The movie Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore famously laid the blame of invading Afghanistan on an oil pipeline plan pushed for by Unocal. The problem with that picture is that Unocal is currently owned by the Venezuelan’s. However, there were a large pile of contracts related to oil and natural gas…
What’s the scope of a local planning commission authority? When that commission is considering construction project approval at an oil refinery to enable five oil trains (each a mile long) arrive per week at that refinery, does the local planning commission have the authority to consider issues outside on-site safety and…
Since at least the 1980’s the Oil Industry, ExxonMobil in particular, has colluded to fund climate change denial while behind closed doors they clearly knew about the problem and the potential for government policy to negatively impact their business. That’s the line which should have led my post the other…
It’s one thing to point at The Oil Companies and say they’re bashing climate change to continue being able to sell fossil fuel products and thereby keep up dividend payments to their shareholders. But it’s necessary to have proof – and the Union of Concerned Scientists just delivered some documentation that the…
Oil pipeline operations fail resulting in oil spills. An honest discussion with a US Government official working in pipeline safety oversight, and others. Between lax enforcement of safety regulations, and companies that don’t care, and the fact that the pipeline industry is self-regulated, …. It’s hard to enforce the regulations…
Alberta’s sole customer for crude oil is the U.S.A. For various reasons, Canada’s crude oil sales have plummeted, causing lots of economic hardship.
On Monday the Obama Administration, specifically the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, approved a plan by Shell Oil to begin exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea, off the north coast of Alaska, on the Outer Continental Shelf. It’s an area where the Bush43 Administration held a…
A big deal is being made over approval of the Keystone XL pipeline that’s meant to carry tar sands oil from Alberta down to the Gulf Coast for refining and shipping to the global oil market. Environmental groups like 350.org are raising a stink about the project, saying that it…
As we might expect, those who work in the Oil Industry see Fracking differently than those of who are alarmed about its risks. Fracking, aka hydraulic fracturing, is thought to be poisoning groundwater, causing earthquakes, and causing more methane releases at well-heads. Additionally, fracking helps us all to stay addicted…
If we can switch from caffeinated to decaffeinated coffee at the drop of a hat, why is it so hard to switch away from gasoline fuel for cars to something else? We know that gasoline and all the other fossil fuels cause a wide range of problems, and that it’s…
New policy proposals by the Obama Administration would reduce cost for electric vehicles, spur adoption of other fossil oil alternatives in addition to electric vehicles, especially natural gas powered big trucks. President Obama visited Daimler Trucks North America manufacturing plant in Mt. Holly, NC, to discuss his Administration’s all-of-the-above approach…
According to the NRDC, House Speaker Boehner wants to steer America onto a disastrous transportation policy path, that makes America’s energy security and environmental problems worse, is financially dangerous, and leaves the nation’s highway system subject to political manipulation akin to taking a road to nowhere. On Feb 2 the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure…
