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Archive for March, 2013
Keystone Pipeline Decision May Influence Oil-Sands Development
Posted by Bloomberg: Brad Olson and Jeremy van Loon on March 7th, 2013
Bloomberg: A U.S. decision on whether to approve TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s Keystone XL pipeline has the potential to accelerate -- or slow --investments in Canada’s oil sands.
A decision on the 875-mile (1,408 kilometer) U.S. portion of the pipeline, designed to carry 830,000 barrels of crude a day to Gulf Coast refineries, is expected later this year. Stopping the pipeline would mean continued discounted prices for Canadian crude, making it harder for producers to sell their commodity at a profit and potentially...
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Comments Off on Keystone Pipeline Decision May Influence Oil-Sands DevelopmentEnvironmentalists Mull Legal Action Over Keystone XL Process
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2013
Reuters: After the Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared an important hurdle last week, critics of the project are searching for ways to force more of the delays that have dogged it for more than four years already.
The State Department said Friday that TransCanada Corp's pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to Texas would not add to global greenhouse gas emissions because oil sands crude will make it to market whether or not the project is built.
That interpretation neutralized a major argument that many...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Environmentalists Mull Legal Action Over Keystone XL ProcessCanadian Official: Keystone Rejection Wouldn’t Harm US-Canada Relationship
Posted by The Hill: Ben Geman on March 7th, 2013
The Hill: Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver predicted Wednesday that the U.S. will approve the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, but added that rejection would not harm the relationship between the two allies.
“I am not anticipating a rejection,” he told reporters at a major energy conference here.
But he said the U.S.-Canada relationship is far too deep to be changed by the pipeline decision.
“We have the most important commercial bilateral relationship in the world, and certainly...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canadian Official: Keystone Rejection Wouldn’t Harm US-Canada RelationshipReport: Most Insurers not prepared for climate change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2013
USA Today: Most insurance companies do not have comprehensive strategies to cope with climate change despite mounting weather-related claims, says a report to be released Thursday.
Of 184 companies surveyed, only 23 had such strategies, and 13 of those that did were foreign-owned, according to report by Ceres, a Boston-based non-profit that promotes eco-minded business practices. The report says the most prepared tend to be the largest companies with scientists on staff and those that insure property rather...
Canadian Government Targets U.S. Reporters to Promote Keystone XL
Posted by Postmedia: Mike De Souza on March 7th, 2013
Postmedia: The Harper government has created an elaborate strategy to promote approval of the Keystone XL pipeline that includes an outreach program targeting American journalists behind the scenes, newly released diplomatic correspondence reveals.
The documents reveal a flurry of activity among Canadian diplomats in the United States, dating back to the summer of 2011, as unexpected delays and a national North American protest movement started to emerge regarding Alberta-based TransCanada’s pipeline expansion...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canadian Government Targets U.S. Reporters to Promote Keystone XLObama Interior Pick Championed Outdoor Jobs Over Oil
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2013
Bloomberg: As she stood before governors from western U.S. states last June, Sally Jewell made a pitch that was self-evident and revolutionary: Public lands are an economic boon.
“Protecting America’s parks, waters and trails is about protecting the economy, the communities and the people whose lives depend on the ability to play outside,” Jewell, president of Recreational Equipment Inc., told the 22-member governors’ group at a resort in Washington’s Cascade mountains.
Selling fleece jackets, fishing...
Enbridge CEO Says Ready to Spend to Expand U.S. Pipeline Network
Posted by CNBC: Patti Domm on March 7th, 2013
CNBC: Enbridge CEO Al Monaco said the company has $15 billion in hand to put into pipeline expansion.
The boom in U.S. and Canadian oil production has resulted in more oil than can be pumped through existing pipelines, and Enbridge has actively been working to help provide a network that would take crude to the coasts. The U.S. was ill prepared for the mid-continent boom since oil traditionally went inward from the coasts to the center of the country, he said.
Monaco expects a regulatory decision...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Enbridge CEO Says Ready to Spend to Expand U.S. Pipeline NetworkAustralia: Native frogs beat invasive toads
Posted by BBC: Ella Davies on March 7th, 2013
BBC: The tadpoles of Australia's native frogs can outcompete invasive toads, scientists say.
The toads are considered a threat to Australian wildlife, leading researchers to investigate methods to control their population.
A study into competition between wild amphibian young revealed that the presence of green tree frogs reduced cane toad survival.
Experts now suggest reintroducing the familiar frogs to suburban areas.
The results are published in the journal Austral Ecology.
Cane toads...
Proposed Dam Presents Twin Conundrums in Alaska
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on March 7th, 2013
New York Times: At a time when large dams are being taken down, not put up, the state of Alaska is proposing to construct one of the tallest and most expensive hydroelectric dams ever built in North America. The Alaska Energy Authority is planning to build a 735-foot, $5.2 billion structure on the Susitna River in a largely empty south-central part of the state, which is watered by runoff from the arc of the Alaska Range. The dam, designed to generate up to 600 megawatts of electricity, would create a new power...
New York Assembly Approves Two-Year Moratorium on Fracking
Posted by Bloomberg: Freeman Klopott on March 7th, 2013
Bloomberg: New York’s Assembly approved a two- year ban on the natural-gas drilling method known as fracking, after two previous attempts to block the practice failed and with the state Senate taking a different approach.
The state has been studying the safety of hydraulic fracturing since 2008, and blocked its use in the meantime. The Assembly’s ban would lift in May 2015. Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has said he’s waiting until the Health Department concludes a separate analysis to make a decision....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New York Assembly Approves Two-Year Moratorium on Fracking