 …in the long term, what the industry has affected is not increased security via Canadian oil to the gulf coast, but a concentration of the nation’s refining capacity in the heart of the nation’s hurricane corridor. The lessons of 2005 have clearly not been heeded. Pennsylvania labor activists marched on Capitol Hill yesterday in protest … Read More
Keystone XL
Over 600,000 Say No to KXL
Once again it is the many versus the money. Starting at noon yesterday, a coalition of thirty or so environmental organisations, including Oil Change International (OCI) and 350.org set out to gather at least 500,000 signatures with 24 hours to stop the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The initiative came as a response to moves within … Read More
Keystone XL benefits from taxpayer subsidies
 Sen. Mitch McConnell claimed recently that the Keystone XL Pipeline “doesn’t require a penny of our taxpayer money all the president has to do is approve it.” But our research reveals many places that the pipeline project benefits from taxpayer subsidies. The refineries that are linked to the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline as committed … Read More
Keystone XL Becoming Key Election Issue
November may still seem a long way off, but increasingly it is looking like the the controversial Keystone XL pipeline is going to become a key Presidential election issue. David Wilkins, who was George Bush’s ambassador to Canada from 2005 to 2009, is one of the many people who think this is the case. “It’s … Read More
TransCanada “Violating Laws” Over KXL Jobs Claim
Later today the Republican Senator John Hoeven will try to introduce legislation seeking to bypass President Barack Obama and empower Congress to approve the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Hoeven’s bill, that would seek to take control of the Keystone decision, looks like a political non-starter. To become law it would have to be approved … Read More
Protest Against “Big Oil Corruption”
At noon today, a coalition of environmental groups, including Oil Change International and 350.org will blow the whistle of “Big Oil’s corruption” on Capitol Hill, hours before Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address. Activists will be gathering at the Capitol dressed in referee uniforms and then heading to our old friends at … Read More
Pssst! Don’t tell anyone…Big Oil Makes Money!
Pssst. I’ve got a secret. The oil industry is in it for the money. I know how shocking this must be for many of you. But it’s true. Literally. The duty of Big Oil’s executives to their shareholders is to maximize their profits. There’s nothing wrong with that, in theory.  They are in fact, quite … Read More
A Road Map to Renewal or Ruin?
The oil boys from Houston must be wriggling with delight after President Obama’s official jobs council called for an “all-in approach” to energy policy that includes expanded oil-and-gas drilling as well as more pipelines. “We should allow more access to oil, natural gas and coal opportunities on federal lands,” argued the President’s Council on Jobs … Read More
Keystone XL: playing the Iran card, ignoring the facts
The American Petroleum Institute, along with Senator Lugar (R-IN), has grasped the recent threat of a crisis in the Strait of Hormuz as the perfect opportunity to peddle its misinformation about Keystone XL and U.S. energy security. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow channel of ocean between Iran and Oman through which some 17 … Read More
Keystone XL and Dirty Energy Money
This morning the Guardian carried a story from Maplight about the influence of oil money over the July vote in the House of Representatives on the Keystone XL pipeline.  It’s a classic story about the influence of campaign money over policy that will surprise few but bears repeating often. We ran a similar story about … Read More