Groups Petition EPA To Stop Texas From Letting Electric Utility Industry Rewrite Its Own Pollution Permits
NRG Energy has two coal-fired power plant units in Limestone County, Texas, about 115 miles southeast of Dallas. They’re already some of the largest, most polluting power plants in the state, and they’re about to get a whole lot dirtier. On October 2, 2012, NRG received new permits for the two units that allow them to […]
We Need Real Consensus, Not Bjorn Lomborg’s Illusion Of It
The Australian government’s intent to create a “Consensus Centre” to work on the big issues facing the nation signals a welcome revival in interest in using research to inform policy, if it can be taken at face value. But it needs to be done right, and if it is, universities can readily help, argue Robert […]
"Seven Nobel Laureates" Behind Climate Contrarian Bjorn Lomborg's Think Tank Are Not All They Seem, Or Even All Alive
As a way to sell your think tank’s ideas, get people to fund it or even just collaborate with it, there could be few more enticing prospects than being able to rub shoulders with seven Nobel prize winning economists. In Australia, Danish climate change contrarian and head of the US-based Copenhagen Consensus Center (CCC) Bjorn Lomborg […]
Mexico's Pemex Plagued By Deadly Offshore Explosions and Major Pipeline Spills
It’s been a disastrous year for Pemex, the state-owned Mexican oil company at the center of the nation’s landmark energy reforms. In just over a month, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) starred in three tragic incidents, two fatal. First was a deadly explosion aboard a Pemex offshore oil processing platform, which killed at least four, injured 16, and—despite […]
How David Henderson Became One of the IPCC’s Most Able and Determined Foes
In this DeSmog UK epic history post we meet David Henderson, who accidentally became one of the IPCC’s fiercest opponents. David Henderson is a fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) where he is valued as an eloquent and modest advocate of radical free market capitalism. But, his engagement with climate scepticism “came about in […]
The Energy Minister, Her Brother-in-Law, His Hedge Fund and the Oil Investments
The rise of Andrea Leadsom to energy minister has correlated with generous donations to the Conservative party by Peter de Putron, a mysterious hedge fund guru – and her brother-in-law. Leadsom was appointed energy and climate change minister in the wake of the Conservatives’ shock victory at the general election. She replaced Amber Rudd – who […]
What Does The Cabinet Re-Shuffle Mean for Energy and Climate?
This article by Christine Ottery has been cross-posted from Energydesk. Sajid Javid, the newly appointed secretary of state for the department of Business Innovation and Skills, has accepted over £16,600-worth of conference expenses from a think tank that has received funding from Exxon Mobil and the Koch Brothers – according to an Energydesk analysis of […]
New York State Reverses Decision, Requires Full Environmental Review of Tar Sands-by-Rail Facility
In what came as a welcome surprise to activists in Albany, New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reversed an earlier decision and now will require a full environmental review for a proposed tar sands oil heating facility at the Port of Albany. “It is good for New York State that the […]
Pipeline Company Responsible For Santa Barbara Oil Spill Had Horrendous Safety Record, But So Does The Entire Industry
Plains All American Pipeline, the company responsible for the 9-mile long oil slick polluting the California coast near Santa Barbara, is no stranger to oil spills. The LA Times examined data kept by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and discovered that Plains has been cited for 175 safety and maintenance violations since 2006, and incidents involving […]
Open for Business: First Major Deal Since Energy Reforms Will Bring Fracked Gas to Mexico
For the first time in 76 years, a piece of Mexico’s oil and gas infrastructure has been sold to a foreign investor, and the deal will help bring fracked gas from Texas’s Eagle Ford shale region into Mexico. In this first major deal since the country’s landmark energy reforms, Pemex—the state-owned oil company that had […]