News Articles
Biden’s LNG pause won’t slow the flow of U.S. natural gas abroad
The Biden Administration's decision to temporarily halt a review of new liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits will do little in the short term to stop the U.S.'s export boom. It will not block exports from the seven LNG terminals currently exporting from the U.S., nor the 16 projects that have already been authorized or are under construction—including 12 new terminals and four major expansions at existing plants.
Biden Administration proposes climate guidelines for billions going into hydrogen power
In an effort to nudge the growing hydrogen industry in a climate-friendly direction, the U.S. Treasury Department recently released proposed rules for clean hydrogen subsidies included in the Inflation Reduction Act. The guidelines, which cover the distribution of tens of billions of dollars of tax credits, surprised many with their commitment to hydrogen produced with clean energy, not fossil fuels. So far, only two of seven hydrogen “hubs” approved by the administration use only renewable energy, with a majority using natural gas.
The U.S. dominated the global oil and gas industry in 2023 despite pledges about clean energy
Overall, 2023 was a year of opposing trends in the U.S. oil and gas industry under a Biden Administration that both launched unprecedented policies to speed the transition to cleaner energy and also opened the door for record-setting fossil fuel production. Last year, the country became the world’s largest producer of oil and maintained its status as the top producer of natural gas, while also becoming the world’s largest gas exporter.
New Mexico wants to recycle fracking wastewater for clean energy. Who stands to gain?
Last month, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a “first-of-its-kind strategic water supply” program that would invest $500 million in treating produced water, an extremely salty byproduct of oil and gas extraction that can include toxic fracking chemicals, oil droplets, sand, rock fragments, and other gunk picked up along the way. Water experts and environmentalists wonder if the enterprise will do much to address the state’s water woes, or if it will primarily provide more government support for fossil fuel production that is worsening global warming.
LNG terminal opens in Puerto Rico without required federal approval
A New York-based company under fire from local groups in Puerto Rico after building a liquid natural gas (LNG) import facility in San Juan Bay without obtaining authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The LNG terminal also makes the territory more dependent on natural gas, even though Puerto Rico has passed legislation urging a move to 100 percent renewable power by 2050. Recent federal studies show renewables would be more cost-effective and reliable than continuing to shore up existing fossil fuel-fired power plants.
Report shows oil and gas companies are rushing to establish taxpayer-subsidized carbon storage projects with little monitoring
A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project shows that federal authorities fail to independently verify that “captured” carbon actually stays underground after companies receive their taxpayer subsidies. The analysis of 21 carbon capture monitoring, reporting, and verification plans approved so far by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that the agency allows fossil fuel companies to write their own rules and plans, does not require specific monitoring strategies or technologies, and requires no third-party verification of data self-reported by companies.
Biden Administration proposes to allow disposal of carbon waste beneath national forests
The Biden Administration’s U.S. Forest Service recently proposed a regulatory change related to carbon capture and sequestration, a technology meant to remove or keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Critics of the proposal say that the Forest Service would be granting fossil fuel and carbon disposal companies access to public property for decades, possibly forever, in support of a technology that has not been proven on a large scale and which some call a false solution.
Houston smog worst in 12 years, hitting Latino, Black and lower-income neighborhoods hardest
Air monitoring data show that Houston’s air quality violated health-based standards on 55 days in 2023, more than any other year since 2011. Scorching temperatures combined with emissions, in part from vehicles, oil refineries, chemical plants, and other sources, triggered a rise in ozone across the region. Although smoggy air affects almost everyone, Houston air monitoring data show that Latino and Black neighborhoods and low-income communities were hit the hardest.
Report calls chemical recycling a ‘dangerous deception’ meant to shield the plastics industry
A new report by the environmental group Beyond Plastics takes aim at chemical plastics recycling. It's a rapidly-spreading industry with 11 facilities operating across the U.S. that turn plastic waste into fuel or raw ingredients for new plastics. At least 31 more of these facilities are now planned. Chemical recycling leads to energy waste and toxic air and water pollution, often in minority neighborhoods and low-income areas already struggling with a heavy industrial presence, the report states.
Biologist encounters oil-spewing pipe while researching biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s not an isolated incident.
A group of researchers was on a boat returning from a biodiversity monitoring outing in the Mississippi Delta’s Barataria Bay just south of New Orleans on Saturday, Oct. 21, when they noticed a unplugged well spewing oil into the bay. They reported the spill. Unfortunately, unplugged or abandoned wells like this are common in the Gulf of Mexico, where the number of abandoned or broken wells exceeds 14,000.
Texas voters to decide whether to funnel $10 billion in taxpayer money to natural gas power plants
Next week, Texas voters will decide whether to amend the state’s constitution to provide $10 billion in taxpayer money to build more natural gas-fired power plants – a new subsidy for fossil fuels in a state that already gets most of its electricity from natural gas. The measure on the ballot on Tuesday, known as Proposition 7, would create a “Texas energy fund” that would be used to provide grants and low-interest loans to companies building natural gas plants. Critics say the program would create a never-ending flow of taxpayer money to the natural gas industry.
Major carbon pipeline is cancelled as opposition grows and regulations remain elusive
Carbon dioxide accumulation is a big problem in the atmosphere. But increasingly, pipelines carrying CO2 underground are also raising objections, including from state governments, creating a roadblock to a major Biden Administration climate strategy. South Dakota and North Dakota recently denied permits for carbon pipelines, triggering the cancellation last week of a 1,300-mile carbon pipeline across five Midwestern states. Meanwhile, a dozen Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden demanding a moratorium on all new carbon pipelines until federal safety regulations are updated.
World’s largest fertilizer factory plans major expansion, despite record of pollution and chemical accidents
The Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex in southeastern Louisiana is the largest fertilizer plant in the world. It is also the state’s largest source of greenhouse gases and toxic air and water pollution. The plant is responsible for 185 accidental releases of chemicals since 2006 into a neighborhood that is three quarters Black or Latino. Despite the harm to the local community, CF Industries is planning a major expansion.
Oil & gas companies and investors placing big bets on federally-subsidized carbon capture projects
The world’s largest energy financiers – including oil and gas majors like ExxonMobil and Chevron – are investing billions of dollars in technology intended to capture carbon dioxide. Many supporters of carbon capture and storage see the technology as a path to lessen the climate impact of major industries and to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from major companies whose shareholders are pushing them towards carbon neutrality. But it remains unclear how many of these projects will become a reality or work.
Startup of Texas plastics plant by ExxonMobil and Saudi Arabia followed by wave of air and water pollution violations
Nearly two years after one of the largest plastics plants ever built in the U.S. began operations north of Corpus Christi, Texas, some residents here say they have seen none of the promised benefits from the plant, which is jointly owned by ExxonMobil and the Saudi Arabian government. However, neighbors have seen the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures plant consume vast amounts of water in a drought-stricken region, suck up a half billion dollars in local tax breaks, and commit 63 air and water pollution violations, according to state records.
