Fossil Fuels Stories October 20
US Senator Joe Manchin III (D-WV) opposes his own political party’s clean energy program. And since not a single Republican will support the infrastructure bill that contains the program, Manchin has disproportionate power to sink the US plan to decarbonize in order to slow global warming and meet the Paris Agreement target of net-zero by 2050. Why does he oppose it? The Charleston Gazette-Mail spelled it out yesterday.
Fossil Fuels Stories October 19
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is projecting that there will be 22% more coal-fired electricity generation in the US in 2021 than in 2020 due to higher natural gas prices – but the coal spike won’t last.
Fossil Fuels Stories September 29
Analysis of Google search data revealed that online searches for electric cars in the UK exploded 1,600% on September 24 – the day that gas shortages became a widespread problem across the country.
Fossil Fuels Stories September 15
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Fossil Fuels Stories September 9
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Fossil Fuels Stories August 26
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Fossil Fuels Stories August 13
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Fossil Fuels Stories August 9
The world’s largest-ever report about climate change was published today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations group of nearly 200 leading climate scientists that looked at more than 14,000 scientific papers. It’s pretty grim – but far from hopeless. There are things we all can and must all do. As US Senator Ed Markey says, “We can’t agonize – we must organize.”
Fossil Fuels Stories August 6
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Fossil Fuels Stories August 5
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Fossil Fuels Stories August 2
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Fossil Fuels Stories July 27
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Fossil Fuels Stories July 7
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Fossil Fuels Stories July 6
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After an (American) holiday weekend largely dedicated to setting things on fire, we think it’s relevant to note something that caught on fire this weekend that absolutely shouldn’t have: namely, the sea.
Over the weekend, not only did a fire break out in the Gulf of Mexico but also in the Caspian Sea. Both incidents were, predictably, associated with fossil fuels.
Fossil Fuels Stories July 5
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Fossil Fuels Stories June 23
Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) just signed into law SB 1128/HB 919, “Preemption Over Restriction of Utility Services,” which was pushed through the legislature. It prevents local governments from deciding which energy path they want to take. In other words, Florida towns and cities are now unable to switch to 100% clean energy because they can’t ban fossil fuels.
Fossil Fuels Stories June 18
Maine has become the first US state to pass statewide legislation to divest from fossil fuels. LD 99, “An Act To Require the State To Divest Itself of Assets Invested in the Fossil Fuel Industry,” was signed late Wednesday by Governor Janet Mills (D-ME). A divestment plan is now required by 2026.
Fossil Fuels Stories June 15
Texas has been hit by a heatwave, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has asked residents to reduce electricity use until Friday because demand is up, but power supply is down. ERCOT stated yesterday, “Generator owners have reported approximately 11,000 MW [megawatts] of generation is on forced outage for repairs; of that, approximately 8,000 MW is thermal, and the rest is intermittent resources.” “Thermal” power in Texas largely refers to natural gas-fired power plants, which make up around 50% of annual energy production in Texas.
Fossil Fuels Stories June 2
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Fossil Fuels Stories May 18
Environmental groups: JPMorgan Chase emissions targets are ‘fig leaf for fossil expansion’
At today’s JPMorgan Chase annual general meeting (AGM), CEO Jamie Dimon faced questions from a number of climate justice activists on Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands oil pipeline and Indigenous sovereignty, the East Africa Crude Oil pipeline (which many banks have refused to finance), the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Australia (which no insurer will cover), deforestation, and the bank’s oil, gas, and coal policies.
According to the Rainforest Action Network, Dimon either dismissed those questions, punted, or demonstrated an apparent misunderstanding of his bank’s policies.
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Fossil Fuels Stories May 6
The costs of most existing coal-fired power plants in the US are now more expensive than the total costs of wind and solar as a result of their plunging costs, according to a new study.
Fossil Fuels Stories April 22
The BlackRock US Carbon Transition Readiness exchange-traded fund (ETF) (LCTU) launched last week. It broke records on its first trading day with $1.25 billion invested. But there’s a big problem with this ETF: It’s jam-packed with Big Oil companies.
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Fossil Fuels Stories April 20
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its annual “Global Energy Review” report, and while there is some good news about the adoption of renewables, there is also some rather alarming news about an anticipated emissions surge in 2021.
Fossil Fuels Stories March 23
Pennsylvania’s state government will source 50% of its electricity from seven new solar energy arrays. It will go into operation on January 1, 2023.
Fossil Fuels Stories March 17
Duke Energy Florida has announced that it will build two more new solar farms in the Sunshine State. This time, they’ll be in Citrus and Hardee counties.
The utility reported in February that it is investing an estimated $1 billion to construct or acquire a total of 700 MW of solar farms from 2018 through 2022 in Florida and will more than quadruple the amount of in-service solar on the system over the next four years.
Fossil Fuels Stories February 15
India’s coal power has continued to decline since reaching a peak in 2018, according to an analysis by independent climate and energy think tank Ember. India’s coal-fired electricity generation fell 5% in 2020 due to significantly reduced annual electricity demand as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. It is the second consecutive year that coal power has fallen, with coal generation down 8% in 2020 compared to 2018.
Fossil Fuels Stories February 1
Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) wants to fight Biden’s clean energy plan, despite being the No. 1 state in the US for wind power. Texas is also a rising star of solar power, not to mention the home of Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas. Yet, Abbott has issued an executive order to “protect” Texas’ energy industry from federal overreach, or in other words, President Joe Biden’s endorsement of clean energy. Or to put it another way, what Texas is already doing.
Fossil Fuels Stories December 21, 2020
The Rockefeller Foundation, a 107-year-old philanthropy founded by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller Sr., has a $5 billion endowment. And that foundation is divesting from the oil that created its wealth — and it’s the largest US philanthropic foundation to do so.
Fossil Fuels Stories November 23, 2020
The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved a ban on Friday of ships’ use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic waters after July 1, 2024. However, since it includes exemptions and waivers — loopholes — a complete HFO ban would only come into effect in mid-2029.
Fossil Fuels Stories November 17, 2020
Donald Trump’s administration is bulldozing through a last-minute gas and oil drilling-rights auction in Alaska’s 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. Biden vowed to block oil exploration in the largest national wildlife refuge in the country.
Fossil Fuels Stories October 26, 2020
Bob Murray, the board chairman of Murray Energy, the largest privately owned — and bankrupt — US coal operator, died on Sunday at age 80. He had announced his retirement less than a week before.
Fossil Fuels Stories October 19, 2020
Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), the two largest US energy firms, have increased their share of campaign donations to Democrats in 2020, according to the latest filings.
Fossil Fuels Stories October 8, 2020
Residential geothermal company Dandelion Energy yesterday announced that it’s hired a new vice president of drillings whose name is Jeremy Smith. What’s unique about Smith? The exec comes from a fossil-fuel background.
Fossil Fuels Stories September 14, 2020
BP stated in a forecast published today that oil may have reached its peak due to the pandemic and that renewables will take the place of fossil fuels.
Fossil Fuels Stories August 6, 2020
US court rules Dakota Access Pipeline can stay open for now
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) does not have to be shut and drained, as per a lower court order on July 6. It’s able to keep operating for now. The three-judge panel said they did not have the “findings necessary” to shut it down.
Fossil Fuels Stories July 15, 2020
On January 9, Donald Trump announced there would be an overhaul of the US’ landmark environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Today, he finalized a rollback of the NEPA.
This drastically limits the ability of citizens and communities to learn about and give input on major infrastructure projects that could threaten public health and the environment.
Fossil Fuels Stories July 6, 2020
Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. are canceling the $8 billion, 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The natural gas pipeline was to run 600 miles from West Virginia, through Virginia, to eastern North Carolina.
Duke Energy Corp has a net zero by 2050 goal in accordance with the Paris Accords. However, the reason for killing the pipeline is not environmental; it’s because of anticipated legal delays driving up costs.
Fossil Fuels Stories July 3, 2020
The CDC Group, the British government’s development finance institution, will end most fossil-fuel financing abroad. It says it will invest only in companies that align with the Paris Agreement to achieve net zero by 2050.
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Fossil Fuels Stories June 29, 2020
A new study from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published in Science Advances, provides strong evidence of the causal link between long-term fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure — air pollution — and premature death rates. The study provides the most comprehensive evidence to date.
Fossil Fuels Stories June 25, 2020
The state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit yesterday against the American Petroleum Institute (API), Exxon Mobil Corp, and Koch Industries that stated the companies violated Minnesota laws barring consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false advertising.
Fossil Fuels Stories June 2, 2020
The Trump administration has eliminated states’ and tribes’ rights to halt projects that risk hurting their water quality by rolling back a section of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Fossil Fuels Stories May 12, 2020
On February 20, Hartshorne Mining Group, who owns Poplar Grove, a thermal coal mine in western Kentucky that was lauded as the first to open under Donald Trump’s pro-coal administration, filed for bankruptcy. Hartshorne then filed a lawsuit against the US government this month because they were not awarded coronavirus relief money.
Fossil Fuels Stories May 11, 2020
The March US coronavirus stimulus package, the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, featured the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But Big Oil and Gas, most of which are valued well over the $2 million threshold, received at least $72 million total.
Fossil Fuels Stories April 29, 2020
EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson wants to make a Green Deal part of the pandemic recovery plan. Simson told Bloomberg, “Getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies while lowering taxes on electricity can nudge us in the right direction, without putting too much pressure on the consumers.”
