Bush Wants to Squeeze Oil from Stone
Reacting to voter anger over $4-per-gallon gasoline and growing concerns about U.S. dependency on foreign oil, the Bush administration is floating the idea of extracting petroleum from oil-shale deposits in the Western United States that could eventually yield 800 billion barrels of oil, according to government estimates. At the current consumption rate of roughly 20 million barrels a day, 58 percent of it from outside the United States, 800 billion barrels is enough to satisfy America’s oil addiction for more than 100 years—without importing a single drop. In reality, of course, a new and ready supply of oil would virtually guarantee increased consumption. And any petroleum extracted from domestic oil shale would inevitably be combined with imported oil as well as domestic oil from other sources to meet the growing demand, further extending our dependence on oil.
President Bush has been previewing the notion of squeezing oil from stone in his energy speeches for the past couple of months, and today [July 22, 2008] the U.S. Interior Department is scheduled to propose regulations for a new program to sell leases that would allow oil companies to extract oil from shale on federal lands, primarily in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
The idea of mining oil shale for petroleum isn’t new, but there are three big problems with using oil shale as a source for petroleum. Namely, oil-shale extraction is: Read more...
EPA Wants to Know What You Think
This week's question: What do you use: paper, plastic, or reusable bags?
Paper or plastic? We take shopping bags for granted, especially at the grocery store, and it’s easy to fill up several bags per trip. Both paper and plastic bags use resources, multiplied by the billions of bags used annually worldwide. You can reuse and recycle both paper and plastic types, which delays their being thrown away, or you can reduce waste with permanent bags.
For more information on this topic, see:
Court Overturns Clean Air Regulation
The clean air regulation that the court overturned required 28 states, mostly in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, to dramatically reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions that produce soot, form smog, and are easily carried long distances by the wind.
Human Life Worth Less Today, EPA says
It’s not just your 401(k) and the greenbacks in your wallet that aren’t worth as much as they once were. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), your life is also worth less than it used to be—almost a million dollars less. Worldwide Hunger and Food Insecurity Rise Dramatically
The number people in 70 of the world’s lower income countries who are “food insecure” and live with persistent hunger increased by more than 130 million people between 2006 and 2007—from 849 million to 982 million—according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Declare Your Independence from Toxic Fireworks Pollution
Planning to take in one of those great fireworks displays on the Fourth of July? Be careful. Those fireworks may leave you and your family with more than a patriotic feeling. Fireworks pollution litters the ground, contaminates water supplies, and rains down chemicals and heavy metals that contribute to a wide range of serious health problems. Maybe it's time for a change in the way we celebrate our independence.Photo by Getty Images
White House Blocks EPA Response to Supreme Court on Regulating Greenhouse Gases
The White House is trying to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from releasing a document that shows how the Clean Air Act could be used to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal, whose reporters have seen the document and spoken to EPA staff about it.The draft document is a formal response to the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling that declared greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act and that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and other vehicles. But the EPA can’t make the document public until the White House approves it, and that’s where things have gotten sticky.
High Gas Prices Drive Commuters Back to the City
Rising gas prices may be changing more than Americans’ driving habits; they may be on the brink of changing where and how we live. Since the end of World War II, Americans have been leaving the cities for suburbia, and then exurbia, seeking more space for less money. But high gas prices may be reversing that half-century trend—or at least slowing it down.
More and more commuters are thinking about trading suburban sprawl for urban chic as skyrocketing gas prices continue to increase the cost of making a long drive twice a day, adding a serious financial burden to the general misery of commuting.
Supreme Court Slashes Punitive Damages in Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Case
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a controversial decision that lets ExxonMobil off the hook for billions of dollars in punitive damages related to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. In a 5-3 vote, the Supremes (minus Justice Samuel Alito, who sat this one out because he owns ExxonMobil stock) ruled that punitive damages (which punish companies for behavior that causes harm to others) should not exceed compensatory damages (which compensate victims for their economic losses). Although the ruling applies only to maritime cases, it is generally being seen as a win for all corporations seeking limits on unpredictable jury awards in high-profile lawsuits.
In 1994, ExxonMobil was ordered by an Alaska jury to pay $5 billion in punitive damages. In 2006, an appeals court reduced punitive damages for the Exxon Valdez oil spill to $2.5 billion, half the original amount. The new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court cuts the punitive damages even more, to $507.5 million. The new figure represents about 12 hours of revenue for the giant oil company, which reported record profits of $40.6 billion in February 2008.
Climate Change Creating More Refugees than War
Rising sea levels, desertification, and natural disasters tied to global warming are displacing millions of people--more than war and other types of conflict.
Find out what must happen to reverse this devastating trend and reduce the number of environmental refugees.