Tag Archives: Oil

Putin is about to start the most senseless war in history

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A view from Russia: no sanctions will stop Moscow, and its actions will drive more countries into NATO’s arms

By Greg Yudin  Puvlished 2-22-2022 by openDemocracy

Vladimir_Putin. Photo: Kremlin/CC

In the near future, a big war will begin – a war that we have not seen in the lifetime of my generation, and perhaps the previous generation too.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, last night formally recognised the separatist ‘People’s Republics’ in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent territories. Now, he has ordered so-called ‘peacekeeping forces’ into the Donbas region.

Meanwhile, on the borders of Ukraine, Russia has gathered an army of 75% of all available forces. Belarus has officially confirmed that, following extensive exercises, Russian troops are not leaving Belarus. A few kilometres from Ukraine, tanks sit in Russian forests and fields – as can be seen in videos filmed in Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions, as well as in Belarus’ Homyel region. This military force is fully prepared for a large-scale operation – and is already in position to attack. Continue reading →

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The Supreme Court could hamstring federal agencies’ regulatory power in a high-profile air pollution case

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Coal piles outside of PacifiCorp’s Hunter power plant in Castle Dale, Utah.
George Frey, AFP, via Getty Images

Albert C. Lin, University of California, Davis

On Feb. 28, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in West Virginia v. EPA, a case that centers on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. How the court decides the case could have broad ramifications, not just for climate change but for federal regulation in many areas.

This case stems from actions over the past decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, a centerpiece of U.S. climate change policy. In 2016, the Supreme Court blocked the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was designed to reduce these emissions. The Trump administration repealed the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with the far less stringent Affordable Clean Energy Rule. Various parties challenged that measure, and a federal court invalidated it a day before Trump left office. Continue reading →

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‘Monstrous’ Methane Plume Seen From Space Highlights Invisible Fracking Dangers

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“While this event is particularly severe, Louisiana is already forced to live through an exorbitant amount of pollution daily from fossil fuel and petrochemical plants.”

By Julia Conley.  Published 2-16-2022 by Common Dreams

A satellite image shows a plume of methane stretching across much of Louisiana on January 21, 2022. (Image: Kayrros SAS)

Environmental justice advocates on Wednesday pointed to a methane plume so large it was seen last month from space via satellite as the latest evidence that emissions of the potent fossil fuel must be reined in.

As Bloomberg reported Monday, the geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS detected the plume of the invisible greenhouse gas, which spanned 56 miles and covered several parishes across Louisiana, on January 21. Continue reading →

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What would Western sanctions mean for Russia?

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The unprecedented measures proposed by the US, the EU and the UK could create chaos in Russia’s economy and impoverish its population

By Isobel Koshiw.  Published 2-8-2022 by openDemocracy

Russian President Vladimir Putin Photo:: Kremlin.ru

Proposed Western sanctions could almost cut Russia out of the global financial system, creating chaos for the Russian economy and impoverishing ordinary Russians, experts have warned.

The measures threatened by the US, the EU and the UK if Russia incurs further into Ukraine would be unprecedented. Previous countries that have faced similar sanctions – such as North Korea and Iran – were peripheral to the global markets in comparison to Russia. Continue reading →

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US Lawmakers With Pipeline Stocks Profit as Gas Exports to Europe Soar

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“Members of Congress who own stock in pipeline companies like Enterprise Products stand to profit from the push to export liquid fossil gas amid Russia-Ukraine tensions,” according to a new investigation.

By Kenny Stancil.  Published 2-10-2022 by Common Dreams

The LNG taker Rivers arrives in Brest. Photo: Pline/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which could have far-reaching implications for energy markets in central Europe, U.S. President Joe Biden has increased gas exports to Germany and surrounding countries, benefiting members of Congress who own—and are buying up more—stock in pipeline and tanker companies.

That’s according to new reporting published Wednesday by the nonprofit investigative outlet Sludge, which previously identified at least 28 U.S. senators and 100 House members whose households own stock in oil and gas companies or hold other investments in the fossil fuel industry. Continue reading →

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13 Youth File ‘Vital’ Constitutional Climate Lawsuit Against Virginia

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“We are tired of our fears being ignored, and the courts are a way to make sure our voices are heard by the government that represents us.”

By Jessica Corbett  Published 2-9-2022 by Common Dreams

Chesterfield Power Station, a Dominion Resources’ coal fired power plant located in central Virginia. Photo: Edbrown05/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Virginia residents ages 10 to 19 filed a constitutional lawsuit against the commonwealth on Wednesday over the government’s fossil fuel policies that contribute to the climate emergency.

The 13 young plaintiffs, represented by Our Children’s Trust, are asking the court to declare that the state government’s historic and ongoing permitting of fossil fuel projects that pollute the planet violates their constitutional and public trust rights. Continue reading →

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‘Major Victory for Indigenous Peoples’ as Ecuadorian Court Rejects Drilling in Protected Area

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“It is also a reminder for oil companies and investors that expanding oil extraction in Ecuador’s Amazon is a risk and full of potential legal liabilities,” said Amazon Watch’s climate and energy director.

By Jessica Corbett.  Published 2-2-2022 by Common Dreams

Amazon Watch climate and energy director Kevin Koenig said Wednesday that “plans are underway to drill 600+ wells in the Ishpingo, Tambococha Tiputini fields, known as Block 43.” (Photo: CONFENIAE)

The advocacy group Amazon Watch celebrated Wednesday after Ecuador’s top court struck down parts of a 2019 decree that would have allowed oil drilling in an area that is protected for isolated Indigenous peoples.

Amazon Watch climate and energy director Kevin Koenig called the Constitutional Court of Ecuador’s decision “a major victory for Indigenous peoples and an important step in protecting some of the most environmentally fragile and culturally sensitive places in the Amazon.” Continue reading →

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‘Disaster’: Burst Pipeline Sprays Crude Oil Into Ecuadorian Amazon

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“Spills have become a part of our daily life, and we live with the contamination for decades. The oil industry has only brought us death and destruction,” said one campaigner.

By Julia Conley.  Published 1-30-2022 by Common Dreams

On April 7, 2021, undreds of Indigenous Kichwa people from the Ecuadorian Amazon marched through the city of Coca to mark one year since the country’s largest oil spill in recent history. Photo: Amazon Watch

Indigenous environmental defenders in Ecuador on Sunday pointed to a pipeline rupture in the Amazon rainforest as “the exact reason why we oppose oil extraction” as the pipeline operator temporarily halted pumping crude oil.

A pipeline constructed by OCP Ecuador burst on Friday after a rockslide, according to NBC News. Videos posted on social media by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and Amazon Frontlines showed oil spraying out of the pipeline into the rainforest. Continue reading →

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Sioux Tribe Withdraws as Cooperating Agency Over Dakota Access Pipeline Threat

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“The prospect of an oil spill during such low water is truly scary,” says the tribe’s Water Resources Department administrator.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 1-27-2022 by Common Dreams.

Photo: Fibonacci Blue/flickr/CC

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Thursday confirmed that it is no longer a “cooperating agency” for the Dakota Access oil pipeline and demanded federal action to address concerns that a leak could affect Lake Oahe, the tribe’s only source of fresh drinking water.

Janet Alkire, the tribe’s newly elected chairperson, warned in a statement that low water levels resulting from “misplaced priorities in the operation of Oahe and the other dams on the Missouri River” could affect cleanup plans in the event of a Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) spill. Continue reading →

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Air and Water Under Threat as SCOTUS Targets Environmental Laws

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“It seems like we have a new conservative supermajority on the court that is much more inclined to do a slash-and-burn expedition through our major environmental laws.”

By Julia Conley   Published 1-25-2022 by Common Dreams

Coastal Wetlands at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport, MA.
Ohoto: Kelly Fike/USFWS/flickr/CC

Environmental advocates and congressional Democrats are raising alarm after the U.S. Supreme Court this week agreed to hear arguments in two cases regarding bedrock regulations designed to protect the quality of the nation’s air and water.

The nine justices announced Monday that they plan to hear arguments in the case of an Idaho couple who were blocked from building a home on their land by the Clean Water Act. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chantell and Michael Sackett’s land contained wetlands and the couple needed a federal permit to build. Continue reading →

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