Wiebo Ludwig, Canada’s controversial anti-oil patch activist died of esophageal cancer yesterday, leaving behind a legacy of resistance against this country’s dirtiest industry and greediest corporations. The Albertan had his share of scuffles with the law (and a shamefully demonizing mainstream media), and was accused (and charged once) of eco-terrosim
Continue readingTag: gas
DeSmogBlog: Survey Says…Fracking IS Causing Earthquakes
oh-frack1.jpg A new report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says that the increased seismic activity taking place in certain areas of the United States is almost certainly the result of oil and gas drilling activities. The group has been studying dozens of earthquakes across America for the last 8
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Beginning of The End for Big Oil’s Billion Dollar Subsidies?
oil-drum-stuffed-with-money.jpg Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (N.J.) has introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate to kill, once and for all, the billions of dollars worth of subsidies that are flowing from the federal government to the oil industry. Under Menendez’s proposal, the $4 billion annual corporate welfare handed out to oil companies
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Republican Claims About Gas Prices Demonstrate Lack Of Knowledge About “Free Market”
gas prices.jpg As the national average for gas prices pushes closer and closer towards $4 a gallon, Republicans have wasted no time in attempting to convince the public that President Obama and his “hostility” towards the oil industry is the reason we’re feeling the squeeze at the pump. read more
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: The Year In Dirty Energy: Money, Corruption, And Misinformation
Handcuffed_to_Money.jpg It is said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That statement has proven itself true time after time in both politics and business, but I would like to amend that statement slightly: Power corrupts, but money and power corrupt absolutely. This year has been no different. We’ve
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: "Raising Elijah": An Interview With Ecologist and Author Sandra Steingraber
Raising Elijah.jpg Q: In light of your new book Raising Elijah: Protecting Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis, which raises the specter of raising children in troubled times, both environmentally and ecologically, are you surprised that natural gas corporations have been producing public relations and propaganda materials like coloring books
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Another LNG Deal Inked, Fracking Export Bonanza Continues
LNG Ship.jpg On December 7, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commision (FERC) granted a 30-year license to Jordan Cove LNG (liquefied natural gas), located in Coos Bay, Oregon, to transform its existing import terminal license into an export terminal license. It would be the first LNG export terminal on the west
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Fracking Ohio’s Utica Shale to "Boost Local Economy"? A "Total" Sham
Total Energy Logo.jpg It is a well-known fact that the unconventional gas industry is involved in an inherently toxic business, particularly through hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), which the EPA just confirmed today has contaminated groundwater in Wyoming. The documentary "Gasland," DeSmogBlog's report "Fracking the Future: How Unconventional Gas Threatens our Water, Health,
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: EPA Connects Dots Between Groundwater Contamination and Fracking in Wyoming
niobrara-shale-map1.png The tables turned on the gas industry today with the release of a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) connecting the dots between fracking and groundwater contamination in the state of Wyoming, located in the hear tof the Niobrara Shale basin. The report is sure to leave many
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, Exemplar of Political Corruption
Dan Boren.jpeg Today, The New York Times ran an investigative piece uncovering a thick, multi-layered corruption scene, honing in on one man: U.S. Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK). Boren, many will recall, is one of the original co-sponsors of H.R. 1380, the NAT GAS Act, also known as the Pickens Plan, which
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Smeared But Still Fighting, Cornell’s Tony Ingraffea Debunks Gas Industry Myths
ingraffea.jpg Cornell University Professors Robert Howarth and Anthony Ingraffea made waves in April 2011 when they unveiled what is now known simply as the "Cornell Study." Published in a peer-reviewed letter in the academic journal Climatic Change Letters, the study revealed that, contrary to the never-ending mythology promulgated by the gas
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: To Understand What’s Happening with Fracking Decisions in New York, Follow the Money
Money.jpg In a November 25 article titled, "Millions Spent in Albany Fight to Drill for Gas," The New York Times reported: Companies that drill for natural gas have spent more than $3.2 million lobbying state government since the beginning of last year, according to a review of public records. The broader natural
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Senate Hearing Confirms Natural Gas Export Plans Will Raise Prices For Americans
RonWydenLNGhearing-300×188.jpg Considering the rate at which natural gas resources are being developed, and the sudden push from industry to export the product, it might come as a surprise that the Senate’s Energy Committee hadn’t had a hearing on liquified natural gas (LNG) since 2005. Last Tuesday, for the first time in
Continue readingArt Threat: Ambiguous portrait of the well known Wiebo Ludwig – Friday Film Pick: Wiebo’s War
When we left the theatre after seeing Wiebo’s War at VIFF (The Vancouver International Film Festival) the main thing on our lips was “that man is incredibly well spoken,” followed by “that is a seriously difficult situation”. Wiebo Ludwig is a stranger to few who live in BC and Alberta. The articulate bearded man was […]
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Australia Gets a Price on Carbon Despite Toxic Anti-Science Campaign
carbon_rally.jpg
THEY paid millions of dollars for adverts on television, in newspapers and online. They flew in climate change deniers from across the globe. They held rallies, engaged prominent…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Environmental Impact Deemed "Limited" For Potentially Explosive Shale Gas Pipeline Into Lower Manhattan
Last Friday, exactly one year after the massive natural gas pipeline blast that killed eight and leveled a San Bruno, California neighborhood, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) brought the controversial New Jersey-New York gas line one st…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Polluters Join Forces To Pressure Obama On Oil And Gas Drilling
Drill_Baby_Drill.jpg
In the wake of President Obama’s speech on job creation last week, major players in the energy industry have banded together to put pressure on the president to speed u…
Continue readingDeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science: America’s Natural Gas Pipelines – A Closer Look At This Gigantic Pipeline System
Following up on our broader look at the North American oil and gas pipeline system, with a focus on crude and the special case of tar sands oil pipelines, this week we'll tackle the tubes that carry natural gas.
Natural Gas in the United …
Things Are Good: Brazil: Wind Power Now Cheaper Than Natural Gas
In Brazil a recent energy auction has shown that wind power is cheaper than natural gas in the country, and also a better investment opportunity. The competitiveness of sustainable energy sources continues to impress everyone (even with the subsidized resource-extraction industries), it’s only a matter of time until other sustainable energy options get this cheap.
They […]
LeDaro: Dangers of Gas Fracking
Gas fracking could be pretty dangerous and police can arrest you. Watch the video and you will know what I mean:)
Continue reading