In the fallout from the Durban conference, one of the debates I have heard is people debating what keeping warming to 2 degrees means, rather than letting warming increase to 3 degrees or even 4 degrees. One of the answers was that if warming goes above 2 degrees the chances of a runaway greenhouse effect … Read More
Finally the pretence is over. For years Canada said it cared about climate change at the same time as developing one of the most dirty fuels on the planet, the tar sands. But we knew it was a lie. For years Canada has told European politicians that it is committed to greenhouse gas reductions in … Read More
Written by Steve Kretzmann and Lorne Stockman Last week, the Obama Administration announced that it would “examine in depth alternative routes” for the Keystone XL pipeline and that this process “could be completed as early as the first quarter of 2013”. The Administration pledged to consider “all the relevant issues together”, including climate change, energy … Read More
Twenty years ago, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was then largely unknown in the west either as an environmental activist or writer, started touring the capitals of Europe to drum up support for the Ogoni campaign against the oil giant Shell. Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni had many issues with Shell – the fact that they had received … Read More
On a warm summer evening in July this year, in the prestigious and ornate College Garden of Britain’s historic Westminster Abbey, 250 guests listened to a five-piece band. The music was the start of an inaugural summer party organised by the public relations company Hanover Communications. The guest list for the party was impressive, including … Read More
After numerous delays, and even the departure of a lead investigator, later today the US government is expected to release the report into last year’s Deepwater Horizon disaster that has been undertaken by the Coast Guard and the Agency responsible for regulating offshore drilling. According to the Wall Street Journal, the federal investigation into the … Read More
Often in the 24 hour news world, stories are reported at such a rate that no one ever takes a step back to see if they are joined up. No one ever seems to ask searching questions to see if two different stories are connected and therefore what are the consequences of that connection. You … Read More
On and off for twenty years I have written about the oil industry. I have worked with communities from Alaska to Africa who have been threatened by Big Oil. So often the stories are the same: an industry that is indifferent to local concerns and needs. It is an industry that bullies and effectively bribes … Read More
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, … Read More
Why Canadian oil does not make America secure Political turmoil in the Middle East once again exposes America’s dependence on oil and its vulnerability to global price spikes. On Capitol Hill, Big Oil’s political lackeys are stepping up their campaign for supply solutions and the current must-have item on their list is the Keystone XL … Read More
