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oil and gas

U.S. Policy Implications of Global Peak Oil Demand

U.S. Policy Implications of Global Peak Oil Demand

Back in the beginning of the century James Kuntsler published the book The Long Emergency which warned about societal collapse due to declining oil production combined with “climate change, resurgent diseases, water scarcity, global economic instability and warfare to cause major trouble for future generations.” Twenty years ago it was

Zombieland

Zombieland

Here we go again. “Last week, a retired oil and gas worker named Luke Shipp called out Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian for claiming that no wastewater disposal well has contaminated groundwater used by people.” That quote is from a column in the Houston Chronicle about the ongoing problem of toxic

Abandoned oil pumpjack.

Learning from California As It Becomes An Orphan Petrostate

By 1910, California was producing roughly a fifth of the world’s crude oil. Today it is producing roughly a fifth of the oil consumed by the state. Source In addition to experiencing serious oil production decline, California is also a “fuel island” due to the geographical and regulatory constraints

Big Oil is Sticking Us with the Bill

Big Oil is Sticking Us with the Bill

State regulators are allowing the oil industry to walk away from its cleanup responsibilities.

Oil Industry Unlikely to Pay Mounting Debts Owed to America

Oil Industry Unlikely to Pay Mounting Debts Owed to America

In 2019 I wrote an article that posed the question, “Will the Public End up Paying to Clean up the Fracking Boom?” The following year I wrote the article, “With Bankruptcies Mounting, Faltering Oil and Gas Firms Are Leaving a Multi-billion Dollar Cleanup Bill to the Public” in which I

Oil Industry Methane Pollution Is Business as Usual, Not Accidental

Oil Industry Methane Pollution Is Business as Usual, Not Accidental

Leaks are not driving oil and gas methane pollution. Methane pollution is mostly due to normal oilfield operation.

Touring Ground Zero of the Methane Emergency

Touring Ground Zero of the Methane Emergency

Ten years ago I wrote the article “Natural Gas as 'Bridge Fuel' Is Excellent Political Solution But Fails As Climate Solution.” In that article I reported that the American ambassador to Romania stated that the fracking industry had “obtained great successes — without consequences for the environment.” I didn’