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 […]
In the wake of California oil and gas regulators approving 7.8% more new oil wells during the first quarter of 2020 than during the first quarter of 2019, Consumer Watchdog today urged Governor Gavin Newsom to prevent oil companies from receiving approvals for new oil wells without first requiring full bonding for their clean-ups. By […]
This action alert from the Sunflower Alliance reveals that a new application for exploratory oil and gas drilling in unincorporated Brentwood, in east Contra Costa County in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, is being submitted during the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic as oil prices have plummeted to below zero and dozens of oil tankers […]
What are we doing to keep our planet habitable? Well, the oil industry certainly wants you to think that its continued existence is perfectly compatible with a non-deadly atmosphere, but is it? No, not really. By Climate Denier Roundup That’s a simplified description of findings from a new report from the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), which […]
No! Really? We had to find out all over again that soot kills, and that it especially kills those with lung diseases? [sigh] Yes, we had to. And even the unborn. So where are all those Pro-Lifers when we could use their help? Oh. Sorry. Silly me. By Mokurai Placentas Are Caked in Soot from […]
In the normal course of business, healthy companies succeed and sickly companies fail. But the coronavirus has interrupted the normal course of business, putting even successful firms on life support as they struggle to pay for sidelined workers and shuttered storefronts. The government’s goal, in theory, should be to keep these companies alive without lending […]
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 […]
Both Norway and Alberta, Canada are economies that gain huge profits from selling oil. They have huge natural reserves of it and make ginormous profits from feeding our “need” for oil powered transportation. However, their method of deploying those profits is in sharp contrast, and interestingly it even guides their philosophies and how they view […]
How can a barrel of oil be worth less than zero? On April 20, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate fell below -$40 a barrel briefly, sending shock waves through the industry and leading to a 600 point drop on Wall Street. The idea that oil could be less than worthless — […]
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 […]
Oil demand is in a freefall, thanks to improvements in battery technology, the proliferation of green energy alternatives, and — let’s face it — a world on lockdown due to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. All of these factors have come together to push barrels of oil to their lowest price in decades, but production hasn’t stopped, […]
With the Trump administration supportive of direct cash payments to impacted Americans and apparently poised to push through some trillion dollars in emergency stimulus with the support of Republicans who spent years railing against just such a bailout from the Obama administration, it’s safe to say we are living through some interesting times where anything could be possible. By Climate Denier […]
The world is again undergoing an oil shock. Prices, already on a downward trend, have collapsed 30% in less than a week, bringing the total fall to nearly 50% since highs in early January. Consumers, of course, can expect gasoline prices to go down, but the story is far more complicated than that. By Scott L. […]
What happens when a global health crisis leads to fewer airline flights, a contraction in industrial activity, and basketball teams playing in empty arenas? The demand for oil goes down. Now quick, you economics majors, what happens to the price of a commodity when demand decreases? If you said, “It goes down,” go to the […]
Toxic and invisible oil spread well beyond the known satellite footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. By Dan Bacher “These new findings have important implications for environmental health during future oil spills,” according […]