September, 05 2008, 03:10pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Amy Atwood, Center for Biological Diversity, (541) 914-8372,
atwood@biologicaldiversity.org
Center for Biological Diversity Statement
On the Bureau of Land Management's Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Commercial Leasing Program
TUCSON
Today the Bush Administration took another step toward finalizing a
commercial leasing program for oil shale on some of the nation's most
pristine public lands and released a final programmatic environmental
impact statement for commercial oil shale production on more than 2
million acres of public lands in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.
In another parting gift to Big Oil, the Bush Administration released a
four-volume environmental impact statement that omits information about
the potential technologies that would be employed and the environmental
consequences of this highly energy- and water- intensive fossil fuel to
global warming and to endangered species and Western communities that
depend on scarce Western water.
"The final EIS
reveals that concerns about the unsustainability of this fuel source
are shared not just by environmentalists who have been following this
issue for years, but by other federal agencies, local governments, and
thousands of citizens," said Amy Atwood, senior attorney with the
Center for Biological Diversity. "Oil shale development is another
dirty fossil fuel and extracting it would deal a disastrous blow to any
hope of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide pollutant levels to below
350 parts per million. Oil shale extraction is also an inappropriate
use of our public lands, which must serve as refugia for species struggling to survive in the face of global warming."
Federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, U.S. Park Service, and U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation, all have raised concerns about the environmental impacts
of opening up 2 million acres of public lands to oil shale development.
They include questions about the harm it would inflict on global
climate, endangered and threatened species, wilderness areas, air and
water quality, water rights, and the lack of information about what
technologies would be used.
Oil shale is one of
the world's most greenhouse gas-intensive energy sources. Producing oil
from shale requires several times more energy than conventional oil
production. Depending on the technology, it also could consume vast
quantities of water in an arid region where water is becoming even more
scarce due to climate change.
The Center for
Biological Diversity is dedicated to ensuring that atmospheric carbon
dioxide pollutant levels are reduced to below 350 ppm, which leading
climate scientists warn is necessary to prevent devastating climate
change. Further development of greenhouse gas-intensive energy sources,
including oil shale, tar sands, and coal-fired power plants, is
fundamentally incompatible with achieving this goal. If greenhouse gas
emissions are not immediately reduced, the current atmospheric carbon
dioxide level of 385 ppm will rise to approximately 500 ppm by
mid-century, triggering mass wildlife extinctions, catastrophic global
weather and ecosystem changes, and tragic human suffering.
"It is time for the Bush Administration to wake up and realize that oil
shale development is nothing more than a pipe dream that has no part in
any rational energy plan for the future," Atwood said. "Congress should
take action and permanently halt the Bush administration's latest
attempt to promote this destructive and impractical fossil fuel
development."
Oil Shale Facts
* It's dirtier than the dirtiest coal
* It requires more land to produce than conventional oil
* It's more water-intensive than farming in the desert
* There's been no significant production of U.S. shale oil for at least 30 years
Shale Mining is Among the Filthiest Ways to Produce Energy
There are two kinds of shale-oil extraction methods, neither yet proven
to work. The first involves underground, open-pit, or strip mining, as
with coal. Unlike coal, though, oil-shale production requires
additional steps of pulverizing the shale and then roasting it in giant
kilns to drive off the oil. The process requires disposal of all of the
original rock, which is 30 percent greater in volume due to
pulverizing. About a ton of rock needs to be crushed, heated, and
dumped to produce just 15 gallons of oil.
The
second method involves drilling tightly spaced wells across thousands
of acres and injecting heat into the ground for about four years. Oil
driven from the rock is then pumped to the surface. To prevent the
newly freed oil and other toxic substances from percolating deeper
underground, the entire operation is surrounded by another set of holes
pumped with supercooled fluids in an attempt to create an underground
barrier of ice during the operation. Oil-shale lands would be a maze of
pipes and pumps, and these complex systems could not produce
significant amounts of oil before 2037, at the earliest.
Shale Oil Is Worse Than Crude Oil in Contributing to Climate Change
Producing shale from oil would be dirtier than the dirtiest coal,
because it takes so much energy just to squeeze a barrel of oil out of
stone. Compared to crude oil, every barrel of shale oil sends 50
percent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a time when we must
be emitting far less carbon dioxide, not more. Fuel efficiency, public
transit, better urban planning and a new generation of vehicles are
better investments to reduce foreign imports over the next 30 years.
The Green River Basin Is an Outdoor American Treasure
Backed by the Bush administration, oil companies want access to
millions of acres of public lands for shale mining in Colorado, Utah,
and Wyoming. These are lands that are currently open to the public for
top-quality outdoor recreation. They include wonderful trout fishing,
America's healthiest elk herds, rare plants found nowhere else in the
world, and many endangered and threatened species. These are also areas
that support rural lifestyles passed down for generations. This is no
place to develop strip mines, oil refineries, power plants, and all of
the highways, pipelines, power lines and dumpsites to support them.
There Is Not Enough Colorado River Water for Meaningful Production
The Colorado River supplies drinking water to about 30 million people
and irrigates about 3.5 million acres of farmland. Many years, the
river is so taxed it does not have a drop left by the time it reaches
the sea. Reservoir levels are falling to record low levels. Climate
change predictions call for less rain and more evaporation. All 15
million acre-feet of the Colorado River's annual flow have been fought
over and carefully allocated.
All significant
shale oil sits in the Colorado River Basin. According to Department of
Energy figures, replacing current OPEC oil imports with shale oil would
cost us up to 1.4 million acre-feet of Colorado River basin water every
year. That is enough to drain Lake Mead dry in less than 10 years.
Meanwhile, the West is facing water shortages as a result of climate
change and population growth.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
Critics Blast 'Reckless and Impossible' Bid to Start Operating Mountain Valley Pipeline
"The time to build more dirty and dangerous pipelines is over," said one environmental campaigner.
Apr 23, 2024
Environmental defenders on Tuesday ripped the company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline for asking the federal government—on Earth Day—for permission to start sending methane gas through the 303-mile conduit despite a worsening climate emergency caused largely by burning fossil fuels.
Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
"In a manner typical of its ongoing disrespect for the environment, Mountain Valley Pipeline marked Earth Day by asking FERC for authorization to place its dangerous, unnecessary pipeline into service in late May," said Jessica Sims, the Virginia field coordinator for Appalachian Voices.
"MVP brazenly asks for this authorization while simultaneously notifying FERC that the company has completed less than two-thirds of the project to final restoration and with the mere promise that it will notify the commission when it fully complies with the requirements of a consent decree it entered into with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last fall," she continued.
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Russell Chisholm, co-director of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition—which called MVP's request "reckless and impossible"—said in a statement that "we are watching our worst nightmare unfold in real-time: The reckless MVP is barreling towards completion."
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Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
MVP is set to traverse much of Virginia and West Virginia, with the Southgate extension running into North Carolina. Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other pipeline proponents fought to include expedited construction of the project in the debt ceiling deal negotiated between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans last year.
On Monday, climate and environmental defenders also petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging FERC's approval of the MVP's planned Southgate extension, contending that the project is so different from original plans that the government's previous assent is now irrelevant.
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David Sligh, conservation director at Wild Virginia, said: "Approving the Southgate project is irresponsible. This project will pose the same kinds of threats of damage to the environment and the people along its path as we have seen caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline during the last six years."
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Others renewed warnings about the dangers MVP poses to wildlife.
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U.S. workers' rights advocates and groups celebrated on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a ban on most noncompete clauses, which Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khansaid "keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism."
"The FTC's final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market," Khan added, pointing to the commission's estimates that the policy could mean another $524 for the average worker, over 8,500 new startups, and 17,000 to 29,000 more patents each year.
As Economic Policy Institute (EPI) president Heidi Shierholz explained, "Noncompete agreements are employment provisions that ban workers at one company from working for, or starting, a competing business within a certain period of time after leaving a job."
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has suggested it plans to file a lawsuit that, as The American Prospectdetailed, "could more broadly threaten the rulemaking authority the FTC cited when proposing to ban noncompetes."
Already, the tax services and software provider Ryan has filed a legal challenge in federal court in Texas, arguing that the FTC is unconstitutionally structured.
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Morgan Harper, director of policy and advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project, praised the FTC for "listening to the comments of thousands of entrepreneurs and workers of all income levels across industries" and finalizing a rule that "is a clear-cut win."
Demand Progress' Emily Peterson-Cassin similarly commended the commission "for taking a strong stance against this egregious use of corporate power, thereby empowering workers to switch jobs and launch new ventures, and unlocking billions of dollars in worker earnings."
While such agreements are common across various industries, Teófilo Reyes, chief of staff at the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, said that "many restaurant workers have been stuck at their job, earning as low as $2.13 per hour, because of the noncompete clause that they agreed to have in their contract."
"They didn't know that it would affect their wages and livelihood," Reyes stressed. "Most workers cannot negotiate their way out of a noncompete clause because noncompetes are buried in the fine print of employment contracts. A full third of noncompete clauses are presented after a worker has accepted a job."
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) executive director Mike Pierce pointed out that the FTC on Tuesday "recognized the harmful role debt plays in the workplace, including the growing use of training repayment agreement provisions, or TRAPs, and took action to outlaw TRAPs and all other employer-driven debt that serve the same functions as noncompete agreements."
Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director at Open Markets Institute, highlighted that the addition came after his group, SBPC, and others submitted comments on the "significant gap" in the commission's initial January 2023 proposal, and also welcomed that "the final rule prohibits both conventional noncompete clauses and newfangled versions like TRAPs."
Jonathan Harris, a Loyola Marymount University law professor and SBPC senior fellow, said that "by also banning functional noncompetes, the rule stays one step ahead of employers who use 'stay-or-pay' contracts as workarounds to existing restrictions on traditional noncompetes. The FTC has decided to try to avoid a game of whack-a-mole with employers and their creative attorneys, which worker advocates will applaud."
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One plaintiffs' attorney said the ruling "makes our democracy better and ensures that North Carolina is not able to unjustly criminalize innocent individuals with felony convictions who are valued members of our society."
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Democracy defenders on Tuesday hailed a ruling from a U.S. federal judge striking down a 19th-century North Carolina law criminalizing people who vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision due to a felony conviction.
In Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs—an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama—sided with the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC, who argued that the 1877 law discriminated against Black people.
"The challenged statute was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters," Biggs wrote in her 25-page ruling.
Therefore, according to the judge, the 1877 law violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause.
"We are ecstatic that the court found in our favor and struck down this racially discriminatory law that has been arbitrarily enforced over time," Action NC executive director Pat McCoy said in a statement. "We will now be able to help more people become civically engaged without fear of prosecution for innocent mistakes. Democracy truly won today!"
Voting rights tracker Democracy Docket noted that Monday's ruling "does not have any bearing on North Carolina's strict felony disenfranchisement law, which denies the right to vote for those with felony convictions who remain on probation, parole, or a suspended sentence—often leaving individuals without voting rights for many years after release from incarceration."
However, Mitchell Brown, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs, said that "Judge Biggs' decision will help ensure that voters who mistakenly think they are eligible to cast a ballot will not be criminalized for simply trying to reengage in the political process and perform their civic duty."
"It also makes our democracy better and ensures that North Carolina is not able to unjustly criminalize innocent individuals with felony convictions who are valued members of our society, specifically Black voters who were the target of this law," Brown added.
North Carolina officials have not said whether they will appeal Biggs' ruling. The state Department of Justice said it was reviewing the decision.
According to Forward Justice—a nonpartisan law, policy, and strategy center dedicated to advancing racial, social, and economic justice in the U.S. South, "Although Black people constitute 21% of the voting-age population in North Carolina, they represent 42% of the people disenfranchised while on probation, parole, or post-release supervision."
The group notes that in 44 North Carolina counties, "the disenfranchisement rate for Black people is more than three times the rate of the white population."
"Judge Biggs' decision will help ensure that voters who mistakenly think they are eligible to cast a ballot will not be criminalized for simply trying to re-engage in the political process and perform their civic duty."
In what one civil rights leader called "the largest expansion of voting rights in this state since the 1965 Voting Rights Act," a three-judge state court panel voted 2-1 in 2021 to restore voting rights to approximately 55,000 formerly incarcerated felons. The decision made North Carolina the only Southern state to automatically restore former felons' voting rights.
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As similar battles play out in other states, Democratic U.S. lawmakers led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont in December introduced legislation to end former felon disenfranchisement in federal elections and guarantee incarcerated people the right to vote.
Currently, only Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia allow all incarcerated people to vote behind bars.
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