It’s a very tough time for the fish and ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary, with ocean salmon season closed off the California and most of Oregon due to the collapse of Sacramento and Klamath River fall-run Chinook populations as the Delta smelt gets closer and closer to extinction in the wild. One […]
The Biden administration on March 31, 2022, said it plans to release an unprecedented 180 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat the recent spike in gas and diesel prices. About a million barrels of oil will be released every day for up to six months. Scott L. Montgomery, University […]
The price of oil has been spiking in recent weeks in response to concerns that the war in Ukraine will significantly reduce supply. But what happens in oil markets never stays in oil markets. By Veronika Dolar, SUNY Old Westbury The Conversation The price of U.S. crude oil jumped to a 13-year high of US$130 […]
The Biden administration hopes its threat of “severe economic consequences” deters Russia from invading Ukraine – an event Americans officials say could be imminent. By Ryan Haddad, University of Maryland The Conversation In response, the U.S. said it may ban the export of microchips and other technologies to critical sectors like artificial intelligence and […]
New battle lines are being drawn between Canada’s financial regulators and Alberta’s oilpatch over the country’s climate change policies. The Bank of Canada and Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) recently released a pilot study that looked at how prepared Canada’s financial institutions are in understanding and managing climate change risks. The […]
On January 26, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to prohibit the drilling of new oil and gas wells, phase out production of existing oil and gas wells and create a process for the phase-out and cleanup of existing oil wells, with a just transition, according to a statement from Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) […]
The investor Warren Buffett once remarked that “only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked”. For the plastics recycling industry, the pandemic was a bit like the tide going out, exposing its deep-rooted structural problems. By Eleni Iacovidou, Brunel University London and Norman Ebner, University of Oxford The Conversation Specifically, […]
A recent report by Kyle Ferrar of the Fractracker Alliance confirms my extensive reporting on how the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative in Southern California, chaired by Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) President, did little or nothing to protect the marine environment from oil and gas drilling. By Dan Bacher The report also reveals the […]
California oil regulators more than doubled the dispensing of permits in 2020 to drill new oil and gas production wells, issuing more than 1,700 in 2020, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance reported in a press release yesterday. By Dan Bacher “At the same time, the Newsom Administration failed to meet its own New Year’s Eve […]
Minnesota governor Tim Walz portrays himself as a fighter for clean air, clean water, and a clean energy future. He even wrote an op-ed promising that “Minnesota will lead on climate change if Washington won’t.” He cultivates a public image as one of the good guys who listens to the science. Yet last week, he chose […]
These are very challenging times for U.S. fossil fuel-producing states, such as Wyoming, Alaska and North Dakota. The COVID-19 economic downturn has reduced energy demand, with uncertain prospects for the extent of its recovery. Meanwhile, rising concern about climate change and the declining cost of renewable energy are precipitating a sharp decline in demand for […]
Around the world, pollution affects many of our waterways. However, several different kinds of contamination exist – and each one hurts our oceans significantly. To put a stop to these harmful factors, we need to learn more. Then, we can understand how it influences the lives of people and animals and permanently changes our environment. […]
Plastic. It’s not hard to see how anyone who is appalled at the despoliation of the environment could think that the world would be better without it. Nearly 10% of the world’s oil is used in making it. It has enabled the proliferation of cheap goods — cramming closets, landfills and otherwise-unspoiled places where it […]
Oil tankers — 27 of them — have been spotted lurking off the coast of southern California. The footage was taken by the U.S. Coast Guard, as the Coast Guard is monitoring the “increased presence” of oil tankers that are hanging out in the seas near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. By Johnna Crider […]
Over the past few months, I’ve had a set of conversations with entrepreneurs, academics, and engineers engaged in new technical solutions for cleaning up the tailing ponds that follow on from oil sands petroleum extraction and hard mineral mining. There are some key insights I’ve gained from this that will shape cleanup of the mess […]