EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 3/14/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: D.C. Circuit orders FERC to revise assessment of pipeline upgrade
Mlive.com: Final state-level Line 5 tunnel decision expected as climate considered
National Observer: Amid energy crisis, Ottawa asks Michigan to end crusade against Line 5 pipeline
FOX13: Locals protest a bill that will bring Byhalia Connection Pipeline project to South Memphis
Bloomberg: Marathon petroleum shuts oil pipeline after leak in Illinois
Associated Press: EPA Asks Illinois AG to Ensure Proper Cleanup of Oil Spill
WHYY: Mariner East pipeline motivates activist’s Green Party run for Pa. governor
Politifact: Pence falsely blames Biden’s nixing of Keystone pipeline for US reliance on Russian oil'
Appalachian Chronicle: MVP Opponent Maury Johnson Named Hometown Hero by WV Can’t Wait
WASHINGTON UPDATES
West Virginia Rising: Resist the Manchin Coal Machine
Politico: I WON’T WINDFALL FOR YOU
Politico: WARTIME PRODUCTION
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Sun: Kerr-McGee’s plan to drill oil and gas wells within 2,000 feet of homes in Firestone is rejected by regulators
EXTRACTION
Reuters: U.S. push to export LNG amid Ukraine crisis slowed by climate concerns, sources say
Fast Company: How the 1970s oil crisis helped Copenhagen become a cycling paradise
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: Shareholders at four U.S. oil companies to vote on climate proposals
OPINION
Register-Herald: Sen. Manchin’s false statements on Mountain Valley Pipeline are not helpful
Wall Street Journal: Whitmer Wants Higher Gas Prices
The Hill: The real threat to the Federal Reserve
The Hill: America can restore its energy jobs — and reduce emissions
Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico can lead the way with pollution rules
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: D.C. Circuit orders FERC to revise assessment of pipeline upgrade
By Barbara Grzincic, 3/12/22
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must revise its environmental assessment of a Kinder Morgan subsidiary’s upgrades to a natural-gas pipeline in Massachusetts, a federal appeals court held,” Reuters reports. “In a partial win for environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Friday FERC “failed to account for the reasonably foreseeable indirect effects of the project—specifically, the greenhouse-gas emissions attributable to burning the gas to be carried in the pipeline.” “...The upgrades are operating, and Friday’s ruling does not require Tennessee Gas to shut them down during FERC’s reevaluation. Even so, the court “made it clear that downstream emissions from compressor station expansions are, in fact, reasonably foreseeable when they feed a local distribution system for commercial and residential use,” Adam Carlesco of Food & Water Watch told Reuters. “FERC has consistently denied this contention for years.” “...In reviewing the Agawam project, FERC concluded in February 2020 that the downstream effects were “inherently unforeseeable.” Now-Chairman Richard Glick dissented, saying it was a “relatively easy” calculation. The D.C. Circuit agreed with Glick on that point.”
Mlive.com: Final state-level Line 5 tunnel decision expected as climate considered
Sheri McWhirter, 3/13/22
“Michigan regulators are expected to soon decide whether to allow a Canadian company to build its planned Line 5 tunnel through the bedrock beneath the Straits of Mackinac and at least part of the decision will be based on climate impacts,” Mlive.com reports. “...This marks the first time in Michigan’s history when a utility tunnel of this scope has been considered, including factoring related climate impacts. It’s also a decision that comes on the heels of a United Nations scientific report that warns the longer society depends on greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels, the greater the scope of future human suffering from deadly heat, fires, floods, drought, and severe storms… “You don’t have to be a rocket scientist or a climate scientist to know if climate change and the burning of fossil fuels are really causing a lot of pain and expense, the last thing to do is start building more fossil fuel infrastructure. It’s just a waste of money,” = University of Michigan Professor Jonathan Overpeck, who helped author past U.N. climate reports, told Mlive. The climate scientist told Mlive carbon emissions associated with the planned tunnel would equate to between five and 10 coal-fired power plants worth of carbon emissions every year into the future. He told Mlive that’s unadvisable given the urgency of the latest climate report drafted by more than 200 of the world’s top scientists… “However, Enbridge contends the tunnel wouldn’t have any connection to worsening climate change – or at least not any more than the existing pipeline… “There’s no expected timeline or deadline for the commission to release its decision.”
National Observer: Amid energy crisis, Ottawa asks Michigan to end crusade against Line 5 pipeline
By James McCarten, 3/14/22
“The global energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is repressurizing North America's pipeline debate — and Canada's natural resources minister says it offers one more compelling reason for Michigan to abandon its crusade against Line 5,” the National Observer reports. “Even without the supply pressures created by U.S. and Canadian bans on importing Russian energy, Michigan is engaged in a wrong-headed effort to shut down the cross-border pipeline, Jonathan Wilkinson told the Observer. But with inflationary forces and the import bans pushing energy prices to new records in both countries, he told the Observer now would be a good time to pause the hostilities between the state and Enbridge Inc., the pipeline's Calgary-based owner and operator… “Canada's not alone in pushing them to stand down. Republican state senators in Michigan passed a resolution earlier this week urging the governor to embrace policies to foster energy independence, "including ending the state's efforts to shut down Line 5." Whitmer, Nessel, President Joe Biden, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and others "have pursued policies that have harmed our ability to achieve energy independence, including the president's decision to halt the Keystone XL pipeline," the resolution reads. State officials did not respond to media inquiries, but environmental groups in the U.S. were quick to condemn the resolution and defend the government's efforts. "Michigan shouldn't let Enbridge and the oil industry use the war and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to keep us from protecting the Great Lakes from a catastrophe," the National Wildlife Federation and Oil and Water Don't Mix said in a joint statement. "To use Putin's war to promote a dangerous oil pipeline in the Great Lakes at a time when people are dying for freedom and democracy should be condemned by Michigan's political leaders and every citizen."
FOX13: Locals protest a bill that will bring Byhalia Connection Pipeline project to South Memphis
Kayla Solomon, 3/13/22
“No local control, that’s what one amendment to a bill in the Tennessee legislature will do, if passed. The proposal has Memphis activists and residents once again protesting at the possibility of the Byhalia Connection Pipeline project could be revived,” FOX13 reports. “On paper, the original Tennessee House Bill 2246 and Senate bill 2077 seemed harmless to Sarah Houston, executive director of Protect Our Aquifer. “The original bill was just about mapping oil and gas infrastructure, and then they pulled a switcheroo,” Houston told FOX13. She said the bill is until an amendment was introduced taking away local government control across the state… including here in Shelby County. “We’re calling it the ‘Pipelines Over People’ bill, and it would undo and void all laws that we’ve already passed here in Memphis and even across the state. It takes away all local control for deciding where these oil and gas projects would go,” she told FOX13… Justin J. Pearson, president of MCAP, told FOX13, “Our county commission and our city council passed legislation to protect our water, to protect our community in a bipartisan way, liberal folks to the most conservative people in both bodies of government.” The amendment would override any laws passed locally.”
Bloomberg: Marathon petroleum shuts oil pipeline after leak in Illinois
Victoria Cavaliere, 3/13/22
“Marathon Pipe Line Inc. has shut down a pipeline in Illinois that leaked crude oil into a local canal, the company said on Saturday,” Bloomberg reports. “The leak into the Cahokia diversion channel was first detected on Friday morning and booms were deployed to try and contain the oil, parent company Marathon Petroleum Corp. said in a statement. An estimated 165,000 gallons were released into the canal before containment, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told local news station KTVI. The leak happened near Edwardsville, a city of more than 26,000 people. There are no water intakes or private wells in the immediate vicinity, according to Marathon. The cause of the rupture is under investigation.”
Associated Press: EPA Asks Illinois AG to Ensure Proper Cleanup of Oil Spill
3/13/22
“Federal officials want Illinois' attorney general to ensure that a pipeline operator conducts a proper cleanup after an estimated 165,000 gallons (624,592 liters) of crude oil spilled in southern Illinois,” the Associated Press reports. “The oil leak started Friday morning in Edwardsville near Illinois 143 and entered Cahokia Creek, which runs parallel to the pipeline just north of the city. Marathon Pipe Line, which operates the pipeline, shut it down and sent equipment and workers to contain and clean up the oil, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. EPA officials have asked Illinois' attorney general to ensure that Marathon remediates the spill, assesses and repairs the pipeline, investigates the extent of the spill and its effect on groundwater, and submits and implements a corrective action plan… “Marathon said some wildlife have been affected and experts are on site to treat them, but it did not provide specific details about the amount of animals impacted by oil. “MPL’s top priorities are to ensure the safety of responders, the community and to limit environmental impact as we respond to the release,” the company said in the statement.
WHYY: Mariner East pipeline motivates activist’s Green Party run for Pa. governor
Susan Phillips, 3/13/22
“Mariner East pipeline opponent Christina Digiulio, also known as PK Ditty, is running for governor of Pennsylvania as the Green Party candidate, saying she wants to use the forum to advocate for residents affected by industrial pollution,” WHYY reports. “It’s like giving a voice to people who have been neglected, in my opinion,” Digiulio told WHYY. “There are people in Pennsylvania in 2022 without water. That’s a basic human right. And our own agencies aren’t standing up for them, it seems they stand up for the industry more.” The Green Party of Pennsylvania is expected to endorse 44-year-old Digiulio Sunday evening, now that another declared candidate, Tina Olson, has withdrawn. Digiulio, who lives in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, and spent a decade as an analytical chemist for the Department of Defense, is co-founder of the Watchdogs of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Better Path Coalition and a graduate of Lock Haven University. She said she would never have thought of running were it not for the environmental damage she witnessed from pipeline construction, and the frustration she feels over what she said is a lack of accountability for corporations.”
Politifact: Pence falsely blames Biden’s nixing of Keystone pipeline for US reliance on Russian oil'
3/11/22
“With its first advertising campaign, a group led by former Vice President Mike Pence said it is spending $10 million on a claim that President Joe Biden, by canceling the Keystone XL oil pipeline, "dramatically increased Americans' dependence on Russian oil," Politifact reports. “...The ad is wrong about Keystone and dependence on Russian oil… “The pipeline would have required years of construction and likely faced legal challenges, so it couldn’t have solved today’s demand needs. There would have been no certainty that the pipeline could have produced a net increase of that number of barrels a day, rather than just transporting oil from Canada that is currently being transported some other way, and producers would not have been obligated to sell that entire amount to the U.S… “Russia became a more significant source of oil for the U.S. after the U.S. placed economic sanctions on Venezuela in 2019. In the absence of oil from Venezuela, U.S. oil companies turned to Russia for supplies. That being said, Russia is a relatively small source of oil for the U.S… “Advancing American Freedom said Biden's cancellation of the Keystone pipeline "dramatically increased Americans' dependence on Russian oil." The Keystone pipeline was never built, so Biden’s canceling it didn’t make the U.S. more reliant on Russian oil. The United States’ decision to buy less oil from Venezuela is the key reason the U.S. bought more Russian oil. In 2021, about 3% to 4% of U.S. oil consumption was from Russian imports, but in 2022, preliminary reports indicate that the U.S. has decreased its Russian imports. We rate the statement False.”
Appalachian Chronicle: MVP Opponent Maury Johnson Named Hometown Hero by WV Can’t Wait
Roseanna Sacco and Michael Barrick, 3/13/22
“Maury Johnson, a Monroe County advocate, landowner and activist, was recently awarded a WV Can’t Wait Hometown Hero award,” the Appalachian Chronicle reports. “...Johnson was selected for his work as a water, land, native species and people protector in Monroe County and beyond. Johnson deflected praise for himself, saying, “All I have to say is that this award would not have been possible without the help and support from a large group of ‘Hometown Heroes’ from across the region, state and nation that has supported me every step of the way.” “...Johnson is well known in the effort to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Not waiting for top-down solutions for local problems defines him. For years he has been actively involved in organizing people to identify and redress grievances and environmental injustices. He is a fifth-generation West Virginian and farmer who believes it is his job to be a steward of the earth and pass his portion of it down to further generations in as good or better condition than it was when he received it. As an ongoing Water Protector, he monitors erosion and sedimentation issues affecting key streams and water resources in Monroe County and helps raise funding for local watershed organizations. He is also known for being involved with tracking endangered species and monitoring disruptions to their habitat, for providing aid and various services to local residents and for organizing beautification drives such as the 35-person volunteer flower-and-tree planting initiative of the Sweet Springs Resort Park. Primarily though, Johnson is known for his ability to respectfully stand up to power with onsite documentation backed by evidence-based science.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
West Virginia Rising: Resist the Manchin Coal Machine
3/12/22
“On April 9th we will engage in a mass, nonviolent direct action at the power plant that burns all of Senator Joe Manchin’s fossil fuel - where he earns $500,000 per year while killing climate legislation. Through a large-scale act of civil disobedience that “breaks through” the noise and the social media clutter, we can not just move one specific player, but shake the ground on which the game is played. We can help elevate climate change to the center of the domestic agenda - and make this crisis impossible for the White House and Congress to ignore. To Senator Manchin: We are publicly sharing our plans today. We will mobilize for a large, nonviolent direct action at the plant where you burn your coal - where you wage violence against our bodies and our lands and our future in order to enrich yourself. You have refused to use your power to stand up for us. So we, people of West Virginia, must now speak for ourselves.”
Politico: I WON’T WINDFALL FOR YOU
Matthew Choi, 3/11/22
“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) released legislation Thursday to tax large oil companies for windfall profits made during the recent surge in crude prices from tight supplies and disruptions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Politico reports. “The bill, backed by a handful of Democrats, would charge a 50 percent tax on profits oil companies earn above a $66 per barrel price — the average price from 2015 through 2019 — and send half of that revenue to taxpayers. Whitehouse estimates a single filer would get a $240 rebate, while joint filers would get $360 per year if crude remains at $120 per barrel. “Setting aside climate just from a point of view of economics and national security, we need to get off this damn stuff,” he told reporters… “Khanna told Politico that it’s “not a unique proposal,” given similar ideas are floating around in the European Union and United Kingdom. He noted oil and gas companies would still be profiting under the tax, but he also said it could incentivize more drilling to bring down the price and resulting tax burden. “You could either just reduce the price, or you could increase drilling,” he told Politico. Of course, Khanna is no drilling advocate — he’s hammered oil and gas companies for producing too much, given fossil fuels drive climate change.”
Politico: WARTIME PRODUCTION
Matthew Choi, 3/11/22
“On the other side of the coin, at least a handful of lawmakers are toying with using the Defense Production Act to increase domestic oil and gas output following the Russian energy import ban,” Politico reports. “Reps.Jared Golden(D-Maine), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.),Jim Baird (R-Ind.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) pitched it in a letter to Biden on Thursday, saying the president could use the emergency measure “to provide financial incentives to the private sector at a large scale through subsidies and loans to ensure that industry is able to access the raw materials and implement refinery enhancements needed to boost production.” Senate Energy Chair Joe Manchin also brought up the DPA during a hearing on the weaponization of energy resources Thursday. Citing the need to replace Russian energy imports with U.S. produced energy, Manchin said the DPA was “the only thing I know that we can use to have the urgency that we need.”
STATE UPDATES
Colorado Sun: Kerr-McGee’s plan to drill oil and gas wells within 2,000 feet of homes in Firestone is rejected by regulators
Mark Jaffe, 3/11/22
“A bid by the state’s largest oil and gas producer to drill 26 wells within 2,000 feet of 62 homes in Firestone was rejected Thursday by Colorado regulators,” the Colorado Sun reports. “It was the first major test of the state’s requirement that oil and gas drilling be set back at least 2,000 feet from homes and schools. Both supporters and opponents of Kerr-McGee’s plan agreed during public testimony that the decision would be precedent setting. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission turned down the Kerr-McGee application to drill a total of 33 wells on two pads in Firestone saying that the company had not shown its plan was protective enough or that there had been an adequate evaluation of alternate sites… “Kerr-McGee’s application was an affront to all the work that went into passing that bill and adopting the new setback rules,” Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson, deputy director of the community group the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans, told the Sun. “It was neighborhood drilling at its worst.” The setback rule, however, came with an option of drilling closer than 2,000 feet if the operator took protective measure that would be substantially equivalent to being 2,000 feet away. The commission has approved two variances to the rule, each involving only a few homes, but Kerr-McGee’s proposal in Firestone would have impacted a more densely populated area… “The decision “sets a deeply troubling precedent that casts doubt on the efficacy, and even the purpose, of the Mission Change rules,” Lynn Granger, executive director of the industry trade group API-Colorado, told the Sun.
EXTRACTION
Reuters: U.S. push to export LNG amid Ukraine crisis slowed by climate concerns, sources say
By Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner, 3/10/22
“White House efforts to boost U.S. liquefied natural gas exports and cut Europe's reliance on Russian gas after the invasion of Ukraine are proceeding slowly, because of concerns about the impact on climate change, government and industry sources said,” Reuters reports. “...The White House was weighing the announcement of an interagency review of ways to boost LNG exports to Europe alongside Tuesday's decision to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil products, people briefed on government decision-making told Reuters. However, the interagency review has been shelved, at least for now, after some in the White House argued it would counter the administration's efforts to wean the U.S. off fossil fuels consumption and production and tackle climate change, the sources told Reuters… “Some Biden officials hoped a more detailed U.S. commitment to boost LNG exports would help convince European allies to join in the ban of Russian oil imports, the sources told Reuters. The effort was reeled back amid "concerns from the climate team" in the Biden administration, the source told Reuters… “In recent weeks, officials from the White House, the State Department, the Energy Department and other agencies have held discussions on whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could expedite approval of new pipelines and approve requests to increase capacity at existing export terminals to help get natural gas to Europe, several sources told Reuters. They also discussed whether the United States and the European Union could help guarantee portions of 20-year supply contracts necessary to finance the construction of new terminals and ports, and ways to get banks to finance some new projects amid efforts by U.S. climate envoy John Kerry to coax them to stay away from fossil fuel investments, the sources told Reuters.
Fast Company: How the 1970s oil crisis helped Copenhagen become a cycling paradise
ADELE PETERS, 3/14/22
“Rush hour in Copenhagen is dominated by people on bicycles: Around two-thirds of the city’s residents now bike to school or work instead of driving. That wasn’t an inevitable reality. Bikes were popular in the city early in the 1900s, but by the 1950s, as people got richer and moved to the suburbs, cars had overtaken bikes on roads,” Fast Company reports. “By the 1960s, city planners saw cars as the future and bicycles as outdated. They sketched visions to add new urban highways and take out bike lanes that some thought were a waste of space. But the global oil crisis of 1973—when oil prices quadrupled within a few days—helped push the city in a different direction. Even before the oil embargo, when Middle Eastern suppliers stopped selling fuel to some countries because of a conflict in Israel, some Copenhageners were beginning to question the wisdom of following the American example of city planning. (At the time, Danish leaders visited American cities to see car-centric design in action; Americans now visit Copenhagen to see the opposite.) A proposed highway that would have paved over lakes in the city sparked protests. A busy street in the center of the city was pedestrianized, though the mayor at the time faced death threats for making the changes. The oil crisis helped lead to faster changes in the 1970s. Driving was temporarily banned on Sundays because of the shortage of gas. “I remember, as a child, walking in the middle of the highway,” says Klaus Bondam, CEO of the nonprofit Danish Cyclists Federation. A growing environmental movement started talking about bikes as alternative transportation. The city eventually abandoned plans for some major new road projects, pedestrianized more streets, and banned through-traffic in other areas. As Denmark confronted its dependence on foreign fossil fuels—when the oil crisis happened, imported oil covered 80% of its energy needs—it looked for ways to generate electricity and heat differently and to drive less. Danish Cyclists Federation proposed a plan for a citywide bike network, and the city slowly started building new bike lanes.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: Shareholders at four U.S. oil companies to vote on climate proposals
By Sabrina Valle, 3/14/22
“Shareholders at four U.S. oil companies will vote in the coming quarter on proposals for the firms to meet emissions targets set out in Paris in 2015, said climate activist group Follow This,” Reuters reports. “The votes will test shareholder willingness to impose new air pollution restrictions amid high energy prices and new energy security fears following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We were positively surprised," Follow This founder Mark van Baal told Reuters. "This shows that most oil majors accept the winds of change at the SEC." “...While Occidental Petroleum has sought to bar the group's proposal saying the claims have already been "substantially implemented", Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Chevron Corp (CVX.N), ConocoPhillips (COP.N) and Phillips 66 (PSX.N) each have not blocked the group's petition, van Baal told Reuters… “Follow This previously put similar proposals calling for the oil firms to "substantially reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions." Those petitions last year were supported by 61% of voting shareholders at Chevron, 58% at Conoco and 80% at Phillips 66, according to company filings. Follow This now proposes that companies set goals consistent with the 2015 Paris accord, an agreement to reduce emissions in half by 2030.”
OPINION
Register-Herald: Sen. Manchin’s false statements on Mountain Valley Pipeline are not helpful
Paula Mann, Greenville, Mar 11, 2022
“Recently, Sen. Joe Manchin met with the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) to discuss recent changes to regulations on pipeline construction, as the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported. During the hearing and in the article, he spouted false claims that the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is 95 percent complete, suggesting its completion is inevitable,” Paula Mann writes for the Register-Herald. “I live on the pipeline’s path and I can tell you with certainty that this is not true. Due to legal, financial, and political pressure, the project is only 55 percent complete, according to FERC. Manchin says we must ramp up natural gas production for the sake of our country’s energy reliability and security. This is completely false. Only a rapid transition to clean energy will secure our energy independence. The climate crisis presents a massive threat to our country’s security – as the Department of Defense has asserted. Manchin claims the completion of the MVP is for the good of our country. This is impossible because the MVP has negatively impacted rural communities like mine. People have lost vital water sources, both springs and wells, and their roads, fences and topsoil are being washed away from increased flooding along the pipeline route… “Join me in encouraging our leaders to stop spreading lies about the pipeline and its impact on our communities. Instead, we need Sen. Manchin to lift up WV communities by leading the transition to renewable energy to provide energy security, and center the health of our communities and people in that transition.”
Wall Street Journal: Whitmer Wants Higher Gas Prices
By The Editorial Board, 3/13/22
“Americans are already paying an average of $4 for a gallon of gasoline these days. And if Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer succeeds in shutting down Enbridge ’s Line 5 pipeline, consumers will pay even more in the Midwest,” the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes. “Ms. Whitmer is fighting Enbridge in state and federal court with the goal of compelling the closure of Line 5, a crucial pipeline carrying fossil fuels between Canada and several U.S. states. Her campaign is contrary to a U.S. treaty with Canada, not that she seems to care…”
The Hill: The real threat to the Federal Reserve
Dennis Kelleher is president and CEO of Better Markets, a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial market and support the financial reform of Wall Street, 3/12/22
“Throughout the nomination process for President Biden’s picks for the Federal Reserve Board, there have been numerous charges about various threats each nominee supposedly poses to the Fed, its mission and mandates. But none of the nominees – Jerome Powell for chair, Lael Brainard for vice chair, Sarah Bloom Raskin for vice chair for supervision and Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson for governors – pose a threat anywhere near as significant as the Senate allies of the oil and gas industry,” Dennis Kelleher writes for The Hill. “Those allies – most prominently the Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee – are now boycotting any vote on the nominees ostensibly because they want more information from Raskin, who, if confirmed, would become the most powerful banking regulator in the U.S. Remarkably, although the Fed and the vice chair for supervision regulate bank holding companies such as JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and others, those banks are not opposing the nominees. Rather, the Republicans are doing all of this because of claims, made by the fossil fuel industry, its allies and others, that Raskin poses a threat to the Fed’s independence. They claim she would politicize the Fed by going outside what they claim are its narrow mandates and consider risks related to climate. They say that will result in the Fed engaging in “capital allocation” decisions, “chocking off” capital to a particular industry and thereby “picking winners and losers.” But while Raskin’s opponents have correctly identified the threat, they have misidentified the source: It’s not Raskin who poses a threat to the Fed’s independence, mission and mandate, but those accusing her of doing so… “If the Fed is to be independent, no one should be able to tell it which risks to evaluate and which to ignore. That would require the Fed to violate its mandates and threaten to cause another catastrophic financial crash. That’s the real threat to the Fed, and that’s what’s at stake in the fight over Sarah Bloom Raskin.”
The Hill: America can restore its energy jobs — and reduce emissions
Cecil E. Roberts is president of UMWA International. A sixth-generation coal miner, he has been president of the union since 1995, 3/12/22
“One of the things I learned early in life growing up on Cabin Creek in central West Virginia is that if you don’t take on a bully right from the start, his bullying will only get worse,” Cecil E. Roberts writes for The Hill. “...Banning Russian energy imports, however, will mean that the United States is now faced with a deficit of energy resources, because approximately 8 percent of our oil has been imported from Russia. The need to ramp up domestic energy production is clear… “In my view, this provides us with an opportunity to expand traditional jobs in the energy industry and take significant strides to meet the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions while we do so. The passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year included noteworthy funding to build out the infrastructure needed to deploy carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology on a commercial scale… “It is the principal means for reducing carbon emissions from coal-based generating plants, which currently account for roughly one-third of total U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Most importantly for United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) members, their families and their communities, CCS deployment on a wide scale would mean jobs for decades instead of just a few more years. It could return employment to coalfield communities that have been faced with dramatic job losses and economic ruin over the past decade… “This opportunity to increase domestic energy production should be joined by an even more aggressive build-out of CCS infrastructure and corresponding tax incentives for utilities that apply CCS technology to their power plants.”
Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico can lead the way with pollution rules
Joseph Hernandez is from Shiprock. He is the Diné Energy Organizer for NAVA Education Project, 3/10/22
“New Mexico has a critical role to play in enacting policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and holding the oil and gas industry accountable for its waste and pollution,” Joseph Hernandez writes for the Santa Fe New Mexican. “As Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at the United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow last year, “If we can do it, then all energy producing states can do it.” Too many New Mexico communities are experiencing the serious health impacts of oil and gas pollution. Spills, leaks, venting and flaring are taking a toll on all New Mexicans’ air, water and health, but rural communities, tribal communities, children and the elderly are especially at risk. In fact, almost half of all Native Americans in San Juan County — about 22,000 people — live within a half-mile of a well site. Now is the time to open new doors to an economy where all communities thrive, and New Mexico’s air, land, water and wildlife are protected. And fortunately, the state has an opportunity to act with the Environmental Improvement Board’s consideration of the New Mexico Environment Department’s proposed oil and gas air pollution rules… “The board should resist industry attempts to weaken the regulation and instead include key improvements supported by public health advocates, local communities and even Occidental Petroleum, the state’s second-largest oil producer, that will deliver the strongest possible protections — especially for front-line communities living closest to well sites… “The Environmental Improvement Board must seize the moment and adopt nation-leading air pollution rules to help build a better, healthier and more prosperous future for our communities and the world.”