Weekend Energy Clips:

FuelFix (blog): The War on Energy is Underway, Op-Ed by David Holt (NGP Photo)

David Holt, Keystone XL, Photo by Dave Harbour, ANWR, Consumer Advocate, energy policy   …   Far too often energy consumers are confronted by organizations which promote one narrow view.  The answer is always the same: No.

No to ANWR; No to Keystone XL; No to the Gulf. No to wind. No to transmission lines. Anti-development activists see only a binary world. Do nothing or face disaster.

These narrow views are contrary to the attitudes that have driven America to succeed. As a country, Americans have long prided themselves on being good stewards of the environment. Natural resources, whether they are oil, coal, shale gas, timber, hydro-power or windmills, can all be utilized in an environmentally sound way that benefits the economy.  As a country, America can have both.  We can protect our environment AND develop our resources.

Theodore Roosevelt staked out a balanced approach to natural resource management, which later became one of the founding principles of America’s national park system, when he argued:

“I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”

Today, this generation is using its resources to bring manufacturing jobs back from China. It is using these resources to re-ignite industries once lost to the high cost of energy.  People are going back to work.

The unemployment rate in rural Carroll County, OH dropped from 16.7% to 6.7% because they welcomed responsible shale development.

In the State of Texas employment in the natural gas industry has grown so large that if it were a city, it would have more residents than San Antonio, Austin and El Paso combined. 

Daily Caller: Poll: Keystone XL pipeline looms large in Colorado Senate race
Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall may have more to worry about during his re-election campaign than his support of Obamacare. A plurality of his supporters want to see the Keystone XL pipeline built, a move Udall opposes, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted in mid-February by Democratic polling firm Hickman Analytics found that 43 percent of Udall’s supporters are behind the project to build an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, with 39 percent opposed.

Oil & Gas Journal: Keystone XL national interest comments deadline approaches
More than three quarters of likely voters polled in four key states—Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and North Carolina—said they will consider a candidate’s position on energy issues, such as Keystone XL, before deciding whom they will support, the Houston-based Consumer Energy Alliance said on Mar. 5. It said surveys conducted by Hickman Analytics Inc. of about 400 likely voters in each state found Democrats running for reelection to the US Senate would lose 42-46% of the respondents’ support in November if the president rejects the Keystone XL application despite three of the lawmakers supporting the project.

 
The Colorado Observer: Voters Less Likely to Back Udall if Keystone’s Rejected
Democratic Sen. Mark Udall isn’t a big fan of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline but switching his support could help him win reelection, according to a poll released Wednesday. The survey, conducted by the Democratic polling firm Hickman Analytics for the pro-industry Consumer Energy Alliance, found that Colorado voters who back the pipeline would be more likely to support Udall for reelection if President Barack Obama approved the project.
 
United Liberty: Obama’s Keystone XL decision could play a role in Senate races
Energy issues will play a role in four key states that could decide control of the Senate in the 2014 mid-term election, according to a new poll. Specifically, President Barack Obama’s decision on the Keystone XL pipeline will weigh on voters’ minds. The poll, conducted by Hickman Analytics on behalf of Consumer Energy Alliance, found that more than three-quarters of likely voters in four states — Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and North Carolina — “said they will consider a candidate’s position on energy issues, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline, before deciding whom they will support.”
 
Before It's News: Obama's Keystone XL decision could play a role in Senate races
Energy issues will play a role in four key states that could decide control of the Senate in the 2014 mid-term election, according to a new poll. Specifically, President Barack Obama’s decision on the Keystone XL pipeline will weigh on voters’ minds.
The poll, conducted by Hickman Analytics on behalf of Consumer Energy Alliance, found that more than three-quarters of likely voters in four states — Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and North Carolina — “said they will consider a candidate’s position on energy issues, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline, before deciding whom they will support.”   
 
Capitol Soup: Floridians Ask President Obama to Permit the Keystone XL Pipeline 
The Associated Industries of Florida with its partner Consumer Energy Alliance submitted today to federal officials 24,283 public comments from Florida residents supporting the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The grassroots effort is part of a nationwide drive that includes support from over 400,000 people in all 50 states. Consumer’s support is motivated by both economic and national security reasons. Winter weather and continuous upheaval in foreign hotspots like Venezuela, Ukraine and the Middle East influence price spikes.
 
Sunshine State News: AIF Submits Signatures Supporting Keystone XL
 “Keystone XL will displace energy from our enemies for energy from our ally,” said Kevin Doyle, the executive director for Consumer Energy Alliance – Florida. “Energy prices are influenced by global events. Transforming North America into energy self-sufficiency dampens the price spikes caused by upheaval overseas. The comments we are submitting today from thousands of Floridians reflect what people across the country are saying: We need jobs, we need a stronger economy, and we need to build the Keystone XL pipeline.”
 
SaintPetersBlog: Associated Industries submits 24K petitions supporting Keystone pipeline
Florida business interests submitted more than 24,000 individual petitions today calling on President Barack Obama to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Associated Industries of Florida joined the Consumer Energy Alliance in presenting 24,283 public comments from Florida residents supporting the creation of the controversial oil pipeline. If approved, Keystone XL could circulate as much as 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Steele City, Nebraska, Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, and the Gulf Coast of Texas.
 
New York Times: Natural Gas as a Diplomatic Tool
In response to the crisis in Ukraine, some American lawmakers and energy companies are urging the United States to export natural gas to Europe in an effort to undercut Russia’s influence over the Continent. The Obama administration should move to increase exports, which would help allies like Germany, Turkey and Britain, but the effects of such exports would likely be modest and wouldn’t be realized for several years.
 
Politico: Greens on gas exports: Not so fast
The drive to weaken Vladimir Putin though natural gas exports is meeting a green backlash. Environmentalists and their congressional allies scoffed Thursday at a mounting campaign on the Hill to hasten U.S. gas exports, saying there’s no reason to think gas shipments would weaken Russia’s leverage over Europe’s energy supply. But exporting American shale gas could drive up prices for consumers and manufacturers at home, they warned, while encouraging the spread of fracking and lessening incentives for power companies to abandon coal-fired power.
 
Wall Street Journal: Energy Execs Change Their Tune on the Environment
It’s not just a radical fringe of Americans who worry about the environment – and energy executives finally seem to have noticed. A couple years ago at the massive energy confab held in Houston every year, the people who pull oil and gas out of the ground were largely dismissive of the public’s concerns about hydraulic fracturing (fracking), said Jason Bordoff, director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. But this year, industry officials are more willing to talk about problems with the technique for getting petroleum from shale formations, and to discuss how they intend to fix them.
 
Reuters: CERAWEEK-Severe US winter opens door to questions for gas, power markets
Natural gas pipelines and power utilities across the United States struggled for several weeks to keep lights on and homes warm through the coldest winter in decades, but it may take many months for the cost and the fallout of the so-called "polar vortex" to work through the energy chain. As sub-freezing temperatures spread in January and February, spot natural gas prices spiked at many gas delivery points in the Midwest, Northeast and New York, pushing wholesale power prices above $100 per megawatt-hour for days at a time.
 
E&E News: CLIMATE: House votes to scrap EPA power plant rules
The House voted today 229-183 to block U.S. EPA's plans to limit power plant carbon emissions, striking at the heart of President Obama's Climate Action Plan. The measure by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) would prevent EPA from finalizing its proposal to require carbon capture and storage technology for all new coal-fired power plants and would make rules for existing power plants contingent on congressional approval.
 
Huffington Post: House Republicans Fighting What They Call Obama's 'War On Coal'
In a long-expected skirmish, House Republicans are moving to block President Barack Obama's plan to limit carbon pollution from new power plants. A bill targeting the power plant rule is slated for a vote on the House floor Thursday as GOP lawmakers fight back against what they call the Obama administration's "war on coal." Obama's proposal, a key part of his plan to fight climate change, would set the first national limits on heat-trapping pollution from future power plants.
 
Platts: Congress should clarify US power plant greenhouse gas rules: utility execs
The US Congress should step in to clarify impending Environmental Protection Agency rules designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new coal-fired power plants, the heads of Duke Energy and American Electric Power, two of the country's largest electric utilities, said at an industry conference Thursday. Duke President and CEO Lynn Good and AEP Chairman, President and CEO Nick Akins said they hope EPA will show flexibility when it imposes the proposed 1,100 lbs of CO2/MWh emission limit for new coal plants.
 
E&E News: REGULATION: EPA chief sees role for coal, vows to protect energy reliability
Coal will retain a key role in U.S. energy supplies as U.S. EPA strives to preserve reliability while developing a rule intended to limit carbon emissions from power plants, Administrator Gina McCarthy said yesterday.
 
The Missoulian: Stopping Keystone XL pipeline would show commitment to quitting oil addiction
My dictionary says a keystone is "a central stone at the top of an arch, locking the whole together," also "the central principle or part of a policy on which all depends."  The deposit of tar sands in Alberta is the "hot shot," so to speak, for our fossil fuel-addicted economy, hot shot meaning the final dose that results in a fatal overdose. We know if we tap it, it is game over for global warming. The pipeline that acts as the syringe for this overdose is the Keystone.
 
National Journal: Poll: Would Obama's Keystone XL Approval Help or Hurt Your Party in November? 
Would the Obama administration's approval of the Keystone XL pipeline help or hurt your party's chances in November? DEMOCRATS (81 VOTES); Help: 57%, Hurt: 43%
 
Washington Post: New Post-ABC News poll: Keystone XL project overwhelmingly favored by Americans
Americans support the idea of constructing the Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States by a nearly 3 to 1 margin, with 65 percent saying it should be approved and 22 percent opposed, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The findings also show that the public thinks the massive project, which aims to ship 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta and the northern Great Plains to refineries on the Gulf Coast, will produce significant economic benefits.
 
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune: Enbridge pipeline to move more oil without U.S. review
A Canadian company's $7 billion plan to move more tar sands and other oil across the U.S. border is using a novel tactic to avoid a lengthy U.S. review: pipe diameter. Toronto-based Enbridge, Canada's largest pipeline company, announced this week that it plans to replace almost all of its Line 3 from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wis., with wider, improved pipes that will allow it to nearly double the amount of oil it would carry.
 
Post-Bulletin: Keystone XL ad visible on White House website
The oil and gas industry got some prime online real estate for their ad pressing President Barack Obama on the Keystone XL pipeline: The White House's official website. Obama held a virtual town hall Thursday about Latino health care enrollment, organized by Spanish-language TV networks.
 
The Times-Picayune: Louisiana business groups urge State Department to approve Keystone XL Pipeline
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, joined by 19 other Louisiana-based chambers of commerce, Thursday asked the State Department to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. "Our members want this pipeline approved so that our local businesses can see new jobs in their region, new customers, new opportunities, and new investment, said Stephen Waguespack, LABI president. "The Keystone pipeline is important to this region's economic future and our nation's oil independence."
 
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Wants More Tests on Oil Shipped by Rail
The U.S. Transportation Department amended its recent emergency order to apply even more pressure to crude-by-rail shippers to get them to classify their oil accurately to ship in the right kind of tank car. The revised order now requires oil shippers to not only test the oil, but to identify all hazardous substances it might contain plus the concentration of certain chemicals such as sulfur and hydrogen sulfide.
 
Denver Business Journal: New Colorado group responds to questions about CSU official's role
Questions raised about a Colorado State University-Global Campus official's role on the board of a new pro-fracking group led the group's chairman to spell out that board members are serving as individuals, not on behalf of organizations they work for. Vital for Colorado, a new statewide business group that's formed to counter the anti-fracking movement, announced its formation on Wednesday. And in listing its board members, job titles were given simply to identify their members, not to imply endorsement of the group by their employer, said Peter Moore, the group's chairman and an attorney with Polsinelli’s Denver office.
 
Pittsburgh Business TimesAct 13 battle continues
The Marcellus Shale Coalition, the American Petroleum Institute and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association have petitioned to get involved in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania's work on Pennsylvania's oil and gas zoning law. State Impact Pennsylvania said the petition said the trade groups have an interest in what goes on in the matter in Commonwealth Court, particularly where it relates to the fines. The Supreme Court's Act 13 ruling resolved some matters but left it to the Commonwealth Court to decide others.
 
Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio’s oil, natural gas production in 2013 leap with Utica shale development
Oil production in Ohio nearly doubled from 2012 to 2013 and natural gas production grew in that time by nearly 2½ times, according to new report. The assessment came on Thursday from Peter MacKenzie of the 3,200-member Ohio Oil and Gas Association in a report released at his group’s 67th annual winter meeting. Oil production in Ohio grew from 4.9 million barrels in 2012 to 9.7 million 42-gallon barrels in 2013, according to MacKenzie’s estimate.
 
Plain Dealer: Shale gas production soaring but processing company will move it south
Anyone looking for evidence of the shale gas and oil boom in Ohio found it Thursday at the 67th winter meeting of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. Gas and oil production are accelerating and are expected to continue on that arc.
 
Philadelphia Inquirer: Inquirer Editorial: Russia still needs the West
Sen. John McCain and other war hawks who have been tossing around the word naive to describe President Obama's foreign policy should stop trying to use Russia's treatment of Ukraine to illustrate their point. The Obama-bashers are on thin ice arguing that Vladimir Putin wouldn't have asserted himself in Ukraine had Obama shown more resolve after warning Syria's Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons. In fact, the frosty relations between Obama and Putin, which have hardly improved over the years, suggest that no matter how Obama handles the Syrian rebellion or anything else, Putin is loath to take any step that might indicate Mother Russia is influenced by the United States.