Shell’s Arctic oil drilling faces fresh court challenge from environmental groups

Shell’s Arctic oil drilling faces fresh court challenge from environmental groups

Jun 2nd, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Shell’s Arctic oil drilling faces fresh court challenge from environmental groups

Associated Press: Tuesday 2 June 2015 

A dozen environmental groups have told a US federal court they are renewing a challenge to the leasing in 2008 of areas off Alaska’s north-west shore, where Royal Dutch Shell hopes to drill exploratory wells this summer.

The groups have twice obtained court rulings that said environmental analysis preceding the Chukchi sea sale was flawed. The Department of the Interior in March concluded it had corrected mistakes.

Erik Grafe, an attorney for Earthjustice, said on Monday the environmental groups disagreed and would lay out their claims in a future court filing.

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Associated Press, Chukchi Sea, Environment, Litigation, Oil,Oil Spill, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Chukchi Sea · Environment · Litigation · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Big Oil’s Plan to Become Big Gas

Big Oil’s Plan to Become Big Gas

Jun 2nd, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Article by Rakteem Katakey published 2 June 2015 by Bloomberg.com

Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden…. said his company has changed from “an oil-and-gas company to a gas-and-oil company.”

Oil companies that have pumped trillions of barrels of crude from the ground are now saying the future is in their other main product: natural gas, a fuel they’re promoting as the logical successor to coal.

With almost 200 nations set to hammer out a binding pact on carbon emissions in December, fossil-fuel companies led by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA say they’re refocusing on gas as a cleaner alternative to the cheap coal that now dominates electricity generation worldwide.

That’s sparked a war of words between the two industries and raised concern that Big Oil is more interested in grabbing market share then fighting global warming.

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Posted in: Ben van Beurden, BG Group, Bloomberg, BP, Exxon Mobil, Gas, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total.
Tagged: Ben van Beurden · BG Group · BP · Carbon Capture · Carbon Emissions ·ExxonMobil · Gas · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell · Total

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

European Big Oil Opens Schism on Climate With U.S. Rivals

European Big Oil Opens Schism on Climate With U.S. Rivals

Jun 2nd, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Article by Tara Patel and Javier Blas published 1 June 2015 by Bloomberg.com 

The heads of Europe’s largest oil and gas companies joined together for the first time to call for governments to agree on carbon pricing at a United Nations climate summit, opening a schism with their American rivals.

“It’s clear that the subject isn’t viewed in the same way on both sides of the Atlantic,” Total SA Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne, one of the signatories, said on Monday at a press conference in Paris. “We are working with those who come forward.”

The banding together on climate-change policy by BP Plc, Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Statoil ASA, Total and BG Group Plc is unprecedented and follows comments by some of their CEOs calling for the industry to be part of the debate on a deal limiting greenhouse gases. It also highlights division within the sector as the top American companies, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., decided to stay out of the European initiative.

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Posted in: Alternative Energy, Alternative Fuels, BG Group, BP, Chevron, Climate Change, Environment, Exxon Mobil, Gas, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Statoil,Total.
Tagged: Alternative Energy · BP · Chevron · Environment · ExxonMobil · Gas · Global Warming · Oil · Shell · Total

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Shell and BP call for international carbon pricing deal

Shell and BP call for international carbon pricing deal

Jun 2nd, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Oil majors are pushing for scheme to limit emissions as they face growing criticism surrounding global warming

By Andrew Critchlow, Commodities editor: 01 Jun 2015

Europe’s biggest oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell andBP, have written an open letter calling for a binding global system of carbon trading in a bid to head off climate change critics.

In a joint statement, the chief executives of Shell, BP, Total, Eni, Statoil and BG Group said: “We need to meet greater energy demand with less CO2. We are ready to meet that challenge and we are prepared to play our part. We firmly believe that carbon pricing will discourage high carbon options and reduce uncertainty that will help stimulate investments in the right low carbon technologies and the right resources at the right pace.”

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Posted in: BG Group, BP, Climate Change, Daily Telegraph, Environment, Gas, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Statoil, Total.
Tagged: BG Group · BP · Carbon Market · Global Warming · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc ·Shell · Total

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

News from Congressman Scott Peters

June 2, 2015

Dear Friend,

In recent weeks, we’ve been working to preserve the rich history of San Diego veterans, to foster artistic achievement among our high-school students, and fighting to increase America’s investments in our national defense and in scientific research. More information about each is below. As always, feel free to contact me HEREor by calling 202-225-0508 or 858-455-5550.

Congressional Art Competition Continues to Grow
Each year, high-school students across the country participate in the Congressional Art Competition, and winners have their artistic creation placed on display in the U.S. Capitol. For the third year in a row, my office sponsored the 52nd District Congressional Art Competition, and each year it has gotten bigger and better! This year we had 42 entries from 5 local high schools. After a review by some of San Diego’s most highly regarded artists and curators, Carolyn Chu of Torrey Pines High School was chosen as the winner. Rachel Liu of Canyon Crest Academy was chosen as the Fan Favorite in a competition on our Facebook page and her piece will hang in my University City office.

Presenting a certificate to 52nd District Congressional Art Competition winner Carolyn Chu

Helping Preserve Veterans’ Stories for Future Generations
Last week, I stood alongside men and women who had served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, and Iraq to announce our office’s plan to help local veterans have the personal stories of their service archived for perpetuity in the Library of Congress. Veterans of any branch and any service – war or peacetime – are encouraged to contact our San Diego office to participate in the Veterans History Project. Learn more and sign upHERE.

Scott standing with local veterans to discuss the Veterans History Project

Fighting for Our National Defense and Science
Recently, in the House of Representatives we continued to advocate for San Diego’s priorities around increased funding for basic scientific research. We also fought for energy supply diversity in the military so that our defense is smart, strong, and has the tools necessary to forcefully respond to threats from ISIS, Al Qaeda, and others.
  
Click above to see Scott call for scientific research funding (L) and military energy diversity (R)

Staying In Touch
I hope you will stay connected with what I am working on and tell me what is important to you: like my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, add my Google + page to your circles, or visit my website for more information. If you have a friend you think would also like to receive regular updates, feel free to forward this email or link. As always you can email me or call my offices at 202-225-0508 (DC) or 858-455-5550 (San Diego.)
Sincerely,
        

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS

Here's the top news from the past month on our fight against sexual assault and harassment in the military.

New report on retaliation against victims  

• Two weeks ago, at a joint press conference in Washington, DC, Human Rights Watch and Protect Our Defenders announced the release of a report that found that service members who report sexual assault frequently experience retaliation that goes unpunished. [Reuters]  

• In response to the scathing report, I said, "Over and over, we hear from survivors that the retaliation was the worst part. They wish they hadn't come forward.” [USA TODAY]

• "This report affirms what we see daily, through our Pro Bono Network: servicemembers who face retaliation have nowhere within the system to turn, and know that most likely no one will be held accountable," POD Program and Policy Director Miranda Petersen said. "This leaves survivors with two practical options: either suffer in silence, or leave the military."  [C-SPAN]

• This report would not have been possible without the many survivors who shared their personal stories in the report and those who traveled to DC for its release. Many veterans and active duty survivors, both men and women, joined us the next day to testify at the Congressionally-appointed Judicial Proceedings Panel meeting. 

• For a full list of the almost 50 news stories that covered the report, including live video, click here.

Washington Post Editorial 

• The Washington Post published an editorial calling on Congress to support Senator Gillibrand's fundamental reform of the military justice system. They write: "A number of retired military officials, including those with experience handling these cases, such as former Air Force chief prosecutor Don Christensen, agree on the need for fundamental change. Mr. Christensen, now president of Protect Our Defenders, told us that the climate in which sexual harassment is seen as the norm won’t change as long as decisions about prosecution are made by those who create the climate...Considering that zero tolerance was first promised in 1992 by then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, it’s time to help fulfill that promise."[Washington Post]  

#EndVictimBlaming Campaign

• The Pentagon continues to discredit sexual assault survivors, this time suggesting that victims only think they are being retaliated against and that such "perceived retaliation" is a misunderstanding. [PBS Frontline]

• POD launched an #EndVictimBlaming campaign calling on President Obama -- who just joined Twitter -- to address the military's disgraceful attempts to smear victims. Over 200 people have tweeted so far. Join us and tweet @POTUS, email or call or write the White House.

Gillibrand Report on Civilians and Military Spouses

• Senator Gillibrand released a new report based on findings from the four largest military bases in the country. Her review of 107 case files found high rates of assault against civilian women and military spouses. The fact that these two groups are not included in Pentagon surveys on sexual assault calls into question the true scale of the epidemic. [Associated Press]  

Thank you for your support of this issue. I will keep you updated in the coming months. 

Sincerely, 

Col Don Christensen (ret.), President, Protect Our Defenders

Former US Air Force Chief Prosecutor

Protect Our Defenders Foundation sends email to supporters who seeks to honor, support and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.