Tag Archives: TPP

U.S. rejects Keystone XL: next let’s stop Sabal Trail!

November 6, 2015Economy, LNG, PoliticsBarack Obama, Bill McKibben, Canada, Climate Change, Economy, Free Trade, John Kerry, John S. Quarterman, Justin Trudeau, Keystone XL, Kinder Morgan, LNG, Palmetto Pipeline, Paris, petroleum products, Politics, President, Sabal Trail Transmission, Sierra Club, Sinkhole Trail, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, State Department, Tar Sands, TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, TransCanada, United StatesJohn S. Quarterman

Thanks to Bill McKibben and everyone else who made that pipeline an international cause. Now let’s stop Spectra’s Sabal “Sinkhole” Trail and keep Kinder Morgan’s Palmetto pipeline denied. And let’s stop the Trans-Pacific Parternership (TPP) before it can produce more “free trade” countries for LNG export.

Coral Davenport, New York Times, 6 November 2015, Obama Rejects Construction of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline,

President Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he is seeking to build an ambitious legacy on climate change.

“The pipeline would not make a meaningful longterm contribution to our economy,” Mr. Obama said in remarks from the White House.

The move was made ahead of Continue reading U.S. rejects Keystone XL: next let’s stop Sabal Trail! →

Call your Senators against TPP today

June 24, 2015Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LNGBill Nelson, David Perdue, Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority, Jeff Sessions, John S. Quarterman, Johnny Isakson, LNG, Marco Rubio, Richard Shelby, Senate, SpectraBusters, TPA, TPP, Trans-Pacific PartnershipJohn S. Quarterman

Turn one vote and actual approval of TPP will fail, because the pro-LNG-export pro-fracking pro-pipeline Trans-Pacific Partnership got Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the U.S. Senate yesterday “by the narrowest margin in the legislative mechanism’s history, 60-37. The procedural measure required 60 votes to pass.” So it’s time to call Florida Senator Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio (who apparently didn’t even read it), Georgia Senator David Perdue who claimed he wanted transparency and Johnny Isakson who should represent the people of Georgia, and all the other Senators who voted for that corporate power grab.

The most likely votes to turn are the Democrats who voted for. Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch, 23 June 2015, Blog Posts: Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP),

The 13 corporate trade backers included: Senators… Bill Nelson (D-Florida)….

Continue reading →

TPP fast track loses Senate vote

May 12, 2015Law, LNG, PoliticsCongress, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Politics, Senate, SpectraBusters, TPP, Trans-Pacific PartnershipJohn S. Quarterman

Pipeline-pushing members of Congress explicitly promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a way to authorize more fracked methane export, which would promote more pipelines. Sabal Trail may say its gas isn’t for export, but those three already-authorized LNG export operations right where it goes in Florida suggest otherwise. Fortunately, TPP just lost a U.S. Senate vote for fast track, so now at least it can’t be pushed through without proper debate. If it’s so good for us, let’s see TPP declassified and the full text released to the public now.

Carter Dougherty and Heidi Przybyla, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 2013, Trans-Pacific Partnership: Senate Democrats revolt against Obama trade bill, Continue reading TPP fast track loses Senate vote →

Sierra Club petition against TPP

April 29, 2014Alabama, Economy, Environment, Florida, Georgia, LNGAlabama, China, Economy, EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation, environment, Florida, Free Trade Agreement, FTA, Georgia, Government, intellectual property, John S. Quarterman, LNG, LNG export, SpectraBusters, TPP, Trans-Pacific PartnershipJohn S. Quarterman

Sierra Club has a petition to stop Congressional fast-track for the Trans-Pacific Parternership (TPP), and that will probably stop the TPP, because in regular Congressional hearings the parts that have been kept secret would get exposed, which would make TPP very hard to approve. Look at what Wikileaks found in the TPP environment chapter, and in the intellectual property chapter. The U.S. is apparently lobbying for criminal offenses for even unintentional infringements of “copyright, related rights and trademarks” Yet there are no criminal sanctions for destroying our environment, and the draft TPP text even points out:

On the other hand, WTO rules do allow members to derogate from their obligations in some cases, for instance where a measure is aimed at the conservation of natural resources, provided certain conditions are met.

Do we want corporate profit to override our clean water and air and native plants and animals, not to mention our property rights?

Here’s the Sierra Club petition: The Trans-Pacific Partnership could leave a big fracking mess!

The TPP is being pushed by Continue reading Sierra Club petition against TPP →

Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline Threatens Southwest Georgia Communities –in Georgia Sierran

April 28, 2014Alabama, Colquitt County, Dougherty County, Economy, Environment, FE, FERC, Florida, Georgia, Gilchrist County, Hazards, LNG, Lowndes County, Safety, Solar, WaterAlabama, aquifer, China, Colquitt County, Dougherty County, Economy, environment, FE, FERC, Florida, Floridan Aquifer, FPL, FTA, Georgia, Gilchrist County, gopher tortoise, Hazards, Houston, John S. Quarterman, Juno Beach, LNG, LNG export, Lowndes County, Port Dolphin, Sabal Trail Transmission, Safety, solar, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, TPP, TTIP, WaterJohn S. Quarterman

In the April-May-June ~~2004~~ 2014 issue of Georgia Sierran Georgia Sierra Club‘s Chapter newsletter. The same issue has an excellent article on Georgia’s aquifers, including the Floridan Aquifer that is a drinking water source for all of Florida, through which the Sabal Trail pipeline proposes to bulldoze.

Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline Threatens
Southwest Georgia Communities

By John Quarterman
Why should a shell corporation owned by two companies in Houston, Texas and Juno Beach, Florida get to take Georgians’ property to pipe fracked methane to Florida through our fragile karst limestone drinking water aquifer?

Yet that’s what Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC, proposes to do, Continue reading Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline Threatens Southwest Georgia Communities –in Georgia Sierran →

Can Sabal Trail fracked methane go to China?

April 26, 2014British Columbia, FE, FERC, Florida, LNG, Martin CountyAES, Bahamas, British Columbia, Carib Energy, China, Crowley Maritime, EU, Europe, export, FE, FERC, Florida, Florida Southeast Connection, Floridian LNG, Ford, FPL, India, Japan, John S. Quarterman, LNG, Martin County, Ocean Express, Russia, Sabal Trail Transmission, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, TPP, Transco, TTIP, Ukraine, WilliamsJohn S. Quarterman

People talk about LNG exports to China through the Transco – Sabal Trail – Florida Southeast Connection pipeline, even though FPL says it knows nothing about exports through that Southeast Market Pipelines Project (SMPP), and FERC also seems to know nothing. If that fracked gas really can go to China, where’s FERC’s rationale for federal eminent domain, which depends on Florida needing the gas? Nevermind FPL’s own 10-Year Site Plan doesn’t support a need for the gas, and EPA doesn’t buy what it’s seen as rationalizations for that alleged need: can the gas go to China?

FERC has admitted in more than one Scoping Meeting that it’s not the pipeline company that has to get export authorization: it’s the end user. And FPL is not the only end user and FERC is not the only export-authorizing agency. Continue reading Can Sabal Trail fracked methane go to China? →

Protests work, even against TPP, TAFTA, and EU demands for U.S. methane exports after Ukraine

April 1, 2014FrackingAngela Merkel, Barack Obama, EU, Europe, export, Fracking, Germany, John S. Quarterman, LNG, methane, nuclear, pipeline, protest, Russia, Spectra Energy, SpectraBusters, T-TIP, TAFTA, TPP, U.S., UkraineJohn S. Quarterman

European leaders and the U.S. president are aware of opposition to fracking, even in Europe.

Robin Emmott and Jan Strupczewski wrote for Reuters 26 March 2014, Obama tells EU to do more to cut reliance on Russian gas,

U.S. President Barack Obama told the European Union on Wednesday it cannot rely on the United States alone to reduce its dependency on Russian energy, as relations with Moscow chill over its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.

There is some bad news:

Speaking on a visit Continue reading Protests work, even against TPP, TAFTA, and EU demands for U.S. methane exports after Ukraine →

Authority to Import and Export Gas by U.S. Department of Energy

March 7, 2014FE, FERC, LawDepartment of Energy, export, FE, FERC, Free Trade, import, John S. Quarterman, Law, LNG, Office of Fossil Energy, order, SpectraBusters, TPP, Trans-Pacific PartnershipJohn S. Quarterman

Here’s a new way “entitled” fracking fossil fuel companies have gamed the system for LNG exports, currently to “Free Trade Agreement nations”, which will probably include India and China if the Trans-Pacific Parternship (TPP) gets approved. Even without exports, methane pipelines are to sell the “large amount of natural gas in the U.S.” produced by “the shale revolution”, which is fracking. The Sabal Trail pipeline isn’t about any alleged energy need in Florida. It’s about profits from fracking at the expense of your land.

Department of Energy notice 6 May 2013, Authority to Import and Export Gas: Constellation Energy Commodities Group Inc., et al.

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy gives notice that during March 2013, it issued orders granting authority to import and export natural gas and liquefied natural gas and vacating prior authority. These orders are summarized in the attached appendix and may be found on the FE Web site at http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/gasregulation/authorizations/Orders-2012.html. They are also available for inspection and copying in the Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities, Docket Room 3E-033, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9478. The Docket Room is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2013.
John A. Anderson,
Manager, Natural Gas Regulatory Activities, Office of Oil and Gas Global Security and Supply, Office of Fossil Energy.

That web page includes a list of “DOE/FE Orders Granting Import/Export Authorizations”. The export orders are mostly for export to Canada and Mexico, plus two for “export LNG by vessel” from “the Lake Charles LNG Terminal” and “the proposed Gasfin LNG Export Project in Parish, Louisiana” to “Free Trade Agreement nations.”

Here’s DoE’s list of current NATURAL GAS IMPORT & EXPORT REGULATION – FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA) COUNTRIES AND LNG EXPORTS: Continue reading Authority to Import and Export Gas by U.S. Department of Energy →