oil and gas
Fossil fuel drilling threatens air and wildlife in national parks, advocacy group finds
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 […]
Commission advances rules, leasing forms for drilling on Ohio’s state lands
Environmentalists demanded public input and oversight before oil and gas companies gain clearance to drill on public lands. The five-member oil and gas land management commission heard public comment Wednesday before approving a new standard lease form and rules. The process to lease public lands for oil and gas exploration has been exceptionally slow. Lawmakers […]
GOP U.S. House passes bill opening more public land to development if reserve oil is tapped
U.S. House Republicans passed a bill Friday to force the White House to make more federal land and waters available for oil and gas development if the president orders the withdrawal of more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill, passed 221-205, mostly along party lines, would strip the president’s power to remove oil from […]
Inconsistencies in Ohio’s home rule authority highlighted by tobacco legislation
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. State lawmakers in Ohio have been able to pick and choose which local […]
Why Ohio’s top oil and gas producing counties continue to lag in jobs
A decade after the start of Ohio’s shale gas boom, counties with the most oil and gas production continue to have higher-than-average unemployment rates. A review of state data shows that unemployment rates in Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, and Noble Counties have exceeded the statewide average every year since 2010, casting doubt on […]
Little appetite for Manchin permitting bill in congressional lame-duck session
Among the items on Congress’ lengthy to-do list by the end of the year is U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s proposal to speed up the federal government’s permitting process that certifies energy projects do not harm the environment. But the bill, which was a condition of the centrist West Virginia Democrat’s support for his party’s larger […]
Report says many utilities are slow-walking clean energy goals
DENVER – A report released this week by the Sierra Club faults dozens of utilities that provide a major chunk of U.S. electric generation for failing to speed up their decarbonization efforts. “For the sake of our communities and planet, we must do everything in our power to create a clean, renewable electric grid by […]
PR work for ‘Big Oil’ helped stymie climate action, U.S. House Democrats say
WASHINGTON – Public relations firms aligned with oil and gas companies have tested the limits of their industry ethics and caused major slowdowns to federal climate change policy, Democrats on a U.S. House panel said at a Wednesday hearing. The firms’ conduct went beyond the bounds of ethical public relations work, Democrats on the House […]
Looking for jobs in all the wrong places: Ohio policymakers’ misguided belief in natural gas
If you’re looking for economic development that will deliver job growth, increase local commerce, and improve quality of life, you can’t do much worse than natural gas extraction, gas-fired power plants, and infrastructure. They don’t provide many jobs and they impose serious costs that discourage other kinds of job-creating economic activity. Apart from contributing to […]
After big windfall for energy companies, Ohio economists divided on profits tax
Is it a good idea to tax energy companies on all the barrels of extra cash oil companies made off of this year's high prices? A panel of Ohio economists is divided.
Biden signs into law Democrats’ wide-ranging climate change, health care and tax bill
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed his party’s signature climate, health care and tax package into law Tuesday, capping off more than a year of tumultuous negotiations that saw his original proposal to Congress slimmed down considerably. Flanked by a handful of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and […]
5 big questions about the new Biden plan for offshore oil and gas leases
Just before the July 4 holiday, the federal agency that manages offshore energy development proposed a five-year plan for as many as 11 and as few as zero new oil and gas sites in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska’s coast. The proposal would clear the way for up to 10 new oil and […]