RSS Feed
Author Archive
Climate Change: Have We Already Gone Too Far?
Posted by Forbes: None Given on November 8th, 2015
Forbes: “America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change,” President Obama said from the White House after vetoing the Keystone XL Pipeline bill which would have allowed a Canadian company to build a 1,179-mile pipeline to transport 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast. “Frankly,” continued the President, “approving this project would have undercut that global leadership.”
The Keystone rejection is an...
Posted in 
Drought, Climate Change and California’s Multibillion-Dollar Problem
Posted by Forbes: None Given on April 3rd, 2015
Forbes: Two weeks before California Governor Jerry Brown’s announcement on Wednesday that residents and businesses in the Golden State -- which is withering amid one of its worst droughts in modern history -- would be subjected to unprecedented restrictions on water usage, he issued a blistering attack on those who continue to question fundamental climate science.
Such thinking, Brown said during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press late last month, “borders on the immoral,” and the Democratic governor...
Kissing Ring Of King Corn or Why Ethanol Ain’t Going Away Anytime Soon
Posted by Forbes: None Given on March 14th, 2015
Forbes: As regular readers know, I am not opposed to green, renewable energy. Yes, I like oil and natural gas but I also find the technological innovation in solar, wind and other energy forms exciting. If you are a regular reader, you will also know I am not a fan RFS. There are efforts to reform or outright appeal this very flawed law which Congress passed in 2005. There are numerous reasons to oppose this law from economic to environmental. Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virgina introduced a bill in February...
Dow Bets $6 Billion That U.S. Fracking Boom Will Last Another Decade
Posted by Forbes: None Given on March 1st, 2015
Forbes: Dow Chemical is investing $6 billion to enlarge its manufacturing facilities in the United States by 40 percent, based on a wager that low natural gas prices here will persist into the middle of the next decade, a Dow executive said in Chicago this week. The investment reverses Dow’s vocal exodus from manufacturing in the United States, said Doug May, Dow’s business president of olefins, aromatics, and alternatives, during the Kellogg Energy Conference Wednesday at Northwestern University. “We’re...
Canada Won’t Take ‘No’ For Answer on Keystone XL
Posted by Forbes: None Given on February 26th, 2015
Forbes: Although Barack Obama issued an immediate veto of legislation from Congress that would have forced approval of the long-debated and highly contentious Keystone XL pipeline, the American president still needs to give the project -- vehemently opposed by his core constituency but favored by the Republican majority in Congress -- a clear thumbs-up or thumbs-down on his own.
That’s a decision that the Obama administration has been weighing for the entirety of its six years, leaving the Canadian company...
No Doubt It’s Climate-Change Drought, Scientists Say
Posted by Forbes: None Given on January 1st, 2015
Forbes: It was raining in San Francisco on the damp December morning that three scientists gathered at the offices of Climate Nexus to hold a press conference about the drought. It had been raining regularly for more than a week, in fact, and Stanford University had just recorded its rainiest day ever on campus. These three drought experts had gathered to swim upstream against all that rain and evaporate any false optimism it might be washing into California. “I’m happy to be here and see some rain here...
Chevron Free Pizza Offer Only Feeds Public’s Distrust
Posted by Forbes: None Given on February 20th, 2014
Forbes: Often, when I speak to energy industry groups, I’m asked what oil companies can do to improve their public image. My response: sell iPads. It usually gets a laugh.
After recent events in Pennsylvania, though, I may need to revise my quip: no free pizza. Unfortunately, that has been the response of a major oil company to a well explosion last week near Bobtown, in the southwestern corner of the state.
Residents told the Philadelphia Daily News they were awakened shortly before 7 a.m. by the...
Debate Over Deviant Weather Patterns Centers On Climate Change
Posted by Forbes: None Given on February 17th, 2014
Forbes: As a “jet stream” divides the nation between those who are enduring record-cold temperatures and those who are dying for water supplies, the country has become ensconced in debate as to the root cause and the role of climate change.
In any event, weather aberrations are putting more pressure on natural gas supplies, which are now in high demand and which have risen in price. Nationally, customers will pay much higher winter heating bills. But, in California that relies on hydropower to fuel nearly...
Underestimated Methane Leaks Make Natural Gas Dirtier Than Previously Thought, Says Study
Posted by Forbes: None Given on February 13th, 2014
Forbes: Methane emissions are worse than the conventional wisdom would have you believe, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University.
Methane, which is the primary component of natural gas, is an especially powerful greenhouse gas, packing more than two dozen times as much global warming potential than carbon dioxide.
Traditionally, environmental regulators and energy industry groups have estimated methane emissions by multiplying the amount of methane emitted by a specific source...
Thanks To Fracking, Natural Gas Supplies (Barely) Withstand ‘Polar Vortex’ Assault
Posted by Forbes: None Given on January 8th, 2014
Forbes: The polar vortex gripping the nation has brought a crazy week for natural gas. On Monday the demand for gas nationwide hit a record 125 billion cubic feet as homeowners and power generators sought to burn as much of it as they could get to keep the cold at bay. In a normal early-January week the draw on natural gas inventories is about 170 billion cubic feet. This week, according to market watcher Bentek, the drawdown is expected to be on the order of 310 bcf — the most ever. The record demand stretched...