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How Wind Energy Creates More Dependence on Fossil Fuels

           

'Any informed student of wind energy ... understands that'

michigancapitolconfidential.com - by Jack Spencer - March 2, 2015

Truth has a habit of emerging from unexpected places. An article in the Daily Kos about the desire to end dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs reveals a “nasty little secret” about wind energy: It relies on fossil fuels.

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Swiss Re No Longer Offers Re/Insurance to Firms with More Than 30% Coal Exposure

           

CLICK HERE - Swiss Re - News Release - Swiss Re establishes thermal coal policy to support transition to a low-carbon economy (4 page .PDF file)

insurancejournal.com - July 3, 2018

Swiss Re announced it no longer is providing re/insurance to businesses with more than 30 percent exposure to thermal coal across all lines of business.

The thermal coal policy applies to both existing and new thermal coal mines and power plants, and is implemented across all lines of business and Swiss Re’s global scope of operations.

This move marks the implementation of Swiss Re’s thermal coal policy announced in June 2017, which aims to manage carbon-related sustainability risks and support the transition to a low-carbon economy, the company said in a statement.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - Swiss Re limits thermal coal coverage

 

 

 

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Radar Images Show Large Swath of Texas Oil Patch is Heaving and Sinking at Alarming Rates

           

A new study by an SMU geophysical team found alarming rates of ground movement at various locations across a 4000-square-mile area of four Texas counties. (Zhong Lu and Jin-Woo Kim, SMU) Credit: Zhong Lu and Jin-Woo Kim, SMU

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Association between localized geohazards in West Texas and human activities, recognized by Sentinel-1A/B satellite radar imagery

phys.org - Southern Methodist University - March 21, 2018

Two giant sinkholes near Wink, Texas, may just be the tip of the iceberg, according to a new study by a Southern Methodist University, Dallas geophysical team that found alarming rates of new ground movement extending far beyond the infamous sinkholes . . .

 . . . Now the team has discovered that various locations in large portions of four Texas counties are also sinking and uplifting.

 . . . ”These hazards represent a danger to residents, roads, railroads, levees, dams, and oil and gas pipelines, as well as potential pollution of ground water," Lu said. "Proactive, continuous detailed monitoring from space is critical to secure the safety of people and property" . . .

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Fluid Injection Wells Can Have a Wide Seismic Reach

           

This valve assembly is the aboveground portion of an injection well, which can be used to dispose of fluid deep in the subsurface. Recent studies show that the cumulative effects from injection in numerous disposal wells can contribute to seismic activity far from the injection sites. Credit: Leonid Eremeychuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

High-volume fluid injection can cumulatively increase underground pore pressure and induce earthquakes in regions unexpectedly far from injection wells, recent Kansas studies show.

eos.org - by Shelby L. Peterie, Richard D. Miller, Rex Buchanan, and Brandy DeArmond - April 17, 2018

Seismologists largely attribute widespread earthquakes in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma over the past several years to injection of extracted oil field brine deep into Earth’s crust. Recently, however, the frequency of earthquakes has increased significantly in areas of Kansas well beyond the initial high-seismicity zones near injection wells.

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Hurricane Harvey’s Toxic Impact Deeper Than Public Told

       

Hurricane Harvey’s toxic impact on Houston was more widespread than publicly reportted, an AP Houston Chronicle investigation has found.  In the more than 100 spills catalogued by reporters, environmental testing was limited.

apnews.com - by FRANK BAJAK of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISE OLSEN of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE - March 23, 2018

HOUSTON (AP) — A toxic onslaught from the nation’s petrochemical hub was largely overshadowed by the record-shattering deluge of Hurricane Harvey as residents and first responders struggled to save lives and property.

More than a half-year after floodwaters swamped America’s fourth-largest city, the extent of this environmental assault is beginning to surface, while questions about the long-term consequences for human health remain unanswered.

County, state and federal records pieced together by The Associated Press and The Houston Chronicle reveal a far more widespread toxic impact than authorities publicly reported after the storm slammed into the Texas coast in late August and then stalled over the Houston area.

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Sabine Pass LNG Ordered to Shut Down Leaking Gas Storage Tanks

           

Federal safety officials have ordered two of the five liquefied natural gas storage tanks seen here to be shut down because of leaks. (Cheniere Energy)

CLICK HERE - PHMSA Corrective Action Order to Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC (9 page .PDF document)

nola.com - by Mark Schleifstein - February 10, 2018

Supercold liquefied natural gas leaked into a space between inner and outer walls of a major storage tank at the Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Cameron Parish on Jan. 22, and its minus 260-degree temperature created numerous 1-foot to 6-foot cracks in the carbon steel outer tank wall, allowing some of the gas to escape, according to an order issued Thursday (Feb. 8) by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

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Trump-appointed regulators reject plan to rescue coal and nuclear plants

           

CLICK HERE - FERC rejects DOE NOPR, kicking resilience issue to grid operators

CLICK HERE - Order terminating rulemaking proceeding, initiating new proceedings, & establishing additional procedures re Grid Reliability & Resilience Pricing under RM18-1 et al. Commissioners LaFleur, Chatterjee, & Glick concurring statements attached.

washingtonpost.com - by Steven Mufson - January 8, 2018

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday unanimously rejected a proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have propped up nuclear and coal power plants struggling in competitive electricity markets.

The independent five-member commission includes four people appointed by President Trump, three of them Republicans. Its decision is binding.

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America Crowns a New Pollution King

           

Power plants have been the biggest source of U.S. CO2 emissions since the 1970s—until now.

bloomberg.com - by Tom Randall - December 4, 2017

For the first time in 40 years, power plants are no longer the biggest source of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution. That dubious distinction now belongs to the transport sector: cars, trucks, planes, trains and boats.

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Keystone Pipeline Leak Spills 210,000 Gallons of Oil in South Dakota

           

TransCanada - Image of Amherst incident taken earlier today by aerial patrol as part of our initial response. For more updates, visit - https://www.transcanada.com/amherst-incident

cbsnews.com - AP - November 16, 2017

AMHERST, S.D. -- TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone pipeline has been shut down after it leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil in northeastern South Dakota, the company and state regulators reported Thursday.

Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and activated emergency response procedures after a drop in pressure was detected resulting from the leak south of a pump station in Marshall County, TransCanada said in a statement. The cause was being investigated.

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Nation's largest oil refinery forced to shut down as Harvey floods Port Arthur

money.cnn.com - Julia Horowitz and Jill Disis - August 30th 2017

The largest oil refinery in the country is shutting down as Hurricane Harvey causes more catastrophic flooding, and more have followed suit.

Early Wednesday, Motiva said it started closing its Port Arthur refinery "in response to increasing local flood conditions." The plant won't open until flood waters recede.

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