Category Archives: Climate Change

Sierra Club opposes new natural gas electric generating units: good news against Sabal Trail

The excuse for Spectra’s Sabal Trail pipeline is new natural gas electric generating units in Florida. FPL calls this “modernizing“, which is an odd word for using 20th century fossil fuels when 21st century solar power, conservation, and efficiency is ready right now for the Sunshine State. Adding to their opposition to LNG export, the Sierra Club Board of Directors has adopted this new policy:

“Natural Gas: The Sierra Club opposes new electric generating units powered by natural gas, including peaking and combined cycle units. Consistent with the Board’s goal of eliminating all fossil fuels from the electric sector no later than 2030, it is critical that the US avoid further high-capital investments in new natural gas plants and related infrastructure.”

This is in Sierra Club’s Continue reading Sierra Club opposes new natural gas electric generating units: good news against Sabal Trail

Cookout at VSU for Global Divestment –S.A.V.E.

300x388 Flyer, in Global Divestment Day Cookout, by S.A.V.E., for SpectraBusters.org, 12 February 2015 Fracking for fossil fuels causes new pipelines and LNG export, and without investment none of that will happen.

S.A.V.E. flyer:

Come celebrate with S.A.V.E as we take part in the Global Divestment Day Movement! Come learn about divestment from fossil fuels and how the VSU community can get involved to better our future!!!

Where?VSU Palms Quad
When?Feb. 12, 2015
What time?1pm-3pm

What is Global Divestment Day? Continue reading Cookout at VSU for Global Divestment –S.A.V.E.

EPA natural gas greenhouse gas reporting proposed rule 2014-12-09

There’s still time to comment on one methane rule proposed by the EPA, which was partly prompted by outside comment to start with. So far, the only comments are by fossil fuel industry consortiums. Why should they have all the fun? Here’s how to post your own comments. And there may be another rule announced today.

Posted by the EPA, 9 December 2014, Greenhouse Gas Reporting: 2015 Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems,

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions and confidentiality determinations for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. In particular, the EPA is proposing to add calculation methods and reporting requirements for greenhouse gas emissions from gathering and boosting facilities, completions and workovers of oil wells with hydraulic fracturing, and blowdowns of natural gas transmission pipelines between compressor stations. The EPA is also proposing well identification reporting requirements to improve the EPA’s ability to verify reported data and enhance transparency. This action also proposes confidentiality determinations for new data elements contained in these proposed amendments.

Pipelines between compressor stations would affect the compressor stations proposed for the Sabal Trail pipeline. The proposed rule also spells out in numerous places that it’s about distribution pipelines, too. And the proposed rule was partly motivated by requests from concerned parties: Continue reading EPA natural gas greenhouse gas reporting proposed rule 2014-12-09

GCCC against Sabal Trail in Albany, GA

The Georgia Climate Change Coalition Bike Lines to stop Pipe Lines stopped in Albany yesterday and got some news coverage.

Diane Dean, WALB TV, 24 November 2014, Bike riders focus on GA environment,

Members of the Georgia Climate Change Coalition are concerned about what the planet will look like for future generations.

“It crosses the flint and Chattahoochee River and their water sheds that provide drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people,” said Gretchen Elsner of the Georgia Climate Change Coalition.

Rich Rusk is Continue reading GCCC against Sabal Trail in Albany, GA

Rockefeller Brothers Fund divesting from coal and tar sands, but not from natural gas

It’s indeed historic when heirs of John D. Rockefeller, the man whose Standard Oil more than any other company put the world on its current fossil-fuel-burning climate-changing path decide to divest from coal and tar sands. But read their actual statement: they’re not divesting from natural gas, or fracking, or even from oil. Yet.

Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) PR 22 September 2014 Fund Announces Plans to Divest from Fossil Fuels,

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has been working to better align its endowed assets with its mission since 2010, when the board of trustees approved a commitment of up to 10 percent of the endowment to investments consistent with the foundation’s Sustainable Development program goals. Stephen Heintz, president of the Fund, announced its decision to divest from fossil fuels at a press conference in New York City on September 22, 2014, one day before world leaders convene at the UN Climate Summit. The Fund has begun a two-step process to divest from investments in fossil fuels, first focusing on limiting its exposure to coal and tar sands, with a goal to reduce these investments to less than one percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014. The Fund is also analyzing in detail its remaining fossil fuel exposure and will develop a plan for further divestment as quickly as is prudent over the next few years.

There’s nothing about this continued investment in fracked methane in the New York Times story or in any of the others I’ve found. But RBF’s own PR is pretty clear.

That PR and a longer statement refer us to Continue reading Rockefeller Brothers Fund divesting from coal and tar sands, but not from natural gas

Inadequate insurance and safety plus eminent domain and environmental destruction by Sabal Trail –OSFR

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson of Our Santa Fe River sent this letter yesterday to the same newspapers Sabal Trail has been in recently. -jsq

Sabal Trail’s spokesperson distributing large quantities of disinformation

“Safety, public input, federal monitoring, jobs, tax revenue, exceed federal safety requirements, reliability, affordable, clean, thorough review, latest proven technologies:” these are all good little meta tags and nice sounding words and phrases used by Andrea Grover, public relations employee for Sabal Trail, in her recent editorial about that company’s proposed natural gas pipeline which was carried by newspapers in the southeastern United States.

But let us point out a few facts that this editorial fails to mention. There were plenty of public input meetings (we attended seven of these, and we read the minutes from others) and the input was overwhelmingly negative. Issues of concern include Continue reading Inadequate insurance and safety plus eminent domain and environmental destruction by Sabal Trail –OSFR

Food and Water Watch against LNG exports

FWW has been on the case against H.R. 6 that would authorize LNG exports to all WTO member countries since that bill passed the subcommittee in early April, before it passed the main committee April 30th.

Food & Water Watch press release 9 April 2014, House Subcommittee’s Approval of LNG Exports Means More Money for Big Oil and Gas, More Fracking In U.S. Communities: Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director, Wenonah Hauter,

Washington, D.C. — “On Wednesday, the U.S. House’s Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power voted in favor of a bill to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) abroad under the guise of aiding Ukraine. But this bill, H.R.6, would only serve to increase profits for the oil and gas industry, greatly accelerating fracking here at home, endangering American communities, public health and the climate. We strongly recommend that both houses of Congress reject any and all plans to export LNG overseas.

“Selling LNG abroad will drive up the industry’s profit margins, ultimately increasing gas prices here in the U.S.. Ramping up fracking in the U.S., Continue reading Food and Water Watch against LNG exports