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Today's Climate

May 24, 2012

(Reuters)
Lawmakers on a U.S. Senate-House committee are making progress on finalizing a transportation spending bill, Senator Barbara Boxer said on Wednesday, although a provision that would fast-track the Keystone XL crude pipeline is still unresolved. The committee's starting point is a two-year, $106 billion bill to fund road, bridge and rail projects passed by the Senate in March. Republicans have insisted that the legislation include approval of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone oil pipeline, which President Barack Obama put on hold earlier this year after environmentalists raised concerns. In a weekly update on the closed-door negotiations on how to advance the bill, Boxer, the Democratic chairman of the Senate-House panel, said she was more optimistic than ever that a deal could be reached by a June deadline after discussing the bill with Republican House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday evening. "He (Boehner) is working to make sure we get this done, and that is the best news I have heard in a long time," Boxer said, without addressing specifics of the thorny points of the talks. "Our conversation was really good. Nobody brought up any quote-unquote 'sticking points.'" In a statement, Boehner said Keystone remains a priority.
(AP)
North Dakota could double its oil production by 2015 to more than 1 million barrels daily, putting it on par with Texas "if everything goes our way," the state's oil regulator told industry and government officials Wednesday. Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, said the increase from about 575,000 barrels at present would depend on a strong global economy, steady oil prices and a favorable federal regulatory climate. North Dakota has gone from the nation's ninth-biggest oil producer in 2006 to No. 2 this year, trailing only Texas, which produced about 1.1 million barrels daily in February, the most recent month for which there are figures. The jump in production in North Dakota likely would push the state's population to more than 1 million residents, Helms told an audience of several hundred at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Expo in Bismarck.
(Bloomberg)
A decision to permit hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in New York state will trigger a cool response from drillers, the state’s environmental regulator said. Low natural-gas prices have dulled interest in New York’s gas reserves, Joseph Martens, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, said at a conference today. The agency is reviewing more than 66,700 comments on a draft plan for drilling in the state’s portion of a geological formation called the Marcellus Shale. Since New York began developing gas-drilling rules in July 2008, prices have plunged more than 80 percent, sinking to a decade low $1.902 per million British thermal units on April 19. During that time, Pennsylvania and Ohio allowed producers such as Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Talisman Inc. to drill, attracting billions of dollars in investment.
(Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Ohio lawmakers moved ahead despite opposition Wednesday with a controversial bill to regulate shale gas production and tinker with renewable energy rules. The House Public Utilities Committee voted to approve the measure nearly intact as it arrived from the Senate despite hearing a full day of testimony -- and more than 25 amendments -- from environmental groups warning the new law would not go far enough. The bill is expected to easily win approval in the House Thursday in a largely partisan vote as lawmakers race to adjourn before Memorial Day. Still missing from the proposal are provisions that would require complete disclosure of all chemicals used during drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale rock to free natural gas and oil.
(Wall Street Journal)
Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp., once described oil buried in a layer of rock that stretches from the outskirts of Cleveland to West Virginia as "the biggest thing to hit Ohio since the plow." Mr. McClendon bet big on that new oil field, the Utica Shale, paying billions of dollars over the last two years for drilling rights to 1.3 million acres of it, or about 5% of Ohio's land area. Now, Chesapeake is raising its bet—ramping up drilling on a promising but unproven oil field, at a time when the embattled natural-gas giant is under financial stress.
(Bloomberg)
Opposition to a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing has slowed the development of natural gas in Europe, creating export opportunities for U.S. producers hurt by low prices and a glut of gas at home. Fracking, as the practice is known, was temporarily suspended in the United Kingdom after it was linked to a series of earthquakes. Bulgaria and France—home of the continent’s largest estimated reserve—outlawed it over environmental concerns. Some other countries are poised to impose moratoriums on the process, in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to free gas trapped in rock. This opposition, along with a projected growth in demand driven in part by Germany’s plan to phase out nuclear power, has created opportunities for U.S. gas producers such as Exxon Mobil.
(The Globe and Mail)
BP on Wednesday said it will spend $400 million to install pollution controls at its giant Whiting, Indiana refinery to allow it to process heavy crude oil from Canada, in a deal with U.S. and state regulators. The consent decree reached with the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency also requires London-based BP to pay $8-million to resolve prior alleged clean-air violations at its 405,000-barrels-per-day plant, the sixth-largest U.S. refinery. The deal, announced by the government and confirmed by BP, brings to an end years of opposition that might have left BP unable to use $4-billion worth of new processing units being installed at Whiting that will allow it to run Canadian oil sands crude as early as 2013. U.S. Midwest refiners have looked to boost their profits by refitting to process plentiful supplies of Canadian heavy oil.
(The Globe and Mail)
The Alberta government is wavering on whether new land, water and air monitoring in the oil sands will be fully independent, one of a series of questions the province faces as it overhauls its environment strategy amid mounting public scrutiny. One of Premier Alison Redford’s first major initiatives was to boost environmental oversight in the booming sector. Several reviews showed the existing system was subpar, and the new, robust monitoring system was designed to quell critics’ complaints. Run jointly with Ottawa, it would increase pollution testing throughout the region. Many external scientists applauded the plan, but stressed it had to be independent when implemented. Now, a picture of the system is beginning to emerge. Yet another external panel, at the province’s request, will next month present two visions for how it could run: one fully independent, and one run by government using work by independent scientists.
(New York Times)
Barring a successful last-minute legal challenge by environmental groups, Shell will begin drilling test wells off the coast of northern Alaska in July, opening a new frontier in domestic oil exploration and accelerating a global rush to tap the untold resources beneath the frozen ocean. It is a moment of major promise and considerable danger. Industry experts and national security officials view the Alaskan Arctic as the last great domestic oil prospect, one that over time could bring the country a giant step closer to cutting its dependence on foreign oil. But many Alaska Natives and environmental advocates say drilling threatens wildlife and pristine shorelines, and perpetuates the nation’s reliance on dirty fossil fuels. In blessing Shell’s move into the Arctic, Mr. Obama continues his efforts to balance business and environmental interests, seemingly project by project.
(AP)
President Barack Obama is returning to Iowa, seeking support for an election-year agenda to encourage renewable energy along with a more immediate prize: the state's up-for-grabs voters. Obama was pushing Congress to support clean energy tax incentives, part of his congressional "to-do list" that he contends could help bolster the economy. The president has tried to portray congressional Republicans as obstructing his ideas to create jobs and said Republican challenger Mitt Romney would follow their lead. The president was stopping in Iowa on Thursday after attending fundraisers in Colorado and California, returning to the state that launched his presidential campaign in 2008 and could play a pivotal role in whether he gets a second term. Iowa is a prime general election target for Romney, who narrowly lost the state's caucuses but expects to compete for the state's six electoral votes.
(AP)
China's Commerce Ministry issued a ruling Thursday that U.S. government support for six renewable energy projects violated free-trade rules, the latest volley in a widening conflict over clean power. The United States and China, the world's two biggest energy users, have pledged to work together to develop renewable sources. But they accuse each other of improperly subsidizing or protecting their manufacturers. The Commerce Ministry's announcement of the results of an investigation launched in November gave no indication whether Beijing might try to impose punitive measures. Ministry spokespeople did not respond to requests by phone and fax for more details. The investigation was launched two weeks after Washington announced an antidumping probe of Chinese solar power equipment. The ruling came after the U.S. Commerce Department concluded last week that Chinese manufacturers were selling solar cells and panels at improperly low prices and proposed raising tariffs.
(Guardian)
The ultra-conservative Heartland Institute admitted it was in financial crisis on Wednesday, with the flight of corporate donors making it difficult to pay staff or cover the costs of its annual conference aimed at debunking climate science. In a speech at the close of this year's climate conference, Heartland's president, Joseph Bast, acknowledged that a provocative ad campaign comparing believers in human-made climate change to psychopaths had exacted a heavy cost. However, Bast also attributed Heartland's current problems to his weakness in financial management. "These conferences are expensive, and I'm not a good fundraiser so as a result I don't raise enough money to cover them. We really scramble to make payroll as a result to cover these expenses," Bast said. "If you can afford to make a contribution please do. If you know someone, if you've got a rich uncle or somebody in the family or somebody that you work with, please give them a call and ask them if they would consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Heartland Institute." The organization has lost at least $825,000 in funds from corporate donors although Heartland also claims to have attracted 800 new small donors. Heartland also came in for bruising criticism from its own allies – a number of whom faulted Bast for failing to consult Heartland's colleagues or board members about the ads in advance.
(Reuters)
Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with Germany's state premiers on Wednesday to step up efforts to expand the power grid and resolve a dispute over solar incentives as she tries to rescue plans for a switch away from nuclear to renewable energy. Merkel said her vision for an energy shift in Europe's biggest economy would require a lot of work and coordination but all parties at the three-hour talks in Berlin had vowed to work together despite clashing interests. "The energy switch is a Herculean task which we are all committed to," Merkel said after the meeting with Germany's 16 regional leaders, adding that participants agreed energy supply must be secure, environmentally sustainable and affordable. "We have a lot of work ahead of us but we agreed to work together," Merkel told reporters. Since Merkel's abrupt policy reversal last year to shut more than half a dozen nuclear plants and speed up the nuclear phase-out after Japan's Fukushima disaster, her government has failed to set out a clear plan to manage the shift. Industry has warned of power shortages and companies are experiencing problems with plans for offshore wind power due partly to the insufficient grid network.
(Midwest Energy News)
Old coal is the dirtiest kind, and it still keeps the lights burning in large swaths of the U.S. A new report from the Government Accountability Office says the U.S. is getting much of its electricity from power plants that are more than 30 years old – the biggest polluters. The GAO found that coal-fired units in operation since 1978 or earlier provided 45 percent of the electricity from fossil fuel in 2010, but produced more than their share of emissions compared to newer units: 75 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions (3.6 times), 64 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions (2.1 times), and 54 percent of carbon dioxide emissions (1.3 times) – pollutants linked to respiratory health effects, smog, and climate change. The report was requested by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, who has praised proposed mercury standards for power plants, and educated some fellow lawmakers about the realities of climate change. A total of 93 percent of the juice produced by older fossil fuel units came from coal, the report says. The old coal plants, compared to newer natural gas units, emitted more than 90 times as much sulfur dioxide, twice as much carbon dioxide, and five times as much nitrogen oxides.
(Reuters)
Killer heat fueled by climate change could cause an additional 150,000 deaths this century in the biggest U.S. cities if no steps are taken to curb carbon emissions and improve emergency services, according to a new report. The three cities with the highest projected heat death tolls are Louisville, with an estimated 19,000 heat-related fatalities by 2099; Detroit, with 17,900, and Cleveland, with 16,600, the Natural Resources Defense Council found in its analysis of peer-reviewed data, released on Wednesday. Concentrated populations of poor people without access to air conditioning are expected to contribute to the rising death tolls. Thousands of additional heat deaths were also projected by century's end for Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., the report said. June, July and August are expected to see above-normal temperatures over most of the contiguous United States, from inland California to New Jersey, and from as far north as Idaho and Wyoming to Texas, Florida and the desert Southwest, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a May 17 forecast.
(Reuters)
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has reduced the size of a planned expansion of its pipeline to the Pacific Coast after fewer shippers than expected signed 20-year contracts that would allow surging Canadian oil supplies to be shipped to Asia, the company said on Wednesday. Kinder Morgan now plans a $4.1 billion expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline to the Vancouver area from Alberta, increasing capacity to 750,000 barrels a day from 300,000. That is down from last month's estimate of 850,000. It had expected enough contracts to support a $5 billion project with crude production from the Alberta oil sands forecast to more than double over the next decade. But a few potential shippers it thought would sign onto the lengthy obligations had failed to obtain their boards' approvals by the deadline, prompting the reduction, Kinder Morgan said. The Trans Mountain expansion is the second multibillion-dollar proposal aimed at opening up lucrative new markets in Asia for Canadian oil producers, now captive to U.S. customers amid a glut that has led to bargain-basement price discounts.

May 23, 2012

(Lincoln Journal Star )
Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline filed a lawsuit with the Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of the pipeline siting law passed in the 2012 legislative session. In a statement announcing legal action Wednesday morning, the opposition group listed four causes of action for trying to block implementation of the results of a bill introduced by Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion. Among them are claims that LB1161 violates separation of powers and that it delegates authority for regulating the controversial pipeline to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, even though the constitution assigns that task to the Nebraska Public Service Commission. The 12-page suit names landowners Randy Thompson of Central City, Susan Luebbe of Stuart, and Susan Dunavan of McCool Junction as plaintiffs and Gov. Dave Heineman, State Treasurer Don Stenberg, and DEQ Director Mike Linder as defendants.
(Bloomberg)
TransCanada's proposed pipeline to carry crude from the oil sands of Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast would increase gasoline prices, according to a report from an environmental group that opposes the project. The Keystone XL pipeline would divert crude oil from the U.S. Midwest to refineries along the Gulf Coast geared to producing diesel fuel for export, the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a report today. That will decrease the amount of gasoline produced for U.S. consumers and raise production costs, making the fuel more expensive, according to Anthony Swift, author of the report and an attorney with the environmental group. President Barack Obama rejected the project in January saying that more environmental study is needed. The NRDC findings contradict a report last year from IHS CERA, which provides business advice and analysis to energy companies, that said the pipeline would help lower fuel prices.
(Reuters)
The bright lights of New York City may burn a little cleaner next year, when the first major natural gas pipeline in a generation is built to connect the largest U.S. metropolis to new energy-producing regions across the country. Spectra Energy's controversial $1.2 billion pipeline, which received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on M onday, has met with stiff opposition from local communities, but is seen as a key to reduce New York's reliance on dirtier oil-based fuels. The 20-mile (32-km) line, which will connect New York to neighboring New Jersey, will deliver about 800 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to homes and businesses across the city from prolific shale deposits in Pennsylvania and southern states whose rapid development over the last five years has transformed the U.S. energy outlook. "This approval clears the way for a much-needed new natural gas supply in the New York City region," New York's deputy mayor for operations, Cas Holloway, said on Tuesday.
(New York Times)
Britain announced plans Tuesday to finance a new generation of nuclear power plants and renewable energy facilities, in a move that illustrates the differences in energy policies among European Union countries as the bloc grapples with the challenge of reconciling economic and environmental objectives. While Germany intends to phase out nuclear power, and France’s new president, François Hollande, says he hopes to reduce his country’s reliance on it, the British government appears to be moving in the opposite direction with its proposals, which are intended to attract $175 billion in investment to build new reactors and renewable energy plants. The 27-member European Union sets climate change targets and coordinates efforts to reduce energy dependency, but decisions on energy sources remain with national governments.
(Battle Creek Enquirer)
A state report has confirmed what Judy and Hoyt McMillon have believed since soon after the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill: Their well water is safe. The Michigan Department of Community Health on Tuesday released findings from more than a year of tests on residential wells near the river in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties. While some wells did show high levels of some chemicals, none were traced back to the oil spill. The McMillons’ riverfront property teemed with cleanup workers and boats in the months following the July 2010 spill. They preferred drinking bottled water over well water, but said any concerns about the well’s safety were dispelled with tests shortly after the spill. Judy McMillon said testing done about every two weeks after the spill eventually fell back to about once a month. Her husband said it never seemed possible for crude oil to make its way into the well.
(AP)
Anxious to show voters he's working to create jobs, President Barack Obama is putting tax credits to boost clean energy in the spotlight this week as he heads to the political battleground state of Iowa. The president will visit TPI Composites, a wind manufacturer in Newton, on Thursday to highlight his push for tax credits to encourage investments in clean energy technologies. The trip is part of Obama's ongoing effort to prod Congress to act on a "to-do list" he says is necessary to make sure the economy doesn't lose steam. Specifically, Obama wants Congress to renew the federal Production Tax Credit for the wind industry, which is set to expire at the end of the year, and expand the 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, which supports American-made clean energy manufacturing.
(The Hill)
The White House is pulling out all stops — or at least, plenty of stops — to build pressure on Congress to extend expiring tax credits that are vital to the wind energy industry. President Obama will ramp up his call for extension of the production tax credit in a speech at an Iowa turbine blade maker on Thursday. Ahead of the speech, the administration brought top White House energy aide Heather Zichal before reporters Tuesday to warn that lots of jobs are on the line if Congress doesn’t re-up the credits, which are expiring at year’s end. She noted that the credits have support across the aisle and among business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
(AP)
North Dakota's prosperity from an energy boom as the rest of the country slowly crawls out from under a collapsed economy is making a contest of a Senate race that Democrats had all but conceded. Heidi Heitkamp, a former state attorney general with ties to the energy industry and a one-time candidate for governor, is perhaps the state's only Democrat who can prevent the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad from flipping to the GOP in November. Heitkamp, 56, touts her success as attorney general in fighting new regulations on coal and her work for a natural gas and coal production company since leaving office. She keeps a healthy distance from her party's standard-bearer, criticizing President Barack Obama over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and complaining that he "hasn't done enough" to support the energy industry.
(The Hill)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Tuesday that he’d be fine with outgoing Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko staying around for quite a while longer. Jaczko, a former aide to Reid, announced his resignation Monday but plans to stay until the Senate confirms a successor. His term doesn’t expire until the end of June of 2013. “We hope to have a replacement before that. But if we don’t, Greg will be there for the duration,” Reid told reporters in the Capitol. “And if something doesn't work out, he can always be re-nominated.” The White House said Monday that President Obama plans to soon nominate a replacement for Jaczko, whose tenure has been marked by tumultuous relationships with his fellow commissioners and Capitol Hill Republicans.
(Reuters Point Carbon)
A row over planning how to bind all emitters under a global climate pact from 2020 at U.N. climate talks in Germany is blocking negotiations to deepen nearer term emission cuts and raise cash to help poor countries cope with a warming planet, the EU said Tuesday. Delegates have failed to start work on a new Durban Platform negotiation track after four days of talks in Bonn spent arguing over an agenda to organize work this year and appoint a chair to steer the process. With two negotiating days remaining at the fortnight-long session, the EU and other richer nations say the procedural wrangling risks backtracking on what over 190 nations agreed last year and could leave too little time for officials to map out a deal for politicians to adopt at a year-end summit in Doha, Qatar.

May 22, 2012

(The Globe and Mail)
A U.S. probe into the rupture of an Enbridge Inc. pipeline uncovered concerns about rapid staff turnover and lack of experience among the company’s Edmonton control-room staff. The rupture in July, 2010, spilled some 20,000 barrels of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River in southwestern Michigan. The concerns were expressed in interviews with officials of the United States National Transportation Safety Board, and contained in transcripts released by the NTSB on Friday along with other documents and photos. Asked about staff turnover, Enbridge spokeswoman Jennifer Varey did not comment specifically on that issue, but said the company is reviewing all of the material released by the NTSB. “We have been working co-operatively with the NTSB from the beginning, so a lot of this is not information that is new to us or new perspectives,” Ms. Varey said on Monday.
(UPI)
Members of the Group of Eight, in a declaration, said deep-water drilling and hydraulic fracturing were key to a safe and secure energy future. The G8 industrialized nations wrapped up meetings last weekend at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Md. In a 40-point declaration, the G8 said it was committed to a policy of energy security that focused on safety and sustainability. "We are committed to establishing and sharing best practices on energy production, including exploration in frontier areas and the use of technologies such as deep water drilling and hydraulic fracturing, where allowed, to allow for the safe development of energy sources, taking into account environmental concerns over the life of a field," the declaration read.
(International Business Times)
Researchers have found that methane stored underground for millions of years in the Arctic is seeping out into the atmosphere and threatening to cause adverse climatic changes by raising the levels of greenhouse gas. The study documented in the recent edition of the journal, Nature Geoscience, mentions that the release of the ancient gas can hasten the process of global warming. Methane is one of the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gases and is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. The gas comes from various sources including wetlands, rice paddies, cow tummies, coal mines, garbage dumps and even termites. Drew Shindell, at Nasa's Goddard Institute in New York earlier mentioned that the level of methane has "gone up by 150 percent since the pre-industrial period. So that's an enormous increase. CO2, by contrast, has gone up by something like 30 percent."
(Reuters)
Reluctance to raise ambitions to cut greenhouse gas emissions due to economic constraints is threatening progress towards limiting global warming, delegates at United Nations' climate talks in Germany warned on Monday. The talks in Bonn, which end on May 25, are partly to discuss ways of raising the level of ambition on cuts but the worsening eurozone crisis and battered global economy have increased reluctance to commit to more financially onerous cuts by the end of the decade, delegates told Reuters. Last year's U.N. climate talks in Durban, South Africa, agreed to develop a new protocol, legal instrument or legally binding deal by 2015 which would apply to all parties under the U.N.'s climate convention and would come into force no later than 2020.