Keystone XL's Northern Leg: A Fracked Oil Pipeline Along with Tar Sands
On January 31, President Barack Obama’s U.S. State Department released its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the northern leg of TransCanada‘s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The State Department’s FEIS argues that the northern half of Keystone XL, if built, “remains unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands, or […]
At State and Federal Level, Regulators Continue to Struggle With Fracking Wastewater
The oil and gas industry often complains about the patchwork of rules that exist from state to state and county to county. They say that the rules are so variable that it’s like having to get a new driver’s license every time you drive across a state line. Public safety advocates suggest a simple fix: […]
Risks of Fracking Boom Draw Renewed Attention from Investors
A coalition of investors called out five oil and gas companies for failing to measure or reduce risks associated with fracking on Tuesday, singling out companies both large and small for how they’ve handled the myriad risks associated with shale oil and gas extraction. Shareholders in five companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum and […]
Study Links Gas Drilling to Heart Defects in Babies
A newly-published study specific to Colorado (pdf) links the rate of congenital heart defects in babies to how close they live to natural gas wells. The study, published January 28, 2014 in Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, examined a large cohort of babies over an extended period of time – 124,842 […]
Duke Energy Spills Thousands Of Tons Of Coal Ash Into North Carolina River
Residents in the city of Eden, North Carolina are currently in danger of having their drinking water destroyed thanks to Duke Energy. The coal giant has reported a coal ash spill in the Dan River with as much as 82,000 tons of the toxic pollutant released into the waterway. According to EcoWatch, it took an astounding […]
Government Accountability Office: Taxpayers Getting Stiffed by Flawed Federal Coal Lease System
The Department of the Interior is selling publicly-owned coal for much less than it is worth, essentially allowing the coal industry to fleece U.S. taxpayers of at least $200 million. That is one of the main takeaways from a much-anticipated report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which confirms that the coal leasing program is […]
Is Keystone in the National Interest? Of Canada, That Is?
It’s up to the U.S. President to decide whether the cross-border leg of the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest of his country. Ultimately, his criteria are less scientific than political. Does he stand to lose more by alienating those who support or oppose the project? With midterm elections coming up in November, Obama […]
Fisherman Fighting Dominion Cove Point LNG Export Terminal Worried About Explosions, Long-Term Impacts
Pete Ide probably isn’t the first person you’d expect to oppose the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. “First of all, I have to be frank,” he says. “I depend on fossil fuels to make a living.” A charter boat captain on the Chesapeake Bay, Ide has fished his entire life. As […]
Senate’s “Dirty Duo” Ready To Lift Oil Export Ban
The two ranking members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee signaled they are prepared to introduce legislation to lift the ban on U.S. oil exports. Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said that they would consider introducing legislation if President Obama does not otherwise lift the export ban. Landrieu will take […]
Keystone XL Decision Highlights Coziness Between Oil and Gas Industry, Obama Administration
This past week was good to the oil and gas industry. First, President Obama talked up jobs gains from drilling and labeled natural gas a “bridge fuel” in his State of the Union address, using terminology favored by natural gas advocates. Then, on Friday, the Obama administration released a much-awaited assessment of the Keystone XL pipeline’s […]