Well Blowout
A fracked natural gas well in northwest Louisiana has been burning for two weeks after suffering a blowout. A state official said the fire will likely burn for the next month before the flames can be brought under control by drilling a relief well.
Well Blowout
<p>DeSmog obtained drone video footage shot 13 days after the blowout, which occurred early in the morning on August 30, the day after the well was hydraulically fractured. A tower of flames reportedly shot into the air that could be seen from more than 30 miles away. While the flames are no longer as intense, the fire is still visible from a distance of more than a mile. GEP Haynesville, LLC, the well's operator, told <a href="https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/multi-well-natural-gas-fires-continue-to-burn-in-coushatta/article_c5778d02-afeb-5728-b067-3dbaff892351.html?fbclid=IwAR2sROJHdxV9zUD9s-azyXuf2bMrly_950ChIPkr1myWNwJ2H7tuiFsmL20" target="_blank">local ABC affiliate KPVI </a>that the fire started during flow-back operations, but the exact cause has not been determined yet.</p><p>Experts have voiced concerns over the pollution being released, especially given the length of time this <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> well has been leaking and burning.</p><p>"Blowouts are (unintended) large, uncontrolled pollutant sources with potentially significant health and environmental consequences," Gunnar W. Schade, an atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M University, told me via email after viewing the drone video obtained by DeSmog. "Blowouts need to be shut down as soon as possible."</p><p>Sharon Wilson, Texas coordinator of environmental advocacy group Earthworks, outlined what happens during well blowouts like this.</p><p>"The gas is under pressure so if they lose control, the gas, frack fluid, produced water, and oil/condensate all blast out of the hole," Wilson said during a call after viewing the video. "They have to get specialized teams to come shut the well in." </p>Air Quality Impacts?
<p>The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) has determined that the blowout and fire present no major air quality concerns. "LDEQ responders consider this a very low-impact event," Greg Langley, LDEQ spokesperson, said via email. "The well is clean, it's gas and what is being released is being consumed in the fire." </p><p>"LDEQ is receiving daily air monitoring results from the environmental response contractor hired by the well owner," Langley explained. "The company set up four air monitors to test for sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic compounds, and lower explosive limit. LDEQ also does periodic air monitoring with our own equipment. All meter readings have been below detection limits." </p><p>Most of the air monitoring is being done with a chemical detector called MultiRAEs, according to Langley. When asked which <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters/fallon/glossary-voc.pdf" target="_blank">volatile organic compounds</a>, a class of air pollutants that includes the carcinogen benzene, were present, Langley replied, "Nothing was detected." </p><p>"It's laughable that they say there are no air impacts from this event," Wilson said. She frequently monitors oil and gas industry sites with an optical gas imaging camera that detects leaking <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a> and other pollutants invisible to the naked eye. Wilson's videos have been instrumental in identifying numerous leaking wells in various shale regions across the United States, including Louisiana's Haynesville Shale, where this blowout is burning. Wilson reports her findings to state regulatory agencies, which on occasion have fined operators for the leaks she flagged. </p><p>"Even without my optical gas imaging camera, I know there are air impacts because I can see them with my naked eyes. You can see that the gas coming up is not all being burned off and the plume of smoke and gases is traveling a very far distance," Wilson said, based on the drone footage.</p><p>Wilson recommends placing air sampling equipment on a drone to survey the area above the fire and leaking well.</p><p>"The problem is the plume is up much higher than an LDEQ inspector standing on the ground holding a MultiRae meter," she said.</p><p>Wilma Subra, a technical advisor for the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, agrees that using drones would be advisable and that air canister testing should be done too. This latter approach captures air samples over a period of days and measures how much of each compound is present. Subra thinks air canister testing is the best way to know if the emissions around the blowout are a threat to human health.</p>Louisiana’s Response and Oversight
<p>The Louisiana State Police's hazmat (hazardous materials) team and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), which regulates oil and gas production, are also monitoring the blowout.</p><p>Like LDEQ, these two agencies concluded the accident did not warrant alerting nearby residents of potential health concerns. A few people live within a mile and a half of the site.</p><p>"Any time there is a loss of well control, there is a concern about environmental impacts," Patrick Courreges, communications director for LDNR, told me. DNR's "first concern is for the physical safety of the workers on site and for any people potentially affected in nearby homes and businesses," but in this case the site is fairly remote and air monitoring, in place since the first day of the blowout, hasn't indicated any potential immediate impacts of harmful gases, he explained.</p><p>"Currently, well control contractors are on site, under the supervision of the operator and State Police Incident Command to keep the impacts contained as much as possible, using water to help control the heat and potential spread of flame," Courreges said. "While there is no good news in a blowout, the fire does actually help with lessening the impact of the escaping methane by burning much of it off, though obviously the goal is to get the flow of methane stopped and the fire out as soon as possible."</p><p>"The longer-term solution is likely to be the drilling of wells to intercept the affected wellheads and stop the flow of gas in the damaged wellheads," he told me. That might take a month. A design for a relief well has not been submitted yet to DNR, though one is being planned. Drilling a relief well was the same basic approach which ultimately stopped the flow of oil from BP's Macondo well blowout deep under the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.</p><p>"Full-on blowouts in hydraulically fractured Haynesville Shale wells are rare," Courreges said. "While there have been instances of valves or piping giving way over the years that required emergency response, I don't recall any blowouts on this scale from those type of wells."</p><p>Wilson is skeptical of that response. "We don't know how common this is because the industry tries very hard to keep these events quiet," Wilson said. "If they happen in a remote area, no one finds out. They are always downplayed and the regulators help with the deception." She believes that "there has never been a system in place to adequately regulate this industry, so they are allowed to self-regulate by doing their own testing."</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>For decades we have endured these oil and gas disastrous accidents that have harmed health and pushed us into a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate crisis</a>," Wilson said, "but we don't have to put up with this anymore because the technology to transition to clean renewable energy is available today and it's cheaper. The only thing holding us back is the political will."</p>Natural Gas Blowouts
<p>Methane, the main component in natural gas, is a greenhouse gas that is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-bad-of-a-greenhouse-gas-is-methane/" target="_blank">up to 86 times more potent </a>than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after entering the atmosphere. A study organized by the Environmental Defense Fund (<span style="background-color: initial;">EDF</span>) and published in June last year reports that the U.S. oil and gas supply chain is <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/06/21/methane-leaks-oil-gas-60-higher-epa-estimates-science-study-edf" target="_blank">leaking roughly 60 percent more </a>methane than previous Environmental Protection Agency (<span style="background-color: initial;">EPA</span>) estimates, which largely relied on industry self-reports.</p><p>Wilson compared this blowout to the 2015 <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/03/23/aliso-canyon-disaster-phmsa-natural-gas-storage-regulation" target="_blank">Aliso Canyon</a> catastrophe in southern California and the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-xto-natgas-ohio/exxons-xto-caps-leaking-ohio-gas-well-20-days-after-blowout-idUSKCN1GJ355" target="_blank">2018 XTO blowout in Ohio</a>, which both gushed large amounts of methane. "This blowout is a huge deal," Wilson said. "We are at the climate breaking point and no one can even say how much methane is blasting into the air."</p><p>Schade told me that estimating the amount of pollutants released from the "flare" (the industry term for intentionally burning natural gas in oil fields) is possible by looking at data from the <a href="https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/eog/viirs/download_global_flare.html" target="_blank">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)</a>. This source will show data about the flare detected by satellite, allowing the atmospheric scientist to calculate the estimated amount of heat and emissions. </p><p>After reviewing the satellite data available so far, Schade reported the heat generated from this burning Louisiana well is at least three times the magnitude of the largest flares in the Permian oil fields of neighboring Texas. According to his estimates, this burning well may be releasing approximately 8,700 pounds of <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/region1/airquality/nox.html" target="_blank">nitrogen oxides</a>, pollutants that lead to smog and acid rain, each day.</p><p>"The emissions from such a source can be enormous," said Schade.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A pumpjack in the Permian Basin. blake.thornberry / Flickr
By Sharon Kelly
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal featured a profile of Scott Sheffield, CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, whose company is known among investors for its emphasis on drawing oil and gas from the Permian Basin in Texas using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
<p>Back in 2014, Sheffield told Forbes that he expected Pioneer could produce a million barrels of oil a day from the Permian basin by 2024 – up from 45,000 barrels a day in 2011.</p><p>Now, Sheffield, who left the helm of Pioneer in 2016 and returned this February, says that those million-barrel-a-day plans are looking increasingly doubtful as the industry has struggled to prove to investors that it's capable not only of producing enormous volumes of oil and gas, but that it can do so while booking profits rather than losses.</p><p>"We lost the growth investors," Sheffield <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-leader-of-americas-fracking-boom-has-second-thoughts-11561388670" target="_blank">told</a> the Journal. "Now we've got to attract a whole other set of investors."</p>
<h3>Doubts on Shale Gas and Shale Oil</h3><p>Mr. Sheffield's comments on the shale oil industry's fiscal difficulties come on the heels of a warning from the former CEO of the country's largest natural gas producer about the shale gas industry's financial distress.</p><p>Steve Schlotterbeck, former CEO of America's largest producer of natural gas, described the impact of over a decade of fracking on Marcellus shale drilling companies at a recent petrochemical industry conference.</p><p>"In a little more than a decade, most of these companies just destroyed a very large percentage of their companies' value that they had at the beginning of the shale revolution," he said, in remarks <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/06/23/former-shale-gas-ceo-says-shale-revolution-has-been-disaster-drillers-investors" target="_blank">reported</a> by DeSmog on Sunday. "Excluding capital, the big eight basin producers have destroyed on average 80 percent of the value of their companies since the beginning of the shale revolution."</p><p>Doubts about the shale drilling industry's financial prospects have simmered nearly as long as the industry has been producing oil and gas. "There is undoubtedly a vast amount of gas in the formations," The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/us/26gas.html" target="_blank">reported</a> in 2011, citing concerns among industry insiders dating back to 2009. "The question remains how affordably it can be extracted."</p><p>In the years since, shale drillers churned out massive volumes of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a>, first shale gas then shale oil, pushing American oil production up 12 million barrels a day, according to Energy Information Administration figures cited by The Journal.</p><p>At the same time, they have spent hundreds of billions of dollars more than they've earned from selling the fossil fuels they drew from the ground.</p><p>"Over the past 10 years, 40 of the largest independent oil and gas producers collectively spent roughly $200 billion more than they took in from operations, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from financial-information firm FactSet," the Journal reported. "During that time, a broad index of U.S. oil-and-gas companies fell roughly 10%, while the S&P500 index nearly tripled."</p><p>Schlotterbeck, the former CEO of EQT who now serves on the board of directors for the Energy Innovation Center Institute which offers training for workers in the <a href="http://www.eictraining.org/Energy-Safety-Passport" target="_blank">oil and gas</a>, <a href="http://www.eictraining.org/scalo-professional-roofing" target="_blank">solar</a>, and <a href="http://www.eictraining.org/cart_builder.cfm" target="_blank">construction trades</a>, offered his view of the end results for investors at the petrochemical industry conference on Friday.</p><p>"The fact is that every time they put the drill bit to the ground, they erode the value of the billions of dollars of previous investments they have made," he <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/06/23/former-shale-gas-ceo-says-shale-revolution-has-been-disaster-drillers-investors" target="_blank">said</a> in his presentation. "It's frankly no wonder that their equity valuations continue to fall dramatically."</p>
<h3>Belt-Tightening Comes Amid Regulations Rollbacks</h3><p>Sheffield's own company has a rocky track record when it comes to translating production into profits.</p><p>"In August 2015, Mr. Sheffield said Pioneer's wells were expected to yield 45% to 60% returns on investment at the oil prices at that time, excluding costs such as administrative expenses and taxes. The company lost $218 million in the second quarter of that year," the Journal reported.</p><p>"The company acknowledged that capital spending exceeded operating cash flow in 2015, but said it is focused on changing that in 2019 and beyond," it continued.</p><p>The industry's financial troubles have caused drillers like <a href="https://www.apnews.com/c412162fe50749eeae8be384ed5c3993" target="_blank">Devon Energy</a> to begin layoffs.</p><p>EQT, which is in the midst of a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eqt-corp-shareholders/rice-energy-founder-says-eqts-turnaround-dependent-on-his-board-takeover-plan-idUSKCN1TC2XL" target="_blank">management struggle</a>, said in January that it had also <a href="https://triblive.com/business/eqt-confirms-layoffs-but-details-are-scant/" target="_blank">laid off</a> workers.</p><p>So too, is Pioneer.</p><p>"Among those who are leaving is Mr. Sheffield's own brother, Thomas Sheffield, the company's vice president of health, safety and environment," the Journal reported in its Monday profile.</p><p>That belt-tightening comes as the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump administration</a> has pushed to roll back federal environmental regulations.</p><p>More than 80 regulations and rules written to protect the environment have either been rolled back on Mr. Trump's watch or are in the midst of rollbacks, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html" target="_blank">a tracker</a> published by The New York Times.</p><p>Eighteen of those rules applied specifically to "drilling and extraction," the Times observed, and others affect the drilling industry, like the scrapping of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane" target="_self">methane</a> emission <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-withdraws-information-request-oil-and-gas-industry" target="_blank">reporting requirements</a> for drillers and rules aimed at <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/climate/trump-methane-rollback.html" target="_blank">curbing methane leaks</a> on public lands.</p>
<h3>"Aggressive" Estimates</h3><p>Timothy Dove, who helmed Pioneer from 2016 until February, had predicted the company could grow its fossil fuel production at least 15% a year while cutting cost overruns.</p><p>But those projections drew pushback from company insiders, the Journal reported.</p><p>"Several times in recent years, technical staffers raised concerns to management that Pioneer was being too aggressive with how it talked up its prospects to investors and potential business partners, according to people familiar with the matter," the Journal reported. "In one of those instances, the company eventually walked back internal production forecasts for some of its wells in the Permian, according to one of the people. In other instances, Pioneer continued to use what some of the people said were overly optimistic estimates."</p><p>The following year, Pioneer spent $549 million more than it earned from selling fossil fuels, the Journal reported, adding that oil prices had climbed $10 higher than the $55 a barrel that Dove had said would allow Pioneer to raise production while matching spending and earnings. Sheffield told the Journal that Pioneer's board of directors had been surprised to learn that the company's management had gone $350 million over the board's approved $500 million 2018 budget hike.</p><p>Mr. Sheffield told the Journal he was backing away from million barrel-a-day plans for Pioneer. But he also maintained it would be technically possible to produce at that rate, economics aside.</p><p>"But my point is the rock will produce over one million barrels a day," he told the Journal.</p><p>Few observers would doubt that drillers can produce vast amounts of fossil fuels from shale, given the industry's history of rapidly increasing production.</p><p>An unsettled question remains, however — as it has since the early days of the shale rush — at what cost?</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fracking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Fracking</a> in 2018: Another Year of Pretending to Make Money <a href="https://t.co/FoGWSclUq3">https://t.co/FoGWSclUq3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DeSmogBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeSmogBlog</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NYAgainstFRACK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYAgainstFRACK</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1076960800974274560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/06/24/wall-street-journal-reports-ceo-major-shale-oil-company-has-second-thoughts-fracking-rush" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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- From Asthma to Cancer, 'Blistering' New Report Details Human Cost ... ›
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Entergy Gas Plant Opponents Question Integrity of New Orleans City Council as It Gives Final Approval
01 March 2019
Energy
Larry J. Morgan, a New Orleans resident who opposes Entergy's gas plant, holds up an American flag after he speaks to the city council at the Feb. 21 meeting. Julie Dermansky for DeSmog
By Julie Dermansky
On February 21, the New Orleans City Council unanimously voted to uphold approval of Entergy's proposed natural gas power plant, which faces a growing number of lawsuits, and passed a resolution to impose a $5 million fine on the company for its role in a paid-actors scandal.
Before the vote, in nearly three hours of often emotional testimony mostly against the plant, many contended that the $5 million fine was not a sufficient punishment. This was in light of the council's commissioned investigation, which concluded the company "knew or should have known" that a subcontractor was paying actors to support its proposed power plant at council meetings.
<p>Opponents called for the contentious project's permitting process to start again, in the interest of fairness, and questioned the council's integrity, given several members' past ties to Entergy.</p><p>Members of a coalition against the plant, including residents from New Orleans East, where the plant is slated for construction, community activists, and environmental justice groups, argued that the council had yet to make its case the gas-powered plant was needed in the first place.</p><p>New Orleans regulates its own utilities, giving the City Council direct oversight of Entergy, the company that provides power to the city. The council's advisors, consultants from the DC-based utility law firm Dentons US LLP, concluded the project, which would provide electricity during peak use, was in the city's best interest.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Monique Harden with The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice</small>
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</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>The council decision is corrupted by the influence that Entergy and the advisors have on members," Monique Harden, assistant director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, said via email after the meeting. "It is shocking that Entergy and the advisors can make a side deal for a <a target="_self">peaking gas plant</a> and ram it through to approval by the council without any concern for the serious health, safety, and flood risks the gas plant would have on New Orleans East residents, and no demonstration of need, evaluation of alternative options, or meaningful ratepayer protections."<br></p><h3>Legal Challenges to Entergy Gas Plant</h3><p>During the council meeting, Harden said that her organization and the Alliance for Affordable Energy had filed a lawsuit the day before against the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), challenging an air quality permit the agency renewed for Entergy on Feb. 1. The lawsuit seeks to revoke the "unlawful permit and seeks injunctive relief."</p><p>The lawsuit asserts that the challenged permit would allow Entergy's gas plant to release more than 1 million pounds of toxic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air pollution</a> and more than 1.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>Furthermore, the suit claims DEQ should not have renewed <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_1aba72be-36dd-11e9-b831-fb32690a53c7.html" target="_blank">Entergy's permit because the company submitted its application to renew 18 months before it expired</a>, but later substantially changed the application. The lawsuit argues that the changes are significant enough that Entergy should have submitted an entirely new application. In addition, because the changes were made a month after the deadline for new applications, the permit should have been denied.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Councilmembers Kristin Palmer, Jay Banks and Joseph Giarrusso speak among themselves while a member of the public speaks to the council.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Julie Dermansky for DeSmog</small></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Beverly Wright, executive director of Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, speaking at the city council meeting.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Julie Dermansky for DeSmog</small></p><p>At a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/02/19/entergy-new-orleans-natural-gas-plant-paying-actors-astroturf" target="_blank">Feb. 14 meeting</a>, Councilmember Jay Banks, who backs the project, cited <a href="http://edms.deq.louisiana.gov/app/@edms/cache/scratch/6fef7096-a80b-4a82-b126-d090eb2a08ea.zip" target="_blank">DEQ's assertion</a> that the plant would not have adverse health impacts on the New Orleans East community when he voiced support for the council's decision to grant Entergy's air quality permit renewal application.<br></p><p>Beverly Wright, executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, challenged DEQ's assertions, saying, "We don't have enough information to move forward on this." She reminded the council that the "DEQ is the entity that brought us 'Cancer Alley,'" <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/louisiana-cancer-alley-communities-gulf-petrochemical-pollution" target="_blank">the 85-mile industrial corridor</a> stretching from Baton Rouge to New Orleans that is home to a large portion of the nation's petrochemical production.</p><p>Wright and Harden were among a chorus of voices that challenged the city council's reliance on advisors who favored Entergy's project instead of investigating alternative solutions. Wright challenged the council to impose length-of-contract limits on its advisors. For example, Clint Vince, lead attorney for Dentons US LLP, has advised the council for 30 years. "Thirty years is a long time," Wright said. "The advisors at this point have failed us and, speaking as a college professor, they would get an 'F' at this point."</p><h3>New Orleans City Council Ties to Entergy</h3><p>"We cannot ignore the atmosphere of illegitimacy in this process that goes beyond Entergy's use of paid actors," Harden said at the meeting. She pointed out various potential conflicts of interest between councilmembers and Entergy. </p><p>Councilmembers Banks and Cyndi Nguyen acknowledged their prior connections with Entergy after potential conflicts of interest had come to light. Banks admitted that he worked for Entergy as a governmental relations consultant a decade ago and Nguyen acknowledged accepting money from Entergy while running a nonprofit. But neither heeded the call made by opponents for them to recuse themselves from the vote.</p><p>Others testifying also complained about regulatory capture, which refers to a regulatory agency meant to act in the public interest instead advancing the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate the industry it is charged with regulating.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>When we talk about immorality, we must talk about how sitting councilmembers have been in the pockets of Entergy at one time or another," Rev. Gregory Manning said, admonishing the council before using his public comment time to lead a prayer.<br></p><p><a href="https://thelensnola.org/2019/02/21/entergy-fined-5-million-can-move-forward-with-new-power-plant/" target="_blank">The Lens</a>, an investigative news site, reported that the majority of the council has either worked for Entergy or received campaign donations from their political action committee, ENPAC Louisiana:</p><blockquote>"Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen's non-profit, the Vietnamese Initiatives in Economic Training, received at least $27,625 in grants and payments from Entergy between 2016 and 2018. Some of those payments were for work done on Entergy's campaign to gain approval for the power plant. Helena Moreno received $4,250 from ENPAC from 2010 to 2014, while she was in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Jared Brossett received $3,250 between 2009 and 2013, while he was in the state House of Representatives." </blockquote><h3>Opponents Question Gas Plant's Need and Impacts</h3><p>Some at the city council meeting reiterated that the proposed plant won't fix New Orleans' energy reliability issues. Instead, they said, Entergy needs to fix the deteriorating transmission and distribution system that has caused thousands of power outages.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTI0MTE5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzA5NTUwOX0.1w57w1T7YlKJlXoTVuRQgVeUHuGO9TKF3NUl2rFcc3o/img.jpg?width=980" id="0ce23" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1412d33401a1f5d7e1737d326f7f26b7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Renate Heurich stands in prayer with members of the Vietnamese community from New Orleans East at the New Orleans City Council meeting Feb. 21.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Julie Dermansky for DeSmog</small></p><p>Renate Heurich, a member of the climate activist group 350 New Orleans, told the council that its notion that natural gas is a "clean energy" source was wrong.<br></p><p>Recent reports, including a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/06/21/methane-leaks-oil-gas-60-higher-epa-estimates-science-study-edf" target="_blank">2018 study in the peer-reviewed journal <em>Science</em></a>, show that leaks of the powerful greenhouse gas <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a> throughout the natural gas supply chain are much higher than previously estimated, effectively wiping out almost any climate advantage over <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dfc58d706f2d6fd193a5767c56413f39"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kOg02oWITag?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Ella Stolier Speaking at New Orleans City Council Meeting on Feb. 21, 2019</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/kOg02oWITag" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p>Echoing a growing number of youth concerned about <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> worldwide, high school student Ella Stolier asked the council if they were really listening. She wondered how the council could vote for a project despite being presented with facts about how their decision would be detrimental to not only the city, but the planet as well. "I fear for my generation and all of those to come, that they will grow up facing the consequences of this travesty," she told them.<br></p><p><span></span>Though the council's ultimate decision gave Entergy a green light, the battle against the plant is not over. Next, the battleground moves from city hall to the courthouse, where multiple legal challenges already are pending.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="b3f8e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="CL2B6B1576661954"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="993610201336107014" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Utility Paid Actors to Support Power Plant at New Orleans Public Hearings https://t.co/BK1Q8ilVqx @Public_Citizen @DeSmogBlog</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/993610201336107014">1525730107.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/02/27/entergy-natural-gas-plant-new-orleans-city-council-approval-lawsuits">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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Oregon a Battlefield Again for Fracked Gas Pipeline and Jordan Cove LNG Terminal
25 January 2019
Energy
A protest against the Jordan Cove LNG terminal and Pacific Connector pipeline corresponding with the Department of State Lands hearing in Salem, Oregon. Rick Rappaport
By Simon Davis-Cohen
When the incumbent Democratic Governor Kate Brown defeated Republican Knute Buehler in a contentious race for Oregon's governorship, many in the state's climate movement let out a momentary sigh of relief. Brown had promised to "lead on climate" while Buehler had pledged his support for new fossil fuel infrastructure.
Now, residents are working to hold Governor Brown to task over what they see as the most pressing climate issue facing the state: the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal and its Pacific Connector Gas pipeline. Backed by the Canadian company Pembina Pipeline Corporation, the project would transport natural gas extracted via hydraulic fracturing (fracking) from Colorado to Oregon's coast, where it would be super-cooled into liquid form and loaded on ships to international markets.
<h3>Thousands, Including Several Tribes, Voice Opposition</h3>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODY4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODM1Mjg4Mn0.FOJRmEH6fN9IIhR7BrlGfZDDZSM4hq6PB1JufuNRqwQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="32187" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="892937fee5db31a68560635acd237231" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">More than 1,500 people showed up at a hearing in Jackson County, Oregon, to oppose Jordan Cove LNG and the Pacific Connector pipeline. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Allen Hallmark</small></p>
<p>Gov. Brown has remained <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/09/01/the-oregon-department-energy-recommends-denying-jordan-cove-liquified-natural-gas-project-an-exemption/" target="_blank">neutral</a> on Jordan Cove, prompting a range of efforts from activists to sway her against it. For example, Jordan Cove opponents <a href="https://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2019/01/14/breaking-pipeline-resistors-disrupt-gov-kate-browns-inauguration/?fbclid=iwar0xgt6aseizfb9lmmvin05fyrako9q_rgxalfujc5mu17_33sfxmweijti" target="_blank">interrup</a><a href="https://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2019/01/14/breaking-pipeline-resistors-disrupt-gov-kate-browns-inauguration/?fbclid=iwar0xgt6aseizfb9lmmvin05fyrako9q_rgxalfujc5mu17_33sfxmweijti" target="_blank">t</a><a href="https://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2019/01/14/breaking-pipeline-resistors-disrupt-gov-kate-browns-inauguration/?fbclid=iwar0xgt6aseizfb9lmmvin05fyrako9q_rgxalfujc5mu17_33sfxmweijti" target="_blank">ed</a> her 2019 swearing in ceremony and <a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank">t</a><a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank">ook</a><a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank"> to the street</a><a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank">s </a><a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank">with</a> <a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank">protest</a><a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/northern-california-southern-oregon-tribes-protest-jordan-cove-lng-pipeline/" target="_blank">s</a>. In addition, since the new year, thousands of residents have <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/jordan-cove-lng-pipeline-oregon-coast-hearing/" target="_blank">flooded</a> Department of State Lands regulatory hearings to oppose the project, which they say would jeopardize major fresh waterways and marine areas in the state.<br></p><p>According to Rogue Climate, which has helped mobilize opposition to the project, more than 3,000 residents, including landowners, ranchers, tribal members, youth, local businesses and representatives of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, attended hearings in opposition.</p><p>Klamath Tribal Council Chairman Don Gentry told DeSmog that the tribal council believes "we need to exhaust every administrative opportunity that we have to express our opposition to the project and hopefully the permits and licensing will be denied."</p><p>The Tribe has participated in the regulatory process throughout, he says, and brought up a host of concerns at the most recent hearings. Those concerns include the pipeline's "potential to disturb human remains and cultural sites" (such as a historic village on the Klamath River), "risks to the [Klamath] River itself," the Tribe's effort to rehabilitate the river's salmon run, risks to wildlife and generally, the perils the pipeline in particular poses for tribal aboriginal territory, as protected by <span style="background-color: initial;">U.S.</span> treaty.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODY4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjg5MzQ2OX0.EAr-rTU2m3gQ8MkdKeeD9UEDeYALapjIOzTpjANpAhY/img.jpg?width=980" id="0a875" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="000c5b34d392bb8df0bc86f53921f642" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Hannah Schroeder, chair of the Klamath Tribes Youth Council, speaking to Jordan Cove LNG and pipeline opponents the night of the Department of State Lands hearing in Klamath County</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Sherri Kies</small></p>
<p>Klamath Tribal Council is not alone. The Yurok and Karuk tribes in Northern California are staunchly opposed, while the Oregon-based Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians are neutral.<br></p><h3>Jordan Cove's Many Ups and Downs</h3>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODY4Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzcyMTI0M30.yo71y39GP3VmmXUyuCLyi14Wkts6B2yGVBsfy_kExYA/img.png?width=980" id="91335" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8300b07207e0195ebb09c6a782bbe941" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Map of the proposed Pacific Connector pipeline's path in Oregon, starting in Malin and ending at the Jordan Cove LNG terminal sited for Coos Bay</small></p>
<p>Since the $10 billion project was initially proposed in 2007, it has hit several obstacles which threatened to derail it. In 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) <a href="https://waterkeeper.org/coalition-celebrates-ferc-denial-of-jordan-cove-lng-terminal-and-pacific-connector-pipeline/" target="_blank">denied</a> a permit, key politicians including <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/merkley_opposes_coos_bay_lng_s.html" target="_blank">U</a><a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/merkley_opposes_coos_bay_lng_s.html" target="_blank">.</a><a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/merkley_opposes_coos_bay_lng_s.html" target="_blank">S</a><a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/merkley_opposes_coos_bay_lng_s.html" target="_blank">.</a><a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/12/merkley_opposes_coos_bay_lng_s.html" target="_blank"> Senator Jeff Merkley</a> have come out against it, and in late 2018, the Oregon Department of Energy <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/09/01/the-oregon-department-energy-recommends-denying-jordan-cove-liquified-natural-gas-project-an-exemption/" target="_blank">recommended</a> against the export facility going forward as proposed. And just this week, <a href="https://www.nrtoday.com/news/environment/jordan_cove/douglas-county-court-nullifies-key-jordan-cove-energy-project-permit/article_c7b49d1d-3e3e-507c-857b-fa56d8b995a4.html" target="_blank">a county judge in Oregon reversed a decision</a> to extend a permit for the pipeline.<br></p><p>But the fight is far from over. In 2017, not long after FERC <a href="https://waterkeeper.org/coalition-celebrates-ferc-denial-of-jordan-cove-lng-terminal-and-pacific-connector-pipeline/" target="_blank">denied</a> the project a permit the year prior, Don Althoff, then-CEO of the parent company Veresen (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-veresen-m-a-pembina-pipe/pembina-buys-veresen-for-7-1-billion-as-pipeline-sector-consolidates-idUSKBN17X1K2" target="_blank">now Pembina</a>), met with President <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/donald-trump" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> and the founding director of Trump's National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, of Goldman Sachs.</p><p>Shortly thereafter, Cohn <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/21/top-trump-adviser-calls-for-reviving-controversial-natural-gas-project-on-oregons-coast/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.339425be57b3" target="_blank">announced</a>: "The first thing we're going to do is we're going to permit an LNG export facility in the Northwest."</p><p>Support from the fossil fuel industry spans the length of the pipeline, from Colorado to Oregon. Pac/West, a major pro-fracking lobbying and communications firm active in Colorado has also been operating in Oregon. The firm has gone so far as to have <a href="https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2480" target="_blank">Oregon state legislation proposed officially</a> on its behalf, which would have blocked local governments from interfering with fossil fuel infrastructure projects, such as Jordan Cove.</p><p>This legislation was in response to <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/13/jordan-cove-lng-huge-money-sway-oregon-coos-county-election" target="_blank">a 2017 county "Community Bill of Rights" ballot initiative</a> in Coos County, Oregon, the site of the proposed Jordan Cove <span style="background-color: initial;">LNG</span> terminal. If passed, the local law would have outlawed industrial fossil fuel projects and established legally enforceable rights for local ecosystems. Jordan Cove <span style="background-color: initial;">LNG</span> spent an unprecedented $596,155 in cash and in-kind contributions to help defeat the measure, according to the <a href="https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/gotoPublicTransactionSearch.do" target="_blank">Oregon Secretary of State website</a>.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODY5MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTk1MDk5M30.W0efcuUreSDQZ1wfGyd8OcKyD7ZRceyRSjGNX23NRms/img.png?width=980" id="ef107" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cebc2dc7d9a7d22f73e761cfd1d96412" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Jordan Cove LNG campaign contributions from 2015 to 2018</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Oregon Secretary of State website</small></p>
<p>Jordan Cove's contributions to a variety of political campaigns have continued to flow. In 2018, Jordan Cove <span style="background-color: initial;">LNG</span> gave $216,500 to campaigns, according to the Oregon Secretary of State website. But it wasn't enough to stop the election of some politicians, like new state Senator Jeff Golden, from <a href="https://kobi5.com/news/local-news/jeff-golden-leads-the-polls-for-state-senate-89333/" target="_blank">campaigning and winning</a> on an explicit platform to oppose the project.<br></p><h3>What's Next</h3><p>The current <a href="https://nolngexports.good.do/DSL/DSLComments/?link_id=12&can_id=0494ce1d54da5cda4e723b5cc7d041c4&source=email-the-people-will-rise&email_referrer=email_471109&email_subject=the-people-will-rise" target="_blank">comment period</a> for the Oregon Department of State Lands permitting process ends on Feb. 3. Allie Rosenbluth of Rogue Climate says the department may make a decision on whether to give its approval, as soon as March 5, but expects an extension.</p><p>Also on the horizon are the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Draft Environmental Impact Statement coming as soon as Feb. 15 and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality decision on whether to grant the project a Clean Water Act permit, expected Sept. 25.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTExODY5My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTMzNDU1Mn0.lmA7h7h5BHIiRXkoVKn0RaClPoWopvRcjGXNgnP2BZo/img.jpg?width=980" id="da9fb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="58fbae19c8d305dc86efab2907a3ae2e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Murals opposing the Jordan Cove LNG terminal and Pacific Connector pipeline hang near the site of the Jackson County Department of State Lands hearing. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Allen Hallmark</small></p>
<p>And that means more hearings.<br></p><p>"The bottom line is we want to stop the project," said Klamath Tribal Council Chairman Gentry, "so whatever tools are available to do that—so I'm not ruling out anything."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="98944" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="N594XV1576663282"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1033357096992104448" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“How We Fight to Protect the Columbia River From Fossil Fuel Pollution–and Win” via @EcoWatch https://t.co/dnrJigOdkJ #KeepItinTheGround</div> — Columbia Riverkeeper (@Columbia Riverkeeper)<a href="https://twitter.com/ColumbiaRKeeper/statuses/1033357096992104448">1535206505.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/01/24/oregon-battlefield-fracked-gas-pipeline-jordan-cove-lng-terminal" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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2018: A Year of Deadly Climate Disasters and an 'Ear Splitting Wake-Up Call'
28 December 2018
Climate
Aerial view of Florence, Nichols, Conway and Waccamaw, South Carolina, impacted by floodwaters on Sept. 21. South Carolina Air National Guard
2018 is set to rank as the fourth warmest year on record—and the fourth year in a row reflecting a full degree Celsius (1.8° Fahrenheit) temperature rise from the late 1800s, climate scientists say.
This was the year that introduced us to fire tornadoes, bomb cyclones and in Death Valley, a five-day streak of 125°F temperatures, part of the hottest month ever documented at a U.S. weather station.
<p>2018 also brought the world's highest-ever low temperature, as nighttime temperatures fell to a sizzling 109°F in Quiryat, Oman, on June 28, smashing a 2011 record-high low.</p><p>A startling 95 percent of the oldest and thickest <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic">Arctic</a> sea ice <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/scientists-shocked-that-warming-has-wiped-out-oldest-thickest-arctic-sea-ice-febe927ab619/" target="_blank">is now gone</a>—and we're losing Arctic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-ice">ice</a> at a rate of 14,000 tons <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/scientists-shocked-that-warming-has-wiped-out-oldest-thickest-arctic-sea-ice-febe927ab619/" target="_blank">per second</a>, according to recent research, three times as fast as roughly three decades ago.</p><p>It was a year notable both for its overwhelming, climate-fueled impacts as well as its gut-wrenching predictions for what <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a> still has in store for us if we fail to act. So much happened, frankly, that it's been hard to keep it all straight.</p><h3>Stark Warnings</h3><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTA0NzMzOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDkxODAxMH0.SCkSpZrEy7pCCSmMUdtqLADavs15CLFM2cUEVkCaNZE/img.jpg?width=980" id="1463d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="13b1a588c06f29dc90a4e257f2ca2f84" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Actively eroding coastal permafrost bluff on Barter Island, located on the northern coast of Alaska, July 3, 2018 </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Shawn Harrison, U.S. Geological Survey</small></p><p>The year delivered increasingly powerful warnings from scientists and international agencies about the need to shift away from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> and slash greenhouse gas emissions. In the U.S., 2018 saw a <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/411444-trump-administration-doubles-down-on-climate-skepticism" target="_blank">presidential administration</a> and Republican-controlled Congress <a href="https://www.macombdaily.com/news/nation-world-news/gop-is-falling-in-line-with-climate-skeptics/article_4c64386e-bc40-59c0-b0e0-c1c2d7420dc7.html" target="_blank">packed with politicians</a> and administrators who <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier">refuse to recognize</a> the scientific consensus that the climate is changing because of fossil fuel pollution and other human activities.<br></p><p>(How strong is that consensus? We've <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/sep/27/global-warming-ipcc-report-humans" target="_blank">known for years</a> that the probability that greenhouse gas pollution is causing climate change is <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/" target="_blank">more than 95 percent</a>—and that's according to a panel of 1,300 scientific experts from all over the world who were brought together by the United Nations.)</p><p>In fact, in 2018, the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration's own U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a 1,656 page National Climate Assessment, which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/climate/us-climate-report.html?module=inline" target="_blank">warns</a> of hundreds of billions of dollars in damage on the horizon from climate change.</p><p>The Trump administration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/25/climate/trump-climate-report.html" target="_blank">sought to bury</a> that report—but it couldn't bury a UN report, published in October, which warned that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report" target="_blank">we have 12 years</a> to slash greenhouse gas emissions worldwide if we're to stave off the worst impacts of a changing climate.</p><p>"This report by the world's leading climate scientists is an ear-splitting wake-up call to the world," UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote in a <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-10-08/statement-secretary-general-ipcc-special-report-global-warming-15-%C2%BAc" target="_blank">statement</a>. "It confirms that climate change is running faster than we are—and we are running out of time."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e6aec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AEJ9J41576662435"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1049443195157966848" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The new @IPCC_ch report is a wake-up call to the world: it confirms that climate change is running faster than we a… https://t.co/FRjtlAsCmv</div> — António Guterres (@António Guterres)<a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/statuses/1049443195157966848">1539041730.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Greenhouse gas emissions had climbed to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-energy-carbon-iea/global-carbon-emissions-hit-record-high-in-2017-idUSKBN1GY0RB" target="_blank">record high</a> in 2017, after a three-year period where carbon emissions held relatively steady. Levels of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a>, another powerful greenhouse gas, <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/after-2000-era-plateau-global-methane-levels-hitting-new-highs" target="_blank">also broke records</a> in 2017, following a relatively steady period of recorded global levels from 1999 to 2006.<br></p><p>"We are already seeing the consequences of 1°C of global warming through more <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a>, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes," <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/session48/pr_181008_P48_spm_en.pdf" target="_blank">added</a> Panmao Zhai, who helped prepare the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report for the UN.</p><p>Indeed, 2018 brought some of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history—many of them linked to climate change, scientists have said.</p><h3>California Wildfires</h3><p>In November, Paradise, California suffered a horrific wildfire that killed <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/03/camp-fire-death-toll-california-deadliest-wildfire/2199035002/" target="_blank">at least 85</a>, destroyed 14,000 homes and seared images of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsVk0bJWCNQ" target="_blank">traffic jams</a> on roads surrounded by walls of fire into the minds of millions, as those fleeing posted terrifying videos of their escapes online.</p><p>The fire was hot enough to melt <a href="https://weather.com/news/weather/video/camp-fires-flames-so-hot-aluminum-wheels-melted-into-liquid" target="_blank">the wheels</a> of cars left behind—and the cars of some who escaped <a href="https://www.ijpr.org/post/harrowing-personal-account-how-camp-fire-devastated-paradise#stream/0" target="_blank">emerged</a> from the inferno with melted headlights and rear bumpers.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="afa547c0277956f50c65a858e1ec3e35"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/amUW2NrA9S8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Escaping the 'Camp Fire' in Butte County</small>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/amUW2NrA9S8" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
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</p><p>In southern California, the Woolsey Fire near Malibu <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southern-california-woolsey-fire-fully-contained-mudslides-rain-latest-forecast-today-2018-11-21/" target="_blank">killed three</a> and burned 1,600 buildings, including <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/in-malibu-woolsey-fire-claims-celebrities-homes/" target="_blank">homes belonging to</a> Neil Young, Miley Cyrus and other celebrities, and leaving a dark scar <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/21/us/woolsey-fire-malibu-california-burn-scar-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">visible</a> from outer space in <span style="background-color: initial;">NASA</span> images.<br></p><p>"California is vulnerable—not because of poor forest management as DT (our so-called president) would have us think," Neil Young wrote in a <a href="https://www.neilyoungarchives.com/#/news/1/article?id=Big%20Winds%20Blow&_k=1d21ky" target="_blank">statement</a> calling for action on climate change after his home was destroyed. "We are vulnerable because of Climate Change; the extreme weather events and our extended drought is part of it."</p><p>The <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paradise-lost-inside-california-camp-fire-60-minutes/" target="_blank">Camp Fire</a> was the most deadly wildfire in the U.S. <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/22/5714558/" target="_blank">in a century</a>, spurred by a long-running <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought">drought</a> and the spread of tree-killing bark beetles into <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/news/why-bark-beetles-are-chewing-their-way-through-americas-forests-15429" target="_blank">newly warming regions</a>—which together left <a href="https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/catastrophe/californias-129-million-dead-trees-pose-a-major-wildfire-hazard-110378.aspx" target="_blank">129 million dead trees</a> in the parched state.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTA0NzM0Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTc3MTYwNX0.YRvG7dTgkFcc95Gw3KmbRC0n5b5uONQ1W-FdPcg1EII/img.png?width=980" id="47b50" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="de062668381d52468ecad5fc8af926f5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Dead trees along a mountain road in the Sequoia National Forest in November 2016</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">U.S. Forest Service</small></p><p>But while some in Paradise plan to rebuild, to literally raise their town from ashes, a less-noticed piece of the <span style="background-color: initial;">U.S.</span> was more permanently wiped off the map. An 11-acre Hawaiian island <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/entire-hawaiian-island-was-just-erased-by-hurricane-east-walaka-chip-fletcher-monk-seals-green-sea-turtles" target="_blank">virtually disappeared</a> below the waves, the victim of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise">sea level rise</a> and Hurricane Walaka.<br></p><p>California was hardly the only place to experience extraordinary <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires">wildfires</a> in 2018. The <a href="https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/2018-05-12-pyrocumulus-fire-cloud-severe-thunderstorm-hail-texas" target="_blank">Mallard Fire</a> in Texas in May grew so hot that it formed its own pyrocumulous clouds, or fire clouds, which caused a supercell thunderstorm and one-inch hail north of Wheeler, Texas.</p><p>And in July, wildfires burned inside the Arctic Circle following an unprecedented drought, with locals in Sweden <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/europe/heat-wave-sweden-fires.html" target="_blank">comparing the glow</a> from the blaze to the Northern Lights. Horrific wildfires also burned across Greece in July, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/greece-wildfire-toll-now-100-as-man-dies-months-later/502842191/" target="_blank">killing 100 people</a> and forcing hundreds more to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/greece-wildfires-athens-greeks-flee-to-sea-escape-flames-death-toll-latest/" target="_blank">flee into the sea</a> to escape the fire.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2b567" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RQVU8Y1576662435"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1022824879840747520" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">A #firenado came dangerously close to these emergency vehicles as they battle the Carr fire near Redding, Californi… https://t.co/Ldkky1Sh3a</div> — CNN Weather Center (@CNN Weather Center)<a href="https://twitter.com/CNNweather/statuses/1022824879840747520">1532695429.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The year began with the Montecito mudslides on Jan. 9, which killed 27 Californians and destroyed 130 homes, after a 200-year rainstorm dumped a half inch of rain in just five minutes onto steep slopes which were stripped barren of vegetation by the <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/california-fires-update-blaze-larger-new-york-city-destroys-1000-buildings-745045" target="_blank">Thomas wildfire</a>, which in early January became—at the time—<a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/12/27/16822180/thomas-fire-california-largest-wildfire" target="_blank">the largest wildfire</a> in California's history. That one-two punch bore the fingerprints of a changing climate.<br></p><p>"It wasn't just the drought; it wasn't just the fire; it wasn't just the rain. It was the compound effect," <a href="http://www.polsci.ucsb.edu/people/leah-stokes" target="_blank">Leah Stokes</a>, a climate policy researcher at UC Santa Barbara, told The Independent in January, discussing the Montecito disaster. "Climate change causes all kinds of abnormal events—you can really think of it as 'climate disruption' or 'global weirding.'"</p><h3>Flooding and Hurricanes</h3><p>2018 saw an unusually high number of violent storms, particularly in the Pacific, which saw "the most intense hurricane season ever recorded," according to <a href="https://www.popsci.com/hurricane-season-historic-atlantic-pacific#page-2" target="_blank">Popular Science</a>, including 10 storms that reached Category 4 or 5.</p><p>Climate scientists <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-scientists-mull-category-six-storm-classification-report-says/" target="_blank">proposed</a> the creation of a "Category 6" for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricanes">hurricanes</a> more powerful than any yet seen. "Scientifically, [six] would be a better description of the strength of 200 mph (320km/h) storms, and it would also better communicate the well-established finding now that climate change is making the strongest storms even stronger," climatologist Michael Mann <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-scientists-mull-category-six-storm-classification-report-says/" target="_blank">told</a> CBS News.</p><p>The Atlantic coast was hit by two of the most devastating storms to hit the continental U.S., following a 2017 in whic three Category Four storms, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-harvey">Harvey</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-irma">Irma</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-maria">Maria</a>, smashed all records for hurricane damage and did over $300 billion in damage.</p><p>A year after Maria, Puerto Rico was still recovering, and the official death toll was recognized this year as 3,057 people—after Governor Ricardo Rossello <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45338080" target="_blank">accepted</a> a report raising the number of recognized deaths from 64.</p><p>This year's worst Atlantic hurricanes, Michael and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/01/hurricane-florence-historic-flooding-south-carolina-climate-change" target="_blank">Florence</a>, left much of the southern U.S. underwater at points.</p><p>Michael, America's strongest-ever October hurricane, carried sustained winds of 155 miles an hour and struck the Florida panhandle, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/21/mexico-beach-house-hurricane-michael-trump-climate-denier-politicians" target="_blank">flattening towns like Mexico Beach</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="02aca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8DHP0F1576662436"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1051581029507575810" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">HURRICANE MICHAEL'S WRATH: Stunning drone footage shows the cleanup in Mexico Beach, Florida, after the storm ravag… https://t.co/uoPGUCly1d</div> — CBS News (@CBS News)<a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/statuses/1051581029507575810">1539551429.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Florence, meanwhile, spurred officials to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/09/10/hurricane-florence-driving-life-threatening-conditions-toward-east-coast/1253945002/" target="_blank">call for</a> the evacuation of more than 1 million people, then left parts of the Carolinas flooded <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/hurricane-florence-flooding-carolinas.html" target="_blank">for weeks</a>, after it slowed to a crawl and deluged more than 8 trillion gallons of water into the region.<br></p><p>"When people say the wildfires, hurricanes and heatwaves they're experiencing are unlike anything they've seen before," Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science at the <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>, said in a statement <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/24/climate-change-report-trump-administration-democrats-reaction" target="_blank">in November</a>, "there's a reason for that and it's called climate change."</p><p>Even before Florence hit, one <a href="https://www.livescience.com/63571-hurricane-florence-bigger-due-to-climate-change.html" target="_blank">study</a> found that the storm would be 50 miles wider, and dump 50 percent more rain, because of the impacts of burning fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas pollution.</p><h3>Heatwaves and Noreasters</h3><p>The year started with a prolonged run of winter storms in the Northeastern U.S., including winter storms dubbed Riley, Quinn, Skylar and Toby, which some researchers warned may have been tied to climate change—showing just how inapt the term "global warming" can be. When the jet stream <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02022018/cold-weather-polar-vortex-jet-stream-explained-global-warming-arctic-ice-climate-change" target="_blank">began to wobble</a>, it allowed cold air that would normally be trapped over the Arctic to make its way down to the continental U.S.—making the weather warmer up north and colder farther south.</p><p>The cold spell was so pronounced in New York and southern Canada that Niagara Falls <a href="http://time.com/5084294/niagara-falls-frozen-2018/" target="_blank">froze</a> on New Year's Day.</p><p>That freezing weather was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/aug/14/it-cant-get-much-hotter-can-it-how-heat-became-a-national-us-problem" target="_blank">followed</a> by a summer heatwave that prompted heat warnings for 100 million Americans in the summer, and caused 93 deaths in Montreal.</p><p>More than 30,000 people were hospitalized in Japan for heatstroke as summer temps soared there as well.</p><p>And while droughts hit hard in Germany, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/world/europe/rhine-drought-water-level.html" target="_blank">drying up</a> the Rhine river, Baltimore, Maryland has seen nearly <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/bs-md-rain-update-20181221-story.html" target="_blank">70 inches of rain</a>. A <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-44287175/maryland-floods-the-city-where-roads-turned-to-rivers" target="_blank">flash flood</a> in Ellicott City, Maryland, swept away cars as roadways abruptly became rivers.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a675e1e7ac0f55a92bfe6db46a6e2bd4"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mgs4uC3mcQ8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Flash flooding hits Ellicott City, Maryland</small>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/Mgs4uC3mcQ8" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
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</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>The evidence, if we needed any more, continues to stack up. The record-high heatwaves, record-low Arctic sea ice, above average tropical cyclones and deadly wildfires are an alarm bell impossible to ignore," Jens Mattias Clausen, who represented <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> at the <span style="background-color: initial;">UN</span> <a href="http://cop24.gov.pl/" target="_blank">COP24</a> climate talks in Poland, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/29/four-years-hottest-record-climate-change" target="_blank">told The Guardian</a> this month. "It's no longer our future that is in peril; our today is at risk."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="0ab7d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="YHHEIF1576662436"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1078486964142247937" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">9 #Renewable Energy Highlights of 2018 https://t.co/roGl0U14Jq https://t.co/RfjHi9UkmK</div> — Clean Coalition (@Clean Coalition)<a href="https://twitter.com/Clean_Coalition/statuses/1078486964142247937">1545966304.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/28/year-deadly-climate-disasters-ear-splitting-wake-call-scientists" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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Fossil Fuels and Climate Denial Still Reign in Louisiana Despite Scientists’ Dire Warnings
24 December 2018
Climate
A flare from the Shell Refinery in Norco, Louisiana shines along with Christmas lights on residents homes on Dec. 19, 2013. Julie Dermansky / Corbis via Getty Images
By Julie Dermansky
Louisiana is ground zero for the devastating impacts of climate change. Even though the state is already feeling the costly impacts to life and property due to extreme weather and an eroding coastline linked to a warming planet, its government continues to ignore the primary cause—human use of fossil fuels.
The impacts to the region, such as worsening floods, heat waves and sea level rise, will only be intensified as the globe continues warming, warn federal scientists in the latest National Climate Assessment report.
<p>But instead of heeding scientists' warnings, Louisiana's government continues to welcome the prospects of new billion-dollar <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_2d9ec46c-f401-11e8-a5ec-cb526d534750.html" target="_blank">petrochemical plants</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/20/louisiana-calcasieu-driftwood-lng-export-tellurian-tax-break" target="_blank">liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities</a> and <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/business/article_35de301e-ab94-11e8-a639-0f1280be888b.html" target="_blank">an oil export hub</a>, all without a mention of their climate change impacts. </p><p>Leading the pack, Gov. John Bel Edwards continues to gush over turning Louisiana into a world leader in <a href="http://gov.louisiana.gov/news/gov-edwards-and-venture-global-executives-announce-85-billion-lng-complex" target="_blank">natural gas</a> and <a href="https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/led-news/news-releases/news/2018/08/29/plaquemines-port-pursues-crude-oil-export-terminal" target="_blank">oil</a> exports. </p><p>Louisiana politicians continue to <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/02/24/louisiana-senator-bill-cassidy-pushes-natural-gas-climate-solution-contentious-town-hall-meetings" target="_blank">claim natural gas is a "clean" source of energy</a>, and usher in not only LNG facilities, but also <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_2d9ec46c-f401-11e8-a5ec-cb526d534750.html" target="_blank">petrochemical plants fueled by natural gas production</a>. </p><p>In Plaquemines Parish, a peninsula south of New Orleans that, like all of southern Louisiana, is plagued by coastal erosion, the governor has hailed a <a href="https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/led-news/news-releases/news/2018/08/29/plaquemines-port-pursues-crude-oil-export-terminal" target="_blank">new crude oil export terminal</a> and a massive <a href="http://venturegloballng.com/plaquemines-project/#.XBssEy2ZMc0" target="_blank">LNG facility</a> that don't yet have permits. </p><h3>Embracing Fossil Fuels But Ignoring Climate Warnings</h3><p>I asked the governor's press secretary what he thought about the <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/" target="_blank">Fourth National Climate Assessment,</a> an exhaustive review of environmental data by a team of hundreds of scientists that puts Louisiana square in <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/19/" target="_blank">the eye of physical and financial hardship</a> due to climate change—and got no reply.<br></p><p>I also checked to see if the governor wanted to update his stance on climate change since his remarks during a <a href="http://www.louisianaradionetwork.com/?pid=9131679" target="_blank">2016 radio show</a> when he stated that he believes the climate is changing, but is less certain how much humans play a role in it. "The degree to which human conduct is impacting that change, I think, is somewhat debatable," he said in an <a href="http://www.louisianaradionetwork.com/?pid=9131679" target="_blank">episode of Louisiana Radio Network's Ask The Governor show.</a></p><p>"That's like saying, 'yes there is gravity, but I'm not sure what Earth's role is,'" climate scientist Michael Mann told me, commenting on those people who dismiss climate science with reasoning like Gov. Edwards'. </p><p>"The reality is that natural factors (volcanoes and fluctuations in solar output) were most likely a cooling influence over the past half century. So not only can natural factors not explain the warming—they were actually working in the opposite direction," Mann told me via email, adding: "Only the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from fossil fuel burning can explain the warming we have seen." </p><h3>Climate Denial on Both Sides of the Aisle in the Louisiana</h3><p>Gov. Edwards, a Democrat, isn't alone in ignoring the latest National Climate Assessment and its warnings for the Pelican State. There is nothing about the landmark climate report on the websites of Louisiana Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, Republican Representatives Garret Graves, Steve Scalise and Clay Higgins, or Democrat Rep. Cedric Richmond.</p><p>For any Louisiana politician to ignore the National Climate Assessment is a "crying damn shame," former General Russell Honoré, founder of the <a href="https://gogreenarmy.com/" target="_blank">GreenARMY</a>, a coalition of Louisiana environmental groups and concerned citizens fighting against pollution, said over the phone.</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>The promise that welcoming these plants will save the economy is a false promise," Honoré said. "The money doesn't trickle down to poor folks who live near polluting facilities—they stay poor and services for them don't improve."</p><p>"I'm not against jobs and growing the economy," Honoré added, but he said he is against embracing polluting facilities in the state while ignoring the harm they do to the people and environment. "If the oil and gas industry is so good for the state, why are the schools and infrastructure failing?" he asked. And he expressed frustration that as more polluting plants are permitted, there isn't an increase in regulators being hired to monitor the new facilities.<br></p><p>Furthermore, Honoré believes that politicians aren't doing their job if they are fawning over major new projects that bring in pollution before the permitting process has assessed them. By doing so, "they ignore the state's constitution, which compels them to protect the people and the environment," Honoré said.</p><p>He pointed me to <a href="http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Constitution/Article9.htm" target="_blank">Article IX in the Louisiana State Constitution</a>, which states:</p><blockquote>"The natural resources of the state, including air and water, and the healthful, scenic, historic, and esthetic quality of the environment shall be protected, conserved, and replenished insofar as possible and consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of the people. The legislature shall enact laws to implement this policy." </blockquote><p>Honoré is concerned about the slew of newly proposed foreign-owned petrochemical plants being built between New Orleans and Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River, a petrochemical corridor known to locals as <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/louisiana-cancer-alley-communities-gulf-petrochemical-pollution" target="_blank">Cancer Alley</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fracking-plastics" target="_blank">The petrochemical</a> industry is tied to natural gas production, which can lead to air and water <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">pollution</a>. "Saying natural gas is clean is stupid," Honoré said, pointing out that the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a> which leaks from the natural gas supply chain is a huge driver of global warming.<br><br>In just St. James Parish, in the middle of Cancer Alley, new and proposed projects include <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/13/formosa-plastics-plant-st-james-parish-louisiana-environmental-racism" target="_blank">Formosa's $9.4 billion plastics complex</a>, the $1.3 billion <a href="https://www.southlouisianamethanol.com/" target="_blank">South Louisiana Methanol</a> plant, <a href="http://yci-us.com/2017/04/work-begins-on-1-85b-methanol-plant-in-st-james-parish/" target="_blank">Yuhuang Chemical's $1.85 billion methanol facility</a>; and a $1.25 billion chemical complex proposed by the <a href="https://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/04/chinas_wanhua_chemical_to_buil.html" target="_blank">Chinese firm Wanhua</a>. </p><h3>Rising Temperatures, Rising Risks</h3><p>The exceptional risks from rising temperatures in Louisiana are outlined in the Fourth National Climate Assessment's <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/19/" target="_blank">chapter on southeastern states</a>. </p><p>From the report:</p><blockquote>"Many southeastern cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change compared to cities in other regions, with expected impacts to infrastructure and human health. The vibrancy and viability of these metropolitan areas, including the people and critical regional resources located in them, are increasingly at risk due to heat, flooding, and vector-borne disease brought about by a changing climate. Many of these urban areas are rapidly growing and offer opportunities to adopt effective adaptation efforts to prevent future negative impacts of climate change."</blockquote><p>The 2016 flooding in South Louisiana was cited as an example of the destructive potential—and already present reality—of climate change. Scientists have connected extreme rain events to the planet's rising temperatures, and severe flooding is expected to happen more frequently as the globe continues to warm. The report lists the cost of the thousand-year flood that devastated the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/09/17/environmental-concerns-and-anger-grow-month-after-thousand-year-flood-strikes-louisiana" target="_blank">Baton Rouge area</a> in August 2016 <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_62d3d3aa-f4c1-11e8-b922-1b3817b06f0d.html" target="_blank">at a staggering $10.1 billion</a>.</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>We have got to have a solution to pollution," Honoré said. "And we have to do it now." GreenARMY plans to continue addressing pollution and its many injustices in Louisiana, and is working on a slew of bills to introduce next year. Honoré thinks that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier">doubting climate science</a> is irresponsible, and hopes to get others in the state to face climate change head on while there is still a chance to lessen its worst impacts.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/21/fossil-fuels-climate-denial-reign-louisiana-scientists-dire-warnings" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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32 fracking companies in the U.S. are running a deficit of nearly $1 billion. grandriver / iStock / Getty Images Plus
By Justin Mikulka
2018 was the year the oil and gas industry promised that its darling, the shale fracking revolution, would stop focusing on endless production and instead turn a profit for its investors. But as the year winds to a close, it's clear that hasn't happened.
Instead, the fracking industry has helped set new records for U.S. oil production while continuing to lose huge amounts of money—and that was before the recent crash in oil prices.
<p>But plenty of people in the industry and media make it sound like a much different, and more profitable, story.</p><p><strong>Broken Promises and Record Production</strong></p><p>Going into this year, the fracking industry needed to prove it was a good investment (and not just for its CEOs, who are garnering <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/05/29/flip-well-fracking-shale-halcon-resources-floyd-wilson" target="_blank">massive paychecks</a>).</p><p>In January, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/frackers-could-make-more-money-than-ever-in-2018-if-they-dont-blow-it-1516536000" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal touted the prospect</a> of frackers finally making "real money … for the first time" this year. "Shale drillers are heeding growing calls from investors who have chastened the companies for pumping ever more oil and gas even as they incur losses doing so," oil and energy reporter Bradley Olson wrote.</p><p>Olson's story quoted an energy asset manager making the (always) ill-fated prediction about the oil and gas industry that <em>this time will be different.</em></p><p>"Is this time going to be different? I think yes, a little bit," said energy asset manager Will Riley. "Companies will look to increase growth a little, but at a more moderate pace."</p><p>Despite this early optimism, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-26/permian-pitfalls-world-s-hottest-oil-field-also-carries-risks" target="_blank">Bloomberg noted in February</a> that even the Permian Basin—"America's hottest oilfield"—faced "hidden pitfalls" that could "hamstring" the industry.</p><p>They were right. Those pitfalls turned out to be the ugly reality of the fracking industry's finances.</p><p>And this time was not different.</p><p>On the edge of the Permian in New Mexico, the <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1250300/permian-booming-but-uncertainty-begins-to-surface-2.html" target="_blank">Albuquerque Journal</a> reported the industry is "on pace this year to leap past last year's record oil production," according to Ryan Flynn, executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association. And yet that oil has at times been discounted as much as <a href="https://www.abqjournal.com/1250300/permian-booming-but-uncertainty-begins-to-surface-2.html" target="_blank">$20 a barrel</a> compared to world oil prices because New Mexico doesn't have the infrastructure to move all of it.</p><p>Who would be foolish enough to produce more oil than the existing infrastructure could handle in a year when the industry promised restraint and a focus on profits? New Mexico, for one. And North Dakota. And Texas.</p><p>In North Dakota, record oil production resulted <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-crude-bakken/bakken-oil-flows-pressure-gulf-coast-crude-grade-prices-idUSL2N1XV0X0" target="_blank">in discounts of $15 per barrel and above</a> due to infrastructure constraints.</p><p>Texas is experiencing a similar story. Oilprice.com cites a <a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Permian-Discount-Could-Rise-To-20-Per-Barrel.html" target="_blank">Goldman Sachs</a> prediction of discounts "around $19-$22 per [barrel]" for the fourth quarter of 2018 and through the first three quarters of next year.</p><p>Oil producers in fracking fields across the country seem to have resisted the urge to reign in production and instead produced record volumes of oil in 2018. In the process—much like the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/25/canadian-tar-sands-oil-financial-losses" target="_blank">tar sands industry in Canada</a>—they have created a situation where the market devalues their oil. Unsurprisingly, this is not a recipe for profits.</p><p><strong>Shale Oil Industry 'More Profitable Than Ever' — Or Is It?</strong></p><p>However, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-shale/u-s-shale-surge-boosts-industry-finances-puts-deals-in-spotlight-idUSKCN1NK2OT" target="_blank">Reuters</a> recently analyzed 32 fracking companies and declared that "U.S. shale firms are more profitable than ever after a strong third quarter." How is this possible?</p><p>Reading a bit further reveals what Reuters considers "profits."</p><p>"The group's cash flow deficit has narrowed to $945 million as U.S. benchmark crude hit $70 a barrel and production soared," reported Reuters.</p><p>So, "more profitable than ever" means that those 32 companies are running a deficit of nearly $1 billion. That does not meet the accepted <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profit.asp" target="_blank">definition of profit.</a></p><p><span></span>A <a href="https://www.sightline.org/2018/12/05/nine-year-losing-streak-continues-for-us-fracking-sector/" target="_blank">separate analysis</a> released earlier this month by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and The Sightline Institute also reviewed 32 companies in the fracking industry and reached the same conclusion: "The 32 mid-size <span style="background-color: initial;">U.S.</span> exploration companies included in this review reported nearly $1 billion in negative cash flows through September."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="47fa3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="63WGUM1576662655"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1071903451573940224" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NINE-YEAR LOSING STREAK CONTINUES FOR US FRACKING SECTOR
Oil and gas output is rising but cash losses keep flowing… https://t.co/hKBSk8v5rV</div> — 💧Carly Woodstock (@💧Carly Woodstock)<a href="https://twitter.com/stopthefrack/statuses/1071903451573940224">1544396672.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The numbers don't lie. Despite the highest oil prices in years and record amounts of oil production, the fracking industry continued to spend more than it made in 2018. And somehow, smaller industry losses can still be interpreted as being "more profitable than ever."<br></p><p><strong>The Fracking Industry's Fuzzy Math</strong></p><p>One practice the fracking industry uses to obfuscate its long money-losing streak is to change the goal posts for what it means to be profitable. <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/big-fracking-profits-at-50-a-barrel-dont-bet-on-it-1543919401" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted</a> this practice, writing: "Claims of low 'break-even' prices for shale drilling hardly square with frackers' bottom lines."</p><p>The industry likes to talk about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shale-kemp/u-s-shale-breakeven-price-revealed-around-50-kemp-idUSKBN1AP25M" target="_blank">low "break-even" numbers</a> and how individual wells are profitable—but somehow the companies themselves keep losing money. This can lead to statements like this one from Chris Duncan, an energy analyst at Brandes Investment Partners:</p><blockquote>"You always scratch your head as to how they can have these well economics that can have double-digit returns on investment, but it never flows through to the total company return." </blockquote><p>Head-scratching, indeed.</p><p>The explanation is pretty simple: Shale companies are not counting many of their operating expenses in the "break-even" calculations. Convenient for them, but highly misleading about the economics of fracking because factoring in the costs of running one of these companies often leads those so-called profits from the black and into the red.</p><p>The Wall Street Journal explains the flaw in the fracking industry's questionable break-even claims: "break-evens generally exclude such key costs as land, overhead and even at times transportation."</p><p>Other tricks, The Wall Street Journal notes, include companies only claiming the break-even prices of their most profitable land (known in the industry as "sweet spots") or using artificially low costs for drilling contractors and oil service companies.</p><p>While the mystery of fracking industry finances appears to be solved, the mystery of why oil companies are allowed to make such misleading claims remains.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="53891" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="OIOOID1576662655"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1055190252392919040" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The US shale / fracking formula... 1.) borrow billions at low interest rates 2.) lose money forcing oil & gas from… https://t.co/FSuGXzcKN5</div> — Ryan Popple (@Ryan Popple)<a href="https://twitter.com/rcpopple/statuses/1055190252392919040">1540411935.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>Wall Street Continues to Fund an Unsustainable Business Model<br></strong></p><p>Why does the fracking industry continue to receive more investments from Wall Street despite breaking its "promises" this year?</p><p>Because that is how <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/05/04/wall-street-shale-oil-fracking-revolution-losing-billions-continental-resources" target="_blank">Wall Street makes money</a>. Whether fracking companies are profitable or not doesn't really matter to Wall Street executives who are getting rich making the loans that the fracking industry struggles to repay.</p><p>An excellent example of this is the risk that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rising-interest-rates-may-trip-oil-companies-1493803802" target="_blank">rising interest rates pose</a> to the fracking industry. Even shale companies that have made profits occasionally have done so while also <a href="https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/energy/nyse-clr/continental-resources/news/how-financially-strong-is-continental-resources-inc-nyseclr/" target="_blank">amassing large debts</a>. As interest rates rise, those companies will have to borrow at higher rates, which increases operating costs and decreases the likelihood that shale companies losing cash will ever pay back that debt.</p><p>Continental Resources, one of the largest fracking companies, is often touted as an excellent investment. Investor's Business Daily <a href="https://www.investors.com/stock-lists/stock-spotlight/top-stock-continental-resources-buy-point/" target="_blank">recently noted</a> that "[w]ithin the Oil & Gas-U.S. Exploration & Production industry, Continental is the fourth-ranked stock with a strong 98 out of a highest-possible 99 [Investor's Business Daily] Composite Rating."</p><p>And yet when <a href="https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/energy/nyse-clr/continental-resources/news/how-financially-strong-is-continental-resources-inc-nyseclr/" target="_blank">Simply Wall St.</a> analyzed the company's ability to pay back its over $6 billion in debt, the stock market news site concluded that Continental isn't well positioned to repay that debt. However, it noted "[t]he sheer size of Continental Resources means it is unlikely to default or announce bankruptcy anytime soon." For frackers, being at the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/big-oil">top of the industry</a> apparently means being too big to fail.</p><p>As interest rates rise, common sense might suggest that Wall Street would rein in its lending to shale companies. But when has common sense applied to Wall Street?</p><p>Even the Houston Chronicle, a major paper near the center of <a href="https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/industrial/crane-served-manufacturing-buildings-in-high-demand-as-oil-industry-rebounds-92882" target="_blank">the fracking boom,</a> recently asked, "<a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/How-long-can-the-fracking-spending-spree-last-13228180.php" target="_blank">How long can the fracking spending spree last?</a>"</p><p>The Chronicle notes the epic money-losing streak for the industry and how fracking bankruptcies have already ended up "stiffing lenders and investors on more than $70 billion in outstanding loans."</p><p>So, is the party over?</p><p>Not according to Katherine Spector, <a href="https://energypolicy.columbia.edu/katherine-spector" target="_blank">a research scholar</a> at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. She explains how Wall Street will reconcile investing in these fracking firms during a period of higher interest rates: "Banks are going to make more money [through higher interest rates], so they're going to want to get more money out the door."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="41917" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0OHKTY1576662655"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="993668076460797953" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">How Wall Street Enabled the Fracking 'Revolution' That's Losing Billions https://t.co/oSsJmEiAa7 @FrackAction @foodandwater</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/993668076460797953">1525743905.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/18/fracking-finances-record-oil-production-fuzzy-math" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p><p><em>Follow the DeSmog investigative series: </em><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/finances-fracking-shale-industry-drills-more-debt-profit" target="_blank"><em>Finances of Fracking: Shale Industry Drills More Debt Than Profit</em></a></p>
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3 Key Dangers of Solar Geoengineering and Why Some Critics Urge a Global Ban
11 December 2018
Science
By Justin Mikulka
A Harvard research team recently announced plans to perform early tests to shoot sunlight-reflecting particles into the high atmosphere to slow or reverse global warming.
These research efforts, which could take shape as soon as the first half of 2019, fall under the banner of a geoengineering technology known as solar radiation management, which is sometimes called "sun dimming."
<p>However, less than two weeks after the announcement, the climate science and policy institute <a href="https://climateanalytics.org/about-us/" target="_blank">Climate Analytics</a> took aim at these ambitions in a new briefing titled "<a href="https://climateanalytics.org/publications/2018/why-geoengineering-is-not-a-solution-to-the-climate-problem/" target="_blank">Why geoengineering is not a solution to the climate problem</a>," which goes as far as recommending a global ban on solar geoengineering.</p><p>The group's briefing warns about the dangers of proceeding with solar radiation management (SRM) in particular.</p><p>The basic idea behind SRM is to release particles into the earth's stratosphere, the atmospheric layer approximately 6–30 miles above the surface, where they would then reflect some of the sun's light (and heat) away from Earth, resulting in atmospheric cooling.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9416b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XEY1DI1576663245"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1068822523075272704" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Scientists to pilot geoengineering 'sun dimming' trial next year - Times https://t.co/vGyMNBpSAS https://t.co/pLe8k4jBPf</div> — ECIU (@ECIU)<a href="https://twitter.com/ECIU_UK/statuses/1068822523075272704">1543662121.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>Harvard's scientists working on this concept point to the particles released by volcanic eruptions as real-world examples of how it might work. One such example is the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, an event which released large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere.<br></p><p>According <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/1510/global-effects-of-mount-pinatubo" target="_blank">to NASA</a>, after Mount Pinatubo's eruption, "Over the course of the next two years strong stratospheric winds spread these aerosol particles around the globe," which led to a temporary global cooling of about 1° Fahrenheit over the following 15 months. The Harvard team plans to investigate <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/calcium_carbonate#section=Top" target="_blank">calcium carbonate</a>, a common calcium supplement and antacid, as a potential particle to use instead of sulfur dioxide.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODk5MzkyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTE4Nzk4MH0.ONZbgLYP_rSfhhqEwoNdZetNUAoIZtHPnjILMi_s0VY/img.jpg?width=980" id="1a3ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7aa2dcac6e2bbb23e4b8da5afd520a27" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Proposed solar radiation management using a tethered balloon to inject sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_radiation_management#/media/File:SPICE_SRM_overview.jpg" target="_blank">Hughhunt</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a></small></p>
<p>Despite this parallel, why is Climate Analytics warning against solar radiation management? For a long list of reasons, including the potential for some pretty disastrous consequences.<br></p><p><strong>1. Solar Radiation Management Doesn't Address the Real Issue</strong></p><p>Earth's climate is warming because humans are pumping large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, with carbon dioxide from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a>-burning topping that list. As Climate Analytics notes, solar radiation management "does not address the drivers of human-induced climate change." Instead, the briefing says, this geoengineering approach "would mask warming temporarily" in a best-case scenario, while representing a fundamental and "potentially dangerous" threat to the earth's basic climate operations.</p><p>As Mt. Pinatubo's eruption showed, the basic concept behind the Harvard team's proposal certainly has the potential to cool the planet, but Climate Analytics notes the many sizable and unique risks to attempting solar radiation management on a long-term, global scale.</p><p>Critics of solar radiation management—and there are many—note that one of the biggest risks of this approach is that it becomes a distraction from the primary goal of decarbonizing the global economy in order to address the root cause of climate change.</p><p>A recent in-depth piece from<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/features/geoengineering-climate-change-fossil-fuel-industry-srm-indigenous-activism.html" target="_blank"> In These Times</a> quotes a document from the group <a href="http://www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/HOME_manifesto-EN-Nov7.pdf" target="_blank">Hands Off Mother Earth</a>, which opposes solar geoengineering:</p><blockquote>"Geoengineering perpetuates the false belief that today's unjust, ecologically, and socially devastating industrial model of production and consumption cannot be changed and that we therefore need techno-fixes to tame its effects."<br></blockquote><p>Even <a href="https://geoengineering.environment.harvard.edu/people/david-keith" target="_blank">David Keith</a>, one of the Harvard scientists working on solar radiation management, shares the concern that this work could distract from the required efforts to reduce global carbon emissions.</p><p>"One of the main concerns I and everyone involved in this have, is that Trump might tweet 'geoengineering solves everything — we don't have to bother about emissions.' That would break the slow-moving agreement among many environmental groups that sound research in this field makes sense," Keith said in 2017, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/14/geoengineering-is-not-a-quick-fix-for-climate-change-experts-warn-trump" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>.</p><p>After scientists' recent announcement of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report" target="_blank">very short timeline</a> for the world to drastically cut carbon emissions, some are viewing solar radiation management as a way to allow for continued fossil fuel use while hoping for "techno-fixes" to avert global catastrophe.</p><p><strong>2. Risks Far Outweigh Potential Reward</strong></p><p>In a world where even predicting the weather <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-01-global-decreases-reliability-weather-tools.html" target="_blank">is more difficult</a> due to climate change, it isn't hard to fathom that changing the global climate quickly could have many unknown consequences. But as Climate Analytics points out, there are plenty of known risks and concerns surrounding solar radiation management, including the following:</p><p>Weather System Changes: According to the Climate Analytics briefing: "Solar radiation management would alter the global hydrological cycle," which means changes to global weather patterns, including monsoon activity. Tweaking monsoon activity may not bode well for many people around the world. "These [monsoon] rains not only play a vital role in food security and exports, but also provide essential water for the very large, and often already vulnerable, populations," states the briefing.</p><p>Ocean Acidification: Another negative impact of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is the <a href="https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%253F" target="_blank">acidification of the oceans</a>. Reflecting away sunlight does nothing to address this problem fundamentally caused by excess carbon dioxide.</p><p>Global Agriculture: While increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations can be beneficial up to a point for some plants, that benefit likely would be canceled out by the reduction in actual sunlight reaching plant life, which is necessary for photosynthesis.</p><p>Decreased Renewable Energy Production: As with agriculture, lower levels of sunlight reaching the earth's surface would reduce solar power production. And changing the global climate and weather could also alter wind power potential.</p><p><strong>3. Geopolitical and Catastrophic Risks</strong></p><p>While purposefully altering the global atmosphere would be an unprecedented project in both scale and impact, the endeavor actually would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/23/solar-geoengineering-could-be-remarkably-inexpensive-report" target="_blank">not cost very much</a> and could be done unilaterally by one country. Solar radiation management would likely affect different parts of the world in different ways, some positively and some negatively.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="0b989" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="EQ7GNE1576663245"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1071050078813511680" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New Security Beat: Panelists Call for Creation of World Commission to Handle Solar Radiation Management https://t.co/xyoWQAyxtI</div> — Climate Engineering (@Climate Engineering)<a href="https://twitter.com/CE_KEI/statuses/1071050078813511680">1544193212.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>The Climate Analytics briefing highlights this potential: "<span style="background-color: initial;">SRM</span> will strongly alter the climate system producing 'winners' and 'losers' in different regions and with different levels of deployment. It could therefore become a source of massive conflict between nations."<br></p><p>This potential for geopolitical conflict is one reason Climate Analytics is calling for a global ban on solar radiation management.</p><p>Another reason is because the group views the approach as a grand form of "kicking the can"—that is, the can leaking too many greenhouse gases—down the road. And once solar radiation management is deployed on a global scale, it has to continue even in the event of grave consequences because stopping the program would induce something known as "termination shock."</p><p>Climate Analytics predicts that termination shock—the result of stopping an SRM program once begun—would result in "very rapid and large-scale planetary warming" that could occur "on a timescale of months."</p><p><strong>Geoengineering and Sun Dimming</strong></p><p>With Harvard leading solar geoengineering field tests and the long-term support of people such as <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/01/bill-gates-funding-geoengineering-research" target="_blank">Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates,</a> the idea that "techno-fixes" will save the planet from climate catastrophe isn't going away. Especially with major media outlets such as CNN running headlines suggesting these approaches could be "<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/23/health/sun-dimming-aerosols-global-warming-intl-scli/index.html" target="_blank">the answer to global warming</a>."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="3b1fb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="VTAM3N1576663245"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1066248164066381824" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Going out for......Dim Sun? Who is joining me!!?? https://t.co/54qywPmb5F</div> — Director Questlove (@Director Questlove)<a href="https://twitter.com/questlove/statuses/1066248164066381824">1543048346.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>The answer to global warming has been around for more than fifty years. The head of the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/american-petroleum-institute" target="_blank">American Petroleum Institute</a> spelled out part of this solution at an industry conference in 1965 in which <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/20/american-petroleum-institute-1965-speech-climate-change-oil-gas" target="_blank">he said</a>, "There is still time to save the world's peoples from the catastrophic consequence of pollution, but time is running out."<br></p><p>The solution he acknowledged then was "an alternative nonpolluting means of powering automobiles, buses, and trucks." </p><p>While the world has far less time to act than in 1965, the solution to global warming remains more of a political challenge than a technological one.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/09/warning-dangers-solar-radiation-management-geoengineering-global-ban" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em></p>
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Energy Transfer Partners and Banks Lost Billions by Ignoring Early Dakota Access Pipeline Concerns
04 December 2018
Energy
Native American leaders and environmental groups called on New York City to divest from banks funding the Dakota Access Pipeline on Feb. 23, 2017. Erik McGregor / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images
By Sharon Kelly
Roughly four years ago, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) filed a federal application to build a 1,172 mile oil pipeline from North Dakota's Bakken shale across the U.S. to Illinois at a projected cost of $3.8 billion.
Before that application was filed, on Sept. 30, 2014, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe met with ETP to express concerns about the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) and fears of water contamination. Though the company, now known as Energy Transfer, had re-routed a river crossing to protect the state capital of Bismarck against oil spills, it apparently turned a deaf ear to the Tribe's objections.
<p>Following that approach proved to be a very costly decision, a <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/project/fpiep/sites/default/files/attached-files/social_cost_and_material_loss.pdf" target="_blank">new analysis</a> concludes, with ETP, banks, and investors taking billions in losses as a result.</p><p>"This case study estimates that the costs incurred by ETP and other firms with ownership stake in DAPL for the entire project are not less than $7.5 billion, but could be higher depending on the terms of confidential contracts," a new report, "Social Cost and Material Loss: The Dakota Access Pipeline," concludes, noting that the figure represented nearly double the initial project cost. "The banks that financed DAPL incurred an additional $4.4 billion in costs in the form of account closures, not including costs related to reputational damage."</p><p>In addition, the company's "poor social risk management" caused taxpayers and "other local stakeholders" to incur at least $38 million in costs, the report concludes.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="65caa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PFF5DX1576663789"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="791734219462410240" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"This is what it's all about," protestor says. "Sacred water." Not sure guys on left agree. #NoDAPL #DAPL https://t.co/vHPRC2OHU5</div> — Wes Enzinna (@Wes Enzinna)<a href="https://twitter.com/wesenzinna/statuses/791734219462410240">1477599122.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>As opposition to <span style="background-color: initial;">DAPL</span> <a href="https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/a-timeline-of-the-dakota-access-oil-pipeline" target="_blank">grew</a> from a handful of locals to a movement attracting thousands of supporters to Standing Rock and backers worldwide, construction fell behind schedule and over budget, with costs rising from a predicted $3.8 billion to at least $7.5 billion, the new report finds. Over that time, Energy Transfer's stock price fell 20 percent—at the same time as the tech investment index <span style="background-color: initial;">S&P</span> 500 grew roughly 35 percent, the report noted. Energy Transfer's stock also underperformed other companies in the same industry.<br></p><p>"Across the board, this project was out of line with the existing principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international standards for resource development near indigenous peoples' lands," <a href="https://lawweb.colorado.edu/profiles/profile.jsp?id=561" target="_blank">Carla F. Fredericks</a>, author of the study and director of Colorado Law's American Indian Law Clinic, said. "The losses in this study underline that companies need to take those principles into account." </p><p><strong>Making a 'Material Loss'</strong></p><p>The study points to early decisions by ETP as the cause of those losses.</p><p>"The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe communicated their opposition to DAPL for three years and they were frustrated by the lack of meaningful consultation from Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), DAPL's parent company, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)," Fredericks, an enrolled citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, and co-author <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/business/mark-meaney" target="_blank">Mark Meaney</a> of the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business wrote. "In fact, those opportunities for early engagement were ETP's, the USACE's and other investors' missed opportunities to understand the developing social risks that subsequently manifested into intense social conflict and ultimately resulted in material loss."</p>
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</p><div id="9dcf1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="KLJT3H1576663789"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="837708599023583237" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">US / indigenous rights: @UNSR_VickyTauli urges consistent policies for projects like Dakota Access Pipeline https://t.co/fVdVZtcsnG</div> — UN Human Rights (@UN Human Rights)<a href="https://twitter.com/UNHumanRights/statuses/837708599023583237">1488560268.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p>When it comes to human rights issues, the report's authors dismiss the notion that a company's management can adequately protect shareholders from losses or liability if they use compliance with state and federal laws as their only benchmark.<br></p><p>"Unfortunately, the companies and financiers behind DAPL presumed that compliance with national laws was sufficient for the project to move forward on Sioux territory rather than abiding by international human rights standards," the report finds. "Their lack of attention ultimately resulted in material loss."</p><p>The report faults Energy Transfer's management specifically for failing to disclose risks of costly delays due to public opposition to investors at an earlier stage.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODk2NTUxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzAzODExOX0.B-xgHvxI6V51ghzcybRH1Hqi3wo8xQeTPHVlf2rYqiE/img.jpg?width=980" id="39643" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9b2bd341f90d5dea71b11cd218de8af9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Guerrilla street painting against fossil fuel pipeline investment outside Wells Fargo World Headquarters in San Francisco, Nov. 6, 2017 </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/43005015@N06/" target="_blank">Peg Hunter</a>,<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-NC 2.0</a></small></p>
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>In this case, <span style="background-color: initial;">ETP</span>'s reporting concerning the project was silent or exclusively positive until the publication of its third quarterly report on Nov. 9, 2016, in which the company acknowledged that 'protests and legal actions against <span style="background-color: initial;">DAPL </span>have caused construction delays and may further delay the completion of the pipeline project,'" the report finds. "By this time, social pressure had been mounting for months and there is evidence that the company knew of these risks long before they were disclosed to investors."<br></p><p>"The timeline shows that ETP made few good faith efforts to understand and integrate the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's concerns about the environmental, social, and cultural risks into their operations and that ETP did not disclose known risks to investors until a later date," it adds. "As a result, investors were not aware of the potential for delays and it is possible that this resulted in the overvaluation of ETP's stock price."</p><p>It wasn't only ETP's investors that suffered an economic blow due to DAPL. Reported account closures at banks that funded the DAPL project totaled $4.4 billion, including 150,000 personal bank account closures worth $86.2 million, with the remainder coming from city divestments.</p><p>"It is reasonable to suggest that the degree of public criticism directed towards banks—relative to the size of the transaction—was greater than expected and was underestimated during the banks' own review of the project's viability," the report says.</p><p><strong>Courtroom Fights</strong></p><p>DAPL is now flowing oil—but legal battles continue. In early November, Energy Transfer <a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Bakken-Prices-Crumble-On-Pipeline-Woes.html" target="_blank">announced</a> that it would seek to expand DAPL's capacity from 525,000 barrels per day to 570,000 barrels a day, spurred by growing oil production from North Dakota's Bakken shale.</p><p>The DAPL fight is far from over. Lawsuits and criminal prosecutions of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipeline</a> opponents now include a federal class action <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/26/lawsuit-dakota-access-road-blockade" target="_blank">filed</a> by five plaintiffs against private security firm TigerSwan and state and county officials, alleging that the defendants violated plaintiff's constitutional rights by closing public roads for prolonged periods in 2016 to 2017, part of an effort to quiet resistance to the DAPL project.</p><p>As DeSmog <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/26/lawsuit-dakota-access-road-blockade" target="_blank">previously reported</a>, the lawsuit "also alleged that, beyond impeding access to sacred grounds for the self-proclaimed 'Water Protectors'—the term also used by [plaintiffs' attorneys] Smith-Drelich and Harcourt in their complaint—the blockade imposed by government and law enforcement did not impact those who lived in the area or employees of Energy Transfer."</p><p>Separately, Sophia Wilansky, who was <a href="https://nypost.com/2017/11/18/pipeline-protestor-recalls-horror-of-nearly-losing-her-arm-in-clash-with-police/" target="_blank">shot three times by rubber bullets</a> and suffered severe arm and hand injuries from what she alleges was a police "flashbang" grenade <a href="https://www.insidesources.com/one-year-after-violent-backwater-bridge-clashes-scars-remain-in-standing-rock/" target="_blank">at Backwater Bridge</a> on Nov. 20, 2016, <a href="https://www.myndnow.com/news/bismarck-news/dapl-protester-sues-law-enforcement-over-injury-at-backwater-bridge-protest/1609505092" target="_blank">filed</a> a lawsuit against Morton County law enforcement and other agencies this month. And more than 700 criminal cases brought against the pipeline opponents known as water protectors have been processed, with NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/29/671701019/2-years-after-standing-rock-protests-north-dakota-oil-business-is-booming" target="_blank">reporting</a> that "[m]any have had their charges reduced or dismissed."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODk2NTUxOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzA4MjU0NH0.Gjt0eJm4tqg3Q9_CMU6i_MaxIktahH3dcT2dr_AKwOk/img.png?width=980" id="4c74e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f8638d8d305fb4c41884de9b4078baee" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">"Happi" American Horse from the Sicangu Nation locked himself to equipment at a Dakota Access pipeline construction site on Aug. 31, 2016.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="http://desireekane.com/" target="_blank">Desiree Kane</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" target="_blank">CC BY 3.0</a></small></p>
<p>In November, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe challenged the adequacy of the Army Corps of Engineers' environmental review of <span style="background-color: initial;">DAPL</span>, <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-renews-legal-challenge-against-dapl" target="_blank">arguing</a> that the Corps' assessment of the risks, particularly the risk of an oil spill in Lake Oahe, which is on Sioux land, fell short of required standards and disregarded technical information provided by the Tribe to the Corps.<br></p><p>In July, federal judge Billy Roy Wilson partially dismissed a racketeering lawsuit that was initially filed in August 2017 by ETP against nonprofits <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> and BankTrack, as well as the environmental movement EarthFirst! (as represented by the publishers of a magazine of a similar name).</p><p>"While the complaint vaguely attempts to connect BankTrack to acts of 'radical eco-terrorist,' an international drug distribution and money laundering enterprise, and violations of the Patriot Act, BankTrack's actual conduct in this case was allegedly writing a few letters to financial institutions and posting links to the letters on its website," Wilson <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-tosses-dakota-access-rico-claims-against-protester/" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a July ruling dismissing claims against BankTrack.</p><p>In August, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/dakota-access-developer-amends-1b-racketeering-lawsuit" target="_blank">after a ruling</a> that EarthFirst! is an environmental movement too amorphous to be named to a lawsuit and that suing the magazine would be "futile and possibly frivolous," ETP added five individual defendants to its lawsuit, including a Greenpeace staffer.</p><p>ETP is also involved in the construction of other controversial pipeline projects, like the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/conflict-cajun-country-bayou-bridge-pipeline-louisiana-standing-rock" target="_blank">Bayou Bridge pipeline</a> in Louisiana and the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/08/01/ellen-gerhart-pennsylvania-arrested-sunoco-mariner-east-pipeline-dispute" target="_blank">Mariner East projects</a> in Pennsylvania.</p><p>A proposed new Bakken pipeline, dubbed the Liberty Pipeline, was recently <a href="https://investor.phillips66.com/financial-information/news-releases/news-release-details/2018/Phillips-66-and-Bridger-Pipeline-LLC-Announce-Open-Season-for-Rockies-and-Bakken-Crude-Oil-Pipeline-System-Phillips-66-Announces-Open-Season-for-Cushing-Crude-Oil-Pipeline-System/default.aspx" target="_blank">announced</a> by Phillips 66 and Bridger Pipeline LLC. That pipeline would move 350,000 barrels a day of fracked oil from the Bakken shale to Corpus Christi, Texas, near major export terminals.</p><p>The authors of the new report had advice for companies contemplating building new pipeline projects or investing in them.</p><p>"These losses show how important it is for companies to fully account for environmental, social, and governance risks before projects get going," Meaney said in a statement accompanying the report. "Social risks are clearly overlooked in the market."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="46fa3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="P1169J1576663790"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1069380841359450113" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#EnergyTransfer's Troubled Pipeline Projects Amass 800+ Violations https://t.co/4dRWiI7JdV @PeopleNotPipes @nokxlpledge</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1069380841359450113">1543795235.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/03/dakota-access-pipeline-concerns-cost-energy-transfer-investors-billions" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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Tense Atmosphere: Poland Issues Terrorism Alert for Katowice Ahead of COP24
28 November 2018
Climate
Cezary P / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
By Chloe Farand
The Polish government has implemented a terrorism alert in the province where the annual UN climate talks are about to start.
Climate campaigners are warning of a tense atmosphere in and around the city of Katowice in southern Poland, where the global climate negotiations, known as COP24, are due to kick off on Monday.
<p>Katowice, a city of around 300,000 people—and the smallest city to host the UN climate talks yet—is about to welcome nearly 30,000 people for the climate conference, including heads of state, government representatives and UN officials.</p><p>Over the weekend, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has signed an order declaring an ALFA alert—the first of four increasing terrorism security levels—across the entire southern province of Silesia, where Katowice is located, and the city of Krakow.</p><p><strong>'ALFA' Alert</strong></p><p>In a <a href="https://mswia.gov.pl/pl/aktualnosci/18486,Szczegolne-srodki-bezpieczenstwa-w-zwiazku-z-konferencja-COP-24-w-woj-slaskim-i-.html" target="_blank">statement</a>, the government confirmed the heightened security measures had been introduced in connection with COP24 and will remain in force for the entire length of the talks, until Dec. 15.</p><p>The heightened alert has seen increased controls implemented across the affected areas, with residents are asked to report any suspicious situation or individual.</p><p>It also means enhanced security forces will be deployed in cases of emergency and that officers can control and check vehicles as well as access private communications.</p><p>The <a href="https://wpolityce.pl/spoleczenstwo/422247-od-czwartku-tymczasowe-kontrole-na-granicach-szczegoly" target="_blank">Polish border police also confirmed</a> that Poland's borders with Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia had temporarily been restored and that the border could only be crossed in designated areas, with further checks being carried out at ports and airports.</p><p>The measures are due to last for the entirety of the climate conference with random checks being carried out for people entering Poland.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="394cc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4NPMTM1576663098"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1065480751460876288" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Od dziś do 16 grudnia na granicy wewnętrznej prowadzona jest tymczasowo przywrócona kontrola graniczna. Oznacza to,… https://t.co/5LxPHqLEwy</div> — Straż Graniczna (@Straż Graniczna)<a href="https://twitter.com/Straz_Graniczna/statuses/1065480751460876288">1542865381.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>Tense Atmosphere<br></strong></p><p>The news comes after <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/01/19/polish-police-set-ban-spontaneous-protests-and-secretly-gather-personal-data-un-climate-talks" target="_blank">DeSmog UK revealed</a> earlier this year that the Polish Parliament approved <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/01/19/polish-police-set-ban-spontaneous-protests-and-secretly-gather-personal-data-un-climate-talks" target="_blank">a bill that banned all spontaneous protests in Katowice during the talks</a>. The ban does not apply to demonstrations organized inside the conference center.</p><p>The law provides a raft of initiatives to "ensure safety and public order" and allows police to "collect, obtain, process and use information, including personal data about people registered as participants of the COP24 conference or cooperating with its organisation, without the knowledge and consent of the people involved."</p><p>Patryk Bialas, a newly elected independent councillor for Katowice and a long-standing climate activist, told DeSmog UK that the mood in Katowice "was very bad."</p><p>Bialas also said that residents in Katowice were already experiencing high levels of security. </p><p>"There are already a lot of police on the streets and officers are telling people to keep away of the city center during the talks," Bialas said, adding that police officers recently interrupted a training session about the climate negotiations he had organized with Katowice residents.</p><p>"No one is talking about the COP in the public debate. The general knowledge of what this meeting is about is very low in Poland. On the other hand, the government is sending very strong <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a>-friendly propaganda, presenting the climate summit as another global economic congress," he added.</p><p>A March for Climate has been organized in Katowice on Dec. 8 with the permission of the local authorities and it is unclear whether other events could take place in the city center.</p><p>"There will be protests during the talks outside the conference center in Katowice but also all around Poland but many Poles are afraid of taking part," Bialas said. "There is a possibility protesters could face prison if they break the ban on spontaneous protest."</p><p><strong>Deterrence</strong></p><p>The impacts of Poland's crackdown on spontaneous protest and the gathering of all participants' data is having an impact far beyond Katowice.</p><p>Sébastien Duyck, a senior attorney at the <a href="https://www.ciel.org" target="_blank">Center for International Environmental Law</a>, told DeSmog UK that there were "strong tensions" around the law.</p><p>UN institutions and civil society groups have been in discussions with the Polish Presidency over the controversial law, but the discussions did not result in any amendments to the text.</p><p>Duyck added that the data collection powers granted to the police under the law had led some climate campaigners from developing countries with no democratic institutions not to attend the conference in Katowice, fearing repercussions in their own countries.</p><p>The Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), a Thailand-based network of feminists and grassroots climate organizations, described the bill as "setting a dangerous precedent" and one that "undermines human rights and fundamental freedoms."</p><p>In a statement, APWLD member Banamallika Choudhury, from India, warned: "This clamp down on civil society space and freedom of expressions is a sign of increasing influence of the profit earning actors who do not want to change the system of exploitation that is leading to climate change.</p><p>"By closing spaces for voices of the people to come into global platforms like the COP, the profit-making exploitative industries and the states continue business as usual at the cost of the planet."</p>
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</p><div id="7fd54" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="O7J0P31576663098"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1064520368143118337" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">People are mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore: citizen #climate actions will become common while politicians… https://t.co/PrZagAXUYA</div> — Rocky Kistner (@Rocky Kistner)<a href="https://twitter.com/therockyfiles/statuses/1064520368143118337">1542636408.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/28/polish-government-issues-terrorism-alert-katowice-days-start-un-climate-talks" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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Max Pixel
By Dana Drugmand
Koch Industries is calling for the elimination of tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs), all while claiming that it does not oppose plug-in cars and inviting the elimination of oil and gas subsidies that the petroleum conglomerate and its industry peers receive.
Outgoing Nevada Republican Senator Dean Heller introduced a bill in September that would lift the sales cap on electric vehicles eligible for a federal tax credit, and replace the cap with a deadline that would dictate when the credit would start being phased out.
<p>Under the current tax credit for EVs, once a manufacturer sells 200,000 EVs in the U.S. the amount of the credit gets slashed in half, then halved again. The full credit amount is $7,500. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tesla">Tesla</a> has already hit the 200,000 cap and GM will soon reach it, so both companies would benefit from a tax credit extension via eliminating the sales cap. Heller's <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/s3582/text" target="_blank">bill</a> lifts the 200,000 vehicle limit and substitutes a phase-out period starting in 2022.</p><p>But the conservative senator's bill is <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-25/koch-targets-endangered-gop-senator-s-car-credit-that-aids-tesla" target="_blank">facing opposition</a> from the conservative billionaire <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/koch-brothers">Koch brothers</a>.</p><p>In a <a href="https://news.kochind.com/media-resources/On-The-Issues/Koch-Urges-Senate-to-Allow-Innovation-and-Consumer" target="_blank">letter</a> to senators dated Oct. 24, Koch Industries lobbyist Philip Ellender urges opposition to the expansion of EV tax credits through 2022. Ellender claims that the tax credits primarily benefit wealthy consumers and that subsidization interferes with "innovation and consumer choice."</p><p>The letter cites two studies, each by a right-wing think tank. One study comes from the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/pacific-research-institute" target="_blank">Pacific Research Institute</a>, which has received <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> funding—including more than $1.7 million from Koch-related foundations and $615,000 from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/exxon">ExxonMobil</a>. The <a href="https://www.pacificresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/CarSubsidies_final_web.pdf" target="_blank">PRI study</a>, "Costly Subsidies for the Rich: Quantifying the Subsidies Offered to Battery Electric Powered Cars," emphasizes that "the majority of the dollar benefits from energy and electric car subsidies are paid to tax filers in the higher income tax brackets."</p><p>The other study is from the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/manhattan-institute-policy-research" target="_blank">Manhattan Institute</a>, another "free market think tank" that takes in money from the Koch network and Exxon. The <a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/short-circuit-high-cost-electric-vehicle-subsidies-11241.html" target="_blank">study</a> paints a misleading picture of EVs and their subsidies.</p><p>In addition to citing biased studies by groups tied to Koch money, Ellender claims in the letter, "We do not oppose electric vehicles."</p><p>This sentiment echoes <a href="https://www.kochvsclean.com/koch-industries-all-for-electric-cars/" target="_blank">the company's 2016 advertorial</a>, in which Koch Industries claimed to be "all for electric vehicles."</p><p>Ellender also claims that Koch Industries is against any and all energy subsidies, even ones that benefit the company. According to the letter:</p><blockquote>Instead of expanding this subsidy for wealthy EV owners, Congress should eliminate it along with all other energy incentives—including eliminating any incentives given to us and our competitors where we may participate. We are focused on long-term value creation, not short-term windfalls.</blockquote><p>In reality, while Koch Industries is claiming publicly to support ending fossil fuel subsidies (along with EV and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">clean energy</a> incentives), Koch lobbyists have long worked to ensure that the petroleum industry continues to get subsidized.</p><p>As <a href="https://www.kochvsclean.com/koch-industries-all-for-electric-cars/" target="_blank">Koch vs. Clean</a> previously pointed out, "In a <a href="https://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/04/06/3936/kochs-web-influence" target="_blank">detailed 2011 report on Koch Industries, the Center for Public Integrity wrote</a>: 'Oil is the core of the Koch business empire, and the company's lobbyists and officials have successfully fought to preserve the industry's tax breaks and credits.' The report documented that Koch lobbyists have worked to preserve billions of dollars in oil industry subsidies, including the Section 199 manufacturing tax deduction and the 'last-in, first out' accounting rule."</p><p>In fact, according to the International Business Times, <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/charles-koch-blasts-subsidies-tax-credits-his-firm-has-taken-195-million-worth-them-2034949" target="_blank">Koch Industries has itself directly secured subsidies totaling more than $195 million</a>.</p><p>The Koch network also lobbied for the Trump tax cuts that became law late last year. The corporate tax cut is not specific to energy, but it benefits giant corporations including <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/big-oil">Big Oil</a> and Koch Industries nonetheless. <a href="https://americansfortaxfairness.org/koch-brothers-1-billion-tax-cut/" target="_blank">Americans for Tax Fairness estimated</a> that the Kochs would save more than $1 billion just this year from the tax cut—a significant windfall for a corporate behemoth that claims, <em>"</em>We are focused on long-term value creation, not short-term windfalls."</p>
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</p><div id="3cd3f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ANYGUQ1576662656"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="984081334950875136" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Koch vs. California: These Groups Want Pruitt to Undo the State’s Right to Regulate Auto Emissions… https://t.co/QqVojSadKD</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/984081334950875136">1523458248.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><i>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/09/koch-industries-lobbies-against-electric-vehicle-tax-credit" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</i><br></p>
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Why Plans to Turn America’s Rust Belt Into a New Plastics Belt Are Bad News for the Climate
29 October 2018
Climate
Smoke billows from one of many petrochemical plants in Louisiana's "Cancer Alley" on Oct. 12, 2013. Giles Clarke / Getty Images
By Sharon Kelly
The petrochemical industry anticipates spending a total of over $200 billion on factories, pipelines, and other infrastructure in the U.S. that will rely on shale gas, the American Chemistry Council announced in September. Construction is already underway at many sites.
This building spree would dramatically expand the Gulf Coast's petrochemical corridor (known locally as "Cancer Alley")—and establish a new plastics and petrochemical belt across states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
<p>If those projects are completed, analysts predict the <span style="background-color: initial;">U.S.</span> would flip from one of the world's highest-cost producers of <a href="http://www.plasticsindustry.org/sites/plastics.dev/files/PLASTICS%20Size%20&%20Impact%20-%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank">plastics</a> and <a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/Policy/Energy/Shale-Gas/Infographic-Shale-Gas-and-New-US-Chemical-Industry-Investment.pdf" target="_blank">chemicals</a> to one of the cheapest, using raw materials and energy from fracked gas wells in states like Texas, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.</p><p>Those petrochemical plans could have profound consequences for a planet already showing signs of dangerous warming and a cascade of other impacts from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>The gathering wave of construction comes as the Trump administration works to deregulate American industry and roll back pollution controls, putting the U.S. at odds with the rest of the world's efforts to slow climate change.</p><p>Trump <a href="http://climateanalytics.org/briefings/ratification-tracker.html" target="_blank">announced</a> in June 2017 that the U.S. had halted all implementation of the 2015 <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a> and intends to fully withdraw. America is now the world's only state refusing <a href="http://climateanalytics.org/briefings/ratification-tracker.html" target="_blank">participation</a> in the global agreement to curb climate change (after Syria, the final holdout, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/11/syria-is-joining-the-paris-agreement-now-what/545261/" target="_blank">signed</a> in November 2017).</p><p>This petrochemical industry expansion—much of it funded by foreign investors—makes America's refusal to participate in the Paris agreement all the more significant, because much of this new U.S. infrastructure would be built outside of the greenhouse gas agreement affecting the rest of the globe.</p><p>If American policy makers approve this wave of new plastics and petrochemical plants with little regard to curbing climate change and reducing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel </a>use, environmentalists warn, they'll be greenlighting hundreds of billions of dollars of investment into projects at risk of becoming stranded assets.</p><p><strong>From Rust Belt to Plastics Belt</strong></p><p>Some of the largest and most expensive petrochemical projects in the U.S. are planned in the Rust Belt states of Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, a region that has suffered for decades from the collapse of the domestic steel industry but that has <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/07/01/state-regulators-struggle-keep-industry-pushes-multi-billion-dollar-fracked-petrochemical-projects" target="_blank">relatively little experience</a> with the kind of petrochemical complexes that are now primarily found on the Gulf Coast.</p><p>In November 2017, the China Energy Investment Corp., signed a Memorandum of Understanding with West Virginia that would result in the construction of $83.7 billion in plastics and petrochemicals projects over the next 20 years in that state alone—a huge slice of the $202.4 billion U.S. total. Those plans have <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/06/25/west-virginia-petrochemical-hub-china-trade-war-corruption-thrasher" target="_blank">run into snags</a> due to trade disputes between the U.S. and China and a corruption probe, though <a href="http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/115573-chinese-companies-said-still-honoring-us-agreements-despite-trade-war" target="_blank">Chinese officials said</a> in late August that investment was moving forward.</p><p>The petrochemical industry's interest is spurred by the fact that the region's Marcellus and Utica shales contain significant supplies of so-called "wet gas." This wet gas often is treated as a footnote in discussions of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking/">fracking</a>, which tend to focus on the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a> gas, called "dry gas" by industry—and not the ethane, propane, butane and other hydrocarbons that also come from those same wells.</p><p>Those "wet" fossil fuels and chemical feedstocks are commonly referred to as "natural gas liquids," or NGLs, because they are delivered to customers condensed into a liquid form—like the liquid butane trapped in a Bic lighter, which expands into a stream of flammable gas when you flick that lighter on.</p><p>Ethane can represent a surprising amount of the fossil fuel from a fracked shale well, particularly in the Marcellus. For every 6,000 cubic feet of methane (the energy equivalent of the industry's standard 42 gallon barrel of oil), Marcellus wet gas wells can produce up to roughly 35 gallons of ethane, based on data <a href="https://www.aogr.com/magazine/cover-story/infrastructure-projects-connect-marcellus-shale-to-ethane-ngl-markets" target="_blank">reported by the American Oil and Gas Reporter</a> in 2011.</p><p>And U.S. ethane production is projected to grow dramatically. By 2022, the region will produce roughly 800,000 barrels of ethane per day, up from 470,000 barrels a day in 2017, <a href="https://marcellusdrilling.com/2017/10/poor-prospects-for-moving-marcellusutica-ethane-to-gulf-coast/" target="_blank">according to energy consultant RBN Energy</a>.</p><p>That supply glut is driving down ethane prices in the Rust Belt.</p><p>"The lowest price ethane on the planet is here in this region," Brian Anderson, director of the West Virginia University Energy Institute, told the NEP Northeast U.S. Petrochemical Construction conference in Pittsburgh in June.</p><p><strong>Chemicals and the Climate</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc3ODY0NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTY3NjAwNH0.y5mLvv-mjYCjyZUluo_T0pjHSVLuzF12N37OVqZLQg4/img.jpg?width=980" id="ac72e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1867c0cf009fc3d02dfb8043dd294287" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Image projected onto Houston petrochemical plant during the Houston Toxic Tour, 2017.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/backbone_campaign/" target="_blank">Backbone Campaign</a>, CC BY 2.0</small></p><p>The petrochemical and plastics industries are <a href="http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2017/9/29/fueling-plastics-new-research-details-fossil-fuel-role-in-plastics-proliferation" target="_blank">notoriously polluting</a>, not only when it comes to toxic <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air pollution</a> and plastic waste, but also because of the industry's significant greenhouse gas footprint—affecting not only the U.S., but the entire world.<br></p><p>"The chemical and petrochemical sector is by far the largest industrial energy user, accounting for roughly 10 percent of total worldwide final energy demand and 7 percent of global [greenhouse gas] emissions," the International Energy Agency reported in 2013. Since then the numbers have <a href="https://6fefcbb86e61af1b2fc4-c70d8ead6ced550b4d987d7c03fcdd1d.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/cms/reports/documents/000/002/683/original/CDP_Chemicals_2017.pdf?1507139412" target="_blank">crept up</a>, with the IEA finding petrochemicals responsible for an additional percentage point of the world's total energy consumption in <a href="https://6fefcbb86e61af1b2fc4-c70d8ead6ced550b4d987d7c03fcdd1d.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/cms/reports/documents/000/002/683/original/CDP_Chemicals_2017.pdf?1507139412" target="_blank">2017</a>.</p><p>Carbon emissions from petrochemical and plastics manufacturing are expected to grow 20 percent by 2030 (in other words, in just over a decade), the IEA concluded in a <a href="https://webstore.iea.org/download/direct/2310?fileName=The_Future_of_Petrochemicals.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> released Oct. 5. A few days later, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html" target="_blank">warned</a> that by 2030, the world needs to have reduced its greenhouse gas pollution 45 percent from 2010 levels, in order to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to a less-catastrophic 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).</p><p>The petrochemicals industry has so far drawn relatively little attention from oil and gas analysts and policy makers. "Petrochemicals are one of the key blind spots in the global energy debate, especially given the influence they will exert on future energy trends," Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director, <a href="https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2018/october/petrochemicals-set-to-be-the-largest-driver-of-world-oil-demand-latest-iea-analy.html" target="_blank">said in a statement</a> this month.</p><p>"In fact," he added, "our analysis shows they will have a greater influence on the future of oil demand than cars, trucks and aviation."</p><p>The new investments, which will rely on decades of continued fracking in the U.S, offer the oil and gas industry a serious hedge against competition from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a>, even in the event that climate policies push fossil fuel energy to the margins.</p><p>"Unlike refining, and ultimately unlike oil, which will see a moment when the growth will stop, we actually don't anticipate that with petrochemicals," Andrew Brown, upstream director for Royal Dutch Shell, <a href="https://www.expressnews.com/business/eagle-ford-energy/article/As-gasoline-demand-wanes-oil-industry-looks-to-12741377.php" target="_blank">told the San Antonio Express News in March</a>.</p><p>The planned infrastructure could also help bail out the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/finances-fracking-shale-industry-drills-more-debt-profit" target="_blank">heavily indebted</a> shale drilling industry financially by consuming vast amounts of fossil fuels, both for power and as a raw material.</p><p>The American Chemistry Council has <a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/US-Chemical-Industry-Investment-Linked-to-Shale-Gas-Reaches-200-Billion.html" target="_blank">linked</a> 333 chemical industry projects, all announced since 2010, to shale gas—that is, gas that is produced using fracking. Forty-one percent of those projects are still in the planning phase as of September, according to the council, and 68 percent of the projects are linked to foreign investment.</p><p>State regulators in Texas and Louisiana have already issued permits that would allow a group of 74 petrochemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects along the Gulf Coast to add 134 million tons of greenhouse gases a year to the atmosphere, an <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/09/27/texas-louisiana-new-petrochemical-oil-gas-projects-climate-change-29-coal-power" target="_blank">Environmental Integrity Project analysis found</a> in September. The group said that was equal to the pollution from running 29 new <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> power plants around the clock.</p><p>The expansion of plastics manufacturing in America also has environmentalists worried over a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/19/plastic-pollution-risks-near-permanent-contamination-of-natural-environment" target="_blank">plastics pollution crisis</a>. "We could be locking in decades of expanded plastics production at precisely the time the world is realizing we should use far less of it," Carroll Muffett, president of the <span style="background-color: initial;">U.S.</span> Center for International Environmental Law, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/26/180bn-investment-in-plastic-factories-feeds-global-packaging-binge" target="_blank">told The Guardian in December 2017</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc3ODY1Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTM5MzAxNn0.X8YtlBG8jx4JT4CQUQSo4px5hCaTCKckHBZMG-Du0w4/img.png?width=980" id="59935" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d5f32decba6bf0c974c749636e944a2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">This story is part of <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fracking-plastics" target="_blank">Fracking for Plastics</a>, a DeSmog investigation into the proposed petrochemical build-out in the Rust Belt and the major players involved.</small></p><p><strong>Petrochemical Paradox</strong><br></p><p>The petrochemical industry transforms ethane and other raw material into a huge range of products, including not only plastic, but also vinyl, fertilizers, Styrofoam, beauty products, chemicals and pesticides.</p><p>The petrochemicals industry itself straddles an uncomfortable fence when it comes to renewable energy and climate change. A significant portion of its revenue comes from "clean" technology sectors, as it provides materials used to make batteries and electric cars.</p><p><a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/despite-innovation-chemicals-sector-slow-paris-goals" target="_blank">One report</a> last year concluded that roughly 20 percent of the industry's revenue comes from products designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the American Chemistry Council cited the industry's role supplying "materials and technologies that improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions," as it <a href="https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i23/Scientific-groups-disappointed-Trump-move-on-climate.html" target="_blank">opposed Trump's decision</a> to drop out of the Paris agreement.</p><p>But petrochemical manufacturers are also heavily reliant on fossil fuels. They need them to power and supply a dreamed-of "manufacturing renaissance," as the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/exxon">ExxonMobil</a>-funded <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/competitive-enterprise-institute" target="_blank">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a> explained as it <a href="https://cei.org/blog/5-advantages-stepping-away-paris-climate-treaty" target="_blank">pushed</a> for Trump to abandon the Paris agreement.</p><p>Plans to use American shale gas would also link petrochemicals to the expansion of fracking, which carries its own environmental concerns. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's landmark study on fracking and drinking water <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/13/fracking-can-harm-drinking-water-in-some-circumstances-epa-says/?utm_term=.3c06d4173d93" target="_blank">concluded</a> in 2016 that fracking has led to water contamination and poses continued risks to American water supplies.</p><p>In addition, though conversations about climate change usually focus on carbon emissions, the gas industry has <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/nasa-study-fracking-global-warming-0fa0c5b5f5c7/" target="_blank">such a bad methane leak problem</a> that using natural gas <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/methane-leaks-erase-climate-benefit-of-fracked-gas-countless-studies-find-8b060b2b395d/" target="_blank">can be even worse</a> for the climate than burning coal.</p><p><strong>Pittsburgh and Paris</strong></p><p>Climate implications make a petrochemical build-out risky, not only from an environmental perspective, but also from a fiscal perspective, Mark Dixon, co-founder of<a href="https://nopetropa.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> NoPetroPA</a>, which opposes fracking-based petrochemicals projects, told DeSmog.</p><p>One plant, Shell's $6 billion ethane "cracker" plant currently under construction in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, has permits to pump 2.25 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year into the air near Pittsburgh, roughly equal to the annual carbon pollution from 430,000 cars.</p><p>Industry advocates say the region can produce enough ethane to support up to <a href="https://marcellusdrilling.com/2018/03/m-u-could-support-8-crackers-why-dont-companies-build-more/" target="_blank">seven more ethane cracker plants</a> like Shell's.</p><p><span></span><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>We're trying to drop our emissions 50 percent by 2030," Dixon said, referring to Pittsburgh's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/01/pittsburgh-fires-back-trump-paris-agreement" target="_blank">highly touted plans</a> to comply with international climate targets despite the federal government's withdrawal from the Paris agreement. "The Shell cracker alone will decimate that."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc3ODY1Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODE1MTI5NH0.cvpiWX_zV38QrMc4T5pnQ6FcQ0JRIU4amYFQBrx3J-4/img.jpg?width=980" id="d701a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9f8bb4a7e0fcc01464402dcd3f28e71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">A kayaker protests against Shell's cracker project outside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in June 2018.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/9602574@N02/" target="_blank">Mark Dixon</a>, CC BY 2.0</small></p><p><strong>Stranding Assets</strong><br></p><p>International negotiators <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-accord/good-progress-at-bangkok-climate-talks-on-draft-paris-accord-rules-u-n-official-idUSKCN1LP0DN" target="_blank">met in Bangkok</a> in September to hash out details on how the Paris agreement will be implemented. The U.S., which participated in talks despite the Trump administration's intention to withdraw from the accord, faced <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/world/developing-countries-accuse-us-allies-of-stalling-progress-on-paris-accord-as-emergency-un-climate-talks-wrap-up-5150381.html" target="_blank">criticism</a> over working to <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-negotiations-struggling-to-make-real-progress-ahead-of-poland-talks_us_5b96d740e4b0162f47300fa4" target="_blank">delay clarity</a> over the agreement's financing (nonetheless, a top UN negotiator <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-accord/good-progress-at-bangkok-climate-talks-on-draft-paris-accord-rules-u-n-official-idUSKCN1LP0DN" target="_blank">praised</a> "good progress" from the talks).</p><p>While the Paris agreement is not directly binding, globally there has been <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-06-tariffs-paris-climate-commitments.html" target="_blank">discussion</a> of using trade agreements and tariffs to pressure countries that fail to keep up with their carbon-cutting commitments.</p><p>In February, the European Union (EU) <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-trade-deal-paris-climate-change-accord-agreement-cecilia-malmstr-m-a8206806.html" target="_blank">declared</a> that it will not sign new trade agreements with any country that refuses to get on board with the Paris agreement.</p><p>"One of our main demands is that any country who signs a trade agreement with EU should implement the Paris agreement on the ground," France's foreign affairs minister <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2018/02/08/eu-tells-trump-no-paris-climate-deal-no-free-trade/#363586e437c7" target="_blank">Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne told the French Parliament</a>. "No Paris agreement, no trade agreement."</p><p>"They're already shooting across the bow, saying look, you've got to implement the Paris climate agreement," Dixon told DeSmog. "We could very well spend 10 years building an infrastructure to support fracking all over the region, crackers, ethane, plastics, everything, then have Europe say, 'sorry, you can't do that. You have to shut it down.'"</p><p>In other words, whether or not the U.S. puts its signature on the climate pact's dotted line, the pressure from trading partners to reduce greenhouse gas pollution—and the underlying concerns about the rapidly warming climate—could remain the same.</p><p>That said, while the U.S. is the only country to reject Paris on paper, it is far from the only country on track to miss its targets aimed at warding off catastrophic climate change. Only Morocco and The Gambia are projected to hit "Paris Agreement Compatible" targets, according to the <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/" target="_blank">Climate Action Tracker</a> (whose rating tracker includes many major polluters but not all countries worldwide).</p><p>The EU itself currently earns a rating of "insufficient" from the group (China is ranked "highly insufficient," while the U.S. and four other nations earned the worst "critically insufficient" grade).</p><p><strong>Closing Windows</strong></p><p>The next several years will determine the future of petrochemical production for decades to come, crucial years when it comes to the fate of the climate, if industry gets its timing right—particularly in the Rust Belt.</p><p>"The window to make this all work is not forever," Charles Schliebs of Stone Pier Capital Advisors told the NEP Northeast U.S. Petrochemical Construction conference in June. "It's maybe two to five years."</p><p>That means key decisions may be made while <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/donald-trump" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> remains in office—though state and local regulators will also face important calls over permits and construction planning.</p><p>For some living near the center of the planned petrochemical expansion, the problem is readily apparent.</p><p>"We're not going to be able to double down on fossil fuels," Dixon said, "and comply with the Paris climate agreement."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="acc2a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FKE34F1576663323"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="992156876497448960" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Link Between Fossil Fuels, Single-Use Plastics and Climate Change https://t.co/dNvbx9e4r9 @PlasticPollutes @GreenNewsDaily</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/992156876497448960">1525383607.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><em>Follow the DeSmog investigative series, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fracking-plastics" target="_blank">Fracking for Plastics</a>, and get your questions answered with the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/21/field-guide-petrochemical-and-plastics-industry" target="_blank">Field Guide to the Petrochemical and Plastics Industry</a>.</em><br></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/28/petrochemical-industry-america-rust-belt-plastics-fracking-climate" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em></p>
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350 .org / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil on Wednesday alleging the company defrauded shareholders and downplayed the risk of climate change to its business.
The suit, first reported by the New York Times, is the culmination of a years-long investigation—colloquially known as the #ExxonKnew probe—into the energy giant's business practices and whether it lied to investors and the public about the risks of climate change.
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><p>
In a
<a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-underwood-files-lawsuit-against-exxonmobil-defrauding-investors-regarding-financial" target="_blank">press release</a>, Underwood's office said the investigation uncovered an alleged fraudulent scheme to systematically and repeatedly deceive investors about the significant impact that future climate change regulations could have on the company's assets and value. The alleged fraud reached the highest levels of the company, including former chairman and CEO <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rex-tillerson">Rex Tillerson</a>.
</p><p>
"Investors put their money and their trust in Exxon—which assured them of the long-term value of their shares, as the company claimed to be factoring the risk of increasing climate change regulation into its business decisions. Yet as our investigation found, Exxon often did no such thing," Attorney General Underwood said in the press release. "Instead, Exxon built a facade to deceive investors into believing that the company was managing the risks of climate change regulation to its business when, in fact, it was intentionally and systematically underestimating or ignoring them, contrary to its public representations."
</p><p>
The suit, filed in New York Supreme Court, New York County, seeks an order prohibiting Exxon from continuing to misrepresent its practices in this area and requires it to tell investors the truth. It also asks the court to award damages, although no dollar amount was specified.
</p><p>The impact of the alleged fraud on the company's value could be massive. Underwood's office listed the following:
</p><ul class="ee-ul">
<li>For 14 of Exxon's oil sands projects in Alberta, Canada, Exxon's failure to apply its publicly represented proxy costs resulted in undercounting of projected greenhouse-gas related expenses by more than $25 billion over the projected lifetime of the projects.<br></li>
<li>Exxon undercounted projected greenhouse gas-related costs by as much as 94 percent—equal to about $11 billion—in an economic forecast for its Kearl oil sands asset in Alberta.<br></li>
<li>Exxon failed to apply the proxy costs it represented to the public in estimating company reserves at Cold Lake, a major oil sands asset in Alberta, resulting in an overestimation of its projected economic life by 28 years, and an overestimation of company reserves volumes by more than 300 million oil-equivalent barrels, representing billions of dollars of revenues.</li>
</ul><p>
The fossil fuel corporation
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/court-reject-exxon-2484751312.html" target="_self">has tried to block</a> the climate probe in courts in three states, the Times noted.
</p><p>
A company spokesman told
<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/412979-new-york-ag-sues-exxon-for-downplaying-climate-change-risks" target="_blank">The Hill</a> that there "is no evidence to support these allegations."
</p><p>
"These baseless allegations are a product of closed-door lobbying by special interests, political opportunism and the attorney general's inability to admit that a three-year investigation has uncovered no wrongdoing," the spokesman said. "The company looks forward to refuting these claims as soon as possible and getting this meritless civil lawsuit dismissed."
</p><p>
In 2016,
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/new-uncovered-corporate-documents-show-exxonknew-much-earlier-than-pre-1891126183.html" target="_blank">DeSmog</a> uncovered Exxon corporate documents from the late 1970s stating unequivocally "there is no doubt" that carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels was a growing "problem" well understood within the company. Despite this knowledge and warnings from its own scientists, Exxon shelved these concerns and "launched a sophisticated, global campaign to sow doubt and create public distrust of climate science," DeSmog reported.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="18595" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1DI3S11576662662"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="725330456439185409" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New Uncovered Corporate Documents Show #ExxonKnew Much Earlier Than Previously Reported https://t.co/0fH662I1Rs @350 https://t.co/XqIT2fS23r</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/725330456439185409">1461767231.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Environmental groups cheered the lawsuit.
</p><p>
"Climate change deception is central to Exxon's business model," Richard Wiles, the executive director of the
<a href="http://www.igsd.org/initiatives/the-center-for-climate-integrity/" target="_blank">Center for Climate Integrity</a>, said in an emailed statement. "This is the same company that bankrolled a 30-year, multimillion denial campaign, manufacturing doubt about climate science when it knew there was none."
</p><p>
<span></span>Bill McKibben, author and <a href="http://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a> co-founder, also deemed the suit necessary.
</p><p>
"Big oil may finally face some consequences for its role in wrecking the climate," McKibben said in an emailed statement. "The New York Attorney General is standing up for investors who may have been swindled, and indirectly for the 7 billion of us who will suffer from Exxon's lies."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="7953a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="X96JF61576662662"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="844941824242450434" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Judge to Exxon: Explain Where Those Wayne Tracker Emails Went https://t.co/z9hKeJspaa (via @Ecowatch)</div> — Sierra Club (@Sierra Club)<a href="https://twitter.com/SierraClub/statuses/844941824242450434">1490284803.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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