between Saturday evening and Sunday morning in Oklahoma made national headlines. Those seven quakes were immediately preceded by another earthquake that measured 4.3 on the Richter scale in Langston, OK, which struck at noon on Saturday. And on Monday, a quake that measuring 3.9 […]
The Earth Hasn't Stopped Warming, Hate to Say It
I wish it were true, but the earth is not cooling and there remains an upward curve in the temperature of our planet. So next time you’re at a dinner party and someone says the earth is cooling and throws some air quotes up when he says “global warming,” here’s a simple way to explain it away. […]
Breaking: Denton City Council Rejects Fracking Ban: Referendum Will Be on November Ballot
The failure of the Denton city council to pass a fracking ban in Denton, Texas, after a meeting that went on for over eight hours last night, was no surprise to Cathy McMullen, Denton resident and president of Denton Drilling Awareness Group. “The vote was theater,” McMullen told DeSmogBlog. Councilman Kevin Roden was the only one to call […]