New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently doubled down on the Empire State’s refusal to allow fracking by signing a bill that would ban the technique outright using carbon dioxide instead of water. The ban extends the...more
1/10/2025
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fracking ,
Infrastructure ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
State Bans ,
State Legislatures
By a 3-2 vote on November 11, the Board of Supervisors of Cecil Township in Western Pennsylvania increased the setback distance for fracking operations to 2,500 feet from protected structures like residences and businesses,...more
When he assumes office again on January 20, 2025, newly reelected President Donald J. Trump can make one move regarding energy that not only will facilitate the increased availability of domestic oil and gas production but...more
11/12/2024
/ Clean Water Act ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Fracking ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Jurisdiction ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Renewable Energy
On November 5, a few issues have come to dominate the national discourse. The right of a woman to an abortion, the fate of our porous borders and of those illegal/undocumented immigrants, and the wars in the Middle East and...more
Ever since the beginning of the Israeli assault on Hezbollah in Lebanon, France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been taking an increasingly strong public stance against the actions of the Jewish State, if not against the...more
11/6/2024
/ Energy Sector ,
Fracking ,
France ,
Investment ,
Israel ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Middle East ,
Military Conflict ,
Popular ,
Qatar ,
Ukraine
Over the last few weeks, numerous articles have appeared touting the residue in wastewater that had been used in hydraulic fracturing operations as a potential source of lithium. (Source 1) (Source 2) (Source 3). Lithium, of...more
Along with the incessant calls of “from the river to the sea...,” one refrain that is heard often among pro-Palestinian protesters at college encampments is this expressed by Barnard college student Maria Grosso, who wants...more
6/20/2024
/ Child Labor ,
Cobalt ,
Democratic Republic of Congo ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Policy ,
Fracking ,
Israel/Palestine ,
Lithium Batteries ,
Military Conflict ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wastewater
Now less than one month before Election Day, the New York Governor's race is far closer than most had anticipated. Incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul, who succeeded Andrew Cuomo following his resignation, is being pressed by...more
10/19/2022
/ Boycotts ,
Clean Water Act ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Fracking ,
Gas Prices ,
Natural Gas ,
New York ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Pennsylvania ,
Pipelines ,
Political Campaigns ,
Russia ,
Shale Gas
Pennsylvania is rapidly becoming the ultimate battleground state in American politics. Famously described by Democratic political operative James Carville as “Philadelphia in the East, Pittsburgh in the West, and Alabama in...more
Just north of Philadelphia International Airport and south of the Philadelphia sports Stadium complex lies the Port of Philadelphia, one of the largest freshwater ports in the world. So strategically located is the Port of...more
In 2008, then acting New York Governor David Patterson ordered a temporary ban on hydraulic fracturing in New York State. His successor, Andrew Cuomo, promised to study the issue. For nearly six years, Cuomo reiterated that...more
Shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, February 23, President Biden reinstated the sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that he had waived only last year. Depending on what side of the political divide you...more
3/14/2022
/ China ,
Climate Change ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Joe Biden ,
Marcellus Shale ,
NATO ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Pipelines ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
Last week, President Joe Biden warned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky that a Russian invasion of Ukraine might be imminent. While Zelensky does not seem to share that assessment, full scale war in Eastern Europe seems...more
1/31/2022
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Marcellus Shale ,
NATO ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pennsylvania ,
Russia ,
Ukraine
President Biden’s first move on energy internationally likely will be one of his most unfortunate actions - rejoining the Paris Climate Accords. Unfortunately, he will have no choice, since he has consistently pledged to do...more
1/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Canada ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Green Deal ,
International Relations ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
OPEC ,
Paris Agreement ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Turkey ,
Venezuela
When President Biden takes office on January 20, among the many other obstacles, issues and problems that he will need to deal with is an impending polar vortex that meteorologists now predict will descend upon the United...more
1/12/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Domestic Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Foreign Policy ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Infrastructure ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Natural Disasters ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Polar Vortex ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia
...As the Biden Administration prepares to take office with a platform pledging both to respect science and to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreements, a review of the actual data appears in order.
Starting from a baseline on...more
The first warning sign that opposition to fracking and fossil fuels might not play well for the Democrats in the 2020 election came in June, when Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro released what he described as a...more
...Every two years at election time, I publish a guide to the most interesting and important races around the country affecting energy. In 2020, however, energy, along with the coronavirus, is the election.
Originally...more
...Just one week before the 2020 Presidential election, two topics are dominating the conversation - the coronavirus and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking.” The reason for the coronavirus is obvious, but many...more
Last week, the Trump and Biden campaigns each received a joint letter from the Boards of Commissioners of three Western Pennsylvania counties – Butler, Washington, and Beaver. All are in the Pittsburgh area, and all are large...more
Two United States Senators, Republican Ted Cruz of Texas and Democrat Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire, introduced legislation last week that would place sanctions on any company attempting to finish laying the pipe needed to...more
6/11/2020
/ Coal ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fracking ,
Germany ,
Natural Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Russia ,
Sanctions
One breakout political star of the Coronavirus crisis has been New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. His daily briefings have been direct and succinct.
Cuomo often says that numbers will drive the policy. Unfortunately, in...more
By a vote of 17-11, the Oregon State Senate last week just passed a five-year moratorium on fracking in that State. The Senate bill cut in half a 10-year moratorium passed in March by the Oregon House of Representatives, but...more
While little noticed outside of the energy industry, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is about to make one of the seminal decisions of his tenure. Before May 16, 2019, Governor Cuomo must decide whether to allow the New York...more
5/1/2019
/ Certifications ,
Department of Environmental Conservation ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
FERC ,
Fracking ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines
On Black Friday, the Trump Administration released Volume II of the National Climate Assessment. Running 1,600 pages, the report is the second volume of the fourth National Climate Assessment, which was mandated by Congress...more