Spills, Explosions, Earthquakes and War: Welcome to American Energy “Independence”
A well-deserved show of gratitude to the efficient and reliable fossil fuel sources of American energy independence — oil, coal and gas — is in order, following a truly remarkable string of success stories in recent days nationwide. On March 25, the BP refinery in Whiting, IN, leaked some 1,600 gallons of crude oil about eight […]
"Our Energy Moment": The Blue Engine Behind Fracked Gas Exports PR Blitz
Behind nearly every major corporate policy push there’s an accompanying well-coordinated public relations and propaganda campaign. As it turns out, the oil and gas industry’s push to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) obtained via hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) plays the same game. And so on February 5, “Our Energy Moment” was born. The PR blitz is described in a press release announcing […]
New IPCC Report: Climate Hazards a “Threat Multiplier” and the World is Not Ready
“Human interference with the climate system is occurring, and climate change poses risks for human and natural systems.” IPCC WGII AR5 Every five years or so thousands of scientists from around the world release a major report on the state of climate science. These reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are the […]
Colorado Health Department Investigating Spike in Fetal Abnormalities in Heavily-Drilled Garfield County
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has called in an epidemiologist to investigate a recent spike in fetal abnormalities in Garfield County on Colorado’s western slope. Stacey Gavrell, Director of Community Relations for Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, said area prenatal care providers reported the increase in fetal abnormalities to the hospital, […]
All the Positive and Helpful Things in the IPCC Report No One Will Talk About
If you’ve come across any of the recent headlines on the release of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, you’re probably feeling pretty low. The doom and gloom levels were off the charts. And understandably so. Major nations across the globe – especially Canada – are dragging their heels when it comes […]
University Criticizes Conservative Media For Misrepresentations That Sparked Hate Mail From Climate Science Deniers
A university has criticized conservative media for a serious misrepresentation of one of its academics that sparked a torrent of abuse from climate science deniers. As revealed by DeSmogBlog, Rochester Institute of Technology assistant professor Lawrence Torcello received hundreds of e-mails after conservative media incorrectly claimed he had called for climate skeptics to be jailed. Torcello wrote […]
BP Lake Michigan Oil Spill: Did Tar Sands Spill into the Great Lake?
Is it conventional crude or tar sands? That is the question. And it’s one with high stakes, to boot. The BP Whiting refinery in Indiana spilled between 470 and 1228 gallons of oil (or is it tar sands?) into Lake Michigan on March 24 and four days later no one really knows for sure what type of crude […]
Feds Weaken New Oil-By-Rail Safety Regulations Days After Announcing Them
Nine days after announcing new regulations designed to improve oil-by-rail safety, the Department of Transportation quietly weakened the rules for testing rail cars and exempted shippers of bitumen from having to meet the new regulations. The department had been under pressure from industry since announcing new regulations in response to a round of testing on shipments […]
BP Doubles Initial Size Estimate of Lake Michigan Oil Spill
Three days after spilling crude oil into Lake Michigan, BP has doubled its spill estimate to between 470 and 1228 gallons. The leak happened at its refinery in Whiting, Ind. Although some of the oil has been cleaned up, it’s unclear how much is left in the lake, a drinking water source for about seven million Chicagoans. […]
Admiral Dennis Blair: "We Sent Troops to Middle East…Because of Oil-Based Importance of Region"
At the just-completed U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing titled, “The Geopolitical Potential of the U.S. Energy Boom,” Admiral Dennis Blair — former Director of National Intelligence, President and CEO of Institute for Defense Analyses and Commander in Chief of U.S. Pacific Command — admitted what’s still considered conspiratorial to some. Put tersely: the U.S. and allied forces launched the […]