oil and gas

COMMENTARY
Photo by Paul Becker provided by Save Ohio Parks.

Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission can – and should – deny fracking in our public lands

BY: - September 27, 2023

By Cathy Cowan Becker, Roxanne Groff, Loraine McCosker, Jenny Morgan, Randi Pokladnik, and Melinda Zemper of Save Ohio Parks Ohio’s Oil and Gas Land Management Commission met Sept. 18 to discuss the fate of our beloved state parks, wildlife areas, and public lands. At issue were nine applications, called “lease nominations,” by unidentified oil and […]

‘Falsified’ public comments loom over Ohio state parks drilling decisions

BY: - September 20, 2023

An Ohio commission is poised to rule on proposals to drill under state parks and wildlife areas before the conclusion of an investigation into fabricated public comments submitted in favor of the proposals. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission deferred a decision Monday in order to allow more time to consider the lease […]

A fire large enough to be seen from space erupted at a crude oil refinery at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex on June 21, 2019, in Philadelphia. The refinery exceeded emission limits for benzene, a toxic pollutant, both before the explosion and for two years after it closed, but the EPA took no action against it, according to a report from the EPA’s inspector general office. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

Report faults EPA for not enforcing limits on toxic benzene emissions at oil refineries

BY: - September 20, 2023

The federal Environmental Protection Agency must do a better job ensuring that oil refineries that exceed emissions limits for benzene, a toxic, carcinogenic pollutant, cut those concentrations, the agency’s inspector general found. “Thirteen of the 118 refineries we reviewed had benzene concentrations above the action level in 20 or more weeks after the initial exceedance,” […]

The AEP headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. The utility’s disconnection rate was more than twice that of other Ohio utilities over the past year. (Credit: Creative Commons.)

Ohio disconnection data still lacks detail on racial disparities

BY: - September 14, 2023

Consumer advocates still lack access to data that would let them determine the extent of any racial disparities in Ohio utility shutoffs for customers’ failure to pay gas and electric bills. Information about what share of disconnections affect people of color, low-income families, seniors or other vulnerable groups would be an important step toward making […]

COMMENTARY

JD Vance is one of the top recipients of oil and gas money. Now he’s shilling for their interests

BY: - September 5, 2023

J.D. Vance, the wealthy venture capitalist who moved back to Ohio to become a U.S. Senator as a reborn MAGA zealot, owes his deep-pocketed benefactors big time. Chief among them are the titans peddling fossil fuel. Vance was among the top 20 of all recipients of oil and gas donations in the 2022 campaign.  He […]

Credit: Rafael Classen / Creative Common

Critics question how climate-friendly an Appalachian ‘blue’ hydrogen hub will be

BY: - September 4, 2023

Critics say a pair of proposals to make Appalachian Ohio part of regional hydrogen hubs is likely to benefit the state’s oil and gas industry more than the climate. The two proposals are among 21 projects competing for shares of a $7 billion pot of grant money under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The law […]

Ohio commission considers state park drilling requests under expedited timeline

BY: - July 18, 2023

A state commission will soon decide whether to greenlight drilling for natural gas under Ohio state parks, wildlife areas, and other state-owned lands. Ohio’s Oil & Gas Land Management Commission is currently considering a dozen applications to extract natural gas from state property under new rules adopted pursuant to a state law that requires it […]

Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting

BY: - June 2, 2023

The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals. Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to balance the […]

Interior secretary under fire at U.S. Senate hearing over oil and gas leases, public lands

BY: - May 3, 2023

Members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee used a Tuesday hearing on the Interior Department’s fiscal 2024 budget to voice their displeasure with the administration’s energy production policies to Secretary Deb Haaland. The strongest criticism came from Republicans on the panel, though Chairman Joe Manchin III, a centrist West Virginia Democrat with […]

Environmentalists fear Lake Erie fracking, oil and gas industry says not to worry

BY: - April 3, 2023

The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.   A bill introduced to the Ohio House would prevent oil and natural […]

U.S. House passes sweeping energy bill pushing back against Biden climate policies

BY: - March 31, 2023

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House on Thursday approved a bill packed with Republican energy priorities meant to counteract the Biden administration’s approach and boost U.S. oil and gas production. Numbered H.R. 1 as a signal that energy policy is the House majority’s top legislative priority, the bill includes a package of GOP proposals, ranging from reforming the […]

Fossil fuel drilling threatens air and wildlife in national parks, advocacy group finds

BY: - February 13, 2023

WASHINGTON — A “massive” methane cloud forming over Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. Noxious air pollution fouling Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Herds of mule deer and pronghorn at risk of decimation at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Environmental problems like these are already resulting from fossil fuel extraction near four […]