Climate Leaders Celebrate as European Investment Bank Chief Declares 'Gas Is Over'
22 January
Business
President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer holds a press conference in Brussels, Belgium on Jan. 30, 2020. Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
By Jon Queally
Noted author and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben was among the first to celebrate word that the president of the European Investment Bank on Wednesday openly declared, "To put it mildly, gas is over" — an admission that squares with what climate experts and economists have been saying for years if not decades.
<p>Dr. Werner Hoyer, president of the EIB — the investment bank publicly owned by the European Union's member states — made the comments while presenting a review of the institution's 2020 operations at a press conference in Luxembourg.</p><p>Calling a future break with fracked gas "a serious departure from the past," Hoer added that "without the end to the use of unabated fossil fuels, we will not be able to reach the climate targets" to which the EU states — and therefore the bank — have committed.</p><p>McKibben and others responded to the comments as the most recent promising signal that the financial world is catching up with the climate science that demands a rapid and profound shift away from fossil fuels.</p>
<div id="3e832" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4fe43fadc02a3bc19b3bb0387627f5a0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352242766621904896" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Head of the European Investment Bank: "Gas is over."
I'd say the message is starting to sink in.
https://t.co/BYKCJO0EVS</div> — Bill McKibben (@Bill McKibben)<a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/statuses/1352242766621904896">1611234773.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"President of the EIB, Werner Hoyer, clearly knows what's up," <a href="https://twitter.com/PriceofOil/status/1352226504432885760" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tweeted</a> Oil Change International. "We agree. Time to #StopFundingFossils."</p><p>Greenpeace EU also heralded the news and stated: "There's nothing clean about gas — it's not a 'transition fuel' or a 'bridge fuel,' it's a dirty fossil fuel just like coal and oil. It's time to stop bankrolling the #ClimateEmergency and stop public money back gas projects."</p>
<div id="9a0df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="794b3b0f2b24a61966878250dd90138a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1351871509334253574" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">European Investment Bank says GAS IS OVER! 🥂👋
Now we need to make sure it doesn't fund gas before its 2022 deadlin… https://t.co/I5G8zvPOUE</div> — Gastivists Network (@Gastivists Network)<a href="https://twitter.com/gastivists/statuses/1351871509334253574">1611146259.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p><a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/gas-is-over-eu-bank-chief-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to EurActiv:</p><blockquote>The EU aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and is expected to adopt a new carbon reduction target of -55% for 2030. However, gas has remained a grey area, with the European Commission <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/natural-gas-is-a-caveat-in-energy-transition-eu-admits/" target="_blank">saying it will still be needed to help coal-reliant EU member states transition away from fossil fuels</a>.<br>Under their <a href="https://www.eib.org/attachments/thematic/eib_group_climate_bank_roadmap_en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate bank roadmap published in 2020</a>, the EIB plans to use 50% of its activity to support climate and environmental sustainability, unlocking €1 trillion for green funding by 2030. It will also ensure that all activity is aligned with the Paris Agreement.</blockquote><p>Others emphasized what a historic shift the comment represents from even just a few years ago:</p>
<div id="c61d5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1023ac797ce2060c2237eb53aebdf9e2"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352166077980143618" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">June 2011, IEA: "Are We Entering A Golden Age of gas"
Jan 2021, EIB: "Gas is over"
https://t.co/DXdDBOhiLG</div> — Michael Liebreich (@Michael Liebreich)<a href="https://twitter.com/MLiebreich/statuses/1352166077980143618">1611216489.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>While many European climate groups and financial watchdogs have criticized the EU member states and the EIB itself for not moving forward fast enough with proposed reforms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Hoyer said Wednesday that the shift away from fossil fuels is paramount and that even the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc across the continent must not act as a roadblock.</p><p>"We have achieved unprecedented impact on climate, preparing the ground for much more," Hoyer said in his remarks. "But the risk of a recovery that neglects climate and the environment remains."</p><p>"The fight against climate change cannot wait until the pandemic is over," he added. "The [Covid-19] crisis is not a reason to stop tackling the climate and environmental challenges facing humanity."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/21/reality-starting-sink-says-mckibben-after-european-investment-bank-chief-admits-gas" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
A Fridays for Future activist on Oct. 9, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Stefano Guidi / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Fed up with "empty promises" from world leaders, a dozen youth activists on Wednesday demanded newly sworn-in President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take swift and bold climate action — even more far-reaching than promised on the campaign trail — stating that their "present and future depend on the actions your government takes within the next four years."
<p>"Are you going to do what science is asking you to do to fight the climate crisis?" the youth, including Disha A. Ravi of Fridays for Future India and Sofía Gutiérrez of Fridays for Future Colombia, asked in <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20210120104010-143ir" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an open letter</a>.</p>
<div id="3ae41" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cf5e7a8d2c8c286fc9788a79a4103e04"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1351879237255499777" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Dear @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris,
The time for actions to speak louder than words is now.
Are you going to listen t… https://t.co/icrDqUFjAg</div> — Nakabuye Hilda F. (@Nakabuye Hilda F.)<a href="https://twitter.com/NakabuyeHildaF/statuses/1351879237255499777">1611148101.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The letter from the global activists was released on Biden's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/democracys-day-joe-biden-sworn-46th-president-united-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inauguration day</a> as he <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/after-incredible-first-steps-kxl-and-paris-biden-urged-go-further-climate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">won praise</a> from climate organizations for a number of expected climate-related, "day one" executive actions including <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/18/indigenous-led-movement-credited-huge-victory-biden-plans-rescind-keystone-xl-permit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">revoking</a> the presidential permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/04/us-officially-quits-paris-accord-amid-election-uncertainty-progressives-say-make" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rejoining</a> the Paris agreement.</p><p>Referencing the accord's goal for a global temperature increase threshold, the youth wrote: "The next four years will decide whether we can limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Your place in history makes you the last administration able to act in time."</p><p>Urgent action is especially important in light of the past four years, during which former President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda and <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">war on science</a> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/01/15/impeached-twice-trumps-presidency-was-climate-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fanned</a> the flames of the climate and <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/esa_attacks/trumptable.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ecological</a> crises. Merely going above that low bar is insufficient, according to the youth.</p><p>"Being better than Trump isn't enough," they wrote. "But also simply continuing where the Obama administration ended is far from sufficient."</p>
<p>According to the young activists, Biden's stated <a href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">goal</a> of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is simply too late. "Be braver," they wrote.</p><p>The letter also singled out fracking for criticism, decrying the practice's impacts on Indigenous and ecosystems. "The world cannot afford for the United States to begin any more of these dangerous drilling and fracking projects."</p><p>Impacts of the climate crisis — which is "racist, sexist, and elitist" — are already being felt, the letter stressed. "Current levels of warming of 1.2°C are already hell for millions of people."</p><p>"People are burning, drowning, and dying. Enough," the youth wrote.</p>
<p>In order to live up to his promise of being a climate champion, the letter said Biden must lead an administration "unlike any of the previous administrations that have done nothing but spew out empty promises."</p><p>"Will you challenge the systems that started the climate crisis?" the youth asked.</p><p>"Our eyes are on you," they said. "The time for lies is over."</p><p>The group concluded their message with the hashtag #NoMoreEmptyPromises — a phrase Fridays for Future used in <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/13/demanding-immediate-action-over-empty-promises-youth-climate-movement-announces-next" target="_blank">announcing</a> the global climate strike <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/march19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">set</a> for March 19, 2021.</p><p>"If we don't act now, we won't even have the chance to deliver on those 2030, 2050 targets that world leaders keep on talking about," Mitzi Jonelle Tan of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines and one of the new letter's signatories said in a statement earlier this month.</p><p>"What we need now are not empty promises," she said, "but annual binding carbon targets and immediate cuts in emissions in all sectors of our economy."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/last-administration-able-act-time-youth-climate-leaders-say-global-future-depends" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Westend61 / Getty Images
For many people, the holidays are rich with time-honored traditions like decorating the Christmas tree, lighting the menorah, caroling, cookie baking, and sipping from the unity cup. But there's another unofficial, official holiday tradition that spans all ages and beliefs and gives people across the world hope for a better tomorrow: the New Year's resolution.
<p>It's believed that ancient Babylonians were the <a href="https://www.cnet.com/health/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions-and-celebrations/#:~:text=4%2C000%20years%20ago%20in%20Babylon%20(around%202000%20B.C.)&text=Most%20historians%20believe%20Babylonians%20were,accordance%20with%20an%20agricultural%20year." target="_blank">first people to make New Year's resolutions</a> some 4,000 years ago. Over time, the popular practice shifted in scope from making promises to the gods about repaying debt to making promises to ourselves about self-improvement. Anyone who has ever made a New Year's resolution probably included something like get more sleep or be less stressed. And though it might not immediately come to mind when you brainstorm strategies for reaching your New Year's goals, it turns out that chamomile tea could be the answer for many of them. </p><p>If you've ever asked yourself why everyone is drinking chamomile tea, we've got the answer here. Read on to learn some of the reasons why this herbal beverage is all the rage.</p>
<p><em>Josh Hall has been a professional writer and storyteller for more than 15 years. His work on natural health and cannabis has appeared in Health, Shape, and Remedy Review.</em></p>
Benefits of Chamomile Tea
<p><strong>Sleep More Soundly</strong></p><p>Pick your grandmother's brain about the best way to fall asleep, and she might tell you to down a nice glass of warm milk. But if you consult with science, research shows that chamomile might be a better option. That's because it contains an antioxidant called apigenin, which can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">promote sleepiness and reduce insomnia and other sleep problems</a>.</p><p>Two research studies even confirmed the power of chamomile throughout the day and before bed. In one of those studies, postpartum women who drank chamomile for two weeks <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26483209" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">experienced better sleep quality than the control group who didn't</a>. Another research effort measured how fast people could fall asleep. Those results illustrated that participants who consumed 270 milligrams of chamomile extract twice daily for 28 days <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198755/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fell asleep 15 minutes faster than the control</a>. The chamomile group also had considerably fewer sleep disruptions. </p><p><strong>May Be Able to Keep Your Gut Healthy</strong></p><p>Though the following studies used rats as the subjects, research shows that chamomile can potentially play a beneficial role in digestive health. According to that research, the anti-inflammatory properties in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24463157" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chamomile extract may be able to protect against diarrhea</a>. Additionally, chamomile may be an effective way to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177631/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stop the growth of bacteria in our stomachs that contribute to ulcers</a>.</p><p><strong>Reduces Stress and Anxiety</strong></p><p>Few things are more relaxing than curling up with a good cup of tea, so it's logical that chamomile tea can serve a stress reducer. While it lacks the potency of a pharmaceutical drug, long-term use of chamomile has been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27912875" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"significantly" reduce general anxiety disorders</a>. In general, chamomile can act almost like a sedative, and many people enjoy the tea because it puts them in a calm and relaxed state almost immediately. </p><p><strong>Boosts Immune Health</strong></p><p>Vitamin C and zinc are common over-the-counter supplements that people often turn to when they're hoping to avoid becoming sick. While scientists admit that more research must take place to prove chamomile's impact on preventing ailments like the common cold, the existing studies do show promise in this area. </p><p>One study had 14 participants drink five cups of the tea every day for two consecutive weeks. Throughout the study, researchers collected daily urine samples and tested the contents before and after the consumption of the tea. Drinking chamomile resulted in a significant increase in the levels of hippurate and glycine, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">both of which are known to increase antibacterial activity</a>. Inhaling steam from a pot of freshly brewed chamomile tea may also ease the symptoms of nasal congestion.</p><p><strong>Minimizes Menstrual Cramps</strong></p><p>This one may come as a surprise, particularly to readers who have tried every possible over-the-counter treatment to reduce period pain. Several research studies have proven that chamomile tea may be able to minimize the pain and cramps that occur during menstruation. Women in that same study also dealt with lower levels of anxiety that they typically felt because of menstrual cramps.</p><p><strong>Help Diabetes and Lower Blood Sugar</strong></p><p>For people with diabetes, regulating blood sugar levels can be a matter of life or death. And while chamomile will never replace prescription-strength drugs, it's believed that it can prevent an increase in blood sugar. A 2008 study on rats showed that chamomile could have a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf8014365" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">moderate impact on the long-term risk of diabetes</a>.</p><p><strong>Might Improve Your Skin</strong></p><p>Ever wondered why there's been an influx of chamomile-infused cosmetic products? The reason why so many manufacturers now include chamomile in their lotions, soaps, and creams is because it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5074766/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acts as an anti-inflammatory on our skin</a>. That means it may be able to soothe the puffiness that plagues us as we age. Those same anti-inflammatory properties can be vital in restoring skin health after we've received a sunburn. </p><p>Before discarding your used chamomile tea bags, try chilling them and placing them over your eyes. Not only will this help with the puffiness, but it can drastically light the skin color around the eye.</p><p><strong>Help With Heart Health</strong></p><p>Some of the most beneficial antioxidants we put into our bodies are what are known as flavones, and chamomile tea is chock full of them. Flavones have the potential to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which, when elevated, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814348/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can lead to heart disease</a>.</p>Why Everyone Is Drinking Chamomile Tea
<p>Now that you know so much about the wonders of chamomile, it shouldn't come as a surprise why the tea is so popular with people of all ages. In addition to tasting great, chamomile offers up benefits that boost the health of body parts both inside and out. As you ponder your own New Year's resolutions, think about how healthy and natural vitamins, supplements, plants, and oils can help guide you on your own personal path to improvement. Happy New Year!</p>An Organic, Eco-Conscious Brand to Try
<div class="rm-shortcode amazon-assets-widget" data-rm-shortcode-id="0da9d8545ec44ebf1a31d6044181ed9e" contenteditable="false"> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N2F8718?tag=ecowatch-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank"> <img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41B2ANHhsdL.jpg" class="amazon-assets-widget__image widget__image"> </a> </div> <p>FGO tea bags are made of hemp fiber paper, free of dyes, adhesive, glue, and chlorine bleach. The tea is also certified USDA Organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).</p>From Your Site Articles
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Trump’s Frack Attack Against President-Elect Biden Fails in Pennsylvania Gas Counties
11 November 2020
Politics
President Donald Trump watches a video of Joe Biden as he holds a Make America Great Again rally in Erie, Pennsylvania on October 20, 2020. Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
The Trump campaign's efforts to attack President-elect Joe Biden and win Pennsylvania by claiming he would ban fracking failed, while Biden's climate message appears to have boosted turnout, according to reporting from multiple outlets.
<p>Biden not only won Pennsylvania overall, but — while Trump still won in areas with significant fracking operations — Biden improved on Clinton's 2016 performance against Trump in eight of Pennsylvania's top-10 gas-producing counties.</p><p> "Climate change as a voting issue has soared in the past five years particularly among Democrats and among independents," Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale University Program on Climate Change Communication, told E&E. </p><p>"This absolutely was a crucial issue for constituencies he needed to carry him over the top: young people, Latino voters and suburban women, all of whom care more about climate change than other groups." </p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive: </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2020/11/10/stories/1063718141?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99573790&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--W2aX2ViQNW10HKOT3RDQyQphzzKK1x4ZtoGk1sHal2_BBsARx3Hx-rG53mX34hTvG35vFhvwAy0-Q3wBzbBnlXo-R3nCkdQbTw_iERyWWAJGiPsg&utm_content=99573790&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="" target="_blank">E&E</a>, <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-energy/2020/11/09/entering-the-biden-era-791466?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99573790&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--SQKruMYeNB-_omzySdAB6zd5yBJD_YZmNTPZzYsiGyS9G71XygIlBQ6T14TESjUJSUcZ50pNnVoy1J0Q_2E7cCv2FfCtdCguERenOy5firZHEQnc&utm_content=99573790&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="" target="_blank">Politico</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-stance-against-fossil-fuels-didnt-turn-away-voters-in-pennsylvania-and-other-key-states-148891?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99573790&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8ejLg8h7pcjp0HxRQXZxZBAF0csuSPWxOyWuro9qKhfVZq_nKXmiXVzCcqy92UU17blKR8tHXahJtKjBD3dCSIcUhzzhd7M-4O86HF0ohRGpjwiv4&utm_content=99573790&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/df6bd3a7-27d7-493a-b407-fa367b43ebd6?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=99573790&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9AlHGf8eg5hX6cfzbk6QNOcDv4SpCYmeCfZaIvW3hYBkUmSKJzG92xx91_jfdHjxB6xnZEmoBj1hKGP9zY0AD1NEn25d1VE_DqrxNarU1Ou5IDD5Y&utm_content=99573790&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="" target="_blank">FT</a> </p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Fracking Likely Triggered Earthquakes in California a Few Miles From the San Andreas Fault
11 November 2020
Fracking
Activity in the San Ardo oil field near Salinas, California, has been linked to earthquakes. Eugene Zelenko / Wikimedia / CC BY 4.0
Thomas H. Goebel
The way companies drill for oil and gas and dispose of wastewater can trigger earthquakes, at times in unexpected places.
In West Texas, earthquake rates are now 30 times higher than they were in 2013. Studies have also linked earthquakes to oil field operations in Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Ohio.
<p>California was thought to be an exception, a place where oil field operations and tectonic faults apparently coexisted without much problem. Now, new research shows that the state's natural earthquake activity may be hiding industry-induced quakes.</p><p>As <a href="http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/people/thgoebel/" target="_blank">a seismologist</a>, I have been investigating induced earthquakes in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Our latest study, released on Nov. 10, shows how California oil field operations are putting stress on tectonic faults in an area just a few miles from the San Andreas Fault.</p>
<h2>Seismic Surge</h2><p>Industry-induced earthquakes have been an increasing concern in the central and eastern United States for more than a decade.</p><p>Most of these earthquakes are too small to be felt, but not all of them. In 2016, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake damaged buildings in Pawnee, Oklahoma, and led state and federal regulators to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/612b2303f71641f388b0224fb6dab557" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shut down 32 wastewater disposal wells</a> near a newly discovered fault. Large earthquakes are rare far from tectonic plate boundaries, and Oklahoma experiencing three magnitude 5 or greater earthquakes in one year, as happened in 2016, was unheard of.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3MDc3OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDIwNzQ3MX0.oyVDx7o5y5IHAnBtbAdqzNAQYS1LZvhBp6xPtgJeGE4/img.png?width=980" id="26ceb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4411cc757ff0e66de62ba9ff160cb36b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1750" data-height="814" />
Chart: The Conversation / CC-BY-ND Source: Thomas Goebel / University of Memphis; Oklahoma Geological Survey Get the data
<p>Oklahoma's earthquake frequency fell with lower oil prices and regulators' decision to require companies to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601542" target="_blank">decrease their well injection volume</a>, but there are still more earthquakes there today than in 2010.</p><p>A familiar pattern has been emerging in West Texas in the past few years: Drastically increasing earthquake rates well beyond the natural rate. A <a href="https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us70008ggn/executive" target="_blank">magnitude 5 earthquake</a> shook West Texas in March.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3MDc3Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDQ4NDg0OX0.4hR8UHea763EsG79jcducjnOMNXZUThLyRMby98sXq0/img.png?width=980" id="a83bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4bf18080b595121783d654bdc7ba43a0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1744" data-height="844" />
Chart: The Conversation / CC-BY-ND. Source: Thomas Goebel / University of Memphis; U.S. Geological Survey Get the data
<h2>How It Works</h2><p>At the root of the induced earthquake problem are two different types of fluid injection operations: hydraulic fracturing and wastewater disposal.</p><p>Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at very high pressures to create flow pathways for hydrocarbons trapped in tight rock formations. Wastewater disposal involves injecting fluids into deep geological formations. Although wastewater is pumped at low pressures, this type of operation can disturb natural pressures and stresses over large areas, several miles from injection wells.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3MDc2My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTA2NzQwM30.rC_0BxJ0H-ABMQc_vjlGCFveV_r27xQZxmIcuxDkoCk/img.png?width=980" id="6a3ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc888a37eb478148a0661e75e2518542" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="1972" />
<p>Tectonic faults underneath geothermal and oil reservoirs are often precariously balanced. Even a small perturbation to the natural tectonic system – due to deep fluid injection, for example – can <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/1007" target="_blank">cause faults to slip and trigger earthquakes</a>. The consequences of fluid injections are easily seen in Oklahoma and Texas. But what are the implications for other places, such as California, where earthquake-prone faults and oil fields are located in close proximity?</p><h2>California Oil Fields' Hidden Risk</h2><p>California provides a particularly interesting opportunity to study fluid injection effects.</p><p>The state has a large number of oil fields, earthquakes and many <a href="https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/doggr/wellfinder/#openModal" target="_blank">instruments</a> <a href="https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/fam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">that detect even tiny events</a>, and it was thought to be <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/bssa/article-lookup/64/3-1/699" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">largely free</a> of unnatural earthquakes.</p><p>My colleague Manoo Shirzaei from Virginia Tech and I wondered if induced earthquakes could be masked by nearby natural earthquakes and were thus missed in previous studies. We conducted a detailed seismologic study of the Salinas basin in central California. The study area stands out because of its proximity to the San Andreas Fault and because waste fluids are injected at high rates close to seismically active faults.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3MDc2Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzc2Nzk2M30.COB3jmLMt34NtbZ6JMW3bIF6cJ8gtJge8pVOmh1Qkzo/img.png?width=980" id="edc68" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fed3b83d81d884a7b968e4f422f68add" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="886" />
Satellite data shows the ground rising as much as 1.5 centimeters per year in parts of the San Ardo oil field. The line-of-sight velocity (LOS-VEL), as viewed from the satellite, shows how rapidly the ground surface is rising. Thomas Goebel / University of Memphis
<p>Using satellite radar images from 2016 to 2020, Shirzaei made a surprising observation: Some regions in the Salinas basin were lifting at about 1.5 centimeters per year, a little over half an inch. This uplift was a first indication that fluid pressures are out of balance in parts of the San Ardo oil field. Increasing fluid pressures in the rock pores stretch the surrounding rock matrix like a sponge that is pumped full of water. The resulting reservoir expansion elevates the forces that act on the surrounding tectonic faults.</p><p>Next, we examined the seismic data and found that fluid injection and earthquakes were highly correlated over more than 40 years. Surprisingly, this extended out 15 miles from the oil field. Such distances are similar to the large spatial footprint of injection wells in Oklahoma. We analyzed the spatial pattern of 1,735 seismic events within the study area and found clustering of events close to injection wells.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3MDc2OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDMwOTczOH0.Vyzuv-xFPA78vSmGwpItStBZ_IMxaJSF1p4BKVJxno0/img.png?width=980" id="ea9b2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e3b1cb09377f14dd6067d9c9e1a48e28" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="986" />
The stresses from injecting water can trigger earthquakes several miles from the well itself. The blue triangles scale with each well's injection rate. Thomas Goebel/University of Memphis / CC BY-ND
<p>Other areas in California may have a similar history, and more detailed studies are needed to differentiate natural from induced events there.</p><h2>How to Lower the Earthquake Risk</h2><p>Most wastewater disposal and hydraulic fracturing wells do not lead to earthquakes that can be felt, but the wells that cause problems have three things in common:</p><ul><li>These are high-volume injection wells;</li><li>They inject into highly permeable rock formations; and</li><li>These formations are located directly above tectonic faults in the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap7911" target="_blank">deeper geologic basement</a>.</li></ul><p>Although the first issue may be difficult to resolve because reducing the volume of waste fluids would require reducing the amount of oil produced, the locations of injection wells can be planned more carefully. The seismic safety of oil and gas operations may be increased by selecting geologic formations that are disconnected from deep faults.<br></p>
<p>
<em>Thomas H. Goebel is an assistant professor of seismology at the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis.<br/>
Disclosure: Thomas H. Goebel receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/oil-field-operations-likely-triggered-earthquakes-in-california-a-few-miles-from-the-san-andreas-fault-149207" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em><em>.</em>
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The proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline threatens water sources, species habitat, and scenery along the Appalachian Trail. Thomas Cizauskas / Flickr
Opponents of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline won a reprieve Monday when a federal court issued a stay on key permits that the pipeline needs to cross streams and rivers.
<p>The project, which would carry <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/" target="_self">fracked</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">natural gas</a> through around 300 miles of Virginia and West Virginia, was <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mountain-valley-pipeline-ferc-2648192229.html" target="_self">given a go-ahead</a> in October by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to restart construction along most of its route following years of legal challenges. The pipeline has already racked up at least 350 environmental regulations and $2.26 million in fines. The environmental groups behind the suit noted that the pipeline operators had told investors they wanted to blast through "critical" streams "as quickly as possible before anything is challenged," the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) reported in a press release emailed to EcoWatch.</p>
<p>"Communities along the pipeline route have been on edge these past several weeks as the company has moved in heavy equipment and started doing work, so we're very glad the court pressed pause on this permit while the water-crossing issues are reviewed further," Peter Anderson, Virginia program manager at <a href="https://appvoices.org/" target="_blank">Appalachian Voices</a>, said in the press release.</p><p>CBD and Appalachian Voices are two of the groups behind the lawsuit, along with <a href="https://chesapeakeclimate.org/" target="_blank">Chesapeake Climate Action Network</a>, <a href="http://indiancreekwatershedassociation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Indian Creek Watershed Association</a>, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, <a href="https://wvhighlands.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">West Virginia Highlands Conservancy</a>, <a href="https://wvrivers.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">West Virginia Rivers Coalition</a> and <a href="https://wildvirginia.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wild Virginia</a>. The coalition was represented by <a href="http://www.appalmad.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Appalachian Mountain Advocates</a>.</p>
<p>The stay is part of a larger challenge brought by the groups to permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers in September that would allow the pipeline to cross around 1,000 streams, rivers, wetlands and other waterways. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the first two Army Corps permits in 2018, and pipeline opponents hope it will reject the second pair as well.</p><p>The court issued an emergency stay of the permits Oct. 16. Monday's stay will last until the court can make a definitive ruling on the new permits. The environmental groups argue that the new permits violate the Army Corps' responsibility to protect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a>, <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/mountain-valley-pipeline-construction-blocked-by-fourth-circuit" target="_blank">Bloomberg Law reported</a>.</p>
<p>"This decision will help ensure the pipeline doesn't keep posing catastrophic threats to waterways that people and imperiled species depend on to survive," CBD senior attorney Jared Margolis said in the press release. "Despite the project's clear failure to comply with the law, Mountain Valley keeps pushing this <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a>-killing menace. We'll continue working to ensure this destructive pipeline doesn't poison waters and threaten communities along its route."</p><p>The pipeline is being built by Equitrans, NextEra Energy, Consolidated Edison Inc, AltaGas Ltd and RGC Resources Inc, according to <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-energy-pipeline/u-s-court-suspends-key-permits-for-equitrans-mountain-valley-pipeline-idUKKBN27Q0B9" target="_blank">Reuters</a>. Equitrans spokeswoman Natalie Cox said that the stay was disappointing, but that construction would continue along other parts of the route.</p><p>"We are hopeful and expect that once the case is reviewed on the merits of the arguments there will be a different conclusion," Cox told Reuters.</p><p>However, Wild Virginia Conservation Director David Sligh said the stay was a good sign for the pipeline's opponents.</p>
<p>"Convincing a court to stay an agency decision requires plaintiffs to convince the judges that they have a good chance to prove their case after full review," Sligh noted in the press release. "Now, we look forward to doing just that — to show conclusively that the Corps of Engineers abdicated its duty to protect us and our resources."</p><p>Reuters noted that the Mountain Valley Pipeline is one of several <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> pipelines that has been granted approval by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a> only to run into delays as environmental and community groups bring legal challenges. When construction on the pipeline began in Feb. 2018, Equitrans estimated it would cost around $3.5 billion and be completed by the end of the year. The price tag has now nearly doubled to as much as $6 billion.</p><p>Another pipeline in the same region, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, was <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/atlantic-coast-pipeline-canceled-2646347475.html" target="_self">canceled</a> by its owners in July following similar opposition and delays.</p><p>"The MVP has already doubled its timeline and budget, and it's not even close to being finished," Joan Walker, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, said in the press release. "If they were smart, they would quit throwing good money after bad and walk away from this fracked gas disaster like Duke Energy and Dominion Energy did with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline."</p>
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A pumpjack in North Dakota. Feifei Cui-Paoluzzo / Moment / Getty Images
North Dakota has found a controversial use for federal coronavirus relief money: using it to fund fracking.
<p>The state legislature voted Wednesday to reallocate $16 million in pandemic relief to pay $200,000 grants to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil" target="_self">oil</a> companies to do fracking work on 80 incomplete wells, <a href="https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/6737422-North-Dakota-lawmakers-OK-16M-in-federal-pandemic-funds-for-fracking-grants" target="_blank">Inforum reported</a>.</p><p>"This is like a taxpayer bailout to the oil industry to get them to do something they would do anyway," leader of environmental group <a href="https://drcinfo.org/" target="_blank">Dakota Resource Council</a> Scott Skokos told <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28102020/north-dakota-coronavirus-stimulus-funding-fracking-oil-wells?fbclid=IwAR3_jU6Eu-1hxN-iVVsOtpeQzfO7xcl2KQ2wgWbZ7GFz5Vh1Ml3gGBxZo-M" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">InsideClimate News</a>. "It's like corporate welfare at the highest level."</p>
<p>The $16 million was part of a much larger $221 million in federal relief funds that the legislature voted to reallocate according to the budget approved by the North Dakota Emergency Commission Friday, Inforum and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-north-dakota-education-hydraulic-fracturing-2bc2a42c8f9af4a3c58aba4262ace32c" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>. The money was awarded to North Dakota via the CARES Act in March, but the state had not been able to spend it for its intended purpose, Inforum explained. Because there is a year-end deadline for the use of CARES funds, the state had to reassign it or lose it.</p><p>However, the $16 million for fracking was the allocation that stirred controversy. That money had originally been intended to clean up abandoned oil and gas sites, InsideClimate News explained. But the approach of cold weather made the completion of the work by the end of the year impossible.</p>
<p>The idea to use that money for fracking grants came from North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms. Helms argued that the grants would create jobs and revitalize the oil industry, which was hit hard by the drop in prices at the beginning of the pandemic, according to The Associated Press. Officials also said the grants would boost state revenue, which relies on oil money.</p><p>But environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers criticized the decision. The <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> called it "totally inappropriate," while lawmakers said the funds should go to more urgent needs.</p><p>"We are at a point now where we are peaking every day as we try to battle this crisis, and I think any of the funds that we use need to be addressed to help us reduce the spread of this virus to help the lives and livelihoods of thousands of North Dakotans," Rep. Josh Boschee, D-Fargo, said, as Inforum reported.</p>
<p>Skokos pointed to the irony of using money intended to clean up oil and gas wells to frack new ones. And he said the logic behind the decision was backwards.</p><p>"They're giving taxpayer dollars to the oil industry to frack wells with the hope it will bring the state more taxpayer dollars," Skokos told InsideClimate News, "rather than taking the taxpayer dollars and actually using it to benefit taxpayers."</p><p>This is not the first time the oil and gas industry has been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/marathon-petroleum-2646438449.html" target="_self">awarded coronavirus relief</a>. Oil companies have received between $9 billion and $13.8 billion from the federal government in direct aid, according to Bailout Watch.</p><p>The news out of North Dakota comes as U.S. residents continue to suffer from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" target="_self">extreme weather</a> events made more likely by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>. Fires <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/california" target="_self">forced new evacuations</a> in Southern California this week, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/hurricane-zeta-louisiana-2648544989.html" target="_self">Hurricane Zeta</a> became the fifth named storm of the year to batter Louisiana on Wednesday.</p>
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Federal Regulators Rule Controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline Can Restart Construction
13 October 2020
Energy
The Mountain Valley Pipeline is proposed to carry natural gas for over 300 miles through the Virginia and West Virginia countryside, crossing over dozens of water sources, through protected areas and crossing the Appalachian Trail. Appalachian Trail Conservancy / YouTube
Construction can continue on most of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled Friday.
<p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self">pipeline</a> is scheduled to carry <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking" target="_self">fracked</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">natural gas</a> through approximately 300 miles of Virginia and West Virginia, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/520668-energy-regulators-approve-resumed-construction-of-contentious" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hill</a>. The project was begun in 2018 and originally slated to be completed that same year, <a href="https://ca.reuters.com/article/idINKBN26X2A2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reuters reported</a>. But fierce legal opposition from environmental and community groups has significantly delayed the project. The FERC's latest approval comes just months after the owners of another contested Appalachian pipeline, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/atlantic-coast-pipeline" target="_self">Atlantic Coast Pipeline</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/atlantic-coast-pipeline-canceled-2646347475.html" target="_self">canceled the project</a> after years of similar delays.</p>
<p>"MVP has violated commonsense water protections hundreds of times and allowing them to resume construction just means putting more communities at risk for an unnecessary pipeline that may never even be built," <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> Beyond Dirty Fuels senior campaign representative Joan Walker told <a href="https://www.wdbj7.com/2020/10/10/ferc-approves-mountain-valley-pipeline-friday/" target="_blank">WDBJ of the decision</a>. "FERC is supposed to regulate these fracked gas projects, not roll over for them."</p><p>The FERC paused construction of the MVP in 2019 after a federal court halted a Biological Opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which allows construction in the habitat of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered</a> or threatened species, according to Reuters and The Hill. Specifically, the court found fault with the opinion's assessment of the pipeline's impact on imperiled bat species, The Hill reported.</p><p>However, the FWS issued a new opinion in September, according to Reuters, though environmental groups are once again challenging it.</p><p>In light of the new FWS opinion, the FERC ruled two-to-one to allow the pipeline to resume construction along most of its route.</p>
<p>"Based on staff's review of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project, we agree that completion of construction and final restoration ... where permitted, is best for the environment and affected landowners," Republican commissioners <a href="https://thehill.com/people/indranil-neil-chatterjee" target="_blank">Neil Chatterjee</a> and James Danly wrote.</p><p>However, the pipeline still needs permission to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mountain-valley-pipeline-construction-halted-2593256634.html" target="_self">cross</a> the Jefferson National Forest, something dissenting commissioner Democrat Richard Glick pointed out.</p><p>"MVP may eventually receive permission to cross the Jefferson National Forest. But, by allowing it to recommence construction before doing so, the Commission has put the cart before the horse," Glick said, as The Hill reported.</p><p>Pipeline owner Equitrans Midstream Corp. said Monday it would reevaluate its timeline and cost projection for the project based on ongoing lawsuits and anticipated government permits, Reuters reported.</p>
<p>In addition to allowing the pipeline to resume construction Friday, the FERC also extended its certificate for another two years, as the company had requested, <a href="https://appvoices.org/2020/10/09/appalachian-voices-denounces-fercs-greenlight-for-mountain-valley-pipeline-to-resume/" target="_blank">Appalachian Voices reported</a>.</p><p>The extension was granted despite the fact that more than 43,000 people had told the FERC they opposed the move during the public comment period. They noted that the pipeline had already amassed at least 350 environmental violations and $2.26 million in fines over the course of construction so far.</p><p>"It's clear that MVP is pulling out all the stops to rush this project through, and FERC is letting them get away with it," <a href="https://appvoices.org/" target="_blank">Appalachian Voices</a> Virginia Field Coordinator Jessica Sims said. "The agency ignored the 43,000 people who vigorously opposed this project moving forward, and disregarded the hundreds of water quality violations racked up so far. This pipeline was not needed when it was proposed, and is even less needed now. We will continue fighting to stop it."</p>
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is seen speaking at SXSW in 2019. nrkbeta / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Jon Queally
Even as Vice President Mike Pence was busy "polluting the atmosphere with lies" about the climate crisis during Wednesday night's vice presidential debate, Democratic nominee Sen. Kamala Harris came under considerable criticism of her own after repeatedly highlighting Joe Biden's commitment to "not ban fracking" and an overall lackluster defense of the Green New Deal—the signature framework put forth by progressives and the scientific community to combat the threat of a rapidly warming world.
<p>"Fracking is bad, actually," <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1314018453192409102" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after Harris repeatedly proclaimed, in response to Pence's charge that Democrats want to "abolish fossil fuels," that a Biden administration would not ban hydraulic fracturing.</p><p>Watch:</p>
<div id="c6c03" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4df2df029885ac2e1787b12e595872b5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1314020385113944065" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Sen. Kamala Harris: "Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact." #VPDebate https://t.co/xVlwfapwUO</div> — The Hill (@The Hill)<a href="https://twitter.com/thehill/statuses/1314020385113944065">1602121847.0</a></blockquote></div><p>While Pence attacked Harris' support for the Green New Deal, which she co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate, backers of the proposal—a plan that would combat the existential planetary emergency by making major investments in renewable energy infrastructure projects that would create millions of jobs—pointed out that ending destructive fossil fuel extraction, including fracking, is a policy to embrace not run away from.</p>
<div id="41ed8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b487ad0d2f2e66ca9343d06d593e203b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1314036806233583616" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">So what IS the Green New Deal, anyway? https://t.co/hqjMSpgxDg</div> — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)<a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/statuses/1314036806233583616">1602125762.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Outside observers also offered advice to the Biden campaign to step up its game if the Trump-Pence ticket is going to make attacking the Green New Deal part of its re-election strategy.</p>
<div id="bb369" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="67e28dde200063168ff78e7d2e198723"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1314018966302584832" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">THE GREEN NEW DEAL IS A JOBS PROGRAM. IT WOULD CREATE 20 MILLION JOBS. IT IS A GOOD THING. #Debates2020</div> — 💀🎃Briahna Joy Co-pay 🕸👻 (@💀🎃Briahna Joy Co-pay 🕸👻)<a href="https://twitter.com/briebriejoy/statuses/1314018966302584832">1602121509.0</a></blockquote></div><p>And as Ocasio-Cortez subsequently tweeted, the Green New Deal remains not only popular, but essential:</p>
<div id="74e28" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c17c18328bf659cbff10a638f3f67ad8"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1314019700549001218" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Green New Deal is and has been lied about nonstop, and yet is STILL popular. It’s a massive job-creation and i… https://t.co/8ICC1ukQZA</div> — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)<a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/statuses/1314019700549001218">1602121684.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Kamala is doing well," said Jamie Henn, co-founder of 350.org and director of Fossil Free Media, "but she'd be on even stronger ground if Biden had *endorsed* the Green New Deal. Far better to play offense than having to do this in-between approach."</p>
<div id="0f851" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9d8adad02bbbeeada523afd1783c4a9d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1314019134427062272" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Majority of Pennsylvanians oppose fracking. Biden-Harris are pandering to a minority of voters here https://t.co/EmlNtRAmgv</div> — Mike Elk (@Mike Elk)<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeElk/statuses/1314019134427062272">1602121549.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="a99fa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eed4ac10228c61c8cecc2907603f1a46"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1314019183437455360" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Fracking sucks. It poisons people. It generates earthquakes. It destroys the land. #BanFracking #VPDebate2020</div> — Peter Daou (@Peter Daou)<a href="https://twitter.com/peterdaou/statuses/1314019183437455360">1602121561.0</a></blockquote></div><p><a href="https://twitter.com/_waleedshahid/status/1314024215566311424" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According</a> to Waleed Shahid of the Justice Democrats, "I feel like Kamala Harris over-corrected way too much after being being attacked as the 'liberal Senator of California' on her climate crisis responses."</p>
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Demonstrators block the entrance to a Deutsche Bank branch in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Stuttgart on Sept. 20, 2019. Sebastian Gollnow / picture alliance via Getty Images
By Krissy Waite
Climate activists are celebrating Deutsche Bank's new energy policy banning financial support of drilling in the Arctic, a move which comes after years of pressure from advocacy groups.
<p>The bank, a multinational investment company headquartered in Germany, announced Monday that it will no longer offer financial services to new projects that involve drilling for oil or gas in the Arctic. The policy also states it will not fund any <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tar-sands">tar sand</a> projects or <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking/">fracking</a> in areas that have low water supply.</p><p>Concerns over the Arctic have risen in recent weeks as the region <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/27/warning-sign-major-proportions-number-siberian-forest-fires-increase-fivefold-week" target="_blank">has been battling</a> a prolonged heatwave and wildfires, which have been caused by human-driven climate change.</p><p>Last week, the World Meteorological Organization <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/siberia-heat-fire-and-melting-ice" target="_blank">announced</a> that Siberia's average temperature in June was 10°C above normal. The Arctic is warming over two times faster than the rest of the world.</p><p>Ben Cushing, Sierra Club senior campaign representative, said in a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/07/27/multinational-banking-giant-deutsche-bank-will-not-fund-arctic-drilling" target="_blank">statement</a> that it is becoming clear to banks that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/divest">divesting</a> from Arctic drilling is important. He pointed to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which spans over 19 million acres of Alaskan land.</p><p>"As the list of major banks rejecting funding for Arctic drilling continues to grow, it's clearer by the day that investing in the destruction of the Arctic Refuge would be a mistake," Cushing said. "The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration may still think auctioning off the Arctic Refuge is a good idea, but it′s obvious that oil companies would be foolish to take them up on their offer."</p>
<p>In 2017, Congress passed a provision allowing refuge lands to be leased to oil companies. <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/wild-places/alaska/oil-drilling-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge?gclid=CjwKCAjw9vn4BRBaEiwAh0muDMsB21ifOMIjiDqIzvZMM9RFxdtmUSjWbMzrh0GaktYXJ23dCbrtThoC7cMQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">Drilling is incredibly harmful</a> to the people and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> that live in the refuge because it because it <a href="https://www.barentsinfo.org/barents-region/Nature/Animals-and-plants/Habitat-fragmentation#:~:text=Habitat%20fragmentation%3A%20a%20threat%20to%20arctic%20biodiversity%20and%20wilderness&text=As%20human%20activity%20increases%2C%20however,of%20the%20area's%20wilderness%20heritage." target="_blank">divides natural habitats and interrupts migration patterns</a>. Polar bears, caribou, and the 270 other species of wildlife — and the Gwich'in people who rely on certain animals for sustenance — would suffer.</p><p>Deutsche <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/deutsche-bank-says-it-wont-finance-any-new-arctic-region-or-oil-sand-projects-2020-07-27" target="_blank">stated it will not be terminating</a> any current financial backing of Arctic drilling projects, but that it will be evaluating all ongoing oil and gas business ventures by the end of 2020 and end any business in coal mining by or before 2025.</p><p>Urgewald, a Germany-based environment and human rights NGO that focuses on divesting from destructive projects, tweeted in response to the news that while Deutsche Bank's policy is needed, it's too little and too late.</p>
<div id="a044b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d0a01f4da6d8b08cfefca4ee9a4cb576"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1287726413144104970" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@DeutscheBankAG 's new policies are much-needed movement, but too little and too late. As long as companies like… https://t.co/DcqP5pE8S9</div> — urgewald (@urgewald)<a href="https://twitter.com/urgewald/statuses/1287726413144104970">1595852876.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, celebrated the news by congratulating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous-peoples">Indigenous</a> groups on their organizing.</p>
<div id="c1fbe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="07221047ad734dbe3b48bb4ac7f34bba"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1287745245451444233" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Add @DeutscheBank to the growing list of banks that won't touch Arctic or tarsands projects. Such great organizing,… https://t.co/EIZt732RpT</div> — Bill McKibben (@Bill McKibben)<a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/statuses/1287745245451444233">1595857366.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Tara Houska, founder of Giniw Collective and co-founder of Not Your Mascots, welcomed the bank's decision and called for others to follow suit. "If DeutschBank can stop, any of the banks can," she said. "Who's next?"</p>
<div id="7813b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0cf2b41665f65dd0c9c2ecebb5d3ceee"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1287751906430013441" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Visited this bank in 2017, it had intense security. Felt the most removed, unconcerned about the human rights of th… https://t.co/wpEy2E7HOy</div> — tara houska ᔖᐳᐌᑴ (@tara houska ᔖᐳᐌᑴ)<a href="https://twitter.com/zhaabowekwe/statuses/1287751906430013441">1595858954.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Deutsche Bank joins Goldman Sachs, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/02/wells-fargo-joins-banks-rejecting-funding-arctic-drilling-pressure-heats-others-do" target="_blank">Wells Fargo</a>, Citi, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/25/even-worst-fossil-fuel-banker-jpmorgan-chase-will-no-longer-fund-way-destroying" target="_blank">JPMorgan Chase</a> and Morgan Stanley — five of the biggest American banks — in banning Arctic drilling from its company. Bank of America is currently the last of the largest banks in the U.S. to <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2020/04/major-banks-rule-out-funding-for-arctic-drilling-bank-america-risks-getting" target="_blank">issue</a> an anti-Arctic drilling policy or statement. Globally, about <a href="https://www.banktrack.org/campaign/banks_and_arctic_oil_and_gas" target="_blank">two dozen banks</a> have adopted these policies.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/27/pressured-climate-activist-groups-deutsche-bank-ditches-drilling-arctic" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Nearly 250 U.S. oil and gas companies are expected to file for bankruptcy by the end of next year. Joshua Doubek / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
Fracking companies are going bankrupt at a rapid pace, often with taxpayer-funded bonuses for executives, leaving harm for communities, taxpayers, and workers, the New York Time reports.
<p>Nearly 250 U.S. oil and gas companies are expected to file for bankruptcy by the end of next year — more than went under in the last five years combined — as demand craters due to the pandemic, a global price war, and falling renewable energy prices. These failing companies often neglect well maintenance and plugged well repairs to save money, causing tons of ultra-heat-trapping methane to continue gushing into the atmosphere. </p><p>Shale wells typically cost <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VWkCs-6l9bsnN6Fvt91xrcLcW430FVB4cv_DBN3rtP7m3p_9rV1-WJV7CgK5jW1cvRnF96Lb9mW3-JH6w3lfBlgW1ccv0l7xBKcfW8TfM3y1HKL3xVJqZTJ7rBh--W7P80KP8Fx9XlVl7YHW1_-HM4W49yBCC33jN_6W6hHB-t95SVMdW7xHdDg132FD6W5JzxgB8zc04dW9lm0z52xJznSW1088Bx7q5j4WN2VDzyf-K7GRW54Ss5s8lkH-sW6d2q4b16nZ9DW2fNdzP8Cm3SjW18y-jH4lwvZfN57dVMD9g0YfW4zqtt12dx4VKW7-MDt365lD7KW7WnM-n1bB8z9W1lRR3x3x462YW8YlmwM8wWZKdN2VvV06j0WDRW5Q-kNW5zjNc13dBQ1" target="_blank">$300,000</a> to close — far more than the estimates used by companies, regulators and financial analysts — and an analysis prepared for the Times found companies have failed to reserve sufficient funds, as required by law, to remediate their well sites, leaving taxpayers to foot the cleanup bill. </p>
<p>As a result, early estimates show substantial increases in methane concentrations over Texas and New Mexico oil fields in March and April 2020 compared to the previous year. The Trump administration is seeking to <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VWkCs-6l9bsnN6Fvt91xrcLcW430FVB4cv_DBN3rtP7G3p_9LV1-WJV7CgNjfW6tsRrP86lz1WV24BdG691GxFW3kN5SY57z0j7W8Fz7MQ2Kw_8jW1q753G63Rh18W5k-b-T4xRHhfW5T04893c2TPHW1TvN9-7YpC_-W6dczd13vPCKhW1tcxnz1BZDpTW3LZBZ44vHx98W2DFDmm2Xn_VdW7dZMT935GQSSW1WFcw36SxghNW6h5B924L1WWsW3DgH-r1TC9DzW7lrbKd62HZFvW5KtbhK9ctyG2W1kzwWk7VYyVkW6DPvxt45Dlc3W1794j06gn4-0W8Q_JQn2VC1-LN6n7_wTsGwdFW5vjCzs3KQBVqW1XPNDR7K0mWWW2gSBbp2ZGt4HW3lCd3v7rDyGDW4ksF1k4NF1Rw363l1" target="_blank">effectively eliminate</a> methane leak detection and repair requirements. </p><p>One drilling site, abandoned by Extraction Oil & Gas in Greeley, Colorado, is situated just 700 feet from an elementary school serving the community's fast-growing immigrant population where air pollution monitors recorded 100 periods of elevated levels of toxic benzene over the course of seven months last year. </p>
<p>Those wells were originally planned to lie closer to a more affluent, majority white charter school, but were moved after an outcry from that school's parents. Extraction Oil & Gas paid 18 of its officers and key employees a combined $6.7 million in "retention agreements" last month, three days before it filed for bankruptcy protection. </p><p>Extraction is hardly alone, Chesapeake Energy declared bankruptcy in May after paying $25 million in executive bonuses just weeks before. Diamond Offshore Drilling got a $9.7 million COVID-stimulus tax refund in March and then paid its executives the same amount as cash incentives to remain with the company as it undergoes bankruptcy proceedings. </p>
<p>"It seems outrageous that these executives pay themselves before filing for bankruptcy," Kathy Hipple, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and a finance professor at Bard College told the Times. "These are the same managers who ran these companies into bankruptcy to begin with." </p><p>The recent spate of oil & gas bankruptcies hurts the firms' workers as well, with lawsuits against the companies arising from workers injured and killed on the job put on hold.<span></span></p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/12/climate/oil-fracking-bankruptcy-methane-executive-pay.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=91332553&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_GKHS9MprgN7eHWZamF8Vev5zdDh1yAZeo7VDO6qeGZVhuazNzviysghDBRQE8PrEVvDIzbA9KlBYvSViFrSPFF62pGjhnWyij3xUztiV0-JTzDVk&utm_content=91332553&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">New York Times</a><br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Members of the Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative hiked into the George Washington National Forest to document tree felling for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Ben Cunningham / YouTube
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), which would have carried fracked natural gas through 600 miles of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, will never be completed.
<p>Pipeline owners Dominion and Duke Energy <a href="https://news.dominionenergy.com/2020-07-05-Dominion-Energy-and-Duke-Energy-Cancel-the-Atlantic-Coast-Pipeline" target="_blank">announced</a> Sunday they were cancelling the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> project due to mounting delays and uncertainty. They said the many legal challenges to the project had driven up the projected costs by almost half, from $4.5 to $5 billion when it was first announced in 2014 to $8 billion according to the most recent estimate.</p><p>Environmental and community groups, who have long opposed the project on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> and racial justice grounds, welcomed the news.</p>
<p>"If anyone still had questions about whether or not the era of fracked gas was over, this should answer them," <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "Today is a historic victory for clean water, the climate, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a>, and our communities. Duke and Dominion did not decide to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — the people and frontline organizations that led this fight for years forced them into walking away. Today's victory reinforces that united communities are more powerful than the polluting corporations that put profits over our health and future."</p>
<div id="7760c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="02fa5b9ea441fd87a18bdc09cdeb8193"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1279897090894835721" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">VICTORY! Dominion and Duke Energy abandon the Atlantic Coast Pipeline https://t.co/hJhEdmooRj #NoACP #breakingnews https://t.co/iqavGTa4nr</div> — SELC (Environmental Law) (@SELC (Environmental Law))<a href="https://twitter.com/selc_org/statuses/1279897090894835721">1593986220.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The utilities' announcement comes a little less than three weeks after the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self">pipeline</a> scored an important legal victory when the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/atlantic-coast-pipeline-appalachian-trail-supreme-court-2646182413.html" target="_self">Supreme Court ruled</a> that it could pass beneath the Appalachian Trail. But environmental groups at the time pointed out that the project still needed eight other permits.</p><p>Early this year, a federal court <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/atlantic-coast-pipeline-black-community-2644561804.html" target="_self">vacated</a> a permit the pipeline needed to build a natural gas compressor station in Union Hill, a historic Black community in Virginia, after community members successfully argued that it would disproportionately harm the health of the mainly African American residents who lived nearby.</p><p>"We the People have overcome today!" <a href="http://www.friendsofbuckinghamva.org/friends/" target="_blank">Friends of Buckingham</a>, a community group instrumental to the compressor opposition, tweeted Sunday. "Many many hands, hearts n minds are singing it out!"</p>
<div id="edad6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cb21ef5fa539806d655539c27c675b7d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1279886821510479877" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">David & Goliath. We the People have overcome today! Many many hands, hearts n minds are singing it out!… https://t.co/kaqRMQJrH2</div> — Friends of Buckingham (@Friends of Buckingham)<a href="https://twitter.com/FriendsofBucki1/statuses/1279886821510479877">1593983772.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Courts have also tossed permits over the pipeline's plans to cut a visible scar through the forest as it crosses beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway, its crossing of more than 1,500 streams and rivers in West Virginia and its impact on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> like the Indiana bat and Madison cave isopod, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/atlantic-coast-pipeline-risky-and-costly-and-unnecessary" target="_blank">Sierra Magazine pointed out in 2019</a>.</p><p>"All of the ACP's problems are entirely self-inflicted," Greg Buppert, a senior attorney for the <a href="https://www.southernenvironment.org/" target="_blank">Southern Environmental Law Center</a>, told Sierra Magazine at the time. "It was never a good idea to build this pipeline through two national forests, a national park, across the Appalachian Trail, and through the steepest mountains in West Virginia."</p><p>But the legal climate described by Duke and Dominion in their statement reflects the growing vulnerability of all fossil fuel pipeline projects. The utilities' cited as a major challenge the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-waterways-endangered-species-2645978077.html" target="_self">decision</a> of the United States District Court for the District of Montana cancelling Nationwide Permit 12, a stream-and wetland-crossing permit used by the Army Corps of Engineers to fast-track infrastructure projects. The ruling was prompted by a legal challenge to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipeline in particular, but it ended up cancelling the permit for all new oil and gas pipeline projects without further review of their impact on endangered species.</p>
<p>"We regret that we will be unable to complete the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," Dominion and Duke Energy chairs, presidents, and chief executive officers Thomas F. Farrell, II and Lynn J. Good said in Sunday's statement. "For almost six years we have worked diligently and invested billions of dollars to complete the project and deliver the much-needed infrastructure to our customers and communities. Throughout we have engaged extensively with and incorporated feedback from local communities, labor and industrial leaders, government and permitting agencies, environmental interests and social justice organizations. We express sincere appreciation for the tireless efforts and important contributions made by all who were involved in this essential project. This announcement reflects the increasing legal uncertainty that overhangs large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the United States. Until these issues are resolved, the ability to satisfy the country's energy needs will be significantly challenged."</p><p>But the pipeline's opponents insist that pipelines like the ACP are not in fact necessary to meet the country's energy needs.</p><p>"The costly and unneeded Atlantic Coast Pipeline would have threatened waterways and communities across its 600-mile path," <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> attorney Gillian Giannetti said in a statement reported by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/business/atlantic-coast-pipeline-cancel-dominion-energy-berkshire-hathaway.html#new_tab" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "As they abandon this dirty pipe dream, Dominion and Duke should now pivot to investing more in energy efficiency, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind" target="_self">wind</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" target="_self">solar</a> — that's how to provide jobs and a better future for all."</p>
<div id="380f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dfd22eb3c95f7d1f1f8c8c3d3150891a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1279966961657659398" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today's changes to the @ACPipeline #wiki are pretty remarkable. #was #cancelled https://t.co/iiouuZRazQ</div> — Gillian Giannetti (@Gillian Giannetti)<a href="https://twitter.com/GillianEnergy/statuses/1279966961657659398">1594002878.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>But someone still thinks there is money in fossil fuels. Also on Sunday, Dominion Energy announced that it was selling its natural gas transmission and storage assets to Berkshire Hathaway Energy for an estimated $10 billion, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063511423" target="_blank">E&E News reported</a>.</p>
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A Chesapeake Energy drilling rig is located on farmland near Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 2012. Melanie Stetson Freeman / The Christian Science Monitor / Getty Images
By Eoin Higgins
Climate advocates pointed to news Sunday that fracking giant Chesapeake Energy was filing for bankruptcy as further evidence that the fossil fuel industry's collapse is being hastened by the coronavirus pandemic and called for the government to stop propping up businesses in the field.
<p>"Fracking giant Chesapeake Energy just declared bankruptcy thanks to its massive $9 billion debt," <a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/status/1277644540866965505" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Friends of the Earth. "Meanwhile the Trump administration continues to try and bail out this garbage fire industry with our tax dollars—despite clear risks."</p>
<div id="e5f24" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6e7171f8e2904f47ed8066a7a21bd48a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277573943340171264" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The poster company for US fracking has fallen. https://t.co/n1MWs3sszT</div> — Andrew Thaler (@Andrew Thaler)<a href="https://twitter.com/DrAndrewThaler/statuses/1277573943340171264">1593432338.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The company, which at its peak in 2008 was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/28/chesapeake-energy-once-power-gas-business-files-bankruptcy" target="_blank">valued</a> at $37 billion, had a market capitalization of just $115 million on Friday.</p><p>"The debt bubble made it unable for Chesapeake to maneuver when the pandemic ruined demand for energy," David Dayen <a href="https://prospect.org/coronavirus/unsanitized-medicare-for-coronavirus/" target="_blank">wrote</a> of the bankruptcy for <em>The American Prospect</em>.</p><p>News reports put most of the blame for the bankruptcy on former CEO Aubrey McClendon, who bought up leases and rights around the country as the fracking industry boomed. </p><p>As <em>Forbes</em> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2020/06/29/chesapeake-energy-finally-succumbs-with-chapter-11-filing/#52549bb56b58" target="_blank">reported</a>, a number of bad business decisions and moves left Chesapeake in bad condition even before gas prices collapsed due to the slowed demand from the pandemic.</p>
<p>According to <em>Forbes</em>:</p><blockquote>As natural gas prices <a title="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm" href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm" target="_blank">collapsed in the late 2000s</a>, McClendon next turned to sales of his own company's assets or portions of working interests in big play areas as a means of continuing to finance and pay down that debt. He sold shares of the company's working interests in the Barnett, the Eagle Ford, the Marcellus and the Haynesville to various other players, like <a title="https://bp.com" href="https://bp.com/" target="_blank">BP</a> and <a title="https://cnooc.com" href="https://cnooc.com/" target="_blank">CNOOC</a>, but every sale also meant less and less cash flow coming into the company itself. Many in the business during that time joked about it being a sort of a pyramid scheme in which the debts would ultimately end up outstripping the company's income and ability to pay.<br><br>McClendon also made the decision in 2010-11 to shift Chesapeake's gas-heavy asset mix to one more heavy in liquids. That strategic decision certainly helped during a time of $100 oil prices, but the bust of 2015-16 and the current COVID-19-related price collapse ultimately proved to heavy a burden for current CEO Doug Lawler—who was brought on board in 2013—and his management team to navigate. A company that once had a market cap of over $37 billion at one point in May saw its market cap drop as low as $200 million. A company that once employed over 8,000 individuals today employs around 2,300.</blockquote>
<p>John Thieroff, a senior analyst at Moody's Investors Service, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/31f35631-7b7d-4fa1-8eef-6255bf18cf88?segmentId=b0d7e653-3467-12ab-c0f0-77e4424cdb4c" target="_blank">told</a> the <em>Financial Times</em> Sunday he expected other companies to follow suit.</p><p>"There will no doubt be others to file for bankruptcy in the near term as the sector looks to get out from under the copious amount of debt it took on during the boom," said Thieroff.</p><p>President Donald Trump has weighed bailing out the fossil fuel industry as part of a coronavirus pandemic recovery plan. The plans have been met with stiff resistance from environmental groups like Western Values Project, which <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/05/19/trump-admin-punishes-renewables-while-bailing-out-oil-and-gas" target="_blank">said</a> in May that the move was an example of the White House "using a public health crisis as an excuse to bail out the president's corporate cronies while leaving everyone else to fend for themselves."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/29/poster-company-us-fracking-has-fallen-chesapeake-energy-files-bankruptcy" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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