Energy Today - March 14, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted March 14, 2011
USA Today: Murkowski: 5 Ways to Open the U.S. Oil Spigot: Regrettably, this emerging crisis is at least partially of our own making. Despite tremendous oil reserves -- offshore, in Alaska and in the Rocky Mountain West -- many of our lands have been locked up, and many of our most promising opportunities have been put out of reach. This is a clear failure of government. The American people expect their representatives to take an honest look at where increased production is possible; how it can protect against higher prices and supply disruptions; and what it will do to increase our security, restore our trade balance, generate government revenues and create jobs. When we import oil, we export those benefits. For the sake of our national security, our economy and the world's environment, that has to change. America must produce as much of the oil that it uses as possible. It's this balance, in concert with the resulting revenues and benefits to our manufacturing and transportation industries, that will allow us to truly take control of our energy future. The Foundry: Stalled Energy Projects Harming Economy: Since the Gulf oil spill nearly a year ago, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has issued just one deepwater drilling permit -- but oil rig owners aren't alone when it comes to permitting problems. Renewable, coal, natural gas, nuclear and transmission energy projects across the country also face delays and cancellations. What's worse: These stalled energy projects cost the American economy both GDP and jobs, according to an economic study released Thursday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The study, conducted by American Consumer Institute President Steve Pociask and Widener University economics professor Joseph Fuhr, identified 351 delayed or cancelled projects in 49 states -- and found these projects alone could boost the economy by an estimated $1.1 trillion, as well as create 1.9 million new jobs.
Indianapolis Star: Canadian Oil Means Jobs, Energy Security for U.S.: American consumers know that the United States still acquires a good deal of its oil from the Middle East. One fact that is not as well known, however, is that our No. 1 supplier of imported oil is not on the other side of a vast ocean. It is, instead, our reliable neighbor to the north. Canada provides 21 percent of all our imports. Thirty-six percent of our imports could come from Canada by 2030 -- enough to supply almost two-thirds of all the gasoline used in the United States today. That would substantially lower our reliance for our oil on potentially unstable regions of the world. The development of oil sands in Canada also is expected to lead to the creation of more than 342,000 U.S. jobs between 2011 and 2015.
Times Union: Scientist says the spin is on: State government's top scientist on the underground features of New York has never weighed in on the contentious matter of drilling in the great Marcellus shale layers stretching beneath a big part of upstate. Until now. "The worst spin on the worst incidents are treated as if it's going to be the norm here," said Taury Smith, the state geologist, a self-described liberal Democrat...He said he has been examining the science of hydrofracturing the shale for three years and has found no cases in which the process has led to groundwater contamination, although several portrayals by anti-fracking groups and featured in the press have raised concerns about underground pools being harmed because of drilling.
Additional Resources:
The Foundry: Fueling Misunderstanding About The Oil Market
Hot Air: Bill Clinton Blasts Drilling and Permit Delays at Forum
Shopfloor.org: Reaction to President Obama's Unsatisfactory Comments on Domestic Energy