RSS Feed
Archive for April 9th, 2013
Obama Admin. Overlooked Fracking Risks in California Leases, Judge Rules
Posted by Reuters: Rory Carroll on April 9th, 2013
Reuters: A federal judge has ruled the Obama administration broke the law when it issued oil leases in central California without fully weighing the environmental impact of "fracking," a setback for companies seeking to exploit the region's enormous energy resources.
The decision, made public on Monday, effectively bars for the time being any drilling on two tracts of land comprising 2,500 acres leased for oil and gas development in 2011 by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management in Monterey...
Posted in 
Japan’s quake-crippled nuclear plant “losing faith” in leaking water pits
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2013
Reuters: The company that runs a Japanese nuclear power plant destroyed by a tsunami two years ago said on Tuesday it was losing faith in temporary storage pits for radioactive water - but it doesn't have anywhere else to put it.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said it had found a new leak at one of the pits at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Three out of seven storage pits are now leaking, compounding clean-up difficulties after the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.
"We cannot deny the fact that...
Canada: Alberta, Industry Face Wide Gap on Carbon Tax
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2013
Globe and Mail: Alberta's energy industry is pushing for carbon taxes half as high as what government has proposed, with oil sands companies lobbying for less stringent goals that would leave the province short of meeting its emissions goals.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has suggested the province target a 20-per-cent reduction in per-barrel emissions, and a $20-per-tonne tax on those unable to comply, according to a provincial document.
That falls well short of an Alberta proposal for oil...
Carbon Tax Called a Threat to Oil Sands Projects
Posted by Calgary Herald: Dan Healing on April 9th, 2013
Calgary Herald: A proposal to increase Alberta’s carbon levy to $40 per tonne and target a 40 per cent cut in carbon emissions from big emitters could affect the viability of thermal oilsands projects, a Calgary investment bank warns.
But FirstEnergy Capital added in a research report published Monday morning that the additional costs may be a justifiable trade-off if the plan convinces U.S. President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
In the note, analyst Michael Dunn calculates the proposal...
Ex-Obama Aide Duels Ex-Kerry Staffers Over Keystone
Posted by Bloomberg: Derek Wallbank and Mark Drajem on April 9th, 2013
Bloomberg: Supporters and opponents of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline have recruited former aides to Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Obama in dueling efforts to influence the White House.
Alberta -- the source of the oil sands that would be sent though TransCanada Corp. (TRP)’s pipeline -- hired Boston-based public relations firm Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications Inc. to promote the project, according to disclosure reports. Rasky Baerlein’s chairman, Larry Rasky, worked for Kerry’s...
Exxon Fake Twitter Account Suspended After Mocking Oil Giant’s Response To Spill
Posted by Huffingtin Post: None Given on April 9th, 2013
Huffingtin Post: A parody Twitter account mocking Exxon's response to spill clean-up in Arkansas has been suspended by Twitter.
The account, which creators say was inspired by BP parody account @BPGlobalPR, was formed Tuesday, several days after Exxon's Pegasus pipeline spewed an estimated 84,000 gallons of heavy crude oil into residential streets in Mayflower, Ark.
The parody Exxon account @ExxonCares, which HuffPost first wrote about Friday, garnered more than 600 followers and attention from Twitter celebrities...
Keystone XL Foes Launch Aggressive Campaign Against Pipeline
Posted by FuelFix: None Given on April 9th, 2013
FuelFix: Critics of Keystone XL are ramping up their efforts against the pipeline by launching a new coalition, nationwide commercials and online ads focused on convincing influential Democratic voters and donors that the project is a bad idea.
A major goal is leveraging the power, influence and money of those Democrats to put pressure on President Barack Obama as he nears a final decision on whether to approve TransCanada Corp.`s proposed pipeline.
The campaign - under the banner of the new "All Risk,...
Scientists Use Crowdfunding to Pay for Fracking Research
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2013
National Public Radio: You`ve heard of Kickstarter, the website that allows everyone from budding filmmakers to student dancers, to nail polish designers, search for individual funders over the internet. Now, there are crowdfunding websites popping up that focus on scientific research. Two Juniata College professors are turning to one of these to fund their fracking research. Micro-biology professor Regina Lamendella and ecologist Christopher Grant, want to find out how fracking for Marcellus Shale gas impacts stream life...
Some Residents Allowed To Return Following Mayflower Oil Spill
Posted by Dow Jones: None Given on April 9th, 2013
Dow Jones: Residents of four homes evacuated following an oil spill in Mayflower, Ark., are being allowed to return as work to clean up the oil progresses, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) said Monday.
Twenty-two homes were evacuated after Exxon's Pegasus pipeline ruptured and leaked thousands of barrels of oil into a neighborhood March 29. Exxon said 5,000 barrels were spilled.
Exxon said residents of the remaining 18 homes will be given the option to return as their properties are cleaned. The company has received...
Gulf of Mexico can ‘self-deep-clean’
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on April 9th, 2013
BBC: New details have emerged about "self-cleaning" effects in the Gulf of Mexico witnessed in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Researchers reporting at the American Chemical Society conference revealed details of a cascade of micro-organisms that spring into action to degrade oil.
Research has also outlined how chemical "dispersants" used in clean-up efforts actually frustrate these processes.
However, the long-term effects of the weeks of oil exposure remain unknown.
And concern...