Earlier today, twenty-two House Democrats sent a letter to President Obama expressing their support for the Keystone XL pipeline project. The letter was announced in a press release from TransCanada. Both the letter and the press release predictably recycle discredited arguments for Keystone XL on energy security and jobs. What TransCanada didn’t mention is that … Read More
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Shell Guilty Again?
Just over two years after the Wiwa versus Shell case was settled in a New York Court room, the US Supreme Court has given approval for another ground-breaking legal case against Shell to be heard. The lawsuit will consider whether corporations can be sued in U.S. courts for allegedly aiding human-rights abuses overseas. Amazingly, the … Read More
Senators Express “Serious Concern” Over KXL
Last week I blogged about the revelation that the US State Department had actually assigned an important Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to a company with financial ties to the pipeline company itself, TransCanada. The final contractor chosen – Cardno Entrix – was recommended by TransCanada despite the fact … Read More
BP: Reprieved from Death Row
It’s been a good few days for BP. The company’s share price surged 5.1 per cent this morning after it was announced that Anadarko Petroleum will pay $4 billion to settle all claims for last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The US-based Anadarko Petroleum was a part-leaseholder of ill-fated Macondo well. As part of … Read More
Rick Perry’s predictable energy plan
I wasn’t bowled over with surprise to hear news of Rick Perry’s energy plan today. I could have written it myself. The plan is a fossil fuel industry wish list. Open everything up and dismantle any regulation that might get in the way of digging, drilling, fracking and burning. It’s not really news. It wasn’t … Read More
FT: Tar Sands a “PR Nightmare”
Canada’s dirty tar sands oil reserves have been turned “into a public-relations nightmare” argues the Financial Times today in its eight page pull-out on Canadian energy, forcing the industry to fight back against this “toxic perception”. Part of this nightmare for both the industry and now President Obama is to do with the controversial Keystone … Read More
It’s Time for Reform: Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Rich Nations are Staggering
Finally a new report, released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED), begins to quantify how much rich nations—and taxpayers—are supporting fossil-fuel production and consumption. The numbers are staggering. During each of the last five years, between US$ 45 billion and US$ 75 billion in budgetary support and tax expenditures have been provided … Read More
New Zealand’s “Worst Maritime Disaster”
First things first – this is no Deepwater Horizon. But it is still being called a disaster and it looks like its going to get worse. The 47,000 tonne container ship Rena is currently grounded on a reef in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty and it is leaking heavy fuel oil after running aground last … Read More
The Conflict of Interest that Should Stop Keystone
Note: See our new infographic on Keystone XL here! At Friday’s electric final hearing into the proposed controversial Keystone XL pipeline, one of the recurring themes was that the US State Department has consistently taken sides with TransCanada, the company building the pipeline, even before the consultation has finished. Such was the clamour of accusatory … Read More
State Department Hears Public Comment on Keystone XL
Oil Change International Research Director Lorne Stockman joined dozens of speakers today in testifying before the State Department in Washington, DC on the Keystone XL pipeline. You can download and listen to a recording of Lorne’s testimony. The proposed 1,700 mile pipeline would bring up to 900,000 barrels per day of dirty tar sands crude … Read More