Conoco Phillips was issued a key federal permit (under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act) by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dec. 19 to begin work on the first-ever commercial oil well in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).
According to an Army Corps press release about the project, the modified wetlands-fill permit authorizes construction of a drill pad, six-mile long access road, four bridge crossings, two valve pads with access roads and new pipeline support structures connecting its CD-5 project with the Alpine oil field on state land just east of the petroleum reserve. It also includes 22 conditions intended to minimize the impact on the environment within the Arctic Coastal Plain. In addition, Conoco Phillips agreed to pay mitigation fees to the Conservation Fund to compensate for unavoidable losses to aquatic resources.
Here's the Corps' fact sheet about the permit.
Initially, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service objected to a bridge and a pipeline that the energy giant has wanted to build over the Colville River to reach its leases in the 23-million-acre North Slope reserve. The decision by the Alaskan District of the Corps comes two weeks after these agencies removed their objection.
The petroleum reserve on the North Slope was originally created by President Warren Harding in 1923 and covers 23 million acres—an area slightly smaller than the state of Indiana. As of July, the reserve had 310 authorized oil and gas leases totaling more than three million acres. A federal lease sale Dec. 7 took high bids of $3 million for 141,739 more acres. This project is expected to be the first in a chain of small oil fields in the NPR-A that would feed into the Conoco Phillips-operated Alpine field on state land.
In October 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated there were nearly 900 million barrels of oil and 53 trillion cubic feet of natural gas within NPR-A and adjacent state waters. The oil estimate was about 90 percent less than what USGS had projected in 2002.
Rebecca Noblin of the Center for Biological Diversity in Anchorage, however, called it "another big gift to the oil companies" from President Obama's administration. "After initially finding that a bridge across the Colville River would not be the least environmentally damaging way for Conoco Phillips to access new oil fields in the NPRA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has flip-flopped," she said in an email to the Associated Press. "The Conoco Phillips bridge will go up in the heart of a rich ecosystem that harbors a wide variety of plants, fish, birds and mammals, including threatened polar bears and Steller's and spectacled eiders."
A protester demonstrates against the Dakota Access Pipeline on March 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A federal appeals court has struck another blow against the contested Dakota Access Pipeline.
<p>A three-judge panel on the U.S. District Court of Appeals from the D.C. Circuit <a href="https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/dc_cir_dapl_opinion.pdf" target="_blank">agreed</a> Tuesday with a lower court ruling that the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self">pipeline</a>'s crossing at the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is illegal and requires an in-depth environmental review, the <a href="https://www.grandforksherald.com/business/energy-and-mining/6858516-Federal-court-delivers-blow-to-Dakota-Access-as-Biden-presidency-leaves-pipelines-fate-in-question" target="_blank">Grand Forks Herald reported</a>.</p><p>"We are pleased that the D.C. Circuit affirmed the necessity of a full environmental review, and we look forward to showing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers why this pipeline is too dangerous to operate," Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Mike Faith said in an <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2021/appeals-court-rules-for-standing-rock-sioux-tribe-in-pipeline-fight" target="_blank">Earthjustice press release</a>.</p><p>The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has long opposed the pipeline's crossing under Lake Oahe, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water" target="_self">drinking water</a> source for the tribe that is located just off of their reservation, the Grand Forks Herald explained. It became the subject of massive <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">Indigenous</a>-led <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dakota-access-pipeline-protest-photos-2068408834.html" target="_self">protests</a> in 2016 and 2017, leading the Obama administration to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/army-corps-permit-dakota-access-pipeline-2128363393.html" target="_self">withhold</a> a key permit for the project.</p><p> However, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a> approved the pipeline without a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the Missouri River crossing, a coalition of Sioux tribes <a href="https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/tribes_letter_to_presidential.elect_biden_re_dapl.011921.final_.pdf" target="_blank">explained in a letter</a> to President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a>. The Army Corps of Engineers began an EIS of the crossing in September based on the lower court ruling, the Grand Forks Herald reported. This is expected to take up to 13 months, but the tribes and their allies are calling on the Biden administration to shut the pipeline down entirely.</p>
<p>Biden has promised to focus on the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> in office, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/joe-biden-day-one-climate-actions-2650056267.html" target="_self">canceled</a> the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipeline on day one of his administration, leading Indigenous and environmental activists to call for a shutdown of all contested fossil fuel pipelines.</p><p><span></span>"Especially after the Keystone XL decision, the pressure is increasing for the Biden administration to take action here," Jan Hasselman, an Earthjustice attorney who represents the Standing Rock Sioux, told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-pipeline-dakota-access-idUSL1N2K11VP" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, pipeline proponents considered Tuesday's court decision a win because the court did not order the pipeline to shut down while the EIS is completed. A lower court had originally <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dakota-access-pipeline-shut-down-2646355663.html" target="_self">ordered</a> the pipeline to shut down in July, but that has been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dakota-access-pipeline-shutdown-2646906562.html" target="_self">reversed</a>.</p><p>"I think the big point is that the court did not rule that DAPL is not safe," Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, told the Grand Forks Herald.</p><p>The Dakota Access pipeline is the main pipeline delivering oil from North Dakota's Bakken field, which is the second-largest shale development in the U.S., according to Reuters. It currently has the capacity to carry 570,000 barrels of oil a day, but both state regulators and pipeline operators want to double that in coming years, the Grand Forks Herald reported. It is owned by Energy Transfer Partners.</p>
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24 Hours of Reality: "Earthrise" by Amanda Gorman / YouTube
By Bud Ward
Poet Amanda Gorman got well-deserved rave reviews for her dramatic reading of her six-minute "The Hill We Climb" poem January 20 before a global TV and online inauguration day audience.
<p>It's fair to say that for many, she in effect "stole the show" during the Biden/Harris inauguration day ceremonies. And she continued to do so through countless major- and social-media follow-ups since then.</p><p>But what if Gorman, 22, the nation's youth poet laureate, could bring her poetic, presentation skills, and grace to the issue of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>?</p>
<p>In fact, she's done just that. In December 2018, Gorman presented her original "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOvBv8RLmo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earthrise</a>" four-minute poem as part of a <a href="https://www.climaterealityproject.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate Reality Project</a> "24 hours of reality" campaign. Her reading of that poem has attracted more than 215,000 YouTube views as of January 26.</p><p>No effort here to paraphrase or quote from it: That would be like the proverbial narrative describing a photo of a painting of a unique landscape. Watch and listen to it yourself.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c642bcb2c150639bd9c0b0b2e5ef1b6c"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xwOvBv8RLmo?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/01/poet-amanda-gormans-earthrise-climate-change-video/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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The SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches on its maiden test flight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 6, 2018. Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
Three men are paying $55 million each to travel to space, the AP reported.
<p>Announced on Tuesday, the first space crew consisting of private citizens plans to take off next January on a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/spacex" target="_blank">SpaceX</a> rocket and spend eight days aboard the<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/astronauts-return-international-space-station-2645750749.html" target="_blank"> International Space Station</a>.</p><p>"This is the first private flight to the International Space Station. It's never been done before," Mike Suffredini, chief executive and president of Axiom Space, a privately funded space company, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/1st-private-space-crew-pay-55m-each-2e8a78c31ae6309e69632f0f41feccbf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told the AP</a>. </p><p>Although the crew recognizes the crises currently happening on Earth, they feel their efforts as the first private space crew are "an enhancement of their other philanthropic efforts," <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/26/private-space-flight-axiom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Washington Post reported</a>. </p><p>"There are a lot of issues — adversity, and in some regards, crises, here, not only in the U.S., but worldwide," Larry Connor, one of the crew's private citizens, told the Washington Post. "And those absolutely need to be a priority. But we cannot forget about the future. We cannot forget about having long-term visions... And hopefully this mission and the research we're going to do is going to be one small step on that journey."</p>
<p>While their efforts may open doors for the future of commercial space travel, some criticize their timing, as the Covid-19 pandemic, economic recession and increasing costs of the climate crisis continue to ravage communities on Earth.</p>
<p>This debate raises questions on whether space agencies should further their space exploration or use their technology and finances to research climate solutions. </p>
<p>Based on a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/17/how-americans-see-the-future-of-space-exploration-50-years-after-the-first-moon-landing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2019 Pew Research Center study</a>, 63 percent of Americans think <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nasa" target="_blank">NASA'</a>s top priorities should be monitoring the Earth's climate. This public support is backed by Lori Garver, chief executive at Earthrise Alliance and former deputy NASA administrator. </p>
<p>In a 2019 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/forget-new-manned-missions-in-space-nasa-should-focus-on-saving-earth/2019/07/18/79e55eb8-a995-11e9-9214-246e594de5d5_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">opinion piece</a> published in The Washington Post, she wrote about the relationship between space exploration and climate change. </p>
<p>She explained how NASA's original purpose involved expanding human understanding and solving the nation's impossible problems. But "the impossible problem today is not the moon. And it's not Mars. It's our home planet," she wrote.</p>
<p>Today's aim of space travel should no longer focus on racing space rivals to the latest discovery, Garver added. "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank">Climate change</a> — not Russia, much less China — is today's existential threat."</p>
<p>Space travel and research also come with a heavy environmental cost. For example, when Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon Heavy reaches orbit, it will have emitted more carbon dioxide than an average car would emit in two centuries, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-01-30/space-launch-carbon-emissions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The LA Times reported.</a> </p>
<p>But some claim space innovation can also fuel sustainable technology in the commercial sector. For example, ecology projects such as learning to grow plants in space have developed into an energy-saving practice for indoor agriculture, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-spaceflight-save-the-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Scientific American reported</a>. Another space-funded project seeking to remove potent chemicals from dirty rocket launchpads has developed a frequently used compound to clean Superfund sites in the U.S.</p>
<p>Whether the environmental benefit of space exploration and research outweighs the environmental cost remains to be seen. Members of the private space station crew, however, think their experiences will benefit education outreach back home.</p><p>While in space, Connor said he does "not want to be a spectator," the Washington Post reported. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I want to do something of value."</p><p>Back home, Connor intends to teach lessons to students at Dayton Early College Academy, a K-12 charter school, according to the Washington Post. </p><p>"These guys are all very involved and doing it for... the betterment of their communities and countries, and so we couldn't be happier with this makeup of the first crew because of their drive and their interest," Suffredini told the AP.</p><p>While the crew's time in space may benefit others, some question if spending $35,000 a day for the privilege makes sense.</p><p>"The public doesn't understand the purpose of spending massive amounts of money to send a few astronauts to the moon or Mars," Garver wrote in her op-ed. "Is this the most valuable display of our scientific and technological leadership?" </p>
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#SaveSalla is a campaign launched by a Finnish community in partnership with the youth climate movement Fridays for Future. www.savesalla.org
By Jessica Corbett
With temperatures across the globe — and particularly in the Arctic — rising due to lackluster efforts to address the human-caused climate crisis, one of the coldest towns on Earth is throwing its hat in the ring to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
<p>Salla is located in Finland's Lapland region and <a href="https://www.visitsalla.fi/en/" target="_blank">touts</a> the tagline, "in the middle of nowhere." The average temperature is <a href="https://en.climate-data.org/europe/finland/salla/salla-9790/" target="_blank">below freezing</a> and the area boasts a ski resort, reindeer park, Arctic Circle safaris, and even a snow and ice hotel.</p><p>With support from Fridays for Future — the youth-led movement launched by Swedish teenager <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/25/enough-blah-blah-blah-global-elites-greta-thunberg-declares-digital-davos" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg</a> — Salla announced its Olympic bid to build awareness about "the consequences of global warming and the need for urgent action."</p><p>"Our intention here is clear: we want to keep Salla as it is, and our winters cold and full of snow," said Salla Mayor Erkki Parkkinen. "So, there was this crazy idea: to host the Summer Games in one of the coldest towns on the planet."</p><p>"If we stand back and do nothing, letting global warming prevail," Parkkinen warned, "we will lose our identity, and the town we love — as well as many others around the world — will cease to exist as we know it."</p><p>The campaign, detailed at <a href="https://www.savesalla.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.savesalla.com</a>, includes a short video.</p><p>Watch:</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bcd9564786e4ebb966622be75b5d9fe8"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sSZSrjmmSIo?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>"Despite the obviousness of the global warming, the ideology of climate change denial is gaining traction all over the world and increasing every year," the campaign website says. "So, we've created this bid to raise attention about the climate emergency. Salla is changing. The whole planet is changing. Not in a good way."</p><p>As Common Dreams has reported, while <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/13/dire-assessment-scientists-warn-humanity-denial-looming-collapse-civilization-we" target="_blank">projections</a> for the entire planet are dire if policymakers don't urgently <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/25/un-climate-report-oceans-frozen-regions-warns-unprecedented-transitions-all-aspects" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">work to</a> "effect unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society, including energy, land and ecosystems, urban and infrastructure as well as industry," the Arctic is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/11/deep-trouble-arctic-and-beyond-noaa-climate-report-warns-feedback-loop-may-already" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">particularly at risk</a>.</p><p>"We have only one planet to live in and an immense responsibility to future generations. We can all make a difference. What we cannot do under any circumstances is deny the problem and omit ourselves. The risks will be severe and unavoidable," said Joe Hobbs, a Fridays For Future activist and operations director for Climate Cardinals. "Global warming does not have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy and everyone can make a significant and decisive contribution to stop this process."</p>
<p>Hobbs joined Parkkinen and multiple experts for a <a href="https://videos.netshow.me/v/2R3fyFdLMN8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press conference</a> about the campaign on Tuesday.</p><p>The event came a day after a new study that showed ice loss worldwide is increasing at a record rate. Lead author Thomas Slater of Leeds' Centre for Polar Observation and Modeling <a href="https://phys.org/news/2021-01-global-ice-loss.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> that "although every region we studied lost ice, losses from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have accelerated the most."</p><p>"The ice sheets are now following the worst-case climate warming scenarios set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change," Slater added. "Sea-level rise on this scale will have very serious impacts on coastal communities this century."</p><p>Also on Monday, Thunberg <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/25/enough-blah-blah-blah-global-elites-greta-thunberg-declares-digital-davos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delivered</a> an address to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting — held digitally rather than in Davos, Switzerland this year because of the raging coronavirus pandemic. She told political and business leaders that "when it comes to facing the climate emergency, the world is still in a state of complete denial."</p><p>"Safeguarding the future living conditions and preserving life on Earth as we know it is voluntary. The choice is yours to make," the 18-year-old Swede said. "But I can assure you this: You can't negotiate with physics. And your children and grandchildren will hold you accountable for the choices that you make."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/26/planet-cooks-one-worlds-coldest-towns-bids-host-2032-summer-olympics?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A deadly tornado touched down near the city of Fultondale, Alabama on Jan. 25, 2021. Justin1569 / Wikipedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
A tornado tore through a city north of Birmingham, Alabama, Monday night, killing one person and injuring at least 30.
<p>The Birmingham National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that a twister touched down in Jefferson County, Alabama, near the city of Fultondale, around 10:30 p.m. Monday night, <a href="https://www.wvtm13.com/article/tornado-damage-in-jefferson-county/35314441" target="_blank">WVTM 13 reported</a>. The storm caused significant damage, knocking down trees and power lines and destroying homes and businesses.</p><p>"It looks like a bomb went off," Sam Moerbe, an 18-year-old who accompanied his father to their former Fultondale neighborhood, <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2021/01/storm-damage-reported-in-fultondale-as-jefferson-county-tornado-watch-continues.html" target="_blank">told AL.com</a>.</p><p>His father, Dave, said all 45 homes in his former community had some damage.</p><p>The tornado left behind a quarter-mile swath of extensive damage, Fultondale Mayor Larry Holcomb told AL.com. It touched down near Interstate 65 and moved northeast toward Fultondale High School, causing significant damage to the school and destroying structures, including the Hampton Inn.</p>
<p>It also claimed at least one life. A teenage boy died when a tree fell on his home, causing it to collapse as he and his family were hiding in the basement, <a href="https://www.wvtm13.com/article/1-dead-over-a-dozen-injured-after-devastating-tornado-in-fultondale-monday-night/35318002" target="_blank">WVTM 13</a> reported.</p><p>Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin confirmed that a 14-year-old Fultondale High School student had been killed, but his identity has not yet been released, according to WVTM 13.</p><p>Fultondale Police Chief D.P. Smith said the victim and the rest of his family had been trapped in the basement after the collapse. Other family members were critically injured, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-weather-birmingham-9111aa9ec1c629c58e5e86f8f7c36e1d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Associated Press</a> reported.</p><p>Fultondale Fire Chief Justin McKenzie said that 18 people have been taken to the hospital with injuries, while six more were rescued from their homes, <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2021/01/storm-damage-reported-in-fultondale-as-jefferson-county-tornado-watch-continues.html" target="_blank">AL.com</a> reported.</p>
<div id="8d576" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ac2d28db83efc91555432779a700a167"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1354046401043456005" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NEW VIDEO—
(FULTONDALE, Ala.)
Sunlight shows depth of damage from possible tornado on New Castle Rd. Rescue crews… https://t.co/tCLxmvyj08</div> — Stoney Sharp (@Stoney Sharp)<a href="https://twitter.com/StoneySharp3340/statuses/1354046401043456005">1611664793.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Search and rescue efforts continue, James Coker, Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency director, told The Associated Press.</p><p>"Our current goal is always life safety," Coker said. "That is not only for the people who may have been injured but also the first responders who assist them."</p><p>Several people had near misses, including one woman who said she was in bed when the storm struck.</p><p>"The roof left, and the walls,'' Janice Hamilton told AL.com. "It was just in a matter of seconds. It's all gone."</p>
<p>Hamilton, who uses a wheelchair, was taken with her family to a shelter at the Gardendale Civic Center. She said she was grateful to be alive.</p><p>NWS is still working to determine the strength of the tornado, according to The Associated Press.</p><p>There is evidence that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/lee-county-alabama-tornado-2630610008.html" target="_self">tornado alley</a> is shifting from the Great Plains toward the Midwest and Southeast. That could be a problem since tornadoes in the South tend to have a higher death toll due to more densely populated areas and more mobile homes. Tornadoes in the South are also more likely to strike at night, like Monday's twister. Scientists say it is possible that the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is driving the shift.</p>
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