No Matter How You Count Them, Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are As High As Ever
The exact worth of massive global fossil fuel subsidies is incredibly hard to figure. There’s no real consistency in the definitions of subsidies, or how they should be calculated. As a result, estimates of global subsidy support for fossil fuels vary widely. According to a new analysis by the Worldwatch Institute, these estimates range from $523 […]
Misinformation Is Winning – Doubt In Climate Change Climbing
Climate change-related disasters have been rising for decades; yearly temperatures are rising in a nearly consistent pattern
State Department Releases Flawed Keystone XL Final Environmental Review In Super Bowl Friday Trash Dump
The State Department has released the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed northern leg of the controversial and long-embattled TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. In a familiar “Friday trash dump” — a move many expected the Obama administration to shun — John Kerry’s State Department chose to “carefully stage-manage the report’s release” […]
Amid Calls for EPA to Reopen Fracking Investigations, States Confirm Contaminated Groundwater
Republican Sen. James Inhofe said it. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said it. Even former Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson said it. For over a decade, oil and gas executives and the policy makers who support them have repeated a single bold claim: there has never been a single documented case where fracking contaminated groundwater. But […]
Australian Report Trumpeted By Coal Bosses Does Not Say What They Want You To Think It Says
WHAT follows are some thoughts about coal from a report just published in Australia. A longer-term concern relates to the environmental impacts of large-scale coal use, especially its climate consequences…. Coal is a carbon-intensive fuel and the environmental consequences of its use can be significant, especially if it is used inefficiently and without effective emissions and waste […]
House Energy Committee Votes Down Climate Reality
The House Energy and Commerce Committee had the opportunity earlier this week to pass an amendment making it clear that the House accepts the scientific consensus that climate change is real. But it seems that once again dirty energy industry money was enough to convince the Republicans on the committee that science doesn’t matter. Twenty-four House […]
New York Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order on Oil by Rail Safety
Yesterday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order directing several state agencies to review the risks posed by trasportation of crude oil by rail in New York. This issue has recently gained attention in Albany as the public has become aware of the large amounts of Bakken crude oil being shipped into Albany […]
Nordheim: A Texas Town Facing A Toxic Future
Nordheim, Texas, population 307, may soon have a 200-plus acre waste disposal plant as its neighbor despite the protests of the city’s mayor, Kathy Payne. The small town (one bank, one school, one cafe and a couple of shops) is located in the Eagle Ford Shale region of southern Texas, where vast oil deposits have only […]
Two Big Reasons Why Solar Power is Under Siege
Forget the U.S. war on coal, that’s not going so well for the team in the charcoal jerseys. The real shooting war has opened up against renewable energy, particularly solar, because of its potentially disruptive nature to vested interests. Solar power is the go-to source for new generating capacity in the U.S. Some 930 megawatts of […]
Transcript: President Obama's State of the Union Remarks on Energy and Climate Change
President Barack Obama’s remarks on energy and climate change during the State of the Union address: (H/T The Guardian) Now, one of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy […]