EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/25/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Indigenous non-profit looks to buy Trans Mountain Pipeline
Green Bay Press-Gazette: Tribal officials call for federal review of Wisconsin oil pipeline project they say could kill rare species
Scoop: Activists In Canada Build Construction Site On Pipeline Executives’ Front Lawns
Axios: Dakota Access Pipeline hurt Iowa crop yields, study shows
Argus Media: Crude Summit: Canadian oil to compete directly in Asia
Natural Gas Intelligence: TC’s NGTL Rejected in Bid for LNG Canada Toll Discounts
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Center for Biological Diversity: New Data: Biden’s First Year Drilling Permitting Stomps Trump’s By 34%
InsideClimate News: ConocoPhillips’ Plan for Extracting Half-a-Billion Barrels of Crude in Alaska’s Fragile Arctic Presents a Defining Moment for Joe Biden
STATE UPDATES
KOCO: Injuries reported after explosion at oil site near Okarche
Inforum: Vandalism blamed for saltwater spill at western North Dakota oil well site
Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara Prosecutors Settle Cuyama River Oil Spill Case
KOSU: OU researchers aim to repurpose abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal energy
Michigan Radio: Bill introduced to stop utilities from charging customers for natural gas lost to leaky pipes
EXTRACTION
Reuters: U.S. oil CEOs offer opposing views on crude output growth
CNBC: Shell’s massive carbon capture facility in Canada emits far more than it captures, study says
Reuters: Talks between oil companies, U.S. union intensify as deadline nears
Associated Press: EXPLAINER: Why are oil prices high, and any relief in sight?
CLIMATE FINANCE
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska agency plans to halt investment in banks that don’t back Arctic oil and gas projects
Mother Jones: The Oil Industry Is Terrified of College Kids
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
MyKemptvilleNow: North Grenville Fire Service partners with Enbridge Gas for firefighter training
BayToday: Additional safety equipment donated to the Crisis Centre
OPINION
Lincoln Journal Star: The new ag alchemy: Gold from gas
Wall Street Journal: The Alberta Oil Sands Are Becoming Cleaner
Financial Post: Diane Francis: The sustainable path to becoming an energy superpower
PIPELINE NEWS
Canadian Press: Indigenous non-profit looks to buy Trans Mountain Pipeline
Amanda Stephenson, 1/24/22
“A new Indigenous non-profit organization is seeking an ownership stake in the Trans Mountain Pipeline, saying its aim is to make sure communities along the pipeline's route receive its benefits directly,” the Canadian Press reports. “Nesika Services publicly launched Monday, calling itself a grassroots, community-led not-for-profit. Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta (and the chair and founding director of Nesika) told CP 14 Indigenous communities along the pipeline's route in Alberta and B.C. have already signed on. He told CP Nesika is in the process of reaching out to all 129 communities that have been identified by the federal government as being impacted by Trans Mountain to ensure they have a chance to join in. "Ultimately what we're trying to do right now is to organize the communities," Alexis told CP. "Once Canada has decided they're willing to sell this pipeline, then at that time we'll be negotiating to purchase." “...It was bought by the federal government for $4.5 billion in 2018, after previous owner Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. threatened to scrap the pipeline's planned expansion project in the face of environmentalist opposition… “Several Indigenous-led initiatives have already come forward. Project Reconciliation is seeking a 100 per cent ownership stake in the pipeline with no equity requirement or liability risk to Indigenous partners. Its goal is to distribute cash flow from the pipeline between the participating Indigenous community owners, and an Indigenous Sovereign Wealth Fund that will invest in energy transition projects. Chinook Pathways — which is also seeking an equity stake — is an Indigenous-led partnership formed by Western Indigenous Pipeline Group and its industry partner, Pembina Pipeline Corp. What sets Nesika Services apart from these other proposals, Alexis said, is that it is a true not-for-profit not backed by industry or affiliated with financial institutions or any other operating parties.”
Green Bay Press-Gazette: Tribal officials call for federal review of Wisconsin oil pipeline project they say could kill rare species
Frank Vaisvilas, 1/25/22
“Researchers with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission say their surveys have found that much more endangered species could be affected by a proposed pipeline in Wisconsin than an oil company found in its own surveys,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports. “We’re concerned rare plants and animals will be disturbed or killed by this operation,” John Coleman, environmental section leader for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, told the Gazette… “Coleman told the Gazette that while Enbridge reported only two occurrences of a rare plant called Braun’s Holly Fern in a land survey for its project, researchers for GLIFWC found 10 occurrences within a 1-mile stretch of the proposed project. “We think (Enbridge’s survey) really grossly undercounted them,” he told the Gazette. And while Enbridge’s survey didn’t find any of the West Virginia white butterflies, Coleman told the Gazette that GLIFWC researchers found a population of the rare insect in the area. “Given our limited resources for surveying, the fact that we found so many is concerning,” he told the Gazette. Coleman told the Gazette another rare animal, the American marten, which is similar to a mink or weasel, also is known to inhabit the area. While an environmental impact study by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is required for the Line 5 project, an Army Corps of Engineers federal EIS is currently not scheduled to occur. Coleman told the Gazette tribal officials are requesting a federal EIS be conducted to address concerns about impact on the the rare and endangered species and potential impacts to water quality.”
Scoop: Activists In Canada Build Construction Site On Pipeline Executives’ Front Lawns
David Swanson, 1/25/22
“This morning, Toronto supporters of the Wet’suwet’en land defense struggle against the Coastal Gaslink pipeline set up construction sites at the Toronto homes of TC Energy Board Chair Siim Vanaselja and Royal Bank of Canada Executive Doug Guzman,” Scoop reports. “The supporters also flyered the neighborhood with photos of the two men with signs warning, “Your neighbour is pushing the Coastal Gaslink pipeline through Wet’suwet’en Territory at gunpoint.” Rachel Small, Canada Organizer for World BEYOND War, said, “Today supporters took action to bring the message home to Siim Vanaselja and Doug Guzman, two men leading companies that are orchestrating, funding, and profiting off of the violent colonial invasion of unceded Wet’suwet’en territory. The decisions they make are directly linked to the militarized violence that the RCMP has carried out on Wet’suwet’en people over the past several months to shove through the Coastal Gaslink pipeline at gunpoint.” In November, RCMP deployed military-style police units – including snipers, heavily-armed assault teams, and canine units – against unarmed Wet’suwet’en land defenders during a raid on land defense camps set up to stop pipeline construction crews from drilling under the Wedzin Kwa river. During these raids, the RCMP destroyed several of the land defenders’ homes, using axes and a chainsaw, and burned one home to the ground.”
Axios: Dakota Access Pipeline hurt Iowa crop yields, study shows
Jason Clayworth, 1/25/22
“Iowa's soil in the right-of-way of the Dakota Access Pipeline is still recovering roughly six years after the project was installed,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: Three companies are proposing new pipeline projects that would cross Iowa to capture carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilizer plants. Threat level: During the two crop seasons after the Dakota Access Pipeline's installation in 2016, crop yields in the right-of-way of the project fell as much as 25%, according to an Iowa State University study published late last year… “What they found: The project caused severe subsoil compaction and impaired soil structure that can discourage root growth and reduce water infiltration, ISU researchers concluded. What they're saying: The three proposed carbon pipelines may not be as big or deeply trenched. If that's the case, it could help minimize yield losses, Mehari Tekeste, an assistant agriculture professor who led the study at ISU, told Axios last week. Navigator CO2 Ventures — whose proposal includes areas in northern Polk County — is confident that crop losses would be short term due to a restoration process, spokesperson Andrew Bates told Axios yesterday. Farmers will get a 240% reimbursement for yield losses throughout the life of the Navigator project, Bates told Axios. The other side: Keokuk County farmer Steve Roquet told Axios that Dakota Pipeline officials made him a similar 240% reimbursement promise in 2016. But it's calculated in such a way that it fails to fully cover losses, he told Axios.”
Argus Media: Crude Summit: Canadian oil to compete directly in Asia
Bret Holmes, 1/24/22
“Canadian crude output will trend higher and compete directly with other waterborne crudes as the market takes advantage of excess pipeline capacity, says Naomi Esfahani, senior advisor at MEG Energy,” Argus Media reports. “With the Trans Mountain (Expansion) starting up, there will be a substantial amount of crude that has access to west coast Canada," Esfahani said today at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston. That expansion will provide nearly triple the existing 300,000 b/d of pipeline capacity between oil-rich Alberta and the west coast and provide a much shorter voyage to Asian markets… “Colin Gruending, president of liquids pipelines at Enbridge, expects the competing Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline to be online sometime in 2023 but his company is eyeing even more capacity to the US Gulf coast. "We see another 200,000 b/d coming through here," Gruending said, with efficiencies being pursued throughout Enbridge's system, including the Flanagan South, Seaway and Express pipelines. "We think exports out of the Gulf, and Houston in particular, are strategic," said Gruending. "North America will be long hydrocarbons" and getting to the water is a theme whether its via west coast Canada, Texas or Louisiana. Enbridge commissioned its Line 3 Replacement Project connecting Alberta to Wisconsin, effectively adding 370,000 b/d of new capacity that is shared between heavy and light crudes. That step-change has provided relief to Canadian inventories by allowing more volumes to clear the market. "Line 3 has changed quite a bit of this picture with more flows having access to exports out of the US Gulf coast," said Esfahani, whose employer produces about 100,000 b/d of high-TAN heavy crude in Canada's oil sands region. Much of the pull is coming from China, India and southeast Asia, and Esfahani chalks part of that up to refiners there no longer treating Canadian crudes as obscure grades. Rather, they are starting to embrace Canadian grades in order to diversify sources, putting Canadian oil head-to-head against those from the Mideast that Asian refiners are traditionally accustomed to buying.”
Natural Gas Intelligence: TC’s NGTL Rejected in Bid for LNG Canada Toll Discounts
GORDON JAREMKO, 1/24/22
“TC Energy Corp. has lost a bid to use a toll discount to gain high-volume pipeline traffic for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports by the Royal Dutch Shell plc-led terminal under construction on the northern Pacific coast of British Columbia (BC),” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) rejected the bargain rate sought by TC subsidiary Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) for shipments of up to 575 MMcf/d by one of the LNG Canada partners, Petronas Canada Ltd. The CER issued the ruling ahead of the decision date set by NGTL’s deal to use its North Montney Mainline in northern BC. The contract allows Petronas to cancel its shipping commitment if the discount toll is not approved by Jan. 31. In advance of the rejection, NGTL had stated that a pipeline’s ability to compete for traffic would be impacted if an industry dispute ignited by the proposed toll discount ended in a negative verdict… “The discount’s opponents included Enbridge Inc.’s BC pipeline, Westcoast Energy, and customers of NGTL’s Alberta and BC supply collection network. The network includes the Western Energy Group (WEG), nine gas distribution firms in the northwestern United States. The opponents urged the CER to enforce long-standing public utility rules that protect pipeline financial health and prevent overbuilding by requiring tolls to be based on costs of providing service.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Center for Biological Diversity: New Data: Biden’s First Year Drilling Permitting Stomps Trump’s By 34%
1/24/22
“New federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity. “Nearly 2,000 of the drilling permits were approved on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management’s New Mexico office, followed by 843 in Wyoming, 285 in Montana and North Dakota, and 191 in Utah. In California, the Biden administration approved 187 permits — more than twice the 71 drilling permits Trump approved in that state in his first year. “Biden’s runaway drilling approvals are a spectacular failure of climate leadership,” said Taylor McKinnon at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Avoiding catastrophic climate change requires ending new fossil fuel extraction, but Biden is racing in the opposite direction.” On Wednesday more than 360 climate, conservation, Indigenous, environmental justice and community groups petitioned the Biden administration to use its executive authority to phase out oil and gas production on public lands and oceans.”
InsideClimate News: ConocoPhillips’ Plan for Extracting Half-a-Billion Barrels of Crude in Alaska’s Fragile Arctic Presents a Defining Moment for Joe Biden
Nicholas Kusnetz, 1/23/22
“The Biden administration is facing a major test for its climate agenda in the Alaskan Arctic, where an oil company is proposing a 30-year development that would pump more than half-a-billion barrels of petroleum from a fragile and rapidly-warming ecosystem,” InsideClimate News reports. “Climate advocates tell ICN the Willow project, planned by ConocoPhillips, is incompatible with President Joe Biden’s goal of setting the nation on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050, and are calling on him to reject the proposal… “We’ve been clear from the beginning that it’s an unacceptable project,” Jeremy Lieb, a senior associate attorney at Earthjustice, an environmental law firm that represented advocates in one of two lawsuits that led to the August ruling, told ICN. Because the Arctic is warming so rapidly, and because Willow would produce oil for decades, ConocoPhillips has proposed installing “chillers” underground to fend off increased thawing in the permafrost that would undergird the project’s roads, pipelines and processing plant… “While the Biden administration could try to strike a compromise by limiting the Willow project’s scope or imposing additional environmental protections, some environmental advocates say anything but a complete denial of the project would be a betrayal. Andy Moderow, state director at the Alaska Wilderness League, called Willow a “legacy setting project” for Biden, because it would produce a large volume of oil from a sensitive habitat for decades.”
STATE UPDATES
KOCO: Injuries reported after explosion at oil site near Okarche
1/24/22
“Crews responded to an explosion at an oil site near Okarche,” KOCO reports. “On Monday afternoon, multiple crews responded to an explosion on the grounds of an oil site. Crews from Kingfisher County, Canadian County and Okarche responded. At least two people have been injured, according to officials. Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion. A grass fire sparked because of the explosion but has been put out.”
Inforum: Vandalism blamed for saltwater spill at western North Dakota oil well site
1/24/22
“Highly concentrated saltwater was released onto an oil well site near Watford City on Sunday, Jan. 24, in what the operator and state regulators attributed to an act of vandalism,” Inforum reports. “Abraxas Petroleum Corporation, a Texas company, said in a report to North Dakota regulators that early Sunday morning someone opened the valves on several of their load lines, causing an estimated 18,300 gallons of brine water to spill onto the well pad. The operator reported that they contacted the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office upon discovery of the spill on Monday. The contaminant was contained to the well site, and at the time of reporting nearly all of the fluid had been recovered using vacuum trucks… “Brine, or produced water, is a highly saturated saltwater that comes up in large volumes from oil and gas wells in the Bakken. The waste stream is typically injected back into the ground at designated disposal sites but can render agricultural land infertile when spilled.”
Santa Barbara Independent: Santa Barbara Prosecutors Settle Cuyama River Oil Spill Case
Nick Welsh, 1/24/22
“In a case of seriously bad timing for ExxonMobil, the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office just finalized a settlement with the Bakersfield-based trucking company responsible for a 4,500-gallon oil spill into the Cuyama River not far above Twitchell Reservoir nearly two years ago,” the Santa Barbara Independent reports. “While the spill hardly qualifies as the biggest in county oil history, it might well be the most politically inopportune. Its settlement announcement comes just a few weeks before the county supervisors are scheduled to decide the fate of ExxonMobil’s proposal to send up to 78 tanker trucks a day from its plant at Las Flores Canyon to a facility in Kern County by way of Highway 166. The spill in question has been seized upon by environmental critics of the plan as Exhibit A in their argument as to why Highway 166 is not a safe route for such an undertaking. The settlement, while relatively modest in terms of dollars and cents, calls attention to the proposal’s most evident weakness and will make it that much harder for ExxonMobil to garner the votes necessary to reopen its Gaviota plant. Based on the settlement agreement, Golden Valley Transfer Company has agreed to pay $111,326 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to help restore the stretch of riverbed contaminated when an oil tanker driven by one of the company drivers — Jesse Villasana — lost control of his rig in the early morning hours of March 21, 2020, while heading into a curve while driving at what prosecutors characterize as “unsafe speed.”
KOSU: OU researchers aim to repurpose abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal energy
Beth Wallis, 1/25/22
“Researchers at the University of Oklahoma were awarded $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to repurpose abandoned oil and gas wells for providing geothermal energy,” KOSU reports. “The grant will allow the researchers to evaluate and demonstrate the viability of geothermal energy production from four hydrocarbon wells. The proposed project plans to use the energy to heat nearby Tuttle Public Schools. The project’s principal investigator, Saeed Salehi, told KOSU the idea to upcycle the old oil and gas wells is a cost-effective way to use infrastructure already in place. “After you have produced oil and gas from those reservoirs and they are toward the end of their life, then instead of retiring those assets, [we] completely repurpose them to help the community with their energy needs,” Salehi told KOSU. To turn an abandoned oil well into a functional site for geothermal energy, the set-up will pump hot underground water to the surface, create steam, and that steam spins a turbine attached to an electric generator. Salehi told KOSU because the water is being circulated from the ground and injected back into the ground, it’s completely renewable. The project is still in its infancy, and Salehi told KOSU the team must first come up with a proof-of-concept before getting started on field work.”
Michigan Radio: Bill introduced to stop utilities from charging customers for natural gas lost to leaky pipes
Lester Graham, 1/24/22
“A Michigan state senator wants to pass a law prohibiting the state's natural gas utilities from charging customers for gas that leaks from pipes or gas that is otherwise lost because of variations in temperature, meter tampering, or during repairs to pipelines,” Michigan Radio reports. “Senator Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) said together Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are allowed by regulators to charge ratepayers about $25 million a year for lost and unaccounted-for gas. The chief component of natural gas is methane, a potent greenhouse gas which contributes to climate change. “I want to provide an incentive for these utilities to go out there and tighten up these leaks, protect our environment, and protect our ratepayers too,” Senator Irwin told MR. He conceded it will cost more upfront to fix the leaks, and customers will ultimately pay for that. “But, over time you make that up. Continuing to let our system leak every year and just pay for the leaks every year doesn’t make any sense to me,” Irwin told MR… “Irwin told MR his bill would ensure Michigan residents won’t have to pay for gas they never get because it’s lost to old or damaged infrastructure.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: U.S. oil CEOs offer opposing views on crude output growth
Stephanie Kelly and Arathy Somasekhar, Sabrina Valle, 1/24/22
“The chiefs of major U.S. oil companies Occidental Petroleum Corp and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) offered differing outlooks on the growth of U.S. oil output at a conference on Monday, as the industry rebounds from shutdowns during the first stage of the coronavirus pandemic,” Reuters reports. “...ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance told an audience at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston that he was bullish about markets as high oil prices "will persist for a while." "What we're seeing is a call right now that there's more supply needed. That's why prices are where they are today," he said, adding that he expects U.S. output to grow by about 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year. Output is likely to eventually eclipse the record 13 million bpd reached in late 2019, he said. Occidental Chief Executive Officer Vicki Hollub was more measured in her forecast, saying the United States would likely surpass 12 million bpd at some point - but fall short of that all-time record.”
CNBC: Shell’s massive carbon capture facility in Canada emits far more than it captures, study says
Sam Meredith, 1/24/22
“One of the only facilities in the world that uses carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) to reduce the emissions of hydrogen production has been found to emit far more greenhouse gas emissions than it captures,” CNBC reports. “The Quest plant in Alberta, Canada, owned by oil giant Shell and designed to capture carbon emissions from oil sands operations and safely store them underground, has previously been touted as a “thriving example” of how CCS is working to significantly reduce carbon emissions. However, an investigation by watchdog group Global Witness, published last week, showed that while 5 million tons of carbon dioxide had been prevented from escaping into the atmosphere at the plant since 2015, it also released 7.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the same period. The investigation noted that, per year, that’s the equivalent carbon footprint of 1.2 million gasoline cars. It means just 48% of the plant’s carbon emissions were captured, according to the report. That’s far short of the 90% carbon capture rate promised by the industry for these types of projects in general… “Climate researchers, campaigners and environmental advocacy groups have repeatedly admonished CCS as a climate solution, however, arguing that not only do these technologies have a history of failure, but backing these projects prolongs our reliance on the fossil fuel industry and distracts from a much-needed pivot to renewable alternatives. “Oil and gas companies’ promotion of fossil hydrogen is a fig leaf for them to carry on with their toxic practices – the extraction and burning of fossil fuels,” Dominic Eagleton, senior gas campaigner at Global Witness, told CNBC.”
Reuters: Talks between oil companies, U.S. union intensify as deadline nears
1/24/22
“Talks for a new national contract for U.S. refinery and chemical plant workers intensified on Monday between the United Steelworkers Union (USW) and oil companies, the union told members in a message seen by Reuters. Talks for the new pact began on Jan. 13 between the USW and lead company negotiator Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N), the union has said, ahead of the Feb. 1 expiry of an existing three-year agreement covering 30,000 workers across the United States. In addition to the contract talks, which will set pay and benefits, USW locals are meeting refinery and plant managers to agree on local issues. Monday’s message said BP Plc , chemical maker Ineos, Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Citgo Petroleum Corp (PDVSAC.UL) were making "tough, concessionary demands" in local negotiations.”
Associated Press: EXPLAINER: Why are oil prices high, and any relief in sight?
By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, 1/24/21
“Anyone who’s bought food, paid rent or looked for a used car recently has come up against the billowing inflation that has engulfed the U.S. economy,” the Associated Press reports. “And, with surging oil prices keeping gasoline high, so has anyone who’s filled up a car. Energy costs have been one of the main drivers of what’s become the highest inflation in a generation. In recent days, the price of a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude oil hit a seven-year high — $87 a barrel, a dizzying jump of about 36% since Dec. 1… “For one thing, the ever-evolving state of the viral pandemic has played havoc with both supply and demand. As a consequence, energy has been gripped by violent price swings. “COVID has upended everything,” Andrew Gross, spokesman for AAA, told AP. “It’s even made a lack of predictability even more unpredictable.” Other factors, too, have kept energy prices high. And most analysts say they think prospects for any relief soon are dim. Most urgently, Russia’s buildup of a military presence along the Ukraine border has raised fears of an imminent invasion and a consequential impact on global energy supplies.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Anchorage Daily News: Alaska agency plans to halt investment in banks that don’t back Arctic oil and gas projects
Alex DeMarban, 1/23/22
“An Alaska agency is taking steps to remove about $24 million in investments issued by financial institutions that have said they won’t finance oil and gas projects in the Arctic,” Anchorage Daily News reports. “The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is eyeing a rule change that will prevent its fund managers from buying securities, such as bonds, from banks with policies that prohibit “engagement in oil and gas development” in the region, according to the proposed resolution… “The resolution would prevent the state agency from buying securities in banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, according to the proposal. Amid growing concerns about climate change, those and other major banks have said they would pull back from supporting new Arctic oil and gas projects… “The agency hopes its actions raise awareness about policies that he said hurt Alaska communities, such as those on Alaska’s North Slope, that have benefited from oil and gas development and related jobs and revenue, Weitzner told ADN. “It’s not fair to take sweeping anti-development policies without looking at the benefit to Indigenous and rural communities,” he told ADN. “We’re are really just trying to bring awareness.”
Mother Jones: The Oil Industry Is Terrified of College Kids
NITISH PAHWA, 1/25/22
“Harvard University’s September decision to stop investing in fossil fuel companies, and to let its current investments in the sector expire without renewal, was widely hailed as one of the biggest climate victories in recent history,” Mother Jones reports. “And for good reason—it was the most significant win yet for the climate divestment movement, a decade-old initiative that’s applied a popular anti-apartheid activist tactic to get colleges, banks, charitable foundations, and religious organizations to stop funding oil and gas firms. Harvard has the largest endowment of any university in the world—totaling $53 billion—meaning a deep pool of money is now out of Big Oil’s reach. This mission was also primarily driven by Harvard’s students; campus group Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard employed moves from meeting directly with administrators to storming the field during the annual football game against Yale. It’s all quite literally paid off. Yet, as is the case with any successful social initiative, there’s now an institutional backlash…”At this point, numerous institutions have already successfully disinvested in fossil fuels, yanking a total of $40 trillion from the industry’s reach so far. But if ALEC has its way, with the support of sympathetic red states and conservative legal scholars, it could strike a blow to one of the climate movement’s most effective tools. For now, the bills at play seem to target private businesses, but scholars have outlined ways universities’ divestment efforts could hypothetically face legal trouble, as well. Other academic institutions, like Boston College, are putting up fights to resist divestment pressure.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
MyKemptvilleNow: North Grenville Fire Service partners with Enbridge Gas for firefighter training
Steve Berard, 1/24/22
“North Grenville Fire Chief John Okum says local firefighters will be receiving some new and enhanced training soon,” MyKemptvilleNow reports. “Okum tells MyKemptvilleNow the North Grenville Fire Service (NGFS) is purchasing some new educational material to help with its training process, with money donated by Enbridge Gas. The money comes from the gas company’s Safe Community Project Assist, a program in partnership with the Fire Marshal’s Public Safety Council that helps supplement coaching for firefighters in regions Enbridge services. This year, the company donated $250,000, split between 50 fire departments across Canada.”
BayToday: Additional safety equipment donated to the Crisis Centre
1/24/22
“Crisis Centre North Bay is benefiting by way of additional safety equipment, COVID-19 supplies and resources thanks to a donation from TC Energy,” BayToday reports. “Herb Shields, Community Liaison with TC Energy, made the $10,000 donation to Sue Rinneard, Executive Director of the Crisis Centre in late 2021. “The funds donated are going towards the purchase of additional COVID-19 supplies and will supplement unfunded expenses such as additional equipment purchases which includes Air Cleaners (HEPA Filter) for the residential programs," Sue Rinneard told BayToday.
OPINION
Lincoln Journal Star: The new ag alchemy: Gold from gas
ALAN GUEBERT, 1/22/22
“The biggest gold rush in U.S. history is about to hit rural America and it won’t involve corn or cattle or even gold. Instead, the big money will be in pipelines,” Alan Guebert writes for the Lincoln Journal Star. “That’s right, pipelines; pressurized carbon dioxide pipelines designed to carry CO2 from Midwestern ethanol plants to “sequestration” sites in either North Dakota or Illinois. Itchy investors are already lining up to tap these veins of climate-changing CO2. Amazingly, three–multi-billion dollar pipelines have been proposed to cross Iowa to carry CO2 from more than 40 ethanol plants in five states — Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Minnesota — to sequestration sites… “Each builder claims its pipeline will create “permanent” jobs but as if to showcase just how fluid the underlying math is to any “carbon capture and sequestration” (CCS) scheme is, those numbers vary from as small as 50 to as many as 460. An even bigger question is what pipeline builders will do with their carbon once it is transported to its sequestration site. All, like Summit, say the CO2 will be “permanently and safely stored underground in deep geologic storage rooms.” Not so, believe pipeline opponents like Iowa’s Sierra Club, who say much of the pipeline CO2 will be “used for Enhanced Oil Recovery,” a “process of pumping CO2 into dwindling oil fields to get the last bit of oil out of the ground.” The proof is that two of the Iowa-crossing pipelines terminate in North Dakota, a large ‘frac’ oil producer, explains the nonprofit environmental organization… “As such, this new gold rush, like most, will end with the very few grabbing all the riches and everyone else paying for it.”
Wall Street Journal: The Alberta Oil Sands Are Becoming Cleaner
1/25/22
“Canada’s oil-sands companies are taking action to reduce emissions from their operations (“One of Dirtiest Oil Patches Is Pumping More Than Ever,” Page One, Jan. 14),” reads a letter published in the Wall Street Journal. “The energy transition is a move to a more diversified energy mix, as the world strives to meet the growing demand for energy while lowering emissions. Oil and gas will play a key role in both parts of that equation. As a significant source of greenhouse gases, our industry must be a meaningful actor in reducing those emissions. And we are. To advance realistic solutions, Canadian Natural Resources , Cenovus Energy , ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy, which operate facilities representing about 95% of Canada’s oil-sands production, formed the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero initiative. The industry has already reduced its emissions intensity by 34% since 1990, and this alliance will accelerate emissions reduction toward the ambition of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Financial Post: Diane Francis: The sustainable path to becoming an energy superpower
Diane Francis, 1/24/22
“The Canadian economy, and its currency, are intricately tied to oil markets. The good news is that the price of oil is up and is likely to stay that way for years to come,” Diane Francis writes for the Financial Post. “Canada is an energy superpower, and has been for a number of years. It’s an exporter of electricity, uranium and natural gas, and is the world’s fifth-largest producer of oil. And its oil exports have grown in recent years, thanks to pipeline workarounds and growing demand south of the border… “In terms of climate change, the real emissions culprit is coal, massive amounts of which are burned by China, India and other developing countries. Only by replacing coal with nuclear-, natural gas- and hydrogen-powered generators will we be able to seriously curb greenhouse gas emissions. This is why Canada should not only export its oil and liquefied natural gas (both of which are produced under some of the most stringent environmental standards in the world), but should also aggressively export Candu nuclear reactors, which are emissions-free… “Canada can, and should, play a larger role in the global energy market, in order to protect the environment and guarantee Canadian living standards.”