Ben Jervey Posts

If it feels like the oil industry’s attacks on the burgeoning electric car market are well coordinated, that’s because they are.

There’s a major sector of the automobile industry that is unwavering in its support of strong clean car standards: auto parts manufacturers.

“During his tenure as Attorney General of Oklahoma, Mr. Pruitt has blurred the distinction between official and political actions, often at the behest of corporations he will regulate if confirmed to lead EPA."

There are solar battles blazing all across the west right now, as utilities anchored to fossil fuel power plants strain to avoid the inevitable spread of solar across their areas of operation. Not a month goes by without a story of some assault on solar-friendly policies by utilities, or by the Utility Commissions that are often in their pocket.

There are solar battles blazing all across the west right now, as utilities anchored to fossil fuel power plants strain to avoid the inevitable spread of solar across their areas of operation. Not a month goes by without a story of some assault on solar-friendly policies by utilities, or by the Utility Commissions that are often in their pocket.

While the withdrawal of Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others from ALEC’s vast pool of corporate funders was widely celebrated by climate campaigners, a recent report released by Forecast the Facts and SumOfUS shows how Google – and many others who claim to do good by climate – are still funding climate denial in politics.

Carbon Tracker says that Exxon is “significantly underestimating the risks to its business model from investments in higher cost, higher carbon reserves; increasing national and subnational climate regulation; competition from renewables; and demand stagnation.” In short, Exxon's recent report, "Energy and Carbon — Managing the Risks," chooses to outright dismiss the risks of its business model.

A report lauded by Keystone XL pipeline proponents is rife with flaws and written by a center-right think tank with ties to the oil and gas industry.

While shale oil, predominantly from the Bakken, has driven the trend of increased shipping oil by trains in the U.S., Canadian tar sands producers are increasingly turning their attention to rail. Hobbled by limited pipeline capacity out of Alberta, and frustrated by their inability (so far) to ram the Keystone XL pipeline through the American heartland, tar sands producers are signing contracts with Canadian rail operators. Canadian National Railway is getting the lionshare of the business. Unfortunately, some of these “bomb trains” never make it to their destination, derailing, spilling, exploding and taking lives.

We see the effects of climate change as happening in some nebulous, not-too-distant future. But the National Climate Assessment just released by the White House makes clear that future is now – rising temperatures are affecting much of the world, including the US, and without swift action could literally bring the end of the world as we know it.

An Italian judge has ordered the shutdown of a coal-fired power plant that has been blamed for at least 442 deaths. Public prosecutors had argued that pollution from the plant in Italy’s Liguria region had caused the premature deaths and between 1,700 - 2,000 cases of heart and lung disease.

The State Department's Office of the Inspector General has released a report detailing conflicts of interest in the development of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The company hired to assess environmental impact had previous dealings with the builder of the pipeline, and serious shortcomings in their reports.

Citing the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, Missouri Judge Robert Dierker – known for his outspoken views on corporate personhood, and who has appeared on Fox News – denied a ballot initiative that would have nixed tax breaks for fossil fuel companies in St. Louis.

Coal leases lack competition – the bottom line of a new General Accounting Office report detailing the ways in which coal companies bid and use the leases for profit. Undervalued land means cheap coal, which the companies then price at inflated 'market' levels, reaping a huge windfall.

The Consensus Project released the latest definitive study of global warming scientific consensus, revealing that 97 percent of peer-reviewed papers with a clear view on the subject agree that global warming is occurring and that humans are the primary cause. Ever since, we've seen the predictable push-back from fossil fuel industry apologists and climate deniers.

Teddy Roosevelt must be rolling over in his grave. Elkhorn Ranch, where the great Republican conservationist sat on his porch overlooking the Little Missouri River and conceived his then-progressive theories of conservation, is at risk of being despoiled by fracking.

The EPA submitted a letter faulting the State Department’s environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline for being “insufficient” and raising “Environmental Objections” to the project.

ExxonMobil is getting defensive about its response plans for the tar sands pipeline spill in Arkansas. The company took to Twitter this afternoon to respond to what it called “allegations” that Exxon isn't liable for the full costs of cleaning up their tar sands crude spill i

In Greek legend, everytime the winged horse Pegasus struck his hoof to the Earth, an "inspiring spring burst forth." Unfortunately for residents in Mayflower, Arkansas, when the Pegasus pipeline ruptured, the only thing bursting forth was a nasty tar sands oil spill.

I can’t tell what’s worse: using the occasion of Earth Day to promote fossil fuels -- one of the greatest threats to our environment on local and global scales -- or the cynicism of how the theme of this contest is framed.