SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Much like Alberta's vast tar sands oil extraction that has devastated public and environmental health and the climate, the BLM's recent approval of mining projects will exploit more than 800,000 acres of public and private land for tar sands development across several western states.
The massive Green River Formation, a stretch of land that runs through Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, would be dug up and excavated, and Utah lawmakers "are eager to capitalize" on the imminent oil boom, according to the article.
As Esquire writes, "Already the state is literally paving the way for mining companies, including improving a highway that runs through one of last pieces of wilderness in the state at a cost of $85 million -- most of it public funds."
"With all eyes on Keystone, there's an equally or even bigger GHG problem brewing right here on American soil--and on Obama's watch," Taylor McKinnon of the Grand Canyon Trust told Esquire.
And Esquire adds:
These lands may hold more recoverable oil than has been used so far in human history -- 3 trillion barrels, according to a U.S. government report. They also contain two to seven times the oil -- and potential green house gas emissions -- as Alberta's tar sands and could set off a "carbon bomb" that would hasten climate change...
The Center for Biological Diversity reported this week that a minor victory was won against the tar sands project when Emery Refining was forced to redo permitting for a tar sands refinery in Utah --after its approved construction by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality was appealed by groups in July for violating the Utah Air Conservation Act.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has passed preliminary approvals for extraction projects, but a second public review period is expected within the next couple of months--meaning the battle is not over yet.
The BLM is also fighting a coalition of environmental organizations in court and faces a burgeoning anti-tar sands grassroots movement, with groups such as Utah Tar Sands Resistance who organize ongoing local protests against the plans.
_______________________
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Much like Alberta's vast tar sands oil extraction that has devastated public and environmental health and the climate, the BLM's recent approval of mining projects will exploit more than 800,000 acres of public and private land for tar sands development across several western states.
The massive Green River Formation, a stretch of land that runs through Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, would be dug up and excavated, and Utah lawmakers "are eager to capitalize" on the imminent oil boom, according to the article.
As Esquire writes, "Already the state is literally paving the way for mining companies, including improving a highway that runs through one of last pieces of wilderness in the state at a cost of $85 million -- most of it public funds."
"With all eyes on Keystone, there's an equally or even bigger GHG problem brewing right here on American soil--and on Obama's watch," Taylor McKinnon of the Grand Canyon Trust told Esquire.
And Esquire adds:
These lands may hold more recoverable oil than has been used so far in human history -- 3 trillion barrels, according to a U.S. government report. They also contain two to seven times the oil -- and potential green house gas emissions -- as Alberta's tar sands and could set off a "carbon bomb" that would hasten climate change...
The Center for Biological Diversity reported this week that a minor victory was won against the tar sands project when Emery Refining was forced to redo permitting for a tar sands refinery in Utah --after its approved construction by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality was appealed by groups in July for violating the Utah Air Conservation Act.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has passed preliminary approvals for extraction projects, but a second public review period is expected within the next couple of months--meaning the battle is not over yet.
The BLM is also fighting a coalition of environmental organizations in court and faces a burgeoning anti-tar sands grassroots movement, with groups such as Utah Tar Sands Resistance who organize ongoing local protests against the plans.
_______________________
Much like Alberta's vast tar sands oil extraction that has devastated public and environmental health and the climate, the BLM's recent approval of mining projects will exploit more than 800,000 acres of public and private land for tar sands development across several western states.
The massive Green River Formation, a stretch of land that runs through Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, would be dug up and excavated, and Utah lawmakers "are eager to capitalize" on the imminent oil boom, according to the article.
As Esquire writes, "Already the state is literally paving the way for mining companies, including improving a highway that runs through one of last pieces of wilderness in the state at a cost of $85 million -- most of it public funds."
"With all eyes on Keystone, there's an equally or even bigger GHG problem brewing right here on American soil--and on Obama's watch," Taylor McKinnon of the Grand Canyon Trust told Esquire.
And Esquire adds:
These lands may hold more recoverable oil than has been used so far in human history -- 3 trillion barrels, according to a U.S. government report. They also contain two to seven times the oil -- and potential green house gas emissions -- as Alberta's tar sands and could set off a "carbon bomb" that would hasten climate change...
The Center for Biological Diversity reported this week that a minor victory was won against the tar sands project when Emery Refining was forced to redo permitting for a tar sands refinery in Utah --after its approved construction by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality was appealed by groups in July for violating the Utah Air Conservation Act.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has passed preliminary approvals for extraction projects, but a second public review period is expected within the next couple of months--meaning the battle is not over yet.
The BLM is also fighting a coalition of environmental organizations in court and faces a burgeoning anti-tar sands grassroots movement, with groups such as Utah Tar Sands Resistance who organize ongoing local protests against the plans.
_______________________