EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/29/24
PIPELINE NEWS
South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Referred law 21 vote foreshadows looming national C02 pipeline debate
South Dakota Searchlight: Ethanol cooperative kicks in another $400,000 to support carbon pipeline ballot question
Advantage News: Groups push for more oversight of carbon sequestration projects
Reuters: Enterprise Products to develop pipeline network for Occidental's 1PointFive
Natural Gas Intelligence: Kinder Morgan, TC Energy Approved for Bakken Natural Gas Egress Projects
WOWK: Rates to increase after PSC approves Mountaineer Gas pipeline plan
Reuters: US West Coast refiners boost imports of light Canadian crude
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’ hints at fate of EPA air rules
Bloomberg: Filling in the Blanks on Kamala Harris’ Climate Agenda
Politico: Election Gut Check On Fracking And EVs
Inside Climate News: The Depths of Their Discontent: Young Americans Are Distraught Over Climate Change
STATE UPDATES
The Detroit News: Companies eye northern Michigan for carbon-capture projects. Others are wary
Houston Chronicle: A Houston oil giant is pioneering a new climate technology. It’s a costly gamble
The Intelligencer: Manchin Announces $44 Million To Develop Carbon Storage Hub in Marshall, Belmont Counties
Danville Register and Bee: Pittsylvania power plant —poised to be largest in state — 'dropped on us like a bomb'
E&E News: Indiana gubernatorial candidate urges regulators to preserve coal plant
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: UN Climate Chief Warns of Looming ‘Trainwreck’ as 1.5C in Doubt
Reuters: LNG shipping rates tumble to multi-year lows as new vessels come online
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Energy Mix: Alberta Ad Campaign Dodges Federal Greenwashing Rules While Carrying Fossil Industry Message
Saucon Source: New Nature Preserve Opens in Lehigh Co.
MyKapuskasingNow: Smooth Rock Falls Fire Department and Enbridge team up to help residents
OPINION
The Progressive: ‘Permitting Reform’ Threatens Environmental Justice
Globe and Mail: It’s time for Alberta’s oilsands to land the Pathways carbon project
PIPELINE NEWS
South Dakota Public Broadcasting: Referred law 21 vote foreshadows looming national C02 pipeline debate
Lee Strubinger, 10/28/24
“South Dakota voters get the chance to approve or reject a bill state lawmakers passed earlier this year related to carbon dioxide pipeline regulation,” South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. “...The ire around RL21 centers around carbon dioxide pipeline projects. Many counties passed ordinances to regulate these projects… “SB 201, or RL21, holds companies liable for damages and also requires them pay counties for running their pipelines through the jurisdiction. Critics say it weakens local control and property rights. It was unpopular enough that several lawmakers who voted for it lost in the primaries. “What is happening in South Dakota is a model for what is happening across the country and could be a real barrier to, or boon to, C02 pipeline development, which has national and international implications,” Martin Lockman, a climate law fellow at Columbia law school, told SDPB. The vote represents a trend across the US. Lockman told SDPB common concerns surround carbon dioxide pipeline development. Communities worry they see little benefit while taking on risk… “Other environmentalists see the projects as a way for oil and gas companies to extend the life of their infrastructure by presenting carbon capture as a solution.”
South Dakota Searchlight: Ethanol cooperative kicks in another $400,000 to support carbon pipeline ballot question
Joshua Haiar, 10/28/24
“A cooperative that owns four ethanol plants has made a second $400,000 contribution to support a Nov. 5 ballot question about carbon dioxide pipelines,” the South Dakota Searchlight reports. “Glacial Lakes Energy owns plants in Watertown, Mina, Aberdeen and Huron. The money went to the Vote Yes for a Strong South Dakota ballot question committee, which supports Referred Law 21. The cooperative has now contributed a total of $800,000 to the campaign. Its latest $400,000 contribution came Friday, according to a supplemental campaign finance report. An earlier report disclosed a previous $400,000 contribution… “Glacial Lakes and other ethanol producers have now contributed a total of $2.7 million in support of the ballot measure. Other major contributors include Sioux Falls-based biofuels producer POET, as well as Gevo, a company aiming to produce ethanol-based jet fuel in Lake Preston… “South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is an investor in Granite Falls Energy, according to the last financial interest statement she filed with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office… “Noem signed the bill adopted by the Legislature last winter that citizen opponents petitioned onto the ballot, which is now known as Referred Law 21. Glacial Lakes and Granite Falls are both partners in the Summit project. Opponents of Referred Law 21 say it requires local governments to prove their restrictions on pipelines are reasonable, rather than requiring pipeline companies to prove them unreasonable. They describe that as an attack on local control. Pipeline opponents also have concerns about potentially hazardous pipeline leaks and Summit’s likely use of eminent domain, which is a legal process to obtain land access from unwilling landowners. Referred Law 21 does not address eminent domain. Opponent groups have raised about $224,000 for their campaign, mostly from individuals and farm and ranch corporations.”
Advantage News: Groups push for more oversight of carbon sequestration projects
Greg Bishop, 10/29/24
“The carbon capture industry lacks significant transparency with billions of tax dollars at stake, according to groups urging U.S. Congress for more oversight,” Advantage News reports. “After a series of leaks of carbon capture wells at an ADM plant in Decatur, Illinois, the company voluntarily halted operations. The issue has heightened concerns about negative impacts such leaks have on aquifers and the environment. During a recent briefing to congressional staffers, Pam Richart from Eco-Justice Collaborative in Champaign questioned why a halt to operations at ADM wasn’t ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She also said ADM knew of leaks while the company was negotiating carbon sequestration issues with the city of Decatur and state legislators earlier this year. “ADM knew their well was leaking. They said nothing,” Richart said. “Nothing to Decatur. Nothing to the negotiating team. Nothing to the legislators.” “...Paul Blackburn with Bold Alliance spelled out the billions of tax credits companies can get from the federal government for carbon storage, but storage must be secure. “If the storage is not secure then the 45Q tax credit is based on inadequate security standards for the CO2 that’s being put into the ground,” Blackburn said… “With recent leaks at ADM and concerns elsewhere throughout the country, Food and Water Watch Policy Director Jim Walsh said it’s clear the technology is not ready and more needs to be done by the U.S. Congress and the EPA. “And ensure that the IRS is properly monitoring billions in dollars in tax credits that the industry is working to exploit,” Walsh said. “And this really raises serious questions about whether the inspector general should look into numerous questions raised by these leaks, such as why the public was not notified of leaks in Illinois, what the EPA knew when and why it took so long for the EPA to issue a notice of violation.”
Reuters: Enterprise Products to develop pipeline network for Occidental's 1PointFive
10/28/24
“Enterprise Products Partners agreed to develop a CO2 transportation network to support carbon capture firm 1PointFive's hub in southeast Texas to carry emissions captured by third parties for sequestration, the companies said on Monday,” Reuters reports. “The network, part of Occidental's 1PointFive initiative, will transport emissions from facilities near the Houston Ship Channel to Bluebonnet Sequestration Hub.”
Natural Gas Intelligence: Kinder Morgan, TC Energy Approved for Bakken Natural Gas Egress Projects
Chris Newman, 10/28/24
“FERC this month cleared a pair of natural gas pipeline projects by TC Energy Corp. and Kinder Morgan Inc. designed to add Bakken Shale takeaway capacity with access to natural gas trading markets in Colorado,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “Kinder Morgan’s Wyoming Interstate Co. LLC (WIC) would provide 300,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity along its system and three other pipelines in a project dubbed Bakken Xpress. Hess and Oneok Rockies Midstream LLC signed on as shippers during an open season for 430,000 Dth/d in 2023. Under a certificate approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (No. CP23-543), WIC will lease capacity on TC’s Northern Border and Bison pipeline systems and Fort Union Gas Gathering.”
WOWK: Rates to increase after PSC approves Mountaineer Gas pipeline plan
Jessica Patterson, 10/28/24
“A pipeline replacement and upgrades will cause Mountaineer Gas Company customers to see their bills increase,” WOWK reports. “The Public Service Commission of West Virginia announced Monday that they approved an agreed settlement for Mountaineer Gas Company to make pipeline replacements and upgrades in its “2025 Infrastructure Replacement and Expansion Program.” “...According to the PSC, Mountaineer Gas proposed an investment of $418 million for infrastructure replacements, system upgrades and expansions through 2029. $74 million of that would be used in 2025… “The PSC says off-setting these costs means customers will see a 2.97% increase in their monthly bill, meaning the bill would go up by $2.63. For commercial users, it’s a 2.03% increase, or $6.92. Those rates will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.”
Reuters: US West Coast refiners boost imports of light Canadian crude
Nia Williams and Shariq Khan, 10/29/24
“Canadian waterborne exports of light crude to the U.S. West Coast have surged since the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) began operating in May, data shows, surprising some market participants who thought it would mainly be used to send heavy crude to Asia and California,” Reuters reports. “The increase in Canadian light crude flows into the U.S. is displacing imports from Latin American countries. It also underpins the role the U.S. plays as the most important customer for Canadian oil exports, even as TMX - which can carry a wide range of crude grades - boosts heavy crude shipments to Asia… “The barrels delivered by tankers are in addition to the roughly 240,000 bpd being imported into Washington state via the Trans Mountain Puget Sound Pipeline, an offshoot of the main pipeline that can ship up to 890,000 bpd of crude from Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’ hints at fate of EPA air rules
Pamela King, 10/25/24
“The Supreme Court’s decision not to freeze a trio of high-profile Biden administration air rules earlier this month could bode well for the survival of those regulations, some legal observers say,” E&E News reports. “While the October orders from the emergency, or “shadow,” docket did not seal the fate of EPA limits on methane from oil and gas production, carbon from the power sector and air toxics from coal-fired plants, the fact that the justices had a chance to immediately stop the rules and declined to do so has given some lawyers reason to believe that the regulations have a chance of withstanding the scrutiny of the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. In prior emergency orders halting regulations, the court has heavily weighted one particular factor in its analysis — whether opponents of the rule are likely to win their case, said Megan Herzog, a partner at the law firm Donahue, Goldberg & Herzog, during a panel discussion Thursday hosted by the environmental section of the American Bar Association. “The court is just going to assume that there are great harms on both sides and that it would just sort of be a wash, and all that’s left for the court to do is to think about likely merits success,” said Herzog, whose firm has represented environmental groups that defend Biden-era EPA rules in court. “So perhaps we can infer that’s what happened here.”
Bloomberg: Filling in the Blanks on Kamala Harris’ Climate Agenda
Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter, 10/28/24
“Kamala Harris hasn’t laid out a detailed vision for addressing climate change and energy if she’s elected president — but she’s already getting plenty of advice,” Bloomberg reports. “Environmentalists and former advisers have outlined their prescriptions for ways a victorious Harris could build on Biden-era climate initiatives — including the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act — to drive more US clean energy deployment and winnow planet-warming pollution worldwide… “And some climate activists are pushing a harder line, quietly developing blueprints for Harris to stifle flows of US oil and gas if the Democrat prevails over Republican Donald Trump. The lobbying portends an agenda that could be a tailwind for clean energy technology companies and renewable project developers — as well as a hindrance to fossil fuel interests… “Permitting reform” has become a catch phrase in Washington — a kind of shorthand for the broader set of obstacles the US must address in order to realize the full benefits of low- and zero-emission technology. And while there’s bipartisan consensus that current rules hold back all sorts of energy development, there’s little agreement on an approach for revamping them. Many environmentalists slammed a permitting bill advanced in July by Senators John Barrasso, a Republican, and Joe Manchin, an independent, saying it made too many concessions to the oil and gas industries… “But if Democrats win a trifecta, that could present an opportunity to expand the IRA’s domestic energy manufacturing incentives, potentially reaching further up the supply chains for solar panels and other technology… “Top targets include limiting liquefied natural gas exports and shutting down Energy Transfer LP’s Dakota Access Pipeline, which carries oil from North Dakota to Illinois, taking advantage of a federal court ruling that required more environmental analysis of the project.”
Politico: Election Gut Check On Fracking And EVs
10/29/24
“As the presidential candidates spend the final days of their campaigns trying to win over voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan, they’re keeping fracking and electric vehicle politics in those two key swing states firmly in the public eye,” Politico reports. “They are issues especially important to blue collar union workers, a crucial voting block with which Trump has made inroads and Harris needs to recapture in order to win the election. To understand how these issues are playing with voters in these states, POLITICO Energy podcast host Josh Siegel recently spoke with two researchers: Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, and Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. Playing up the fracking issue has been effective for Trump by putting Harris on defense and giving him an opening to tie her previous pledge to ban the practice to ‘broader concerns about inflation and the economy,’ Borick told Politico. He also told Politico fracking has put some strains on the Democratic coalition, since he’s heard of some reticence from rank-and-file building trade union members in supporting Harris, noting she lacks the relationships that President Biden had. But Borick points out that voters’ views on fracking are ‘incredibly diverse’ in Pennsylvania, and many people have grave reservations about the safety of it.”
Inside Climate News: The Depths of Their Discontent: Young Americans Are Distraught Over Climate Change
Nina Dietz, 10/26/24
“A new study delving the emotional and psychological impact of climate change on 16,000 young Americans provides crucial empirical evidence for what until now “we’ve been relying on our intuition to tell us,” the study’s first author says,” Inside Climate News reports. “A clear majority of young Americans between the ages of 16 and 25 are either very, or extremely, worried. Eric Lewandowski, a psychologist at New York University, focuses on the mental and emotional effects of climate change and co-authored a 2021 paper on the subject but still felt there was more to be studied in the United States. His new paper, “Climate emotions, thoughts, and plans among US adolescents and young adults: a cross-sectional descriptive survey and analysis by political party identification and self-reported exposure to severe weather events,” was published Oct. 17 in The Lancet Planetary Health. The bottom line nationally: Young people are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change. The study found that nearly 60 percent of respondents said they were either very or extremely worried when asked, “How worried, if at all, are you about climate change and its impacts on people and the planet?” and more than 85 percent said they experience some level of climate anxiety.”
STATE UPDATES
The Detroit News: Companies eye northern Michigan for carbon-capture projects. Others are wary
Carol Thompson, 10/28/24
“Companies are eyeing the northern Lower Peninsula for projects that some day could bury planet-warming carbon dioxide deep below ground,” The Detroit News reports. “The projects would center on a geologic formation below the strip of land arcing from Manistee to Presque Isle County… "We have the geology in Michigan to be a world leader in this space at this scale," Rich Mukhtar, chief operating officer of Ann Arbor-based Northstar Clean Energy, a private energy development company that shares a parent company with the Consumers Energy utility, told the News… “NorthStar has plans to start capturing carbon at three facilities in northern Michigan. One of those projects already has garnered $1.4 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding and is applying for additional federal loan or grant support. Another company, Texas-based Lambda Energy Resources, has applied for a carbon sequestration well permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a project in Manistee County. The EPA is still reviewing the proposal and aims to make a decision in 2026… “Some environmental groups are skeptical of carbon capture and sequestration technology. James Yskamp, senior attorney in the California-based environmental law firm Earthjustice's fossil fuels program, pointed to leaks recently revealed at an Illinois carbon sequestration well, which is among the few commercially operating wells in the United States. The EPA in September said injected fluid migrated out of the Decatur, Illinois, well and identified corrosion in a related monitoring well. "There's a good reason to pause and think, 'Is this really what we should be doing with carbon?'" Yskamp told the News… “For some, that situation raises fears about sequestered carbon potentially seeping into groundwater aquifers, changing water's acidity and potentially harming the environment or suitability as drinking water, or seeping into the atmosphere and contributing to climate warming… “NorthStar is also pursuing carbon capture projects in Grayling, Gaylord and Otsego County's Chester Township. "We’re also out there identifying and securing rights to pore space, which is the areas in some of these underground reefs that have significant capacity to hold carbon permanently," Mukhtar told the News… “Michigan lawmakers have to pass legislation to develop a carbon sequestration well program before the state can take over permitting, Matt Fry, Department of Natural Resources Minerals Management Section manager, told the News. The DNR is working with a coalition of groups, including the Michigan Manufacturers Association and Michigan Chamber of Commerce, to develop draft legislation to pitch to lawmakers, he told the News.”
Houston Chronicle: A Houston oil giant is pioneering a new climate technology. It’s a costly gamble
Amanda Drane, 10/29/24
“A first of its kind facility is taking shape in West Texas, as Houston-based Occidental Petroleum puts the finishing touches on “Stratos,” a project which aims to start sucking climate-warming carbon dioxide from the air and storing it underground next spring,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “The project is part of a global race to engineer a way out of a climate crisis by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Driving the effort are tax credits included in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, as well as growing demand from big tech companies such as Google and Microsoft, which are searching for ways to offset their growing carbon footprints. Stratos would be the first large-scale facility to remove carbon dioxide directly from the air, taking technology proven in pilot plants and expanding it into a facility that aims to capture 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the West Texas air per year. The oil giant, a leader in the emerging industry, says it aims to build dozens of such facilities in the coming years… “A lot is riding on the company's success, as it aims to prove that the technology works, that the company can make money from it and that it’s safe. Richard Jackson, Oxy’s president of onshore resources and carbon management operations, told the Chronicle the company has decades of experience handling carbon dioxide, which helped inform the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations for the new industry… “It pays to be a pioneer, Mhairidh Evans, who leads Wood Mackenzie’s research on the emerging carbon capture industry, told the Chronicle… “There are risks, too, with ensuring the gas will stay in place once injected underground and that it won’t migrate underground, as it did recently during one of the first carbon storage wells in Illinois… “For this reason, Virginia Palacios, executive director of the regulatory advocacy nonprofit Commission Shift, told the Chronicle the effort to store more waste underground “seems like more risk than reward.”
The Intelligencer: Manchin Announces $44 Million To Develop Carbon Storage Hub in Marshall, Belmont Counties
Derek Redd, 10/27/24
“More than $44 million in federal funding will go toward the development of a carbon storage hub in Marshall County in West Virginia and Belmont County in Ohio, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office announced Tuesday,” The Intelligencer reports. “The funding will come from the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the hub will serve West Virginia and surrounding states. It was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, according to Manchin, I-W.Va… “The Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub or ARCH2 is an initiative between the U,S. DOE, private industry, state and local governments, academic and technology institutions, nonprofits and community groups to build a safe and sustainable clean hydrogen ecosystem in Appalachia… “In August, Manchin led a ribbon-cutting in Morgantown celebrating the opening of the ARCH2 program office… “The exact site for the hub was not announced Monday or Tuesday.”
Danville Register and Bee: Pittsylvania power plant —poised to be largest in state — 'dropped on us like a bomb'
Charles Wilborn, 10/28/24
“As details start to emerge about a 3,500 megawatt gas power plant planned in Pittsylvania County, one that could be the largest in the state, residents are voicing their opposition,” the Danville Register and Bee reports. “Balico, the company that's submitted an application for the mammoth facility and data center complex on some 2,200 acres in the Banister District, will host two community meetings this week… “The power plant would tap into the recently completed Mountain Valley Pipeline, which starts in West Virginia and runs into Chatham… “The plant would feed power to an electricity-hungry data center complex planned as the other part of the project… “It’s just like any other large-scale project, I think people want it, but they don’t want it in their neighborhood," Tucker explained of what he's heard from constituents. With bright yellow signs proclaiming "no power plants, no data centers in rural areas" — under a red circle with a slash — residents along Chalk Level Road appear to be staking their positions on the project. Another larger sign reads "save our farmlands" with the "no power plants, no data center" message. For Jenny East Cole, the whole thing came as a shock… “She told the Bee only neighbors who have properties touching the development received notification. "It's hard to trust anybody who has been doing all of this work behind the scenes," she told the Bee, "that all of us would have this dropped on us like a bomb.”
E&E News: Indiana gubernatorial candidate urges regulators to preserve coal plant
Jeffrey Tomich, 10/28/24
“Republican Sen. Mike Braun is asking Indiana regulators to block a coal plant’s conversion to natural gas, drawing criticism from environmentalists who say the move was inappropriate given Braun’s run for governor,” E&E News reports. “Braun would have power over the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) if he wins the race for Indiana governor, in which he is favored to win against Democrat Jennifer McCormick. His letter on Oct. 10 asks the five-member panel to deny a request by utility AES to make investments that would allow the Petersburg Generating Station — one of the state’s largest coal-fired power plants — to switch to natural gas. The letter is “absolutely and completely inappropriate,” Kerwin Olson, executive director of the Citizens Action Coalition, an Indiana environmental and consumer advocacy group, told E&E. If elected, Braun would have the power to appoint or remove IURC commissioners. Braun is “interfering with a process in which he is likely [the commissioners’] next boss,” Olson told E&E. “It’s sort of using the bully pulpit, if you will, to threaten the IURC, and it was just bad form.”
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: UN Climate Chief Warns of Looming ‘Trainwreck’ as 1.5C in Doubt
John Ainger, 10/28/24
“The world is on course to miss a target for cutting emissions this decade by an overwhelming amount, new UN analysis shows, meaning more dangerous global warming is likely,” Bloomberg reports. “Total emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2030 will only be 2.6% lower than in 2019, according to the latest climate plans put forward by countries, a synthesis compiled by UN Climate Change said Monday. To be consistent with a goal for a 1.5C warming limit, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest that emissions would have to fall by 43% over the same time period. The best estimate of where temperatures will peak this century, based off the national climate plans, is between 2.1C-2.8C, the institution said. Still there’s a possibility that emissions could peak this decade. “Greenhouse gas pollution at these levels will guarantee a human and economic trainwreck for every country, without exception,” said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change. “Every fraction of a degree matters, as climate disasters get rapidly worse.” “...Countries are required to come forward with fresh climate plans aligned with the 1.5C goal before the COP30 summit in Brazil next year.”
Reuters: LNG shipping rates tumble to multi-year lows as new vessels come online
10/28/24
“Liquefied natural gas shipping rates have hit multi-year lows and may extend losses going into 2025, analysts and shipping sources said, with new tankers being added at a faster rate than LNG production is rising and spot demand still tepid,” Reuters reports. “New LNG tankers, built in anticipation of rising U.S. exports after a plunge in Russian gas supplies to Europe in 2022, are coming online earlier than liquefaction projects, which have been delayed amid inflation from strong wage growth and a shortage of skilled labour and equipment. With more ships expected to come, freight rates for LNG tankers may remain depressed until late 2025 when new production starts up, Samuel Good, head of LNG pricing at commodity pricing agency Argus, told Reuters. “Some liquefaction capacity delays, mainly in the U.S., have helped cause this mismatch between fleet growth and LNG supply growth… “Tepid demand for LNG in Europe and Asia has also weakened the call for vessels for delivery of the fuel, the shipbroker told Reuters, with European storage largely already full ahead of winter.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Energy Mix: Alberta Ad Campaign Dodges Federal Greenwashing Rules While Carrying Fossil Industry Message
Jody MacPherson, 10/29/24
“Alberta’s $7-million advertising campaign against federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions is boosting claims by the oil and gas industry that could be considered greenwashing, but legal experts say it’s unlikely governments can be held accountable under the same legislation,” The Energy Mix reports. “...Another part of the website questions the need for emissions limits with a statement by Tristan Goodman, CEO of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC), that oil and gas producers are already achieving “significant emissions reductions, as shown in the federal government’s own data.” That statement doesn’t match Government of Canada data reporting that the oil and gas sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased 83% between 1990 and 2022. In 2022, oil and gas was Canada’s largest source of GHG emissions, accounting for 31% of the total… “Under recent amendments to Canada’s Competition Act, corporations face greenwashing regulations to prevent false claims about “protecting or restoring the environment or mitigating the environmental and ecological causes or effects of climate change” when they promote their products or services… “But none of that stops the province from promoting the industry position on its own dime. Ecojustice lawyer Matt Hulse told The Energy Mix the new greenwashing rules focus on private entities promoting a business interest… “It’s problematic that governments are parroting what we highly suspect is greenwashing,” Hulse told The Energy Mix… “Priyanka Vittal, legal counsel for Greenpeace Canada told The Energy Mix the claims on Alberta’s website look like greenwashing. “This looks like an ad campaign riddled with misinformation putting corporate interests ahead of Canadians,” she told The Mix in an email, adding that “a misleading advertising campaign can have devastating consequences for Canadians if the public and lawmakers take this as truth.” “...Meanwhile, one environmental group has created a parody of the ScrapTheCap.ca website and called it CapTheCrap.ca.”
Saucon Source: New Nature Preserve Opens in Lehigh Co.
10/28/24
“A new nature preserve has opened in Lehigh County, offering seven trails woven across a 187-acre expanse of protected land for hiking, biking and exploring the outdoors,” the Saucon Source reports. “...The sanctuary was created through a partnership between Wildlands Conservancy and PPL Foundation, with support from numerous community members, businesses and organizations, including Air Products, Boy Scouts, QVC, Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, the John A. and Margaret Post Foundation, Lehigh Valley Road Runners, PPL Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Rotary Club of Allentown, TC Energy and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.”
MyKapuskasingNow: Smooth Rock Falls Fire Department and Enbridge team up to help residents
Denis Puska, 10/28/24
“The Smooth Rock Falls Fire Department and Enbridge announced they’re working together to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon-monoxide related deaths to zero,” MyKapuskasingNow reports. “The Fire department was presented with 60 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through the Safe Community Project.”
OPINION
The Progressive: ‘Permitting Reform’ Threatens Environmental Justice
Richard Moore is co-chair of the White House Environmental Justice Council and co-coordinator of Los Jardines Institute, 10/25/24
“Almost thirty-five years ago, the mainstream environmental movement was put on notice. In 1990, the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) sent a powerful letter to major environmental organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund and others exposing their exclusionary practices that omitted and ignored the voices and needs of communities most affected by environmental injustice,” Richard Moore writes for The Progressive. “The letter, signed by leaders (including myself) from diverse backgrounds, called out the mainstream environmental movement for advancing policies that often sacrificed the needs of communities of color in exchange for conservation “wins.” Its message was clear: True environmental progress cannot be made on the backs of the most vulnerable. Much has changed in the past thirty-five years. We have fought to reshape environmental policies to reflect not just the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, but also to address the disproportionate impacts of fossil fuel infrastructure and harmful pollutants on marginalized communities… “But some voices in Congress threaten that progress. Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso have introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, a dangerous legislative package that would force the government to give sweetheart deals and handouts to polluting industries for modest clean energy infrastructure wins… “Together with other so-called “permitting reform” efforts, this bill effectively silences the voices of those most impacted by fossil fuel projects by restricting their ability to challenge harmful decisions in court. This is particularly dangerous for communities of color and low-income neighborhoods, which have historically been targeted for the placement of polluting industries. These permitting reform efforts don’t move us forward; they are a major step backward. They disregard the hard-won gains of the environmental justice movement and threaten to reverse our progress in creating a more just and sustainable future. They mark a return to the old ways of thinking, where environmental policies were crafted in boardrooms and backrooms of power without any regard for the lives they would affect.”
Globe and Mail: It’s time for Alberta’s oilsands to land the Pathways carbon project
Adam Sweet is director for Western Canada at climate-policy organization Clean Prosperity, 10/29/24
“...The Globe and Mail reported on Monday that the federal government’s Canada Growth Fund (CGF) has quietly put forward a deal offering support to build the Pathways Alliance megaproject,” Adam Sweet writes for the Globe and Mail. “...With a price tag estimated at $16.5-billion, this project would see six Alberta oil sands companies build a world-leading carbon capture and storage network in Northern Alberta… “With approximately two-thirds of the project’s capital requirements covered, in addition to the CGF’s proposal, the question is: When could there ever be a deal this good for Alberta’s energy companies again? It is vital that the three main players in this project – the government of Alberta, the Pathways Alliance and the federal government – work together to get shovels in the ground immediately… “Landing this project, especially if the CGF deal goes through, could represent one of the largest reinvestments of federal money back to Alberta… “Also, contrary to what some may think, energy companies cannot be expected to invest in this project without the prospect of a sufficient return… “To ask them now to expend billions of dollars in capital to deliver an additional public good – carbon capture and storage – without additional public support is akin to asking a contractor to take on a major change order for no additional fee. At the same time, it’s incumbent on the companies, and especially their boards, to recognize that failing to invest in decarbonization while returning billions to investors through dividends and share buybacks is not in the long-term interests of their shareholders… “After years of discussion, the time is now. Let’s get Pathways done.”