This is a tale of two regulatory schemes. First, there is the federal way, and I’m not making this up: In my last post we learned that if the BLM, when preparing its PRMP/FEIS (which in some incomprehensible way is different from a PRMP/EIS, but which nevertheless includes an RFD) which is issued by an EA and adopted… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Energy Policy
Subscribe to Energy Policy RSS FeedHOW MUCH CONSENSUS IS THERE ON GLOBAL WARMING?
Posted in Energy Policy, Environmental PolicyThis post is not from a global warming denier. But I do appreciate even-handed assessments of the situation. Here are two reports that fit the bill. In the London Telegraph, Geoffrey Lean says that recent research suggests climate change might not be as catastrophic as the gloomiest forecasts. But he warns that it will be decades, if not centuries,… Continue Reading
Who’s Against Fracking and What are They Saying?
Posted in Energy Policy, Hydraulic Fracturing“Science is my most favorite subject, especially the Old Testament.” Kenneth, 30 Rock Keeping in mind the importance of science, technology, and transparency in evaluating the safety and reliability of fracking, let’s take a look at some of the leaders in the anti-fracking movement. The results are worthy of your attention. Displaying an understanding of science… Continue Reading
What Can the Energy Industry Expect from Obama’s Second Term?
Posted in Energy Policy, Environmental Policy“It is better to stop a bad law than pass a good one.” Calvin Coolidge. Is anybody in Washington listening to Silent Cal? What can the energy industry (oil and gas in particular) expect from the Administration in its second term? Let’s gaze into the crystal ball: Carbon Tax The National Center for Policy Analysis predicts… Continue Reading
“I’m From the Guvment . . .
Posted in Energy Policy, Environmental Policy. . . and I’m here to enforce the law and protect your natural resources . . . as long as it doesn’t interfere with my other agenda. My October 10 post focused on criminal prosecutions and convictions of oil and gas operators in several states for violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It appears that enforcement… Continue Reading
What is the Best Way to Fight Rising Sea Levels?
Posted in Energy Policy, Environmental PolicyFor the purposes of this conversation let’s agree that global warming exists, and let’s not argue about whether it is, as those who use big words say, “anthropomorphic” “anthropogenic” or, as you and I might say, “man made”. Bjorn Lomborg doesn’t focus so much on the causes of rising sea levels; he proposes alternative ways to address the effects. In… Continue Reading
EPA Planning to Ban Coal-Fired Power Plants?
Posted in Energy Policy, RegulationsAccording to a Sunday blog post by Conn Carroll in the Washington Examiner, the EPA is hurrying efforts to implement regulations that would ban coal-fired power plants before the end of the year, in fear that a loss by President Obama in Tuesday’s election would put an end to what would otherwise be on the second-term agenda. Some will discredit that post as another example of … Continue Reading
EPA Region 6 Has New Administrator
Posted in Energy Policy, RegulationsRon Curry is the EPA’s new administrator for Region 6, which is responsible for enforcement of federal environmental laws in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Mr. Curry replaces Al “Crucify ‘em” Armendariz, who was sacked earlier this year after comments, caught on video, in which he likened his tactics to the Romans of antiquity who supressed the villages they… Continue Reading
Fracking is an Ally Against Global Warming
Posted in Energy PolicyIt is difficult to resist shameless promotion of natural gas, especially when to do so makes sense. Here is an article by Bjorn Lomborg, A Fracking Good Story . Mr Lomborg is is an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School, and founder and director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and is known as a global warming skeptic, not because… Continue Reading
Portions of Pennsylvania’s Act 13 Declared Unconstitutional
Posted in Energy Policy, Local OrdinancesIn a victory for local control of oil and gas activity, or for environmentalists hoping to ban gas drilling altogether, or both, a Pennsylvania court struck down two major provisions of that state’s new oil and gas statute as unconstitutional. Act 13 of the Pennsylvania legislature, signed into law in February 2012, significantly amended the Pennsylvania Oil… Continue Reading
Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled by . . . the EPA?
Posted in Energy Policy“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together . . .” (Isaiah 11:6) What does the Old Testament have to do with the oil business? It seems the EPA’s new rules on the capture of methane and volatile organic… Continue Reading
Natural Gas Not Ready as a Transportation Fuel? There’s Always LNG Export
Posted in Energy PolicyIn a recent entry on the blog Exxon Perspectives, the huge producer presents a number of reasons why relying on compressed natural gas as a transportation fuel might be misplaced, at least for the near future. Among the obstacles: Vehicle costs are high Infrastructure is nonexistent and costs will be high CNG has lower energy density than… Continue Reading
What Can the Energy Industry Expect from the President’s Second Term?
Posted in Energy Policy, Environmental PolicyIt is better to stop a bad law than pass a good one. Calvin Coolidge. IsWashingtonlistening to Silent Cal? This post is about what the energy industry- oil and gas in particular -might expect from the Administration in its second term. Disclaimer: I dont sponsor any of these predictions. The authorsknow more about these subjects… Continue Reading