EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/31/22
PIPELINE NEWS
NWIowa.com: Iowa's CO2 pipeline fight, one year in
Mitchell Republic: Pipeline populism: Can Jeff Barth ride surge of landowner discontent to South Dakota PUC upset?
The Center Square: Judge: Army Corps of Engineers created a 'liability mess' at the Dakota Access Pipeline
Gate City Daily: Meeting on NuStar pipeline set for Jan. 9
Commonwealth Magazine: What’s behind the pipeline debate in governor’s race?
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: $30B of profits renews Big Oil’s clash with White House
The Hill: Khanna bill would ban gas exports during price spikes
E&E News: Lawsuit Challenges Biden NEPA Reviews Of N.M. Oil Leases
Bloomberg: White House Permit Office Works to Bulk Up After Funding Boost
STATE UPDATES
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Occidental Petroleum agrees to $6.5 million for fixes for air pollution
NPR StateImpact Pennsylvania: Pa.’s natural gas industry set to get billions in state tax credits
Oil City News: Driven by high oil and gas prices, Wyoming revenues outpace forecast by $329M
Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder County to consider Extraction lease offer, forced pooling threat
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: Oil Giants Face Backlash for Handing Record Profits to Investors
The Energy Mix: Guilbeault Scorches Fossils for Failing to Invest Record Profits in Emission Cuts
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Lakeland Today: Moose hunt was part of youth lessons on Métis land
OPINION
Mackinac Center for Public Policy: Whitmer’s Line 5 ‘no change’ claim is a lot of gas
The Hill: The nonsensical, hypocritical lawsuits against energy producers
Times Colonist: Trevor Hancock: The human and environmental cost of growth-obsessed 'extractivism'
PIPELINE NEWS
NWIowa.com: Iowa's CO2 pipeline fight, one year in
Elijah Helton, 10/30/22
“It’s been more than a year since the pipeline plots landed in N’West Iowa,” NWIowa.com reports. “A local legislator tried and failed to get his own party on board. Farmers got a big-city law firm ready for legal action. Environmentalists and libertarians joined the increasingly strange group of bedfellows. The motley movement against carbon dioxide pipelines is underway… “If the IUB approves a pipeline — decisions scheduled to be made early next year — it also gives the company’s the least popular aspect of their projects: Eminent domain… “From one side of the political spectrum is the Sierra Club. The environmental group’s Iowa chapter has been a leading activist group against the pipelines. Jess Mazour has rallied the troops for several protests in Des Moines and elsewhere. “It is so obvious the only people that want this are the ones that stand to benefit from it economically,” Mazour told NWIowa.com… “Brian Jorde of Domina Law Group is the lead lawyer for the antipipeline landowners. He has been monitoring the situation in several states from his Omaha, NE, office as carbon capture issues trickle across the Midwest. “There’s power in numbers with other like-minded, concerned Iowa landowners,” Jorde told NWIowa.com. “We have to mass up and group together to try to fight against the power of the political machine and the millions and millions of dollars they can throw around to buy people off.” “...Local governments in South Dakota are waging white-collar war on the pipelines, mostly on the same eminent domain grounds on which many Iowans stand. Jorde told NWIowa.com it is probable those same specific challenges will cross state lines. There are county-level legal actions in early phases across Iowa. Whatever twists and turns the pipelines make next, Mazour told NWIowa.com the antipipeline movement is not giving up. “We can be angry and we can complain, but if we don’t turn that into action, these pipelines will be built,” Mazour told NWIowa.com. “That means we have to get engaged because we’re not going to stop this on our own. No one person is going to stop this. We’ll stop these together.”
Mitchell Republic: Pipeline populism: Can Jeff Barth ride surge of landowner discontent to South Dakota PUC upset?
Jason Harward, 10/27/22
“At the beginning of his stump speech, Chris Nelson tells the small audience that, if they take nothing else from what he’s saying, they should remember this: “truth matters,” the Mitchell Republic reports. “...Why has he traveled to every corner of the state, taking any speaking opportunity that will have him, spending his Friday nights passing out “victory snacks” at high school football games? The answer comes in the form of hundreds of miles of proposed carbon pipelines and Democratic challenger Jeff Barth, who is giving voters a simple pitch: “vote for me, and I won’t be a rubber stamp,” he says. For Barth to pull off a stunning upset in the race for a six-year term on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, he will have to convince enough people that he, not Nelson, is the one telling the truth. The Carbon Pipeline Forum at Dakotafest in Mitchell on Aug. 16 was an opportunity for attendees of the annual agricultural showcase to hear both sides of the Summit Carbon Solutions story… “Before and after the forum, Barth was milling around the crowd, shaking hands and doling out business cards… “Despite the best efforts of the companies involved to communicate optimism to the press in “working in partnership with landowners,” the pipelines have become wildly unpopular in nearly 20 counties in the state, tracing a footprint beginning in the Interstate 29 corridor in the southeast and extending northwest past Aberdeen and into North Dakota. Opposing landowners mainly cite a worry over safety and the possible taking of private land under the power of eminent domain… “[Barth’s] word is getting out there more and more. We've had these CO2 meetings a couple of times, and he showed up just about every time showing his concern,” Clayton Rentschler, a Moody County resident whose parent’s land sits in the pipeline path, told the Republic. “Whether or not he'd have enough to beat Chris [Nelson], I don’t know, Chris has a lot of pull. He's the big dog in the fight. So Jeff does have a battle ahead of him.” “...But, if you can draw anything from the topic of eminent domain and carbon pipelines being broached in a small, explicitly Republican crowd, it’s that Barth’s message has a crop of people across the political spectrum willing to listen. Those people, Barth thinks, are not only within the pipeline counties in the eastern part of the state, but also in Gregory County, Meade County and anywhere else that anger over unfair eminent domain usage may exist. “I just think that Commissioner Nelson is not standing up for South Dakota landowners and the state of South Dakota as far as I'm concerned,” Joy Hohn, a registered Republican in Minnehaha County planning to vote for Barth, told Forum News Service. “This race, I'm planning to vote for the person and what they're standing for, whether they're Democrat or Republican.”
The Center Square: Judge: Army Corps of Engineers created a 'liability mess' at the Dakota Access Pipeline
Kim Jarrett, 10/28/22
“A U.S. District Court judge on Friday denied a motion from the federal government to limit the scope of a lawsuit filed by North Dakota over security costs at the Dakota Access Pipeline,” The Center Square reports. “The state accused the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in a 2019 lawsuit of not managing the more than 5,000 protesters that camped out near the pipeline's construction site from August 2016 to March 2017. The state spent more than $38 million on emergency services. Between $13 million and $14 million is still owed on a loan taken by the state to cover the cost, legislative budget analyst Allen Knudson told the Government Finance Committee earlier this month. The USACE created a "liability mess," U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor said in his ruling. “The (Corps’) failure to follow the permitting procedure opened the gates to North Dakota being damaged by the United States, its agencies, and third parties," Traynor said. It let protestors and other hapless federal agencies exacerbate the damages and then left North Dakota to clean it up.” The federal government's motion to limit the scope could be an effort to "prevent discovery from the other federal agencies involved in this case or caused damage to the tate of North Dakota," the judge wrote in his ruling.”
Gate City Daily: Meeting on NuStar pipeline set for Jan. 9
Robin Delaney, 10/31/22
“The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) issued an order on Friday establishing a new public hearing date regarding a proposed hazardous liquid pipeline project by NuStar Pipeline Operating Partnership L.P (NuStar) that is pending before the IUB in Docket No. HLP-2021-0002,” the Gate City Daily reports. “Previously, this meeting was to be on Oct. 19 in Fort Madison, but an error in the sending of notices prompted the meeting to be rescheduled. That meeting is now set for 1 p.m. on Jan. 9 at the Quality Inn and Suites in Fort Madison… “On Oct. 10, NuStar filed a proposed notice of eminent domain proceedings, which will be sent to all landowners and affected persons with an interest in the property over which eminent domain is being requested… “NuStar filed a petition (application) for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit with the IUB on Jan. 27, under Iowa Code chapter 479.B. If granted, the permit would allow the company to construct, operate, and maintain 13.74 miles of hazardous liquid pipeline in Lee County, to transport anhydrous ammonia.”
Commonwealth Magazine: What’s behind the pipeline debate in governor’s race?
BRUCE MOHL, 10/27/22
“Q: Why are the two candidates running for governor, Democrat Maura Healey and Republican Geoff Diehl, arguing about natural gas pipelines that never got built?,” Commonwealth Magazine reports. “A: It’s actually a very interesting issue, and one that goes to the heart of an ongoing and important debate about the best way to keep the lights on in Massachusetts and across New England while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Q: What’s the debate about? A: In broad terms, the debate is about the best way to wean the state and region off of fossil fuels. One side says we must move as quickly as possible given the pace of climate change. Those who hold this view don’t want new fossil fuel infrastructure built and want to phase out the existing infrastructure as fast as they can. A good example of this philosophy was the Legislature’s vote earlier this year to launch a pilot program allowing 10 communities to ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction. Q: What’s the other point of view? A: The other side also wants to reduce reliance on fossil fuels but argues that we should do so in a way that doesn’t lead to market disruptions – higher prices, for example, or energy shortages, which could be caused by a too-rapid transition. Q: So what’s this pipeline issue Healey and Diehl keep talking about? A: In 2015, there was an effort to build additional natural gas pipeline capacity into New England. There was then and still continues to be concern about a possible shortage of natural gas for electricity generation during extended cold periods in the winter. ISO-New England, the region’s power grid operator, has repeatedly raised concerns about shortages, and even warned that rolling brownouts are possible.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: $30B of profits renews Big Oil’s clash with White House
Mike Lee, 10/31/22
“The two biggest U.S. oil and gas companies reported over $30 billion in combined earnings Friday, touching off another round of debate about the actions of domestic energy producers,” E&E News reports. “President Joe Biden and the head of Exxon Mobil Corp. engaged in a long-distance verbal spat over the third-quarter results while a Democrat in Congress announced a new plan to block exports of U.S. gasoline during periods with high domestic prices. Exxon and Chevron Corp. said they’re benefiting from long-term investments they continued during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry has argued the best way for Biden’s administration to help American consumers is by encouraging more oil and gas production in the United States. At the same time, companies are spending billions of dollars on dividends and share buybacks to reward their investors. “There has been discussion in the U.S. about our industry returning some of our profits directly to the American people,” Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil’s CEO, said Friday in prepared remarks. “In fact, that’s exactly what we’re doing in the form of our quarterly dividend.” “...The White House, through Biden’s official Twitter account, responded, “Can’t believe I have to say this but giving profits to shareholders is not the same as bringing prices down for American families.” “...Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a bill Friday that would prohibit the export of American-made gasoline while allowing diesel to be exported to Europe and other regions (Greenwire, Oct. 28). The bill doesn’t address oil exports… “In his interview with Bloomberg, Wirth suggested that a ban would have “unintended consequences.” But he told Bloomberg the administration could help consumers by waiving refining specifications for gasoline and diesel — and the Jones Act, which prohibits foreign-owned ships from transporting cargo between U.S. ports. Wirth and Exxon Mobil’s Woods also praised some of the provisions in the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act. The law — signed by Biden in August — provides billions of dollars in tax credits for companies that capture carbon dioxide emissions, produce biofuels and develop low-emissions forms of hydrogen.”
The Hill: Khanna bill would ban gas exports during price spikes
ZACK BUDRYK, 10/28/22
“Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a vocal critic of large oil companies’ business practices, is set to introduce legislation Friday that would ban the export of refined gasoline products during domestic spikes in gas prices,” The Hill reports. “The legislation would restrict exports during any seven-day period where the national average gas price is $3.12 a gallon or higher. Khanna’s office said in a statement that the legislation will specifically apply to gasoline products, which are predominantly exported to Latin America, and will not affect diesel exports, which have become a lifeline for European nations ending the use of Russian fuel. “While Big Oil is reporting obscene profits this week, American families are struggling to afford gas at the pump. These companies should not be allowed to profit by exporting gas to other countries while we struggle with increased prices here at home,” Khanna said in a statement shared early with The Hill. “My bill will temporarily restrict exports as long as prices are above the average price in 2019.” “...The measure is unlikely to pass Congress, but its introduction opens a new front in efforts to lower gas prices and put restrictions on oil companies. U.S. appeals to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations failed to budge them on production increases.”
E&E News: Lawsuit Challenges Biden NEPA Reviews Of N.M. Oil Leases
Niina A. Farah, 10/28/22
“Environmental and tribal groups launched a new legal challenge this week to undo the Biden administration’s decision to reissue Trump-era oil and gas leases across 45,000 acres in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. The Bureau of Land Management greenlighted the leases in August after reaching a settlement with Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (CARE), the San Juan Citizens Alliance and WildEarth Guardians earlier this year. The deal called for reconsideration of National Environmental Policy Act reviews for the leases because of their proximity to the Sisnaateel Mesa Complex, a 20-mile area sacred to the Diné. Diné CARE and the other challengers say reapproving the leases is a betrayal of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s efforts to establish long-term protections for Chaco Canyon and the administration’s broader environmental justice goals. ‘These Bureau of Land Management’s approvals for oil and gas leasing undermines the trust responsibility the Bureau has with Diné living on the Counselor, Ojo Encino, and Torreon lands,’ Diné CARE Greater Chaco Energy organizer Mario Atencio said in a statement. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico claims that the Biden administration’s new NEPA reviews of the leases still did not do enough to consider cumulative greenhouse gas emissions or the direct and indirect health effects of leasing on communities living near fossil fuel development. It also says the agency violated requirements under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to avoid ‘unnecessary and undo degradation’ of public lands.
Bloomberg: White House Permit Office Works to Bulk Up After Funding Boost
10/27/22
“The federal consulting shop that helps agencies work on environmental permits is bulking up, adding staff and extending its reach into new sectors of the economy, the head of the office says,” Bloomberg reports. “The unprecedented expansion comes at a time when a broader role for the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council has emerged as one of the few ideas for overhauling the nation’s permitting structure that both Democrats and Republicans agree on. The expansion is fueled by a significant increase in FPISC’s budget from the recent climate law (Public Law 117-169), which catapulted agency funding from $10 million to $350 million…”
STATE UPDATES
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Occidental Petroleum agrees to $6.5 million for fixes for air pollution
Adrian Hedden, 10/28/22
“One of the Permian Basin’s largest oil and gas operators agreed to spend more than $6 million to address air pollution concerns in southeast New Mexico, after environmentalists threatened to sue the company last year for alleged violations of federal law at facilities in the Carlsbad area,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) filed a settlement agreement Tuesday with Santa Fe-based WildEarth Guardians (WEG), agreeing to spend $5.5 million to reduce emissions at its facilities, pay a $500,000 penalty and invest another $500,000 in local air quality projects. The settlement filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico stemmed from a November 2021 suit brought by WildEarth Guardians, alleging the company was in violation of the Clean Air Act at a natural gas compression facility and tank battery near Carlsbad. In that suit, WildEarth Guardians, citing its own research of alleged emissions events at Occidental's facilities, estimated the company could be liable for up to $350 million in penalties. The group’s complaints were in response to flaring, or the burning of excess natural gas, along with the venting or release of greenhouse gases like methane – a main component of extracted natural gas. In signing the agreement, Occidental admitted no wrongdoing, a spokesperson told the Argus, but agreed to operational changes to limit both venting and flaring at facilities throughout the region.”
NPR StateImpact Pennsylvania: Pa.’s natural gas industry set to get billions in state tax credits
Sam Dunklau, 10/27/22
“Pennsylvania lawmakers are sending a nearly $2 billion package of tax credits aimed at supporting the state’s natural gas industry to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk,” NPR StateImpact Pennsylvania reports. “Wolf is expected to sign the bill. The credits would offset tens of millions in taxes each year until 2050 to select companies that use gas, like those in the milk and chemical production industries. But, they must build facilities in Pennsylvania and create a certain number of new jobs. The legislation comes at a time when experts say greenhouse gas emissions must be cut dramatically to avoid the worst effects of climate change – including by transitioning away from fossil fuels… “Environmental groups criticize the tax credits because they would heavily subsidize natural gas production, a process that emits the potent greenhouse gas methane. Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) called the agreement, which was quietly negotiated for some time, a “backroom deal.” Patrick McDonnell – formerly Wolf’s secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection who now leads the statewide lobbying group PennFuture – told NPR the legislation is “slapdash industrial policy at its worst that will perpetuate Pennsylvania’s addiction to fossil fuels.” “...Overall, the bill creates $1.97 billion in tax credits. It earmarks $50 million a year for hydrogen production subsidies… “State leaders say they want those firms to help build a regional hydrogen hub. The Biden administration is putting $7 billion toward the creation of such hubs across the country. “ Mark Szybist, senior attorney for the Climate and Clean Energy Program at Natural Resources Defense Council, told NPR the bill is “deeply flawed.” The tax credits, he told NPR, “provide massive financial support to petrochemical manufacturing and shale gas extraction unconditioned on either pollution limits or protections for communities where supported facilities will be located.”
Oil City News: Driven by high oil and gas prices, Wyoming revenues outpace forecast by $329M
BRENDAN LACHANCE, 10/30/22
“Things like higher oil and gas prices may be hard on individuals and families but have led to increased revenue for the State of Wyoming,” Oil City News reports. “Through the end of fiscal year 2022, revenues for the state’s General Fund and Budget Reserve Account exceeded the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group’s January estimates by $329.4 million, according to an October CREG report released Wednesday… “Strong oil and natural gas prices in the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2022 significantly outpaced CREG’s forecast and contributed to higher-than-expected revenue collections for the state’s primary operating accounts,” the report said. “Overall inflation is elevated and more persistent than anticipated just a year ago.” “...Governor Mark Gordon’s office issued a press release after the October CREG report was released on Wednesday. “I am heartened by the higher-than-forecast state revenue picture reflected in the October CREG Report,” Gordon said. “However, this welcome news is not cause for excessive celebration or reason to relax our fiscal conservatism. We must remember that there has been a lot of volatility in our mineral revenues over the past few years, and that remains a concern for our future.
Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder County to consider Extraction lease offer, forced pooling threat
LUCAS HIGH, 10/25/22
“Boulder County officials will begin hearings on Nov. 1 regarding Extraction Oil & Gas Inc.’s attempt to lease mineral rights on county-owned land, as well as the potential for the oil company to compel the county to participate in “forced pooling,” which would essentially make Boulder County a partner in the drilling operation, responsible for costs associated with the well located just over the border in Weld County and eligible to share in its eventual proceeds,” the Boulder Daily Camera reports. “Extraction issued the lease-or-forced-pooling ultimatum to Boulder County — which has historically resisted attempts by oil companies to drill within its boundaries — this summer. Forced pooling is a process that allows operators to drill a well to access a pool of resources, often called a drilling unit, from under a parcel of land that has multiple owners with mineral rights. It usually involves horizontal drilling, a technique that runs well pipes underground at a depth of 2,000 to 7,000 feet from one well to capture resources in a pool area that can be as large as 640 acres — the equivalent of one square mile, a more economical approach than drilling an area with multiple vertical wells… In 2018, Boulder County unsuccessfully sued Extraction in an attempt to block it from moving forward with drilling at the Blue Paintbrush pad, which features 32 wells about 1,000 feet east of the Boulder County line.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: Oil Giants Face Backlash for Handing Record Profits to Investors
Kevin Crowley and Will Mathis, 10/28/22
“Big Oil’s record profits are a huge hit on Wall Street but increasingly provocative in the corridors of power from Washington to London as politicians lash out against executives for funneling windfall profits to investors,” Bloomberg reports. “The controversy this week was not so much about the gargantuan dollar amounts earned but what the world’s largest energy companies chose to do with them. Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE are handing almost $100 billion to shareholders annually in the form of buybacks and dividends while reinvesting just $80 billion in their core businesses this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Can’t believe I have to say this, but giving profits to shareholders is not the same as bringing prices down for American families,” President Joe Biden tweeted Friday in response to Exxon’s dividend increase. Biden assailed Exxon again Friday evening at a Democratic fundraiser in Philadelphia, saying the company’s earnings were “the most it’s made in its 152-year history, while the rest of America is struggling.” “Those excess profits are going back to their shareholders and their executives instead of going to lower prices at the pump and giving relief to the American people, who deserve it and need it,” he added. “I’m going to keep harping on it,” Biden vowed. “They talk about me picking on them -- they ain’t seen nothing yet. I mean it. It outrages me. Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, called energy profits “obscene,” and introduced legislation to prohibit fuel exports, a move he told Bloomberg would lower prices at the pump. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the earnings “unconscionable.”
The Energy Mix: Guilbeault Scorches Fossils for Failing to Invest Record Profits in Emission Cuts
Mia Rabson, 10/30/22
“The federal environment minister is calling out Canada’s oil companies for failing to put cash behind their promises to tackle climate change,” The Energy Mix reports. “Steven Guilbeault says the country’s major oil players have promised to do something about greenhouse gas emissions, but instead have funnelled most of their record-breaking profits to shareholders. The Canadian Press says this is at least the third time in the last six months Guilbeault’s frustration has spilled over as oil company profits soar. This time, his critiques came in the form of a video posted to Twitter as major petroleum producers began releasing their third-quarter earnings… “In the first six months of 2022, the Pathways companies recorded profits in excess of $22 billion. That compared with less than $6 billion in the first six months of 2021… “The companies may get some of the new subsidies they’re asking for later this week when Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tables her fall mini-budget. She might use it to tweak the tax credit for carbon capture and storage technology she introduced last spring, even though Guilbeault has vowed that wouldn’t happen in a moment of record fossil profits… “The Trudeau government’s tax credit—mostly to cover half the price of capital investments—will cost Ottawa about $2.6 billion over the next five years and $1.5 billion annually for four years after that, CP reports. Oil companies led by Cenovus Energy CEO Alex Pourbaix had demanded up to 75% and declared themselves happy with the proposed 50%. The latest buzz in Ottawa is that Canada may be forced to up its game because of carbon capture tax credits in the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Lakeland Today: Moose hunt was part of youth lessons on Métis land
Rob McKinley, 10/30/22
“Using the land, enjoying the land, and knowing the land as their ancestors did. That was the theme of a recent youth camp at the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement,” Lakeland Today reports. “An Oct. 7-9 trek into the expansive back-country of the rural Métis settlement located between Lac La Biche and Boyle resulted in a successful moose hunt and a successful lesson about the land for a group of teens, says Tim Patenaude, the settlement's Consultation Assistant… "We want to show these companies the importance of our lands and our ways. We want to work together with them and have a voice with them," Patenaude told LT. That partnership and that voice are vital to the industry sector, Shelby Kennedy, Enbridge's senior advisor of Community and Indigenous Engagement for the Lac La Biche area, told LT. “It’s always been important for Enbridge to support community initiatives like the cultural camp that create impactful and meaningful outcomes.” Enbridge contributed $5,000 for the camp and also donated bottled water and small gifts for the participants.”
OPINION
Mackinac Center for Public Policy: Whitmer’s Line 5 ‘no change’ claim is a lot of gas
Tim Cavanaugh, 10/29/22
“Gov. Gretchen Whitmer demonstrated the skill of a long-serving politician Tuesday while pettifogging her role in the Line 5 stalemate,” Tim Cavanaugh writes for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “There has been no change to Line 5,” Whitmer said during her debate with challenger Tudor Dixon. “No change.” This is precisely true. The necessary, long-delayed environmental improvements to Line 5 remain on hold. The governor’s quixotic campaign to shut down the pipeline is also stalled, facing opposition from federal, state and provincial authorities on both sides of the border and having lost two key rounds in federal court. Nor has the regime uncertainty over the future of the international pipeline improved during Whitmer’s tenure. While the governor is deeply involved in the Line 5 quagmire, her role in it has been entirely negative. The reason there isn’t any change is that Whitmer has so far failed in her effort to shut the line down… “Whitmer campaigned on a platform to shut the pipeline down, as did Attorney General Dana Nessel… “This is the precise truth in Whitmer’s claim. There has been no change to Line 5 – because her own meritless legal case has failed to convince federal courts that the state has jurisdiction, or that Enbridge has done anything wrong… “For Whitmer to claim credit for the lack of change in Line 5’s status is impressively shameless. But the performance would be more convincing if the governor would commit to Line 5’s future and stop standing in the way of improvements. Sometimes the people of Michigan do need a change.”
The Hill: The nonsensical, hypocritical lawsuits against energy producers
Ellen R. Wald is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, and president of Transversal Consulting, a global energy and geopolitics consultancy, 10/28/22
“Yet another state attorney general has filed a lawsuit against major oil and gas companies, seeking recompenses from these companies for damages allegedly caused by weather-related events,” Ellen R. Wald writes for The Hill. “This month, it’s New Jersey. There are now more than two dozen such lawsuits making their way through state and federal courts around the country. Meanwhile, a similar lawsuit from New York City was heard in federal court and dismissed last year. At this point, these lawsuits appear to be nothing more than harassment designed to shine political fame and fortune on the politicians and their trial attorneys who instigate them. Such tactics need to end. Climate policy should be formulated by America’s elected officials, not by judges. The local and state governments allege that energy companies concealed information about the risks that burning fossil fuels might pose to the earth’s climate. They claim the companies should compensate the local governments for damage caused by weather-related events such as floods, wildfires, storms and the loss of wetlands, and pay punitive damages for producing and selling petroleum and natural gas products. The energy companies in question do not appear to be engaged in illegal activity in this regard. They did not conceal information about climate change from consumers because there is no conclusive evidence that burning fossil fuels from products made by the companies named in these suits — or any other companies — caused Superstorm Sandy to destroy New Jersey’s wetlands, instigated floods in Hawaii, or ignited wildfires in California. These lawsuits are based on political calculations, not facts and evidence… “Climate policy should be debated in the legislature, where elected officials can discuss and implement the will of their constituents. It should not be set through the judicial system where citizens have no say. It is time for the voters to tell their governments: no more.”
Times Colonist: Trevor Hancock: The human and environmental cost of growth-obsessed 'extractivism'
Dr. Trevor Hancock is a retired professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria’s School of Public Health and Social Policy, 10/30/22
“The new Club of Rome report Earth For All addresses the two greatest challenges facing humanity: the massive and rapid ecological triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — to which I would add resource depletion — and the social crisis of massive inequality,” Dr. Trevor Hancock writes for the Times Colonist. “Importantly, it links these two crises to a common source: the growth-obsessed neo-liberal extractivist economy. As a result, much of the report’s focus is on the need for “unprecedented economic shifts in a single generation — actually, within a single decade.” While the term “extractivism” is being used more often in the critical analysis of the failures of our economic system, it is perhaps not a widely understood concept. In brief, we have an economic system that extracts both renewable and non-renewable natural resources — often generating a lot of local and even regional or global ecological damage — then processes, distributes and uses them — again, often generating further ecological harm — and finally discards them, with further harm resulting. But extractivism also has a social and human cost. Only too often, resources are extracted by large multinational corporations in low-income countries or disadvantaged communities where protection of workers, communities and the environment is lax, or poorly enforced, or undermined by corruption. As a result, while ostensibly intended to create local development, the process can perpetuate poverty and poor living conditions, while creating local environmental harm… “But our role, locally, must be to reduce our ecological footprint — especially our carbon and food footprints — while supporting federal policies that favour fair and clean development in low-income countries.”