oil

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 27, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Oil heads back to $30/bbl and probably lower - By Paul Hodges, ICIS, July 25, 2016; [related]: Oil falls to 2-month low as drilling increases - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 25, 2016 | Oil heads for weekly loss amid sustained glut - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 22, 2016 | Oil at near 2-month low after U.S. inventories rise - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 21, 2016
• Coal jobs will decline with or without federal regulations - By Paige Blankenbuehler, High Country News, July 21, 2016
• ‘Brexit’ leads to oil-field shutdowns in North Sea - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 19, 2016
• Dispatch from coal country: Advocates and adversaries duel over leasing reform - By Paige Blankenbuehler, High Country News, July 19, 2016
• Many laid-off oil field workers have left industry behind, survey finds - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, July 19, 2016; [related]: The high cost of layoffs, for workers and companies - By staff, FuelFix, July 25, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Gasoline prices likely to continue their decline - By Jordan Blum, FuelFix, July 25, 2016
• Shell to cut 25 percent of deep-water Gulf jobs - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, July 25, 2016
• ConocoPhillips to shed 1,000 jobs - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, July 21, 2016
• Bankruptcy Judge Rules Self-Bonding Challenge Can Move Forward - By David Jakubiak, Environmental Law and Policy Center, July 20, 2016; [related]: After court approval, questions linger on Alpha's future - By Heather Richards, Casper Star Tribune, July 17, 2016
• Federal coal leasing needs a major overhaul - By Dan Bucks, High Country News, July 19, 2016
• North Dakota coal plant shuttered over low energy prices - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, July 19, 2016
• Oil holds near $45 a barrel - By Rob Gavin, FuelFix, July 19, 2016
• Drillers betting that oil rally won’t last - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 18, 2016
• Oil falls after failed Turkey coup - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 18, 2016
• Offshore workers in Wood Group show overwhelming support for strike action - By staff, Unite the Union, July 13, 2016; [related]: Wood Group Dispute - By staff, RMT, July 13, 2016
• A big Northwest clean air victory: 2 old coal plants will be phased out - By Joel Connelly, Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 12, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• Residential solar boom in Utah raises concerns over incentives - By Peter Maloney, Utility Dive, July 25, 2016
• Utilities Ignore Millennials At Their Peril - By Greentech Media, Breaking Energy, July 25, 2016
• Why fossil fuel industry needs South Australia “experiment” to fail - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, July 25, 2016; [related]: Why gas prices jumped to record levels, and 3,200MW of coal went offline - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, July 20, 2016
• The duck is safely afloat in California - By Craig Morris, REnew Economy, July 21, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 19, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Venezuela at the Brink - By Robert Belano and Eduardo Molina, Left Voice, July 16, 2016 [related]: Special Report: Hunger in Venezuela? A Look Beyond the Spin - By Christina Schiavoni and William Camacaro, Food First, July 11, 2016
• Faltering oil recovery prompts warnings of return to $40 - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, July 15, 2016
• Coal Faces Decline For The Foreseeable Future - By Alejandro Davila Fragoso, Think Progress, July 13, 2016; [related]: Coal’s Collapse Commences … & Conservative “Concern” For Coal Workers Explained - By Zachary Shahan, Clean Technica, July 13, 2016 | Ending the Age of Coal - By Anna, CoalWire, July 12, 2016
• Oil Industry Faces Huge Worker Shortage - By Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com, July 8, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Oil Prices Lower Forever? Hard Times In A Failing Global Economy - By Art Berman, The Petroleum Truth Report, July 15, 2016
• China set to ban all new coal plant development - By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, July 13, 2016
• Glut of fuels offsets falling U.S. crude inventory - By Jordan Blum, FuelFix, July 13, 2016
• The “largest, dirtiest coal plant west of the Mississippi” announces major closures - By Xian Chiang-Waren, Grist, July 13, 2016; [related]: Montana to close two coal units serving Pacific Northwest customers - By Andrew Topf, Mining.Com, July 12, 2016
• C&J Energy Services expected to file for bankruptcy this week - By Jordan Blum, FuelFix, July 12, 2016
• China Oil Demand Fell 2.7% Year over Year in May: S&P Global Platts China Oil Analytics - By staff, OilVoice, July 12, 2016
• Demand for oil in China slipped 2.7 percent in May - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, July 12, 2016
• U.S. drillers hit record for junk bond defaults - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, July 12, 2016
• Wyoming in violation with Alpha coal bonding deal - By Mead Gruver, Casper Star Tribune, July 12, 2016
• Glencore to sell Australian coal train fleet within 3 months - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, July 11, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• Battery revolution empowers consumers, unleashes renewables, imperils Big Energy - By Emma Howard, Greenhpeace Energydesk, July 15, 2016
• Did An Entire Region Of The U.S. Just Disincentivize Renewables? This Lawsuit Says Yes - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, July 15, 2016
• Murdoch, Coalition go in guns blazing against wind and solar - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, July 15, 2016
• Nevada clears net metering, retail choice measures for November ballot - By Peter Maloney, Utility Dive, July 14, 2016
• These Deep Red States Are Going Green - By Jeremy Deaton, Think Progress, July 14, 2016
• New Zealand Electricity Authority rules in favor of controversial solar 'tax' - By Ian Clover, PV Magazine, July 13, 2016
• The Role of Development Banks in Energy Transition [21] - Christine Eibs-Singer interviewed by Chris Nelder, The Energy Transition Show, July 13, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

By Devashree Saha and Mark Muro - Brookings, April 19, 2016

The recent boom and bust of unconventional oil and gas development, or “fracking,” has reopened serious questions about resource management in many U.S. states. While the oil and gas boom generated revenue, jobs, and economic development, the recent bust has adversely impacted state budgets due to declining industry investments in exploration and production and job cuts.

The boom-bust cycle of unconventional oil and gas development highlights the need for strategic management by state governments of fracking-related revenues, not only to minimize the less desirable aspects of the boom-bust cycle but also to enhance long-term prosperity. States can address these challenges by imposing a reasonable severance (extraction) tax on their oil and gas industry and channeling a portion of the revenue into permanent trust funds. In doing so, states can convert volatile near-term revenues from unconventional oil and gas development into a longer-term and continuous source of investment funds for building sustainable and dynamic economies.

To that end, this report advances five elements of good fund governance and management that states should consider in the design and implementation of permanent trust funds:

• Establish an effective governance framework
• Define the fund’s revenue source, deposit, and withdrawal rules
• Design the investment strategy
• Seize the opportunity to invest fund earnings to economic transformation
• Formulate explicit disclosure and transparency standards

Read the text (Link).

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 4, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Beyond Extinction: Transition to post-capitalism is inevitable (A response to Margaret Atwood's, It’s Not Climate Change It’s Everything Change) - By Nafeez Ahmed, Medium.Com, July 28, 2015
• The Hurricane Katrina Pain Index: 10 Years Later - By Bill Quigley, Portside, July 20, 2015

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flood the System - Fall 2015: Flood, blockade, occupy and shut down the systems that jeopardize our future! | #FloodTheSystem
• People’s Climate Strike - November 26 - December 12, 2015
• Railcon15 - Chicago, Illinois Saturday, September 19, 2015 | #Railcon15
• Trade Union Climate Summit - September 14 & 15, 2015 Paris | #unions4climate

Bread and Roses:

• Strike Suspended in Potosi, Bolivian VP Declared "Persona non Grata" - By EFE, Earth First! Journal, August 3, 2015
• Farmworkers score big in new tomato deal - By Eve Andrews, Grist, July 29, 2015
• Farmworkers Walk Out Again in Organic Blueberry Fields Over Continuing Unattainable Production Standards Under Sakuma’s New Pay Scale - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 24, 2015

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 10, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Register now for the Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers, Community & the Environment Conferences: Richmond, California (March 14, 2015) and Olympia, Washington (March 21, 2015) - railroadconference.org
• Refinery Strike Is Not Just About Safety; It's About Pollution - By Mike Ludwig, Truthout, March 6, 2015

USW Refinery Workers Strike News:

• California State Senate holds hearing in Torrance on refinery explosion - Associated Press, March 5, 2015
• Contract worker speaks on safety issues in US oil strike - World Socialist Web Site, YouTube, March 4, 2015
• 5,000 Oil Workers Enter Third Week of Strike Over Safety and Working Conditions - The Real News, YouTube, February 21, 2015
• It's all about safety - United Steelworkers, YouTube, February 13, 2015
• Loera: Refineries have long ignored workers' pleas for safety - By Debbie Loera, Houston Chronicle, March 4, 2015
• More labor board charges filed in Steelworkers strike - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, March 4, 2015; [response] Steelworkers fire back over unfair labor practice charges - By LM Sixel, FuelFix, March 5, 2015
• Steelworkers rally at Shell HQ as talks set to resume Wednesday - By Sarah Scully, FuelFix, March 6, 2015
• Strike Solidarity Guerrilla Movie Night -  Peter Menchini, Vimeo, March 5, 2015
• The United Steelworkers’ intimate ties to Wall Street - By Shannon Jones, World Socialist Website, March 6, 2015
• USW Statement on March 4 Talks with Oil Industry - United Steelworkers, March 4, 2015
• [Historic Archives] Chevron Oil Refinery Strike, January 31, 1969 - San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive

Carbon Bubble:

• “Default Monday”: Oil & Gas Companies Face Their Creditors as the Fracking Bubble Bursts - By Wolf Richter, Naked Capitalism, March 5, 2015
• Oil sector loses jobs in February - By Jennifer A. Dlouhy, FuelFix, March 6, 2015
• Public ownership of oil refineries will see Alberta through low oil prices, says AFL President Gil McGowan - By Ella Bedard, Rabble.Ca, March 5, 2015

Energy Democracy:

• Greece Revokes Key Authorization for Foreign-Run Mine - By Michael Lerner, Blouin News, March 3, 2015
• With corporate energy, we're stuck in the dark ages; let's switch to public ownership - By Calum McGregor, Open Democracy, March 4, 2015

Health and Safety:

• Animation of Fire at Chevron's Richmond Refinery - Chemical Safety Board, YouTube, April 19, 2013
• Behind the Curve - Chemical Safety Board, YouTube, October 28, 2014
• Blast survivors tell harrowing stories at Lakeland inquest - By Mark Nielsen, Prince George Citizen, March 5, 2015
• Reporting on Workers’ Comp [Podcast] - By Nicole Collins Bronzan, ProPublica, March 9, 2015

Other News:

• Cross Harbor rail tunnel idea debated at hearing: Union workers differ with civic and community board over proposal - By Christopher Barca, Queens Chronicle, March 5, 2015
• Declaration of South African Food Sovereignty Campaign - By the Food Sovereignty Campaign Coordination Committee, Climate and Capitalism, March 1, 2015
• How a small town's green energy plans went disastrously wrong - By Roy MacGregor, The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2015
• The Site C Dam and Christy Clark, union maid - By Rod Mickleburgh, Rabble.Ca, March 5, 2015
• Study emphasizes the enormous cost of poorly regulated toxic chemicals - European Trade Union Institute, March 6, 2015
• Uber, Lyft, and the growing problem of temp jobs - By Heather Smith, Grist, March 4, 2015
• We want system change not climate change - By Andrea Ferrant, Geneviéve Savigny, Unai Aranguren, La Via Campesina, March 4, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC

By Al Engler - Dissident Voice, November 15, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The governing Liberals in BC and Conservatives in Canada insist that jobs, public revenues and economic growth all depend on expanding fossil fuel exports. Christie Clark’s Liberals won the 2013 BC election promising a future of jobs and rising public revenues based on the export of liquified natural gas.  Now two years later faced with widespread protests and declining oil and gas prices, no LNG project has proceeded.

Additional oil pipelines to the Pacific are promoted but only Kinder Morgan is actually proceeding. Here preliminary efforts to double the existing line to Burnaby to carry diluted bitumen from the tar sands have been delayed by blockades and court action. One other project to export to Asia appears to be proceeding; it involves the dirtiest of all fossil fuels: thermal coal.  Port Metro Vancouver, a Federal Agency, has given a permit to ship thermal coal from Fraser-Surrey docks. The coal to be exported is mined in Wyoming and Montana. It is to be transported by rail to the docks, by barge to Texada Island and then by ships to Asia.

This proposal is also facing strong opposition. Fraser-Surrey docks are close to the center of heavily populated Metro Vancouver, directly across the Fraser from New Westminster. The permit is being appealed to the Federal Court by an environmental group, Ecojustice. The City of New Westminster is supporting the appeal as an intervener. City councils in Surrey, Burnaby, and Vancouver have voted to oppose the coal export permit. Communities along the rail route have also expressed their opposition. So has the Sechelt First Nation, whose traditional territory includes Texada Island.

The appeal is expected to argue that proper public hearings were not held;  communities near the port, along the rail lines and shipping lanes were not given fair opportunities to explain their health and pollution concerns. The appeal will make the case that the permit was tainted and should be overturned: Port Metro Vancouver had been instructed by the Harper government not to consider the impact these coal exports would have on global carbon emissions. Why is Canada not bound by international agreements to lower carbon emissions?

By Sharon Kelly - DeSmog Blog, September 18, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

For years, the oil and gas industry has worked to convince Americans that the rush to drill shale wells across the country will not only provide large corporations with lavish profits, but will also create enormous numbers of attractive and high-paid jobs, transforming the economies of small towns and cities that greenlight drilling.

The industry's numbers are often picked up by policy-makers and politicians who back drilling, in part because talk of job growth is an especially alluring idea in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse.

But numerous independent studies have conclude that the industry vastly overstated the number of jobs that fracking has created, and that the economic benefits have been overblown.

A growing body of research suggests that not only does the industry create fewer jobs than promised, the jobs that are created come with serious dangers for the workers who take them.

Research made public late last month suggests that some of those jobs may be even more hazardous to workers than previously believed, calling into question the true benefits of the boom.

Staff Report - abc.net.au, August 16, 2014

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.