EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/29/21
PIPELINE NEWS
DemocracyNow: Dramatic Video Shows Militarized Canadian Police Raid Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders & Journalists
CBC: Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief says RCMP raids and courts orders won't stop pipeline blockade
CTV: Rally held in Toronto in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs
CBC: 1 person arrested after message of solidarity with pipeline opponents painted on Bay Street
Montreal Gazette: Protesters march to back Wet’suwet’en in opposition to B.C. pipeline
Burnaby Now: ‘Militarized’ RCMP team moves in to arrest TMX protester from Burnaby tree
Des Moines Register: What we know about two carbon capture pipelines proposed in Iowa
The Gazette: Carbon pipeline would go through Eastern Iowa
Daily Union: Enbridge provides update on Blackhawk Island cleanup
Bloomberg: Enbridge to Explore Extending Mainline Pact After Canada Regulator Rejection
FoxBusiness: Biden facing renewed criticism for cancelling Keystone XL Pipeline amid energy crisis
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Gizmodo: The U.S.'s Big Stockpile of Emergency Oil, Explained
Politico: SHOW YOUR PROOF
Politico: WARREN TURNS TO NATGAS EXPORTS
E&E News: Biden admin urges higher prices for drilling on public land
E&E News: 3 issues to watch with Biden’s oil and gas overhaul
STATE UPDATES
The Advocate: After explosion kills teenage girl, Louisiana sets new rules for oil field tank batteries
Flathead Beacon: Montana Foundation Capping Abandoned Oil Wells
EXTRACTION
OilPrice.com: Canada's Ambitious New Plan To Save Its Oil Sands
CLIMATE FINANCE
Associated Press: Liberal Oregon resists dropping controversial investments
OPINION
Truthout: Enough Colonial Pageantry. Let’s Rally Behind Criminalized Water Protectors.
APTN News: ‘You are increasingly at risk’: Tara Houska and the sacrifice of being on the front lines of resistance
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Mountain Valley Pipeline is unjust and our state board must deny new permits
MessageMedia: Enbridge pays about $43 million in taxes
The Hill: Let environmentalists bid for oil leases
PIPELINE NEWS
DemocracyNow: Dramatic Video Shows Militarized Canadian Police Raid Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders & Journalists
11/24/21
“We feature dramatic video footage just released that shows a violent raid Friday by Canadian federal police on one of the camps set up to keep Coastal GasLink out of sovereign Indigenous territory,” DemocracyNow reports. “Fifteen people in total were arrested, including two journalists. Wet’suwet’en land defender Sleydo’, also known as Molly Wickham, has now been released. The new footage was filmed by documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano, who was also just released. The raid ended a 56-day blockade of the drilling site. The 400-mile pipeline within Wet’suwet’en land violates both Indigenous and Canadian laws. AMY GOODMAN: Wet’suwet’en land defender Sleydo, also known as Molly Wickham, was released from jail Tuesday evening after being arrested Friday during a violent raid by Canadian federal police on one of the camps set up to keep Coastal GasLink out of sovereign Indigenous territory. The raid ended a 56-day blockade of the drilling site in Canada. The 400-mile pipeline within Wet’suwet’en land violates both Indigenous and Canadian laws. Fifteen people in total were arrested Friday including two journalists. One of them was documentary filmmaker Michael Toledano, who just released this dramatic footage of the raid.”
CBC: Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief says RCMP raids and courts orders won't stop pipeline blockade
11/24/21
“As far as Chief Woos is concerned, neither the police nor the courts have the right to tell people they can't go near the Coastal GasLink pipeline worksites in northwestern B.C.,” the CBC reports. “On Thursday and Friday, RCMP raided a pipeline blockade by members of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and their allies, who say the project poses an unwelcome threat to local waterways. At least 29 people were arrested, including a prominent camp leader and two journalists. Police characterized the raid as a "rescue mission" of more than 500 Coastal GasLink workers, who the company said were unable to get food, water or supplies because of the blockade. Those participating in the blockade say there are alternative roues to the worksites, but the company says those routes are not safe in winter conditions. Some of those who were arrested have since been released on conditions that they steer clear of the Coastal GasLinkproject. Wet'suwet'en members were told they could return to the area to engage in cultural practices, such as fishing, hunting and trapping, but must stay 75 metres away from the worksites… “Chief Woos, the British Columbia courts are ordering Wet'suwet'en land defenders not to approach the Coastal GasLink project. So how do you respond to that? I think that is ludicrous. Never in the history of Canada has this type of interaction happened with the true land owners, which are the hereditary chiefs, the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. This industry has been disrespectful, and used the courts to their advantage, and also the RCMP. So that's my feeling on it, and I ain't gonna paint a really nice picture on it either.”
CTV: Rally held in Toronto in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs
Katherine DeClerq, 11/21/21
“About 100 people gathered along Toronto's rail lines on Sunday in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs fighting against the construction of a pipeline through their territory following multiple arrests in northern B.C.,” CTV reports. “The demonstration began at Bartlett Avenue, near Dupont and Dufferin streets, around 11 a.m. "The goal today here is to be in support of the Wet'suwet'en land defenders that were forced off their territory at gunpoint," Eve Saint, a Wet'suwet'en land defender in Toronto, told CP24 Sunday morning. "Up to 50 to 100 RCMP went in there, guns fully loaded, TAC teams … that is wrong." On Friday, RCMP arrested 15 people—including two journalists—following protests that blocked access to a road used by Coastal GasLink pipeline workers. On Sunday, a large group of people gathered near the Canadian Pacific rail lines, holding signs that said "no pipeline," "stop RCMP invasion of Indigenous land," and " Wet’suwet’en solidarity." Sunday's gathering was one of multiple held across Canada this weekend in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, who oppose the construction of a pipeline by Coastal Gaslink.”
CBC: 1 person arrested after message of solidarity with pipeline opponents painted on Bay Street
Dan Taekema, 11/22/21
“Hamilton police say they have arrested one person and are continuing to investigate after a message of support for pipeline opponents in northern B.C. was painted in bright pink letters on Bay Street,” CBC reports. “A rally in solidarity with those against the Coastal GasLink (CGL) project was held outside the Federal Building downtown on Sunday. It came after the RCMP arrested people occupying a GasLink work site, who had halted the company's plans to drill a tunnel under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice) river. Roughly 175 people gathered in Hamilton for a rally around noon, blocking the street while some of the demonstrators painted "ALL OUT FOR WEDZIN KWA" in large block letters. Jordan Carrier, a Plains Cree woman and longtime Hamilton resident, helped organize the rally… “Carrier told CBC organizers and rally attendees have been in contact with the person who was arrested and will continue to offer support to them and anyone else who faces charges in connection with the event. "I know folks look at things like this as vandalism, but it's a really large way to send a message," she told CBC. "History has shown us time and time again that the law doesn't always equal morals and values."
Montreal Gazette: Protesters march to back Wet’suwet’en in opposition to B.C. pipeline
Frédéric Tomesco, 11/28/21
“About 100 people braved the bitter cold in Westmount on Saturday to express support for British Columbia’s Wet’suwet’en nation and voice their opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” the Montreal Gazette reports. “Wet’suwet’en members Marlene Hale and Eve Saint spoke to the crowd for close to an hour, underlining their people’s determination to defend its land. They also railed against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the RCMP. The demonstration is one of several across Canada that have followed an RCMP raid of the Gidimt’en checkpoint in Wet’suwet’en territory earlier this month. RCMP officers arrested land defenders who have been blocking access to the worksites of the 670-kilometre pipeline, part of which would run through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory. The pipeline is being constructed to transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a marine port in Kitimat. “A protest like this is needed,” Al Harrington, a native of Shoal Lake, Ont., who now resides in Kanesatake, told the Montreal Gazette before the start of the protest. “There are Canadian laws being broken by the Canadian government and the RCMP. They’re not respecting our rights, and this needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. We came here to show solidarity and to let them know that this won’t be tolerated.”
Burnaby Now: ‘Militarized’ RCMP team moves in to arrest TMX protester from Burnaby tree
Chris Campbell, 11/26/21
“A man protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project was arrested Friday morning for setting up a protest tent in a Burnaby tree,” Burnaby Now reports. “The group Protect the Planet – Stop TMX says a “militarized” team of about 20 officers set up in the morning and then used a bucket lift to reach the protester, Dr. Tim Takaro, who had been camped out for about four dates in a tree along Gaglardi Way, just north of Lougheed Highway. Takaro spent months in a different set of Burnaby trees during the past year along the Brunette River to protest the cutting of more than 1,300 trees to clear a path for the pipeline. “A man was safely removed from a tree-sit this morning in an area that violates an Injunction Order preventing Trans Mountain work and access from being impeded or obstructed,” said Burnaby RCMP, in a statement. “Officers who specialize in high-angle rescue were brought in to help remove the demonstrator from the tree to ensure safety … The demonstrator was given a court date and released on scene. This is the ninth arrest in Burnaby since January 1, 2021 for Criminal Contempt of Court related to the Injunction Order.” The group tells BN that Trans Mountain workers blocked access to Takaro during the past few days as support volunteers were trying to bring him food and water.”
Des Moines Register: What we know about two carbon capture pipelines proposed in Iowa
Donnelle Eller, 11/28/21
“Two companies have proposed building multibillion-dollar pipelines across Iowa to move carbon dioxide so it can be sequestered deep underground, potentially cutting greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol, fertilizer and other industrial ag plants,” the Des Moines Register reports. “But more than 400 Iowans have filed objections with the state's regulatory agency, questioning whether the pipelines are needed, safe and should be allowed to cross valuable farmland that's been passed down through multiple generations… “Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor, told the Register that carbon capture systems so far have failed to meet the promises of significantly reduced emissions. For example, a carbon capture system at a Texas coal power plant cut emissions 55% the first year and 70% after three years. But the company, which used the carbon to extract oil, claimed it would capture 90% or more of the emissions, Jacobson told the Register. The picture worsened when the emissions from coal mining and other activities were taken into account, said Jacobson, who calculated there would have been a 12% reduction in carbon emissions over 20 years had the plant not closed. Instead of trying to extend ethanol's viability, Carolyn Raffensperger, an Iowa environmental lawyer, told the Register Iowa should focus on transitioning the state's farming economy away from producing renewable fuel, and the corn and soybean crops needed to make it… “At meetings with Summit and in IUB comments, Iowans have expressed doubt the companies would fully restore underground drainage or restore farmland to its existing productivity… “Many Iowans questioned the impact the pipelines would have on their farmland values in filings with the Iowa Utilities Board, in addition to raising concern about safety for the farmers and families who live near them. "This pipeline will not add one dollar to the real estate value," wrote C.J. Schelling of Hull, who called the pipeline a "permanent scar" on his land that will last generations. "Farmland has traditionally been a sound investment, but who would want to buy a farm that has a hazardous material pipeline on it?" said Don Johannsen, who owns a farm in Cherokee County. "No one, unless they can buy it at a bargain."
The Gazette: Carbon pipeline would go through Eastern Iowa
Erin Jordan, 11/26/21
“Eastern Iowa landowners with property on or near the route of a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline are receiving letters from Navigator CO2 Ventures, telling them of public meetings about the project and that, after the meetings, they could be approached about pipeline easements on their land,” The Gazette reports. “The meetings start Monday and run through early January… ““These projects have a unique touchpoint to the agricultural community,” Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, a Navigator vice president, told The Gazette. Burns-Thompson, who grew up on a farm near Alburnett and now lives in Altoona, said carbon sequestration “has the potential to help keep those (ethanol and fertilizer) plants vital not only for years to come, but decades to come.” Environmental groups and some Iowans in the path of the pipelines have raised concerns, including risks of leaks and explosions and the potential damage to farmland… “While scientists say this process can work, questions remain whether the gases would leak over time or cause seismic tremors. “All things considered, it seems like a bad idea,” Marian Kuper, 68, who lives with her husband, Keith, near Ackley in Hardin County in north-central Iowa, told the Gazette… “Kuper is planning to attend a Dec. 15 meeting in Hardin County to hear more about Navigator’s proposal. She wants to hear how the company will guard against leaks and whether it has determined a life-cycle cost for the project, among other things.”
Daily Union: Enbridge provides update on Blackhawk Island cleanup
By Steve Sharp, 11/29/21
“Enbridge Energy is reporting that cleanup of Blackhawk Island, following a chemical spill, “continues to progress very nicely,” the Daily Union reports. “Jon Eisele — community relations specialist in public affairs, communications and sustainability at Enbridge — told the Union the firm has obtained permission from an adjacent landowner to install a new monitoring well on the west side of Blackhawk Island Road as part of a Department of Natural Resources request. In April, it was determined that Enbridge apparently had waited more than one year to notify the Wisconsin DNR of a spill on one of its pipelines near Fort Atkinson and Lake Koshkonong… “Eisele told the Union Enbridge was planning a third round of water sampling at all potable wells within 1,800 feet of the chemical release, and has installed 11 remediation wells and an automated product-recovery system that has recovered 705 gallons to date… “A report from Enbridge stated that an alarm alerted the company to the leak on April 26, 2019. Samples then were collected from around the site to determine the source of the leak. It wasn’t until May 17 that the leak was identified as coming from a faulty elbow joint and was stopped. The valve was replaced on June 2. “The company continued to excavate the site and test soil and nearby wells for contamination, but the leak was not reported to the DNR until July 31, 2020, over a year after the spill occurred.”
Bloomberg: Enbridge to Explore Extending Mainline Pact After Canada Regulator Rejection
Esteban Duarte, 11/29/21
“Enbridge Inc. plans to explore several alternatives, including the extension of its previous commercial agreement, for its Mainline pipeline network after Canada’s top energy regulator rejected the company’s proposal to use long-term contracts,” Bloomberg reports. “The Calgary-based company will explore with stakeholders a modified version of Competitive Tolling Settlement, as the most recent commercial framework that expired in June is known, according to a statement Sunday. It also will explore a new incentive rate-making agreement, or a cost of service rate-making structure. The Canada Energy Regulator, or CER, ruled Nov. 26 that “the package of tolls, terms and conditions in the service offering would result in a distribution of benefits and negative impacts that is uneven and disproportionate.” The decision dealt a blow to North America’s largest pipeline company as it upgrades a vast system that ships more than 3 million barrels of crude a day from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast, as well as Ontario and Quebec. The network includes the Line 3 and Line 5 conduits that have faced opposition in the U.S. “The CER denied the application on the basis that, among other things, contracting as proposed would result in a significant change to access the Canadian Mainline and potentially inequitable outcomes,” Enbridge said. “It was also evident from extensive industry input that there was no consensus on what a new commercial structure should look like – some favoured contracting, while others opposed it altogether, preferring to maintain the status-quo, a monthly nominations process and a fixed toll.”
FoxBusiness: Biden facing renewed criticism for cancelling Keystone XL Pipeline amid energy crisis
Samuel Dorman, 11/26/21
“President Biden is facing fresh criticism for his decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle suggesting he endangered U.S. energy security,” FoxBusiness reports. “The backlash comes as Biden tapped the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve – releasing 50 million barrels – in response to rising gas prices. Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., released a statement described that policy as a "band-aid" and accused Biden of creating a self-inflicted wound. "With an energy transition underway across the country, it is critical that Washington does not jeopardize America's energy security in the near term and leave consumers vulnerable to rising prices. Historic inflation taxes and the lack of a comprehensive all-of-the-above energy policy pose a clear and present threat to American's economic and energy security that can no longer be ignored. I continue to call on President Biden to responsibly increase energy production here at home and to reverse course to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built." Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., derided Biden as "delusional" for blaming energy companies. "Joe Biden canceled the Keystone pipeline," tweeted Cotton. "He banned drilling on federal land. He put anti-energy extremists in his cabinet. Now he blames energy companies for the high price of gas? He's delusional."
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Gizmodo: The U.S.'s Big Stockpile of Emergency Oil, Explained
Molly Taft, 11/24/21
“The news that President Joe Biden is releasing millions of barrels of oil from a federal stockpile raises a question. Well, a few actually. Namely, wait, what the hell? We have a huge stockpile of oil?” Gizmodo reports. “Even stranger still, a president who has put forward the most progressive climate policies in executive branch history (an admittedly low bar but still) is tapping said stockpile just months after setting a goal to reduce carbon emissions 50% in the next decade. What gives? The stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, has been around for decades. And its existence and the way presidents past and present have treated it tells us more about American energy history and the nation’s oily priorities than what the future could hold… “The president is between a rock and a hard place,” Lorne Stockman, a director at Oil Change International, told Gizmodo. “Instead, what the SPR and our current economy reflect are the decades of success the oil industry has had in gumming up the political system and entrenching itself in our daily lives. Now, instead of being in a place where we are able to use oil more sparingly and efficiently, “we’re locked into a high demand scenario,” Stockman told Gizmodo. “When we had the technology, and all we needed was policies to encourage more efficient oil use, the focus in the U.S. was instead the shale boom. There was no incentive to get demand down. There’s been a structural lack of focus on efficiency and demand that was bound to hit us in the face.”
Politico: SHOW YOUR PROOF
Matthew Choi, 11/24/21
“Two Republicans on the Federal Trade Commission are asking the White House for any proof of illegal activity by the oil and gas industry to raise gasoline prices, which Biden asked FTC Chair Lina Khan to investigate last week,” Politico reports. “Commissioners Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson requested evidence “so that we might consider how to proceed,” Reuters reports. Biden’s request had pointed to the price difference between unfinished gasoline and the prices at the pump, saying the two had diverged over the previous month, which the White House said could indicate market manipulation. Energy analysts, however, have said those type of fluctuations have happened fairly regularly, and that the short time frame cited indicated that there was little cause to suspect wrongdoing.”
Politico: WARREN TURNS TO NATGAS EXPORTS
Matthew Choi, 11/24/21
“Fresh from criticisms that energy companies are gouging drivers at the pump and poultry companies were illicitly driving up turkey prices, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is now pressing natural gas majors on whether they are neglecting American consumers to sell to natural gas abroad, driving up home heating costs as winter approaches,” Politico reports. “Citing reporting from The Wall Street Journal showing that record natural gas exports are raising home heating costs in the U.S., Warren wrote to ConocoPhillips, EQT, Exxon Mobil, Coterra, BP, Antero Resources, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Ascent Resources, Southwestern Energy Company, Range Resources Corporation and Occidental Petroleum Corporation to cough up details on their export rates and profits for the last 10 years. She also asked about any bonuses the firms’ C-suite may have gotten and what measures they have taken to alleviate spiking domestic gas prices. “This corporate greed is inexcusable, and represents the results of a rigged system that enriches energy company executives and investors, and leaves American families struggling to pay the bills,” she writes… “EQT rebuffed Warren's letter in a statement to ME, pointing out that natural gas exports could help counter global emissions by replacing overseas coal consumption and "the lowest natural gas prices on record occurred during the period when we were an exporter." "The attempt to scapegoat LNG and the tried-and-true oil and gas executive “boogeyman” for the current inflationary environment is without merit and reckless," the statement said.
E&E News: Biden admin urges higher prices for drilling on public land
By Heather Richards, 11/26/21
“With little fanfare, the Biden administration today released a much anticipated report on how to reform the country’s oil and gas program that suggests higher royalties and more restrictions on where the oil industry can drill on public land,” E&E News reports. “The report echoes the reform measures advocated by Democrats, conservation groups and government watchdog agencies in recent years. The report takes aim at the amount of public land available to industry, suggesting that shielding areas with low oil potential would free those acres up for other uses. It argues that Interior should increase the royalty rates that oil companies pay for drilling federal minerals, as well as strengthen the requirements for companies to set aside the money needed to plug and reclaim wells. The report also states the $2 minimum bid per acre to buy leases at auction is too low, urging an increase to discourage speculation.”
E&E News: 3 issues to watch with Biden’s oil and gas overhaul
By Heather Richards, 11/29/21
“The Biden administration’s “high level blueprint” for revamping the federal oil and gas program, published over the Thanksgiving holiday, is either a bombshell or a dud depending on who’s talking,” E&E News reports. “On the one hand, it lays out an overhaul of the the federal oil program that has been largely unchanged for decades… “But some climate activists countered the Interior Department’s long-awaited report merely embraces incremental reforms that fail to sufficiently address the federal oil program’s contributions to climate change, and certainly do not uphold President Biden’s campaign pledge to end new leasing on public lands and waters… “Several conservation groups and watchdog organizations quickly threw their support behind Interior’s findings, having long pushed for many of the recommended policy changes. “The agency is formally taking responsibility for and seeking to address something that has long been widely acknowledged: we have a broken and outdated leasing system,” Alexandra Adams, senior director of federal affairs for Natural Resources Defense Council, told E&E. But Interior’s road map for reform — delayed several times despite prodding this summer by Capitol Hill Republicans and even some Democrats — says little about the underlying climate implications of the federal oil program and would not fundamentally restrict the practice of leasing lands and waters to oil and gas drillers. “Releasing this completely inadequate report over a long holiday weekend is a shameful attempt to hide the fact that President Biden has no intention of fulfilling his promise to stop oil and gas drilling on our public lands,” Food & Water Watch Policy Director Mitch Jones told E&E.
STATE UPDATES
The Advocate: After explosion kills teenage girl, Louisiana sets new rules for oil field tank batteries
BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and DAVID MITCHELL, 11/27/21
“After an oil field tank battery explosion killed a 14-year-old girl, Louisiana regulators have put new rules in place for the storage tanks and are launching a campaign to identify all of them statewide,” The Advocate reports. “Oil field tank batteries are storage sites for oil wells that aren't connected to major pipelines. The large metal tanks can hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil, and can give off flammable fumes. But Zalee Gail Day-Smith and her friends were apparently unaware of those dangers, because they frequently hung out in and around one of the tanks near her mom's house in the Ragley community, between DeRidder and Lake Charles. State Police investigators believe Day-Smith was sitting on the tank when it exploded on Feb. 28, killing her. She had dreamed of going to Harvard University and becoming a lawyer and judge, her father said. This week, the state Department of Natural Resources mentioned Day-Smith's death when they announced new safety rules for the tank batteries… “The rules require operators to build fences at least four feet high around the sites, with a gate that is locked whenever they are unmanned. They also require all tank hatches to be securely sealed, except for those that are part of a pressure relief system. And they require signs noting the hazards the tanks pose. The rules apply to any sites that are within 500 feet of a home or highway, 1,000 feet of a church or school, or anywhere within the limits of a town, city or village.”
Flathead Beacon: Montana Foundation Capping Abandoned Oil Wells
PHIL DRAKE, 11/28/21
“Curtis Shuck remembers a rush of emotions a few years ago when he came across his first “orphaned well” while walking through a field in the Kevin-Sunburst Oilfield,” the Flathead Beacon reports. “Shuck, who was no stranger to oilfields, told the Beacon he was there that day discussing grain with a farmer when they came across a well that had been abandoned. “I had no idea that this was even a thing,” he said, noting he had more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas business. “I just thought this was everybody’s dirty little secret.” He recalls feeling amazed, embarrassed and appalled all at the same time. Shuck said he could not get the image out of his mind and felt it was incumbent upon him to do something about it. Shuck said he learned it’s a huge problem, not only in Montana, but in other parts of the country as well. He started the Well Done Foundation, a nonprofit group that caps wells across the nation. He said the organization is “making an impact in Montana and across the U.S., one well at a time.” “...Well Done has plugged 14 holes so far, contracting with oil riggers and others to do the work… “Shuck, 59, told the Beacon the Well Done Foundation is starting projects in Pennsylvania, and has organized in Ohio, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and California.”
EXTRACTION
OilPrice.com: Canada's Ambitious New Plan To Save Its Oil Sands
By Felicity Bradstock, 11/27/21
“In Canada, a renewable energy trend could lend itself to the oil and gas industry, with the potential for geothermal energy to help oil sands to thrive for another 30 years,” OilPrice.com reports. “Ongoing feasibility studies could provide a way for Canada to reduce its carbon emissions in line with Paris Agreement and COP26 expectations without curbing its oil production. Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) has partnered with Eavor Technologies Inc. and C-FER Technologies to conduct an assessment on the potential for using geothermal energy rather than natural gas to heat water for mining, set to be complete by early 2022. The project was established to curb greenhouse gas emissions in oil production while demand for the energy source is still high. This could be just what Canada’s oil industry needed, as oil sands typically require greater energy in the mining process due to the viscous nature of the substance, often leading to the release of higher levels of greenhouse gasses. The difficult extraction method means production often creates three to five times as many CO2 emissions per barrel of oil equivalent than other crudes.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Associated Press: Liberal Oregon resists dropping controversial investments
By ANDREW SELSKY, 11/23/21
“Oregon residents are increasingly pushing for the state to divest from fossil fuel companies and other controversial investments, but the state treasury is resisting and putting the onus on the Legislature,” the Associated Press reports. “In addition to fossil fuel companies whose products are a main driver of global warming, the state employee retirement fund is also invested in a company whose spyware was used against human rights workers, journalists and other targets, and in companies that operate private prisons where detained immigrants were mistreated and some died. Even as some cities and other states such as New York have begun divesting, Oregon, a predominantly liberal state, clings to the status quo. The disparate approaches underscore that managers of public funds are often torn between ethical considerations, legal imperatives and obligations to beneficiaries. The Oregon State Treasury oversees some $130 billion in investments, including an undisclosed amount in fossil fuel companies and other controversial sectors.wouldn’t be pinned down on the amount, despite repeated direct questions by Oregon Public Radio… “In a letter to House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney, Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read and fellow members of the Oregon Investment Council said they can’t pursue divestment because state law specifies investments must “make the moneys as productive as possible.” They said it’s up to the Legislature to change the laws and warned that lawmakers might need to dig into the state’s general funds to cover any losses from divesting.”
OPINION
Truthout: Enough Colonial Pageantry. Let’s Rally Behind Criminalized Water Protectors.
Kelly Hayes, 11/25/21
“Right-wing myths about stolen elections and vaccine conspiracies will no doubt complicate many dinners today, as families gather to celebrate a holiday grounded in its own harmful mythology: Thanksgiving. Among liberals and leftists, there will be countless posts debunking the lies children are taught about the holiday in school. But on this day it is equally important to amplify the stories of Native people living today who, much like their ancestors, are battling world-crushing forces. In the prosecution of Water Protectors who fought Line 3, we are witnessing a convergence of extractive forces that threaten all life and liberty on Earth,” Kelly Hayes writes for Truthout. “This week, as many people gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, hundreds of Water Protectors are facing charges, including serious felonies, for their efforts to halt construction of Line 3. For seven years, Indigenous people rallied against Line 3, warning that the pipeline would generate as much carbon pollution as 50 coal fired power plants, in addition to destroying sacred wild rice and threatening the drinking water of millions of people. In early October, the pipeline became fully operational, but the struggle continues. Today, we will hear from several Water Protectors who are still facing charges for their resistance to Line 3. We’re also going to talk about the larger implications of the extreme charges that some Protectors are facing. With Line 3, Enbridge is giving us a preview of Big Oil’s endgame in an era of catastrophe and collapse, where extractive companies offer police departments multi-million dollar infusions of cash in exchange for their role in brutally displacing land defenders and Water Protectors. The police have long played a violent role in facilitating fossil fuel extraction, but the already-brutal alignment between law enforcement and corporations is evolving into something even more dystopian.”
APTN News: ‘You are increasingly at risk’: Tara Houska and the sacrifice of being on the front lines of resistance
Dennis Ward, 11/23/21
“Pouring all of your efforts into a front-line resistance comes at a cost, physically and mentally. For the past five years, it’s the life Tara Houska, has been living,” Dennis Ward writes for APTN News. ““The cost mentally, of seeing trauma and experiencing trauma,” hurts a lot Houska tells APTN… “In 2018, when Canadian oil giant Enbridge received approval for its Line 3 project, Houska founded the Giniw Collective, an “Indigenous women, 2-Spirit led resistance to protect the earth.” In Minnesota, there have been nearly 1,000 arrests, and much like Standing Rock, things often took a violent turn. Law enforcement, private security firms, oil companies and states all learned a lot during the protests near Standing Rock. In Minnesota, 15 county sheriff’s offices teamed up to form the Northern Lights Task Force to help keep protests opposing Line 3 “under control.” “...The Northern Lights Task Force was created years ago and they were trained many times by the folks over at Standing Rock and by different private security firms, including some from Nicaragua where I mean, land defenders in other parts of the world are far less privileged than we are. They’re assassinated openly and regularly, for doing this work,” says Houska. “And that’s who Enbridge hires because in other jurisdictions they can get away with a lot more. And they obviously still got away with quite a bit here in Minnesota.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Mountain Valley Pipeline is unjust and our state board must deny new permits
Ghazala F. Hashmi, Ph.D., represents the 10th District in the Virginia Senate, 11/25/21
“I have had the honor of serving in the Virginia Senate since 2020, and issues of environmental justice have been among my top priorities,” Ghazala F. Hashmi writes for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “...This full commitment to environmental justice informs my deep concern and strong opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Lambert Compressor Station, two projects that will harm our neighbors in Southwest and Southside Virginia… “For years, Virginians living near the route have raised critical concerns about the pipeline’s harm to water resources in Giles, Craig, Montgomery, Franklin, Roanoke and Pittsylvania counties. Additionally, air quality would be negatively impacted because of the Lambert Compressor Station, proposed to be sited in the majority-African-American Banister District of Pittsylvania County. MVP must not be given new permissions to pollute. Therefore, both the upcoming water and air permits for Mountain Valley Pipeline must be denied… “Moving forward with a project as destructive as the Mountain Valley Pipeline takes our commonwealth in an unsafe, inequitable direction. We have the responsibility as public servants to consider environmental justice; to enforce regulations that protect our air, water and land; and ultimately, to honor our citizens and neighbors. The Mountain Valley Pipeline is environmentally and morally unjust, and its proposed water and air permits must both be denied.”
MessageMedia: Enbridge pays about $43 million in taxes
Dale Lueck, 11/29/21
“I recently had the opportunity to visit with the senior leadership of Enbridge and received an update on the Enbridge Pipeline #3 replacement project. Construction is complete and the new line now designated Enbridge Pipeline #93 went into operation last month,” Dale Lueck writes for MessageMedia. “...Over $4 billion was invested in the United States, the bulk of which came to Minnesota. Currently, Enbridge pays about $43 million annually in Minnesota property taxes. The first year Line #93 is in full operation that amount will increase by about $35 million… “Where tribal governments desired, the new pipeline route avoided reservation lands and where tribal governments desired, the old line was replaced with new pipeline on their reservation lands. Tribal members played an important role in completing the project. About 700 indigenous workers were involved in construction representing over 7% of the total workforce. In contrast, today Native Americans represent about 1.1% of Minnesota’s total population.”
The Hill: Let environmentalists bid for oil leases
Dominic Parker is an economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a senior fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center and the Ilene and Morton Harris visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, 11/23/21
“Only days after the Glasgow Climate Pact called for a phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies, the Biden administration opened auctions for oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 17. Buyers such as Chevron, Anadarko and Exxon bid $191 million for 1.7 million acres at an average price of $112 per acre,” Dominic Parker writes for The Hill. “...Is this sale a subsidy to fossil fuels? And why didn’t environmental groups try to block development by buying the leases themselves? A recent analysis in the journal Science I authored with a team of economists and law professors addresses these questions. We point out that environmentalists are precluded from federal auctions for minerals, forests, grazing land, and water, due to “use it or lose it” stipulations common in the U.S. and around the world. You can’t lease public resources with the intent to leave them be, as environmental activist Terry Tempest Williams learned in 2016. Upon winning a federal oil and gas lease and revealing that she intended to keep the oil in the ground, the Bureau of Land Management canceled the leases, arguing she violated the “diligent development requirement” of the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act, which requires lessees to have an intent to produce. Use-it-or-lose-it rules made sense a century ago to discourage waste and prevent speculation, but today they prevent willing buyers from expressing their preferences for conservation via market bidding. Revising federal policies to allow non-use would give people a way to buy conservation through voluntary leasing, rather than by joining interest groups to push for it through political, legal and administrative channels. Allowing them to bid would redirect money toward durable conservation, rather than toward influencing short-term policy decisions that change with political whims, as demonstrated by Biden’s flip-flopping on campaign promises.”