Analysts are starting to question the tar sands industry’s “wildly optimistic” growth plans and some projects are slowing down. Here’s why.
Keystone XL
Support the Texas KXL Protestors!
As I write three anti-tar sands protestors remain in jail in Texas for stopping the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. They are being held on $1,000 each. Four other protestors have been released. The seven had spent the day locked onto trucks carrying the KXL pipeline. They closed the pipe yard for five hours. … Read More
Fires, storms and the energy independence myth
All the talk of Hurricane Isaac and the RNC has so far failed to notice the gaping hole appearing in what is not only the Romney/Ryan energy platform but also the platform of the entire North American oil and gas industry. And frankly, while politicians might be forgiven (and I mean might) for not fully … Read More
A big mess at Motiva and why Gulf Coast refiners are making a killing
While Chevron’s Richmond refinery has been making the news lately with a very visible incident, our attention has been drawn to less noticed recent events in America’s biggest refining center on the Gulf Coast, where what was to become the country’s largest refinery also ran into a spot of trouble. You’d think that if you … Read More
The unethical reality of tar sands oil and the Keystone XL pipeline
Recently, the Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, Mike Flood, spoke with the York News-Times about his views on the Keystone XL pipeline, which, as proposed, would run through environmentally sensitive parts of Nebraska. Amidst expressing lukewarm concern about the pipeline’s safety, Flood repeated an oft-used but oft-refuted argument for supporting the pipeline. He asserted that tar … Read More
Tar sands tax loophole highlighted in two more reports
A couple months ago, Oil Change International worked with Earth Track and NRDC to expose a huge loophole that allows tar sands producers to avoid paying their fair share into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Oil producers generally pay into this fund, but through a exemption in the tax code, tar sands oil producers … Read More
A solemn anniversary, scary new report, and hope around the corner in the fight against big oil
Today marks the two-year anniversary of a massive oil spill into the Kalamazoo River in Marshall, Michigan…a spill whose effects are still being felt in many ways today. By the time the spill was stopped in the late summer of 2010, some 1.2 million gallons of corrosive tar sands oil had been released into the … Read More
Scientists Warn About KXL Climate Impacts
Ten of the America’s top climate scientists are sending a letter to Secretary Hillary Clinton today with a simple message: The State Department has to conduct a serious review of the climate change impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline. The State Department is currently accepting comments on the new scoping report that will determine what … Read More
How Fracking Boosts the Tar Sands
The energy revolution sweeping the United States is now taking up serious column inches in the nation’s papers. Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran with with the headline: “Expanded Oil Drilling Helps U.S. Wean Itself From Mideast.” The next day it was “U.S. Wakes Up to North American Oil Abundance.” There is no doubt … Read More
TransCanada clings to Keystone myths
Yesterday we co-published a report with NRDC and Forest Ethics that busted the myth that the Keystone XL pipeline would lower gasoline prices for U.S. and Canadian consumers. It is actually more likely to raise prices by diverting oil from refineries in the Midwest, which are focused on serving the domestic market, to refineries on … Read More