topic: Gas

topic: Gas

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Resource wars and the geopolitics behind climate-fueled conflicts
- Journalist Dahr Jamail joins the Mongabay Newscast to discuss the history and present context of resource wars, which he says are putting pressure on the planet’s ecological limits.
- Noted for his work as an unembedded journalist during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Jamail says resource-based motives are behind many if not most conflicts today.
- Scientists have warned governments this risks wasting time and money that could otherwise be spent on addressing the looming threats of climate change.
- One estimate puts the total cost of all post-9/11 wars at $8 trillion to the U.S. alone, and the death toll at between 4.5 million and 4.7 million people.

Planetary boundary pioneer Johan Rockström awarded 2024 Tyler Prize
- The 2024 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement will go to Johan Rockström who led the team of international researchers who originated the planetary boundary framework in 2009.
- The theory defines a scientifically based “safe operating space for humanity” to safeguard stable Earth conditions established in the Holocene when civilization arose, with the intention of preventing dangerous tipping points in the Anthropocene — a new era in which humanity has the capacity to wreak havoc on Earth systems.
- In a new interview with Mongabay, Rockström discusses how the planetary boundaries framework formulates quantified safe limits to protect nine Earth systems (including climate, biodiversity, freshwater and more), all vital for sustaining life and he shares some updates on this cutting-edge research.
- “Planetary sustainability is a security issue because staying within planetary boundaries gives us stable societies, food security, water security and reduces conflicts,” says Rockström. “Placing planetary boundaries at the UN Security Council positions sustainability, climate, biodiversity, water, where it belongs — in security.”

U.S. natural gas expansion would surrender world to fatal warming, experts say
- The United States is planning a major expansion of its export infrastructure for liquified natural gas (LNG), a fossil fuel mostly containing methane. Public outcry in the U.S. over the risk to the global climate forced U.S. President Joe Biden to pause the LNG permitting process for reconsideration in January.
- However, the U.S. continues investing billions in new LNG infrastructure abroad. Scientists and climate activists around the globe are warning that LNG expansion renders U.S. climate commitments unreachable, locks in fossil fuel emissions for decades and could trigger catastrophic warming.
- LNG emits more than coal when exported due to massive leaks of methane into the atmosphere during oceanic transport, a preprint study has found. Another report estimates that emissions from planned U.S. LNG exports, if all 12 facilities are approved, would total 10% of the world’s current greenhouse gas emissions.
- Climate impacts around the world would be severe, scientists say. Drought in Europe, for example, is already leading to higher food and energy prices, creating conditions for poverty even in developed nations, while a tipping point in the Amazon Rainforest could lead to mass deaths due to extreme heat and humidity.

U.S. auctions off endangered whale habitat for oil and gas drilling
- On Dec. 20, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a lease sale to auction off oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Environmental groups and the U.S. Interior Department had tried to postpone this sale due to concerns about protecting the critically endangered Rice’s whale, a species whose key habitat overlaps with the lease sale areas.
- Scientists estimate there are fewer than 50 Rice’s whales left, and that the primary threat to the species is the oil and gas industry.
- While the lease sale went through without any protections for the Rice’s whale, environmental groups continue to explore legal and political avenues to ensure the species’ survival.

Indonesia pushes carbon-intensive ‘false solutions’ in its energy transition
- Indonesia’s newly revised plan for a $20 billion clean energy transition has come under criticism for offering “false solutions” that would effectively cancel out any gains it promises.
- One of its most controversial proposals is to not count emissions from off-grid coal-fired power plants that supply industrial users without feeding into the grid.
- Emissions from these so-called captive plants alone would exceed any emissions reductions projected under the rest of the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
- The plan also puts a heavy emphasis on “false” renewables solutions such as biomass cofiring and replacing diesel generators with natural gas ones.

Chemical recycling of plastic not so fantastic, report finds
- A new report by NGOs International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and Beyond Plastics scrutinizes the chemical recycling industry that is on the rise in the U.S. and other parts of the world, including several European countries.
- Chemical recycling, also known as advanced recycling, is an umbrella term for industrial processes designed to use plastic waste as a feedstock to create fuel and new plastic products.
- While plastic producers and fossil fuel companies argue that chemical recycling presents a solution to the world’s plastic problem, environmentalists say chemical recycling is an unproven process that exacerbates the pollution problems it’s supposed to solve.
- In mid-November, negotiators met in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the global plastics treaty. Chemical recycling was not formally discussed, but critics are concerned that it may be a part of future treaty negotiations.

Circular economy poised to go beyond outdated oil, gas and coal, experts say
- The exploitation of oil, gas and coal is now destabilizing all nine planetary boundaries and driving a triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The solution, experts say, is to move from a hydrocarbon-based linear economy to a diversified circular economy. This is Part 3 of a three-part miniseries.
- To step back from dangerous environmental thresholds, humanity needs to cut its use of fossil fuels, petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers and petrochemicals (especially plastics), with many analysts unequivocal about the unlikelihood of utilizing oil, gas and coal resources to implement a global circular economy.
- To achieve a circular economy, fossil fuels need to be phased out and alternative energy sources put in place. Bio-fertilizers need to be adopted and scaled up, and nitrogen fertilizers must be managed better to prevent overuse. Plastic production needs to be curbed, with a ban of single-use plastics as a start.
- Unfortunately, the world isn’t on target to achieve any of these goals soon, with surging oil and natural gas production by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia expected to push the planet past the maximum 2° C (3.6° F) temperature increase agreed to in the 2015 Paris Accord — putting Earth at risk of climate catastrophe.

Beyond Climate: Fossil fuels rapidly eroding Earth’s ‘safe operating space’
- This exclusive three-part Mongabay mini-series explores how the oil, natural gas and coal industry are destabilizing nine vital Earth systems, which create a “safe operating space” for humanity and other life on the planet.
- The first story in the series examined some of the direct detrimental impacts of fossil fuels, petroleum-based agrochemicals and petrochemicals (such as plastics) on climate change, biodiversity loss, nitrogen pollution of the world’s oceans and other forms of pollution.
- This story looks at the direct and indirect impacts that hydrocarbon production is having as it destabilizes Earth’s freshwater systems; influences rapid land use change; pollutes air, land and water; potentially contributes to ozone layer decay; and ultimately impacts life on Earth.
- Scientists say humanity’s actions — inclusive of burning fossil fuels and producing petrochemical and agrochemical products — has already pushed Earth into the danger zone, overshooting six of nine critical planetary boundaries. Unless we pull back from these violated thresholds, life as we know it is at risk.

Beyond climate: Oil, gas and coal are destabilizing all 9 planetary boundaries
- It’s well known that the fossil fuel industry made the industrial age possible and raised much of humanity’s living standard, while also causing the current climate crisis. Less known is how oil, gas and coal are destabilizing other vital Earth operating systems — impacting every biome. This is Part 1 of a three-part exclusive Mongabay miniseries.
- Scientists warned this year that, of the nine identified planetary boundaries, humanity has now overshot safe levels for six — climate change, biosphere integrity, land system change, novel entities (pollution), biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and freshwater change.
- Fossil fuels, petroleum-based agrochemicals and petrochemicals (including plastics) are now significantly contributing to the destabilization of all nine planetary boundaries, based on the review of numerous scientific studies and on the views expressed by dozens of researchers interviewed by Mongabay for this article.
- According to multiple experts, if humanity doesn’t find alternative energy sources and phase out fossil fuels, agrochemicals and petrochemicals, then their production will continue driving the climate crisis; polluting the atmosphere, water and land; creating deoxygenated kill zones in the world’s oceans; and poisoning wildlife and people.

Lifted sanctions on gold, oil could slow conservation efforts in Venezuela
- Last month, the U.S. agreed to lift some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas and gold, some of the country’s largest industries, but also its most environmentally hazardous.
- Eased restrictions could allow neighboring countries with illegal mining, such as Suriname, Brazil, Guyana and Colombia, to launder gold through Venezuela’s new legal channels.
- Spills from oil and gas fields may continue as before given the government’s disregard for infrastructure maintenance, such as fixing pipes and replacing worn-down tanks.

How Canada’s growing presence in Latin America is hurting the environment
- Canada is up for a periodic U.N. review of its environmental and human rights record in Latin America, and activist groups want to make sure the country is held accountable for lacking regulations and oversight.
- The country is a leader in mining and oil investment in the region but doesn’t do enough to protect against deforestation, pollution and human rights violations against local communities, according to a series of reports published by activist organizations.
- The organizations said Canada should implement new regulations to protect environmental defenders and sign onto ILO Convention 169.

Oil and gas exploration threatens Bolivian Chaco water supply
- Aguaragüe National Park is suffering from environmental damage caused by hydrocarbon exploration, the activities of which have been carried out for more than a century. In 2017, a study conducted by the Bolivian government and the European Union identified five high-risk environmental liabilities for the population, for which there is still no official information regarding remedial measures.
- There are at least 60 oil wells in this protected natural area, most of which are not closed, according to Jorge Campanini, a researcher at the Bolivian Documentation and Information Center (CEDIB).
- Per information from the Ministry of the Environment and Water, there are seven environmental liabilities and 94 oil wells in seven protected areas in Bolivia. No information was provided on the situation in the rest of the country.

On Indonesia’s Seram Island, a massive oil find lies beneath sacred land
- In the east of Indonesia’s Seram Island, an Australian energy firm announced in July encouraging results from a survey of hydrocarbon deposits, describing the find as holding “world-class potential.”
- Members of Seram’s Bati indigenous community told Mongabay the drilling had disturbed sites they have considered sacred for generations.
- A representative of PT Balam Energy said the company had held talks with customary representatives.

As Exxon bows out, industry takes step toward sustainable algae biofuels
- In February, ExxonMobil gave up its decade-long attempt to cultivate algae as a profitable and scalable feedstock for biofuel — a liquid alternative energy source needed to power aviation, ocean-going ships, and long-distance trucking, while also combating climate change.
- That corporate setback was offset by advances elsewhere in the industry: California-based algae biofuel company Viridos, which lost ExxonMobil as its partner, raised $25 million this year as it gained United Airlines, Chevron and Breakthrough Energy Ventures as investors to keep its algae project moving toward commercialization.
- Also, this year, the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) funded four major algae biofuel and biomass projects to chart scalable production processes and achieve low-carbon intensity efficiency.
- Several of these algae initiatives are now moving from basic R&D into pilot programs, with scaled-up commercial production possibly just a few years away, according to industry experts. Environmentalists are concerned about future land, energy and fertilizer impacts during production, though say it is too early to assess potential commercialization effects.

Ecuador banned gas flaring over a year ago. Why is it still happening?
- In September 2021, a provincial court gave oil companies 18 months to eliminate gas flaring in the Amazon because of its role in spiking cancer rates among local residents.
- That deadline expired in March, but today oil companies continue to use gas flares more than ever. Before the court ruling, there were an estimated 447 gas flares in the country. Today, there are 475.
- Activists say they still have some legal avenues for pressuring the government to enforce the ban, including impeaching ministers that fail to comply with the court’s order.

CAPS, new gas megaproject, aims to power Central Africa, but at what cost, critics ask
- The Central Africa Business Energy Forum proposes to build 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) of pipelines linking oil and gas resources across 11 countries in Central Africa.
- The forum says gas in particular should play a key role in developing the region’s economy.
- Seven countries have so far signed a memorandum of understanding, and a feasibility study for a first phase is expected by the end of 2023
- Environmentalists say the project is a mistake that will exacerbate the climate crisis and fail to benefit local populations.

Paraguay weighs natural gas drilling in Médanos del Chaco National Park
- Congress is considering opening up natural gas exploration and extraction in Médanos del Chaco National Park, a protected area in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco, a savannah and dry forest ecosystem along the northwest border.
- The 605,075-hectare (1,495,172-acre) national park has unique ecosystems and endemic flora and fauna, and is home to several Indigenous communities who rely on freshwater reserves that could be compromised by future drilling.
- Modifications to a key law were approved by the country’s chamber of deputies last year then rejected by the senate this week. But it has another opportunity to pass later this year.

Indonesia aims to use gas in foreign-funded energy transition; critics cry foul
- Indonesia plans to convert its diesel fuel-fired power plants to gas-fired power plants starting this year as a part of its energy transition program.
- The Indonesian government hopes the gas conversion project could be funded by a US$20 billion energy transition deal with developed countries called the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
- The plan has been lambasted by activists, who see the gas conversion project as a false solution to climate change due to methane emissions that come from leakage during the transportation of gas.
- Activists also point out that gas is more costly than renewable energy and the development of gas could take away funding and resources from renewable development.

Climate change lawsuits take aim at French bank BNP Paribas
- French bank BNP Paribas is being sued by a group of environmental and human rights advocacy groups that allege it provides financial services to oil and gas companies as well as meat producers that clear the Amazon to make space for cattle pastures.
- The basis of both lawsuits is a 2017 French law known as the “Duty of Vigilance Act,” which requires companies and financial institutions to develop reasonable due diligence measures that identify human rights and environmental violations.
- Even though the bank has committed to financing a net-zero carbon economy by 2050, the groups that filed the lawsuits said it still isn’t meeting the standards of the 2017 law.

Is natural gas the solution to Africa’s energy needs? New research says no.
- Three reports released by the African Climate Foundation analyzed the potential impact of natural gas extraction on the economies of a series of countries in Africa.
- Research for the reports was carried out in partnership with Willis Towers Watson, a British-American insurance risk adviser.
- The groups found that a global transition away from fossil fuels could lead LNG investments in Mozambique, Tanzania and elsewhere to become a drain on public finances in the long term.
- The reports suggested that as the cost of renewable energy declines, LNG-producing governments will also come under pressure to pay expensive, inefficient subsidies for domestic gas consumption.

Indigenous leader’s court win halts one of Australia’s ‘dirtiest gas projects’
- Indigenous community members from the Tiwi Islands off the northern coast of Australia took Santos Limited to court, arguing that the company did not adequately consult traditional owners in its plans to drill in the Barossa offshore gas field.
- A federal court threw out the approval granted by Australia’s offshore energy regulator, noting that all relevant stakeholders were not consulted.
- The drilling to develop the $3.6 billion Barossa gas project could threaten the Tiwi peoples’ food sources, culture and way of life, opponents say.
- If the Barossa project goes ahead, it could become one of Australia’s dirtiest gas projects emitting around 5.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly, estimates from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis show.

As Europe eyes Africa’s gas reserves, environmentalists sound the alarm
- In the wake of an energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries are turning to Africa for its natural gas reserves.
- The move is a turnaround from recent years, when many of the same countries vowed to stop financing fossil fuel projects on the continent.
- Some African heads of state, along with their allies in industry, have welcomed the change, saying gas extraction will help finance the transition to renewables.
- But environmental advocates on the continent are pushing back, saying that a new era of fossil fuel extraction will create more misery and harm the climate.

Indonesian bill turns coal-derived fuels clean by ignoring true scale of emissions
- A bill being considered by Indonesia’s parliament defines fuels derived from coal as being “new energy” with “minimal” carbon emissions.
- Energy experts have slammed this dissonance, pointing out that producing and burning gasified coal, for example, emits more emissions than simply burning the solid coal for the same amount of energy.
- The bill also calls for the adoption of costly and largely unproven technologies to help coal-fired power plants run “cleaner,” including carbon capture and storage.
- But experts say it would be far more cost-effective to invest in truly renewable energy, and call into question Indonesia’s commitment at last year’s climate summit to phase out coal from its energy mix.

ReconAfrica pushes ahead with Namibia oil exploration amid claims of violations
- Canadian oil and gas company ReconAfrica has announced it will enter a second phase of petroleum exploration in Namibia.
- Campaigners and community members say the company has not conducted the environmental impact assessments necessary to extend its operations.
- The company has been accused of violating several laws by encroaching on people’s land and into untouched forests.
- Opponents of the company’s activities say they will consider legal action if the violations continue.

Oil production or carbon neutrality? Why not both, Guyana says
- The government of Guyana says the South American country has already achieved net-zero carbon emissions, and adds it will further cut emissions by 70% by 2030.
- The declaration comes on the heels of Guyana becoming the world’s newest oil-producing country; it began pumping crude at the end of 2019.
- The government has played down the dissonance between its oil-producing status and its emissions reduction goals, saying that oil revenue can be directed to the green economy.
- The question, says Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, “is whether we can become an oil producer and still maintain our environmental credentials, and continue to advocate globally for a zero-carbon economy. And we believe the answer is yes.”

Indigenous communities in South Africa sue, protest off-shore oil and gas exploration
- Thousands of South Africans, including Indigenous communities, mobilized in a national protest last Sunday against Shell’s planned seismic survey in search for oil and gas reserves off the country’s eastern Wild Coast – with more protests planned this weekend.
- Two court applications were submitted last week challenging the government’s license for oil and gas exploration, and demanded their constitutional right to a safe and healthy environment, as well as their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
- Activists and communities fear the surveys and possible oil extraction will impact marine life and pollute coastal ecosystems which the Indigenous Xhosa rely on for their livelihood and traditional rituals.
- On Thursday, the Minister of Minerals Resources and Energy underlined the government’s support for oil exploration, criticizing environmental protesters for actions seen as “apartheid and colonialism of a special type.”

‘Standing with your feet in the water’: COP26 struggles to succeed
- As at every COP before it, negotiators at COP26 are struggling against time to reach an accord, with negotiators at Glasgow clashing over seemingly irreconcilable differences. With the science of climate change now dire, vulnerable nations are demanding strong specific language, while other nations seek to water it down.
- The group of nations dubbed the “Carbon Club” as long ago as the Kyoto Agreement negotiations in the 1990s, continues to offer the primary stumbling block. Those oil and/or coal producing nations include Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Australia, Norway, the U.K. and often the U.S.
- The United States, while it has made a major sea change since the denialism of the Trump administration, continues to be cautious about any language that would threaten oil, gas and coal industry subsidies, or antagonize Republican members of Congress or coal company baron and West Virginia Dem. Sen. Joe Manchin.
- As the clock ticks, and the last hours of COP26 slip away, with street protestors increasingly frustrated at the lack of significant movement by the negotiators, the scene remains tense in Glasgow. With the summit now gone into overtime, the outcome of COP26 remains in the balance.

Philippine wetland oil riches untouched by war now up for grabs in peacetime
- At 288,000 hectares (712,000 acres), Liguasan Marsh in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao is the country’s largest and most intact wetland, a haven for birds and a source of livelihood for the 100,000 families who live there.
- The marsh was a hotspot during the decades of conflict between the Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); it also has known oil and gas reserves.
- With a peace deal forged and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in 2019, the new regional government is seeking investors to develop the marsh’s oil and gas reserves.
- Some fear this extractive activity will damage the marsh’s ecosystem and exacerbate land conflict in an area where land tenure is already complex and contested.

Plastics set to overtake coal plants on U.S. carbon emissions, new study shows
- A new report released by Beyond Plastics suggests that plastics will release more greenhouse gas emissions than coal plants in the U.S. by 2030.
- It argues that plastics production in the U.S. is currently responsible for 232 million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year, the equivalent of 116.5 gigawatts of coal plants. These numbers are likely to increase as production expands.
- However, experts say that policymakers do not currently account for the impact plastics currently have on climate change and that the issue is flying under the radar.

Oil spills plague Venezuelan coast, but cleanup efforts are lacking: Report
- There have been 53 oil spills in Venezuela this year through September, most of them concentrated on the Caribbean coast where massive government oil refineries operate with little environmental oversight.
- The Venezuelan government rarely publishes records of oil spills or other environmental conflicts, making it difficult to track oil spills and coordinate appropriate responses.
- The oil spills are doing incalculable damage to local ecosystems, which include mangroves and the estuary known as Lake Maracaibo.

Novel chemical entities: Are we sleepwalking through a planetary boundary?
- The “novel entities” planetary boundary encapsulates all toxic and long-lived substances that humans release into the environment — from heavy metals and radioactive waste, to industrial chemicals and pesticides, even novel living organisms — which can threaten the stability of the Earth system.
- Humans have invented more than 140,000 synthetic chemicals and we produce them in vast quantities: around 2.3 billion tons annually. Yet, only a few thousand have been tested for their toxicity to humans or other organisms. That leaves humanity essentially flying blind to potential chemical interactions and impacts.
- Global treaties such as the Stockholm Convention, Minamata Convention, and Basel Convention, limit production and/or trade of some environmentally persistent toxic and hazardous chemicals. But progress is slow: Decades after DDT’s impacts were reported, it is still regularly used in developing nations.
- NGOs call for an international tax on basic chemicals production, with the funds supporting countries devising and implementing regulations to protect human health and the environment. A 0.5% international fee could raise $11.5 billion yearly, vastly surpassing current global funding for chemicals management.

Nearly 1 million km2 of intact forests menaced by extractives, study finds
- A new report shows that 975,000 km2 (376,500 mi2) of virgin forest, about the size of Egypt, is threatened by mining and oil and gas extraction.
- About 11% of the planet’s intact forests lie within mining concessions and 8% inside oil and gas concessions.
- Their loss spells trouble for efforts to save endangered wildlife, tackle climate change and preserve Indigenous communities inhabiting these undisturbed lands.
- The overlap between concessions and intact forests was the greatest in Central Africa, especially in the Congo Basin, which has seen a surge in extractive activity in recent years.

Playing the long game: ExxonMobil gambles on algae biofuel
- Algae biofuel initially looked promising, but a few key problems have thwarted major research efforts, including development of a strain of algae able to produce plentiful cheap fuel, and scaling up to meet global energy demand.
- Other alternative energy solutions, including wind and solar power, are outpacing algae biofuel advances.
- Much more investment in money and time is needed for algae biofuel to become viable, even on an extended timeline out to mid-century. While big players like Shell and Chevron have abandoned the effort, ExxonMobil continues work.
- In 2017, ExxonMobil, with Synthetic Genomics, announced they had used CRISPR gene-editing technology to make an algal strain that could pave the way to a low-carbon fuel and a sustainable future. But many environmentalists met the claim with skepticism, suspecting greenwashing.

Biofuel in Mexico: Uphill battle against bureaucracy, organized crime
- Biofuels based on pressed plant oils, and made especially from used cooking oil, could help Mexico’s public transport sector transition to a cleaner and climate-friendly energy era, according to researchers and industry entrepreneurs.
- But there is a lack of government regulatory support, while the nation’s new president is betting on fossil fuels and neglecting biodiesel options and nature-based climate solutions.
- As a result, small biodiesel producers have to operate in a legal gray zone, while industry entrepreneurs are held back in the development of the technology and the market.
- Mexico isn’t alone: Many nations large and small are struggling with hurdles imposed by fossil fuel-friendly governments and a lack of supportive regulations to create a level playing field for the rapid development and deployment of biodiesel and other climate-friendly alternative energy solutions.

Converting biowaste to biogas could power cleaner, sustainable Earth future
- Biogas made from organic materials — including food and agricultural waste, and animal or human manure — is a renewable, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy alternative becoming increasingly available to households, farms, municipalities and nations.
- Converting biowaste into biogas, via anaerobic digestion technology, is a strategy that could contribute to multiple U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement. Biodigesters are already in use to meet a range of energy needs around the world.
- Current limiting factors to the sector’s growth include technical and adaptive challenges, lack of awareness in many regions, and unsupportive policy instruments that can discourage biogas adoption.
- Ahead of COP26, the critically important U.N. climate meeting coming this November, the World Biogas Association is urging governments to integrate biogas into their Nationally Determined Contributions — their voluntary emissions reduction targets, as agreed to under the Paris Agreement.

Peru gov’t needs to act on COVID-19 in Amazon Indigenous cases, NGOs say
- A group of organizations has sent a letter to Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra asking for urgent support for Indigenous communities, which have been overlooked during the COVID-19 crisis, according to activists.
- The demands in the letter include the deliverance of food, medicine and medical supplies, as well as the cessation of extractive activities that are carrying the virus into traditional territories.
- It’s estimated that 125 Indigenous people have died from COVID-19 in the Ucayali region of the Amazon since the start of the pandemic. However, it’s difficult to get accurate numbers due to a lack of testing.

Brazilian government office responds to Fearnside’s BR-319 oil & gas commentary
- On 9 March 2020, Mongabay published a commentary written by Philip M. Fearnside on the “Solimões Sedimentary Area”, an oil and gas project that would implant thousands of wells spread over the western portion of the Brazilian Amazon, to the west of Highway BR-319 – a forest area almost entirely intact due to lack of road access. According to the commentary, the project would bring many risks to the area: oil spills, impact on isolated indigenous tribes and deforestation due to the expansion of a road network.
- EPE, the Brazilian Energy Research Office, sent a response to Mongabay on 27 March 2020 (published below), claiming “conceptual mistakes.” It argues, among other objections, that the Solimões project’s main goal is to evaluate future scenarios for a potential oil and gas exploration system in the area, not a de facto implementation of this system. The office also mentions the participatory process in which the local communities were allegedly involved and, concerning the risk of deforestation, refutes it saying that this kind of operation is mainly done by air or navigable rivers.
- As a rebuttal to EPE’s response, also published here, Fearnside objects that the project is a “trial balloon” to see what criticisms will arise so that the authors of the impact assessment can be more prepared to ensure approval of the environmental licenses. Furthermore, Fearnside emphasizes that the opening of a new frontier can stimulate the government to build roads and attract other activities linked to deforestation, like logging, land grabbing and palm oil production.

Response to one pandemic, COVID-19, has helped ease another: Air pollution
- Air pollution has significantly decreased over China amid the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, signaling unanticipated implications for human health.
- It is estimated that air pollution caused an extra 8.8 million premature deaths globally in 2015 alone, representing an average of a three-year shortening of life expectancy across the human population, and shortening lives on a scale greater than malaria, war and violence, HIV/AIDS, and smoking.
- The two-month drop in pollution may have saved the lives of 4,000 children under the age of 5 and 73,000 adults over the age of 70 in China, according to environmental resource economist Marshall Burke — significantly more than the global death toll from the COVID-19 virus at the time of calculation.
- Burke says we should not think of this as a “silver lining” or a “benefit” of the pandemic, given that COVID-19’s impact on public health and the broader disruption it is causing — lost incomes, inability to receive care for non-COVID-19 illnesses and injuries, etc. — could have far-reaching implications.

Oil and gas project threatens Brazil’s last great block of Amazon forest (commentary)
- The eastern part of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is already heavily deforested and degraded, but the western portion of the region (covering roughly 740,000 square kilometers; 285,000 square miles) is almost entirely intact due to the lack of road access.
- The huge block of forest to the west of Highway BR-319 (a road stretching between Amazonas and Rondônia states) is essential to maintaining the region’s biodiversity, its indigenous peoples, its huge forest carbon stocks, and its role in water recycling that supplies rainfall to places like São Paulo.
- Planned roads branching off Highway BR-319 would open the northern part of this vast forest block to entry by deforesters. Now a new threat is rapidly advancing: the Solimões oil and gas project that would implant thousands of wells spread over the central and southern portions of this forest block. Although not part of the official development’s preliminary environmental impact statement, future roads linking the drilling areas to the BR-319 are likely to give deforesters access to the entire area.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Bolsonaro sends Congress bill to open indigenous lands to mining, fossil fuels
- President Jair Bolsonaro has long pledged to open Brazil’s indigenous reserves in the Amazon and elsewhere to commercial mining, oil and gas exploration, cattle ranching and agribusiness, new hydroelectric dam projects, and tourism. This week he sent a bill to Congress that would do just that.
- And while the legislation would allow consultation with impacted indigenous populations, they would lack the power of veto, except in cases of “garimpo” or wildcat mining. Though the bancada ruralista agribusiness lobby is strong in Congress, it remains to be seen whether the bill will be approved.
- The legislation would also allow the use of GM, genetically modified, seeds in agricultural projects, a practice previously banned because of the danger of contaminating native seeds. Royalties would be paid to indigenous communities for the economic activities allowed in their reserves and communities.
- Bolsonaro called his project a “dream” but it has already met with withering criticism from indigenous organizations who see it as a nightmare. Apib, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples, called it a ‘death project’ which would, under the mask of false good intentions, effectively authorize the invasion of their lands

Dam that threatens orangutan habitat is ‘wholly unnecessary’: Report
- A controversial hydropower dam that threatens the only known habitat of the world’s rarest orangutan species is unnecessary from both climate and economic aspects, a new report says.
- The report, commissioned by a group campaigning against the Batang Toru dam in Indonesia but drawing on official government data, says the dam will do little to connect the few remaining isolated communities in the region to the grid.
- It also says the region’s power needs will be better met, and at lower cost, by a slate of other projects already in the works, including expansion of existing gas turbine plants.
- The report says the dam developer’s claims of an overall reduction in Indonesia’s CO2 emissions are “significantly overstated,” and that builder Sinohydro has a track record of faulty dam construction in other countries.

Companies ‘disregard responsibility’ over conflict minerals: Report
- An analysis of 215 companies’ mineral supply chains has found many have fallen short of their obligations under the Conflict Minerals Rule.
- In a report published this month by the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), the group analysed corporate compliance under the legislation, which requires public companies in the United States to disclose the use of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG).
- While some companies increased participation in efforts to address the conflict minerals issue, most indicators studied by RSN showed a decline in long-term engagement and “deplorable” levels of risk.
- In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to suspend Section 1502 and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subsequently decided not to enforce the law.

Fuel trafficking sustains illegal mining in Peru’s Madre de Dios
- Mongabay Latam confirmed that one of the new trafficking methods is the modification of fuel tanks in vehicles to allow room for more fuel, which is permitted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
- After Operation Mercury 2019, the communities of San Gabán (in the Puno region) and Amarakaeri (in the Madre de Dios region) were identified as areas that could see an influx of displaced illegal miners.

Colombia gasoline fueling cocaine production
- Despite efforts by the U.S. and Colombia to crack down on cocaine production, the land used to grow the crop in Colombia is at an all-time high.
- After cattle ranching and land grabbing, coca cultivation is one of the main drivers of deforestation in Colombia, especially in protected areas such as national parks.
- Although road development plans promised by a 2016 peace deal do not appear to be producing new transportation infrastructure in these remote regions, Global Forest Watch shows many of the country’s coca regions reported a large number of deforestation alerts within primary rainforest.

COP24: Fossil Fuel Inc.’s outsize presence at talks reflects its influence
- A confrontation between activists and an oil executive at the U.N. climate talks has highlighted just how much influence fossil fuel producers continue to have over global climate policies.
- The confrontation involved the same Shell executive who, days earlier, boasted about the company influencing one of the key provisions in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
- Fossil fuel companies, from oil producers to coal operations, are enjoying a prominent presence at the climate talks in Poland, including as sponsors and as speakers at events throughout the summit.
- Activists have blasted the U.N. for giving the companies such an important platform, saying that it only confirms their long-held suspicions that the very corporations contributing to the climate crisis are the same ones pushing supposed solutions to the problem.

COP24: Europe looks to fill the leadership void left by the U.S.
- The withdrawal from the Paris Agreement of the United States — the world’s second-biggest CO2 emitter and also its main source of climate funding — has left the global community without a clear leader on climate action.
- The European Union has emerged as a potential successor, following the publication of proposal that aims to see the bloc go carbon-neutral by 2050.
- But observers say the EU’s own targets need to be more aggressive, while the union’s chief says other countries will also need to step up their own climate goals.
- There are also concerns that the EU’s 2050 carbon-neutral plan relies heavily on so-called renewable gas, a source of methane — a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

Extractive industries threaten a million square kilometers of intact tropical forests around the globe
- According to a recent report, mining companies currently have claims on 11 percent of all intact rainforests left in the world, meaning 590,000 square kilometers (227,800 square miles) of pristine tropical forest ecosystems are at risk. That’s an area larger than France.
- Oil and gas concessions, meanwhile, cover 8 percent of tropical intact forest landscapes (IFLs). That’s another 408,000 square kilometers (157,529 square miles), roughly the size of the US state of California.
- The report, issued by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) last month, assesses the threats from extractive industries to the 5.2 million square kilometers, or just over 2 million square miles, of tropical IFLs left in the world. In total, nearly one million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) of those intact tropical forests are potentially threatened by extractive activities.

Analysis: U.S. call to drill off all coasts, economic and ecological folly?
- 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil, plus 327 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie untapped offshore on the U.S. continental shelf. In January, the Trump administration ordered that the entire coast, in the Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf, and Arctic, be opened to drilling.
- Environmentalists and the coastal states fear oil spills that could devastate tourism. They also are concerned about the massive infrastructure (pipelines, terminals, refineries, pumping stations and more) that would be needed to support the industry.
- The executive branch has moved forward with efficiency to create a surge in U.S. oil and gas production: the Interior and Energy departments, and the Environmental Protection Agency have all worked to slash regulations and open additional lands and seas to oil and gas exploration, with the plan of achieving U.S. “energy dominance” around the globe.
- Most coastal states are resisting the federal oil and gas offshore drilling plan; Florida has already been exempted, while other states are likely to fight back with lawsuits. The irony is that a flood of new U.S. oil could glut the market and drive prices down, resulting in an economic disaster for the industry.

Company to probe for minerals close to Mekong River dolphin habitat
- The Phnom Penh Post reported today that Medusa Mining, an Australian company, plans to invest $3 million over four years in explorations for gold, copper, oil, gas and precious stones in tributaries of the Mekong River in Cambodia.
- Irrawaddy river dolphins, an endangered species of cetacean, live in the Mekong adjacent to the areas slated for exploration.
- Only about 80 dolphins remain in the Mekong River, and, although their numbers are on the rise, they face threats from gillnets, dams, boat traffic and water pollution, which could be exacerbated by mining activity.

Study reveals forests have yet another climate-protection superpower
- Scientists looked at reactive gases emitted by trees and other vegetation, finding they have an overall cooling effect on the atmosphere globally.
- As forests are cleared, emissions of these cooling reactive gases are reduced. The researchers estimate the loss of this function this may contribute 14 percent towards deforestation-caused global warming.
- The authors write that effective climate policies will require a “robust understanding” of the relationship between land-use change like deforestation and climate, and urge more research be done toward this goal.

Obama administration will not allow oil drilling off Atlantic coast
- Early last year, the Obama administration announced that it would open up – for the first time – a vast lease area of the southern Atlantic Ocean, 50 miles off the coasts of four U.S. states (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia), for offshore drilling between 2017 and 2022.
- However, following uproar from coastal communities and environmental groups, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it was reversing its proposal, and will not allow oil exploration off the Atlantic coast.
- Other aspects of the draft proposal, however, such as plans to offer leases in the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico, still remain on the table.

Indonesian tycoon bears responsibility for devastating mud volcano, contends new research

A mud volcano responsible for displacing more than 40,000 people in Indonesia’s East Java province was caused by an oil and gas company owned by one of the country’s richest tycoons, and not by an earthquake as company officials and some scientists have claimed, according to new research out of Australia’s Adelaide University that aspires […]
Arctic upheaval: new book outlines challenges at the top of the world

Chukotkan dancers. Subsistence hunting will be increasingly difficult for the Inuit who depend on marine mammals in the Arctic to provide them with food and materials for clothing. Photo by: Edward Struzik. For most of us, the Arctic is not at the front of our minds. We view it as cold, stark, and, most importantly, […]
The Amazon’s oil boom: concessions cover a Chile-sized bloc of rainforest

Poison dart frog in Yasuni National Park. Some scientists believe the park is in the epicenter of the most biodiverse region on the planet, yet Ecuador has been exploiting the park for oil for decades and will soon be moving into its most remote areas. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Hungry for oil revenue, governments and […]
Relief for Kenya’s rare coastal forest

How conservation groups stopped an oil and gas company from conducting seismic surveys inside Arabuko-Sokoke Forest In October this year, CAMAC Energy, an oil and gas exploration and production company, announced that they would conduct seismic surveys for oil and gas within Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, one of the last remaining fragments of coastal forests in East […]
Turning point for Peru’s forests? Norway and Germany put muscle and money behind ambitious agreement

Norway pledges $300 million if Peru tackles deforestation crisis by 2021 From the Andes to the Amazon, Peru houses some of the world’s most spectacular forests. Proud and culturally-diverse indigenous tribes inhabit the interiors of the Peruvian Amazon, including some that have chosen little contact with the outside world. And even as scientists have identified […]
Gas company to drill in Manu National Park buffer zone, imperiling indigenous people

The Peruvian government has approved plans for gas company Pluspetrol to move deeper into a supposedly protected reserve for indigenous peoples and the buffer zone of the Manu National Park in the Amazon rainforest. The approval follows the government rescinding a highly critical report on the potential impacts of the operations by the Culture Ministry […]
Total says it will not drill in any World Heritage Sites

One of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, Total, has committed to leave the planet’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites untouched, according to the United Nations. The UN says the French energy giant has sent written confirmation that it will not explore or extract fossil fuels from any of the world’s over 200 natural World […]
Top scientists propose ambitious plans to safeguard world from devastating climate change

World must aim for one degrees Celsius warming, instead of two say leading scientists. Two degrees is too much: that’s the conclusion of a landmark new paper by top economists and climatologists, including James Hansen formerly of NASA. The paper, appearing in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, argues that global society must aim for only […]
Canopy crusade: world’s highest network of camera traps keeps an eye on animals impacted by gas project

Oil, gas, timber, gold: the Amazon rainforest is rich in resources, and their exploitation is booming. As resource extraction increases, so does the development of access roads and pipelines. These carve their way through previously intact forest, thereby interrupting the myriad pathways of the species that live there. For species that depend on the rainforest […]
Map reveals gas company flying over Manu National Park

A map in an internal Peruvian government report reveals that gas company Pluspetrol has been flying over the protected Manu National Park (MNP) in the south-eastern Peruvian Amazon where UNESCO says the biodiversity “exceeds that of any other place on earth.” The over-flight was done via helicopter on 3 February, 2012 by Pluspetrol personnel together […]
Divestment campaign could cause considerable damage to fossil fuel industry

A campaign to persuade investors to take their money out of the fossil fuel sector is growing faster than any previous divestment campaign and could cause significant damage to coal, oil and gas companies, according to a study from the University of Oxford. The report compares the current fossil fuel divestment campaign, which has attracted […]
Scientists uncover high radioactivity near fracking site in Pennsylvania

Scientists have for the first time found dangerous levels of radioactivity and salinity at a shale gas waste disposal site that could contaminate drinking water. If the UK follows in the steps of the US “shale gas revolution”, it should impose regulations to stop such radioactive buildup, they said. The Duke University study, published on […]
Organization proposes climate change warning labels at the gas pump

Warning: Rob Shirkey wants to change the world, one gas pump at a time. In a video spot for his organization, Robert Shirkey stands on a highway overpass behind speeding cars and tells the camera, “We need to face the reality that we’ve changed the basic chemistry of our planet … This is the greatest […]
Fracking sucks up all the water from Texas town

Beverly McGuire saw the warning signs before the town well went dry: sand in the toilet bowl, the sputter of air in the tap, a pump working overtime to no effect. But it still did not prepare her for the night last month when she turned on the tap and discovered the tiny town where […]
Two children given lifetime gag order on fracking impacts

Two young children in Pennsylvania were banned from talking about fracking for the rest of their lives under a gag order imposed under a settlement reached by their parents with a leading oil and gas company. The sweeping gag order was imposed under a $750,000 settlement between the Hallowich family and Range Resources Corp, a […]
Over 30 tons of explosives to be detonated in Manu National Park buffer zone

A consortium of gas companies headed by Pluspetrol and including Hunt Oil plans on detonating approximately 38 tons of explosives in the south-east Peruvian Amazon in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. The detonations are part of 2D and 3D seismic tests planned by Pluspetrol in its search for new gas deposits […]
Bachmann was right? $2 gas, with a catch

One of Republican House member Michele Bachmann’s most famous and controversial campaign promises — that Americans would see $2-a-gallon gasoline prices if she were elected president — may have come true without her even winning the nomination. Only not in the way she expected. According to the Department of Energy, many Americans are today paying […]
Ten U.S. cities pledge to kick fossil fuel investments to the curb

The cities of San Francisco and Seattle have pulled their money out of fossil fuel companies, taking a climate divestment campaign from college campuses to local government. The campaign group 350.org said on Thursday it had won commitments from a total of 10 cities and towns to divest from 200 of leading fossil fuel companies. […]
Featured video: Earth Day message from indigenous tribes in the Peruvian Amazon
A new video by Alianza Arkana includes an Earth Day message from the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon who are facing the existential threats of logging and fossil fuel development on their traditional lands. Alianza Arkana, which means ‘Protection Alliance,’ advocates for indigenous people in Peru within the legal system, develops community-based projects, and […]
‘Carbon bubble’ could cause next global financial crisis

The world could be heading for a major economic crisis as stock markets inflate an investment bubble in fossil fuels to the tune of trillions of dollars, according to leading economists. “The financial crisis has shown what happens when risks accumulate unnoticed,” said Lord (Nicholas) Stern, a professor at the London School of Economics. He […]
At top of the world, activists say exploiting Arctic is ‘utter madness’

Four young explorers including American actor Ezra Miller have planted a flag on the seabed at the north pole and demanded the region is declared a global sanctuary. The expedition, organized by Greenpeace, saw the flag lowered in a time capsule that contained the signatures of nearly 3 million people who are calling for a […]
Fossil fuel company looking to exploit deposits in Manu National Park

Pini Pini River in Manu National Park. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Pluspetrol, an Argentine oil and gas company, is eyeing a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Amazon rainforest for gas production, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Manu National Park in eastern Peru is considered one of the most biodiverse places on […]
New website tracks protected areas under attack

Screenshot of www.PADDDtracker.org. The struggle to safeguard wild lands and species doesn’t end when a park or protected area is created. In fact, social scientists and conservationists are increasingly uncovering a global trend whereby even long-established protected areas come under pressure by industrial, governmental, or community interests. This phenomenon, recently dubbed PADDD (which stands for […]
108 million ha of Amazon rainforest up for oil and gas exploration, development

Oil blocks shown by phase – blue are potential lots, violet, bidding phase; yellow, exploration phase; and red, extraction phase. Click image to enlarge. Concessions for oil and gas exploration and extraction are proliferating across Amazon countries, reports a comprehensive new atlas of the region. The report, published by 11 civil society organizations and research […]
Wealthy nations’ fossil fuel subsidies dwarf climate financing

Coal-powered Castle Gate Power Plant in Ohio. Photo by: David Jolley. A new analysis finds that 21 wealthy countries spent five-times more on subsidizing fossil fuels in 2011 than they have on providing funds for poor nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The analysis, by Oil Change […]
E.U. OKs biofuels produced from certified palm oil

Palm fruit. Photo by Rhett Butler. The European Commission has approved palm oil-based biodiesel for the renewable fuels standard provided it is certified under the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a body that sets social and environmental criteria for palm oil production. The move, which could dramatically boost sales of palm oil in Europe, […]
U.S. to become world’s largest oil producer in 5 years
In a dramatic reversal, the United States is set to become the world’s largest producer of oil by 2017, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report predicts that the U.S. will be self-sufficient in energy by 2035, while North America as a whole will be a net oil exporter […]
Will we need to pull carbon out of the atmosphere to save ourselves?

The ongoing decline in Arctic sea ice hit a new record this year that rocked even the most pessimistic predictions. The low sea ice extent hit 18 percent below the previous record set in just 2007, and was only around half the size it was in 1980. Here, NASA satellites catches a glimpse of the […]
UNESCO disturbed by gas plans for Peru’s Manu National Park

Rio Pini Pini flowing out of Manu National Park. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Major concerns about the danger posed by gas exploration in a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Amazon rainforest has prompted UNESCO to promise to lobby the Peruvian government. Manu National Park’s biological diversity exceeds “that of any other place on […]
U.S. boosts fuel economy standard to 54.5 mpg

US oil consumption and fuel economy. Data from the EIA. The Obama administration finalized rules that will boost the national fuel economy standard for cars and light trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon for the 2025 model year. President Obama said the new rules would reduce oil imports by half. “These fuel standards represent the […]
Greenpeace abandons occupation of Arctic oil drilling rig after workers throw metal at them

UPDATE: After failing to slow down Gazprom by occupying its oil rig, Greenpeace is trying a different tact: activists have now attached their boat to a Gazprom passenger vessel preventing workers from reaching the oil rig and forcing an ongoing delay in operations. Kumi Naidoo, head of Greenpeace, scaling a Gazprom oil platform for drilling […]
Drought pits farmers against frackers

Drought has created a standoff over water supplies in the U.S. Midwest between energy producers and farmers, reports Bloomberg. Natural gas and oil producers have been forced to seek new water sources as they mull calls from farmers and activists to recycle their water, a practice that would make ‘fracking’ more expensive. Already hugely controversial, […]
Want to stop climate change: buy fossil fuel deposits

Coal truck in western China. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Governments, NGOs, and others fighting climate change should consider buying coal and oil deposits—not to exploit them, but to keep them from being exploited, according to a bold new policy paper in the Journal of Political Economy. Economist Bard Harstad with the Kellogg School of […]
Another record in global carbon emissions puts globe on track for ‘devastating consequences’

Surface coal mining in Bihar, India. Around 40 percent of India’s power is currently provided by coal, the most carbon intensive fuel source. Last year global carbon dioxide emissions rose 3.2 percent to a new record of 31.6 gigatons, keeping the planet on track to suffer dangerous climate change, which could propel global crop failures, […]
Gas development pushing pronghorn out of vital wintering grounds

Pronghorn females with male in background in Montana. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. Development of natural gas fields in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is pushing pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) out of crucial wintering grounds, a situation that could result in a population decline according to a new study in Biological Conservation. By tracking 125 female pronghorn over five […]
Emissions from palm oil biodiesel highest of major biofuels, says EU

Greenhouse gas emissions from palm oil-based biodiesel are the highest among major biofuels when the effects of deforestation and peatlands degradation are considered, according to calculations by the European Commission. The emissions estimates, which haven’t been officially released, have important implications for the biofuels industry in Europe. As reported by EurActiv, the data from the […]
Palm oil does not meet U.S. renewable fuels standard, rules EPA

Oil palm plantations and rainforest in Malaysia The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled on Friday that palm oil-based biofuels will not meet the renewable fuels standard due to carbon emissions associated with deforestation, reports The Hill. According to a notice published Friday in the Federal Register, palm oil-based biodiesel fails to meet a requirement […]
New study: price carbon at the point of fossil fuel extraction

Global carbon emissions are a complicated matter. Currently, officials estimate national fossil fuel-related emissions by what is burned (known as production) within a nation, but this approach underestimates the emissions contributions from countries that extract oil and oil for export. Is there a better way to account for a country’s total climate change footprint? A […]
Peru president signs indigenous rights act into law

Gold mining in Peruvian Amazon. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Peru’s new president, Ollanta Humala, has signed into law a measure requiring that indigenous groups are consulted prior to any mining, logging, or oil and gas projects on their land. If properly enforced, the new legislation will give indigenous people free, prior and informed consent […]
Climate activist sentenced to 2 years in jail for civil disobedience
Yesterday a federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah convicted climate activist Tim DeChristopher of defrauding the US government, sentencing him to two years in jail and a fine of $10,000, reports the Associated Press. In December 2008, Tim DeChristopher, won the mineral rights for 22,500 acres of US Interior Department land at a Bureau […]
Russia and Norway carve up wildlife-rich Arctic sea for fossil fuels

As climate change melts the Arctic sea ice, nations are rushing to carve up once-inaccessible areas for oil and gas exploitation, industrial fishing, and shipping routes. Now, BBC reports that Russia and Norway have essentially agreed to split the Arctic’s Barents Sea in half —one of the region’s richest in biodiversity and ecological productivity—for industrial […]
Is Obama’s clean energy revolution possible?

Recent studies point to the feasibility of a global clean energy revolution. Last night US President Barack Obama called for a massive green energy make-over of the world’s largest economy. Describing the challenge as ‘this generation’s Sputnik moment’ the US president set a goal of producing 80 percent of America’s energy by clean sources by […]
More of the Amazon opened to oil development

Peruvian oil abandons plan to drill in uncontacted indigenous zone, but opens up new areas. Perupetro, the Peruvian government’s oil and gas corporate leasing body, announced last week that it will open an additional 25 lots for oil and gas exploration in the Amazon covering an area of 10 million hectares (nearly 25 million acres). […]
Under siege: oil and gas concessions cover 41 percent of the Peruvian Amazon

A new study in the Environmental Research Letter finds that the Peruvian Amazon is being overrun by the oil and gas industries. According to the study 41 percent of the Peruvian Amazon is currently covered by 52 active oil and gas concessions, nearly six times as much land as was covered in 2003. “We found […]
Dams a ‘monument of corruption’: Baru Bian, new leader of Sarawak’s People’s Justice Party

In an interview with the Bruno Manser Fond, the new leader of the Malaysian state Sarawak’s People’s Justice Party (PKR), Baru Bian, spoke out against the state government’s plans for mega-dams in the middle of the rainforest, as well as continued rainforest destruction and corruption. Baru, a lawyer by trade, stated that the indigenous communities […]
Oil companies in the UK are big users of palm oil biodiesel

British motorists are unwittingly big consumers of palm oil produced on rainforest lands in southeast Asia, reports The Times. A dozen oil companies provided 123 million liters of palm oil to gas stations around Britain in the year ended April 2009, according to government figures obtained by The Times. 64 million liters came from from […]
Smart biofuels that don’t hurt people or the environment are possible

Sustainable biofuels can be a reality but only in combination with reductions in fuel demand and increased productivity on existing agricultural lands, argue researchers writing in the journal Science. Five years ago biofuels were seen as a panacea for the world’s energy hunger and the need to address climate change, but increased production of biofuels […]
Oil and gas bonanza discovered in the Arctic

30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil is located north of the Arctic Circle, offering a potential bonanza for Russia, report researchers writing in the journal Science. Assessing natural resources around the North Pole, researchers from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) say the majority of undiscovered oil […]
Cellulosic ethanol healthier, better for the environment, than corn ethanol

Prairie grass ethanol will kill fewer people and foul the environment less than corn ethanol
Obama pushes for better mileage standards

Tool helps overcome miles-per-gallon illusion

US government: $28 carbon price would raise gas prices by 25 cents

US government: $28 carbon price would raise gas prices by 25 cents US government: $28 carbon price would raise gas prices by 25 cents mongabay.com October 9, 2008 Congressional Budget Office study finds $200/ton carbon tax would only raise gas prices $2 per gallon
Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020

Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020 Europe cuts biofuel targets to 4% in 2015, 6% in 2020 mongabay.com September 12, 2008 The European Union significantly reduces targets for biofuels produced from food sources, while boosting goals for other renewables The E.U. voted to relax biofuels targets following widespread criticism of […]
$4 gas translates to fewer driving deaths
Expensive gas translates to fewer driving deaths $4 gas could translate to 12,000 fewer driving deaths per year mongabay.com July 11, 2008 Slower and reduced driving could save 1,000 lives a month in the United States says a University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher. Rising gas prices have trigger a drop in traffic deaths as […]
Biofuel production on abandoned lands could meet 8% of global energy needs

Biofuel production on abandoned lands could meet 20% of global oil demand Biofuel production on abandoned lands could meet 20% of global oil demand mongabay.com June 23, 2008 Using abandoned agricultural lands for biofuel production will meet only a small fraction of global energy needs without compromising food supplies or diminishing biologically-rich habitats, reports a […]
U.S. may allow corn farming on conservation land
U.S. may allow corn farming on conservation land U.S. may allow corn farming on conservation land mongabay.com June 23, 2008 The U.S. Department of Agriculture may allow farmers to plant corn on million of acres of conservation land to bolster the food supply in response to flooding in the Midwest and record high prices spurred […]
Miles-per-gallon misrepresents gains in fuel efficiency from scrapping worst gas-guzzlers
MPG misrepresents gains in fuel efficiency from scrapping worst gas-guzzlers MPG misrepresents gains in fuel efficiency from scrapping worst gas-guzzlers mongabay.com June 20, 2008 The use of miles-per-gallon instead of gallons-per-distance to measure fuel-efficiency may be clouding Americans’ judgement when it comes to choosing whether to take the worst gas-guzzling vehicles off the road, argues […]
Cellulosic biofuels may be viable alternative to gas within 5 years

Cellulosic biofuels may be viable alternative to gas within 5 years High fuel prices to make cellulosic biofuels increasingly competitive with gas Madolyn Rogers, special to mongabay.com June 2, 2008 A new institute in the San Francisco Bay Area is seeking to make cellulosic biofuel an economically viable alternative to corn ethanol and gasoline within […]

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