Oh, the many effects of extracting the world’s dirtiest oil!
Despite the huge PR offensive by big oil, Alberta, and Canada’s right wing government, it is hard to overwhelm the public into thinking digging big holes to get out the bitumen is a great idea. Scientists, bloggers, conservation groups, and even segments of the Democratic […]
Continue Reading →Slogan might sway elections, has no effect on gasoline prices-
Whenever the price of gasoline rises, we hear what is by now a coordinated shout that there needs to be more domestic oil drilling and “damn, the damn bunnies” and the rest of the wildlife too. Thirty seconds thought tells a person that a short […]
Continue Reading →Earthquakes, water pollution, political pollution, and now toxic chemicals in the air near fracking wells-
It seems every day the news about the negative side effects of fracking gets worse (and the TV ads run by the American Petroleum Institute and others more manipulative). Aside from the methane in the natural gas, a number of […]
Continue Reading →Hundreds of thousands of faults, most poorly mapped, just waiting for a bit of lubrication-
We all know what causes earthquakes — preexisting long cracks in rock layers (faults) and enough pressure to make them slip. Most don’t slip very often though. Some will never slip because the pressure is just not, or ever will […]
Continue Reading →Resources chair pushes through oil and gas legislation that may make his oil and gas leases valuable-
Part of Idaho is like so many other places in America where a tsunami of fracking is about to hit. Five years ago this seemed very unlikely. Idaho has always been regarded as an unlikely place for oil […]
Continue Reading →Democratic critics say pipeline will not increase U.S. oil supplies-
Right now the U.S. Senate is considering a Republican effort to fast-track the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. Democrats will filibuster. Republicans are not likely to get the 60 votes to beat the filibuster.
The pipeline is becoming a defining issue between the two parties, […]
Continue Reading →“Energy independence” has been the Republican energy policy since 1974-
Americans have a bad case of Alzheimer’s when it come to knowledge or remembrance of energy policy. Politicians usually give them a couple shots of rhetorical whiskey to make their memory even worse. This is my effort to help folks remember.
Gasoline prices spiked in the United States for the first […]
Continue Reading →What a turnaround in the space of 3 years!
In 2008 I took a 2 week trip to the headwaters of the famed North Fork of the Flathead River in B.C. to say goodbye to one of North America’s premier fish and wildlife areas, not to mention its incredible beauty.
Huge open pit coal mines, […]
Continue Reading →The “99%” beats international oil lobby for the time being!
The #Occupy movement — Americans figuring out they they are being pushed, stolen from, and disrespected by the top 1% is beginning to score victories, and today a big one came, although it is not yet permanent. It could evaporate after the 2012 election, but […]
Continue Reading →People just won’t be quiet about this oil company slash at the planet and America-
Developing the Alberta tar sands keeps getting more and more controversial. First it was the pits and the megaloads, but now the anger has shifted to the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring the said-to-be toxic syncrude from Alberta to […]
Continue Reading →
