Name Name
titledescript
This week, the New York State Assembly approved a temporary moratorium on the controversial natural gas exploration technique known as "fracking." Combining hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling, fracking uses large quantities of water and chemicals to blast through the earth's surface and uncover natural gas reserves. The moratorium is aimed at the Marcellus Shale field,......read more
Oil and gas exploration has been suspended in the Gulf since May, one month after the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and led to the worst offshore oil spill in American history. In a few weeks, drilling and exploration will resume. The Obama administration will allow 13 companies to resume their work on 16 different offshore projects that had already been approved and were in......read more
As he discussed in the State of the Union address, President Obama intends to cut subsidies of oil and gas companies already making money hand over fist. In the new budget, set for release sometime this month, Obama calls for a $36.5 billion dollar reduction in subsidies and tax breaks for oil and gas companies, alongside substantial increases in funding for solar, wind, and geothermal energy......read more
A GOP-led effort to block Obama administration climate change rules passed a crucial first step Thursday, when a House subcommittee voted to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The bill, tabled by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman (and climate change turncoat) Fred Upton, would prohibit consideration of CO2 and other......read more
Nothing ever works out as planned. Just ask President Obama, who came into office equipped with an ambitious energy plan that addressed climate change and American dependence on foreign (read: Mideast) oil. Within two short years, a massive financial meltdown, an unprecedented offshore oil spill, and a GOP-controlled Congress has demolished that strategy, sending the administration back to the......read more
With consumers feeling the pinch of rising gas prices at the pump, the House voted last week to expedite oil lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Virginia. The bill was passed by a 266 to 149 vote, largely along party lines. Memories are indeed short. The Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people and spewed about 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico,......read more
The Republican effort to expand offshore drilling in country has been turned down by the U.S. Senate. The bill would have opened up more areas to drilling and forced regulators to speed up their decisions on lease permits. The vote was 57 against and 42 for -- 18 short of the 60 "Yes" votes required to move it to the Senate floor. Democrats voted resoundingly against the bill, saying it would ......read more
The prospects for getting a global agreement on limiting greenhouse gases may be grim, but the world is shifting toward consuming more renewable energy in any case. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, last year investors poured $187 billion into electricity from renewable sources (wind, sun, biomass, etc.), versus $157 billion for fossil fuels, marking the first time ever that clean......read more
As stated in The Energy Manifesto, energy accounts for more than its fair share of greenhouse gas emissions, so it's of paramount importance in the grand scheme of tackling climate change. The answer of course is a massive shift to renewable energy, but I'm fairly certain when I wake up tomorrow morning we will be nowhere near to meeting our energy demands from renewable sources. If, for now,......read more
For telling proof that something is awry with global temperatures, one need look no further than recent headlines about devastating forest fires in Colorado or severe drought across the midwestern plains. If you're still not convinced, Bill McKibben offers up some numbers that will stop you dead in your tracks. In a sober piece written for Rolling Stone, the veteran activist and......read more
