energy policy | The Price of Oil

Posts in energy policy

Independent oil & gas producers don’t need subsidies any more than big oil does
Lorne Stockman
Apr29
The Independent Petroleum Producers Association is currently in overdrive parading a commissioned study that makes a number of claims about its member’s value to the economy. According to the study, independent oil and gas producers drill most of the wells in the country, create millions of jobs and pay billions in taxes and royalties. Furthermore,…
Continue reading ‘Independent oil & gas producers don’t need subsidies any more than big oil does’.
API’s Latest “Ridiculous” Anti-Tax Campaign
Andy Rowell
Apr26
Any regular reading of this blog will know that that the good old American Petroleum Institute (API) is fairly wizard-like when it comes to conjuring up numbers of how many people the industry supports or employs. Up to September 2009, the API had often repeated statements such as “The oil and gas industry employs nearly…
Continue reading ‘API’s Latest “Ridiculous” Anti-Tax Campaign’.
10,000 March for Climate Justice
Andy Rowell
Apr19
About 10,000 activists marched yesterday in Washington on the “Make Big Polluters Pay” march. The march was the culmination of the third “PowerShift” event. Over the weekend activists had heard speeches from the likes of former Vice President Al Gore, and US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. In a speech on Friday night, Gore underlined how…
Continue reading ’10,000 March for Climate Justice’.
The New Dirty Energy Money Champions
Andy Rowell
Apr12
Ever heard of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association? We didn’t know much about them either. But they have popped up on our radar as an organisation that is pouring millions into politics. So we started doing some digging. NRECA calls itself the national service organisations that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit,…
Continue reading ‘The New Dirty Energy Money Champions’.
Fracking Emissions “Worse than Coal”
Andy Rowell
Apr11
Later today, several hundred New Yorkers, backed by at least 40 environmental organisations, are heading to attend a rally on Capitol lawn in Albany to protest against the dirty drilling technique of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” Among the speakers will be Josh Fox, director of the award-winning anti-gas industry documentary “Gasland.” Opponents of fracking have…
Continue reading ‘Fracking Emissions “Worse than Coal”’.
The well-trodden road to ruin..
Andy Rowell
Apr06
The Republicans rolled out their 2012 Budget yesterday, under the catchy title of “the path to prosperity”. In fact you could have called it the “well-trodden road to ruin”. The budget by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan will be seen by political commentators as raising the stakes for the upcoming spending battle between the GOP…
Continue reading ‘The well-trodden road to ruin..’.
UK Gov Drops Consumer Levy on CCS
Andy Rowell
Mar23
If we are going to carry on burning fossil fuels, then either the climate will slowly fry, or we have to find a way to stop carbon dioxide frying the climate. One way is to bury it. One of the most controversial techniques is Carbon, Capture and Storage, where the CO2 will be captured and…
Continue reading ‘UK Gov Drops Consumer Levy on CCS’.
“The chain is as strong as the weakest link”
Andy Rowell
Mar15
The unfolding nuclear emergency in Japan once again highlights the vulnerability of our centralised energy infrastructure to major disasters or even a potential terrorist attack. At the moment all efforts must go to containing and controlling the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant. When this is done, at some time serious questions need to be…
Continue reading ‘“The chain is as strong as the weakest link”’.
UK Gov: its “crazy” not to prepare a low-carbon future
Andy Rowell
Mar04
Three years ago during the last oil price hike when oil reached $150 a barrel, there were repeated calls for a concerted effort for the international community to finally wean itself off its chronic oil addiction. There were repeated calls that the combined financial crisis and energy crunch was a prefect reason to kick-start the…
Continue reading ‘UK Gov: its “crazy” not to prepare a low-carbon future’.
Here we go again! Blah baby Blah
Lorne Stockman
Feb24
As oil prices surge in response to the appalling violence in Libya, the House Natural Resources Committee offered their usual worn out suggestions for addressing America’s vulnerability to oil price shocks; more domestic drilling. Clearly energy only means one thing to this GOP dominated committee, fossil fuels. Domestic drilling may help Americans feel like something’s…
Continue reading ‘Here we go again! Blah baby Blah’.