On March 24, 1989 eleven million gallons of North Slope crude oil began pouring out of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker into the pristine waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound. Hundreds of thousands of fish, seabirds, bald eagles, otters, seals and whales were maimed and killed. The native communities whose lives depended on those waters … Read More
Author: Steve Kretzmann
Dem Leaders Endorse Iraqi “Oil Theft” Law
Among the many problems with the Democrats War Supplemental is the not so small fact that it endorses passage of the Iraqi Oil Law. “Democratic leadership is actively handing over Iraq’s oil to U.S. companies as some sort of war bounty,” said Antonia Juhasz, analyst with Oil Change International. Not so fast, say Dem Leaders … Read More
Robert Engler: Early Advocate for Oil Accountability
On February 23rd, the community of energy activists lost one of our earliest and clearest voices for change in the oil industry. Robert Engler, whose many books included the seminal and prescient Brotherhood of Oil passed at his home in New York City. He was 84. What follows is from a Washington Post obituary that … Read More
Devils in details: State of the Union
If you listened to, or read, President Bush’s speech last night, you might be thinking that a 20% reduction in gasoline use over the next decade sounds pretty good. That is, until you go to the White House website to read the details of the plan, in which they use a word the President conveniently … Read More
OECD Consumption Drops For First Time in Decades
Here’s one that few saw coming: According the International Energy Agency as reported by the Wall St. Journal (subscription), developed country consumption of oil dropped .6% in 2006. According to the Journal: “Though the decline appears small, it marks the first annual drop in more than 20 years among the OECD countries, which drain close … Read More
Interior Dept. Cover-Up of lease scandal
Apparently there are no lengths to which Bush Administration officials will not go in defense of Big Oil. According to Congressional Quarterly, the Interior Department’s Inspector General will shortly issue a report revealing that Department officials, after learning in 2000 of mistakes in leases that could cost the American people $10 billion, proceeded to cover … Read More
Bearing Point is Major Bush Financier
The Independent on Sunday continues its excellent reporting on the origins and scandal behind the soon to be introduced, US approved, Iraqi oil law. Last week the IoS reported that Bearing Point, a Virginia based contractor, heavily advised the Ministry of Oil on the law. This week we discover that Bearing Point contributed more than … Read More
The Future of Iraqi oil as proposed by the ISG
this is a guest post from Munir Chalabi, an Iraqi Political Analyst living in London. The US Democrats and the Republicans may disagree on many tactics and probably on part of the strategy for how to sustain the military occupation of Iraq, but when it comes to the strategy for the future of Iraqi oil … Read More
Canadian Ice Shelf sets sail
Scientists studying satellite imagery from the Canadian Arctic have just discovered that the Ayles Ice Shelf broke free of Ellesmere Island sixteen months ago. In an AP story running widely this morning, Warwick Vincent of Laval University said: “This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the … Read More
NYT: Incentives on Oil Barely Help U.S., Study Suggests
Great article from the New York Times last week, fyi. Original here. Or read on for pasted text.