The Week: Most Recent energy-issues

The first BP oil spill arrest: An instant guide

The Week — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:04:00 -0400

Almost exactly two years after BP's Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig exploded, killing 11 people and eventually sending more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the Justice Department made its first arrest relating to the disaster on Tuesday. Federal investigators charged former BP engineer Kurt Mix, 50, with two criminal counts of obstructing justice for deleting hundreds of potentially damning text messages. What's the story with this curiously belated arrest? Here, a concise guide:

How was Mix involved in the disaster?
Until he resigned last June, Mix was a drilling...

BP oil spill: The 'horribly mutated' creatures living in the Gulf

The Week — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:01:00 -0400

Shrimp born without eyes, clawless crabs, and fish with visible tumors are among the "horribly mutated" marine animals found in the waters off the Gulf Coast, according to a new report from Al Jazeera. Scientists say the problem is a side effect of the April 2010 explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which killed 11 people and spilled at least 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean. Here, a brief guide to the damage:

Is it just the oil that caused mutations?
No. Also to blame are the nearly 2 million gallons of chemical dispersants, such as petroleum distillates and 2-butoxyethanol...

Can natural gas drive the U.S. economy?

The Week — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:42:00 -0400

In a few short years, the U.S. has become a major player in the field of natural gas, the cleaner energy alternative to oil and coal. Thanks to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — a controversial drilling technique that extracts natural gas from shale rock — the U.S. has a surplus of the resource. As a result, natural gas in the U.S. has gotten cheaper and cheaper, plunging to $2 per 1,000 cubic feet for the first time in a decade. When you consider that the same quantity costs more than $9 cost in Europe and nearly $16 in Asia, it's clear we have an eminently exportable commodity that...

Why you're wrong about gas prices and politics

The Week — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:00:00 -0400

I recently wrote about the many myths and misunderstandings Americans have about gas prices, oil companies, and the presidency. A few folks got upset because the facts and figures I mentioned weren't what they wanted to hear. But as John Adams said: "Facts are stubborn things." With that in mind, here are a few more myths and misunderstandings — about gasoline, renewable energy, politicians — and the facts:

Myth #1: Presidents have major power over gas prices
Gasoline prices have more than doubled on Obama's watch, from $1.89 on Inauguration Day in 2009 to last week's $3.93 (AAA data...

Did Obama's EPA kill coal power?

The Week — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 06:30:00 -0400

Move over, "Old King Coal." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the first time has announced greenhouse-gas limits for new power plants, in a move that "could end the construction of conventional coal-fired facilities in the United States," says Juliet Eilperin at The Washington Post. The EPA didn't single out coal plants, but its limits are strict enough that it's unlikely any coal plant will be able to meet them. Natural gas plants, which use a cleaner source of energy, make the grade, while the Obama administration hopes that the new rules will encourage the manufacture of plants that...

Obama's Keystone Pipeline turnaround: A 'publicity stunt'?

The Week — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:08:00 -0400

President Obama says he will fast-track construction of the southern portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline, an ambitious energy project that is intended to transport oil from Canada in a snaking tube all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Obama put the pipeline on indefinite hold earlier this year, claiming that Republicans in Congress were recklessly pushing the project forward without heeding environmental concerns. His latest concession is a move to defend his energy policies, which are under the klieg lights now that gas prices are soaring. But Republicans slammed Obama's support for the...

The Keystone XL pipeline: Would a catastrophic oil spill be inevitable?

The Week — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:15:00 -0400

President Obama's controversial rejection of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast promises to be a contentious issue in this year's presidential election, as Republicans accuse Obama of killing a project that would have created 20,000 badly needed jobs. But a new study by Cornell University's Global Labor Institute is bolstering the position of the pipeline's environmentalist opponents, suggesting that the potential job gains might not be worth the considerable risk of a catastrophic spill. Here's what you should know:

What exactly does the study say...

Obama's $50 light bulb: 'Too pricey'?

The Week — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:10:00 -0500

The Obama administration announced last year that it would award $10 million to the company that could create a light bulb that was both eco-friendly and affordable. The winning LED bulb, made by Philips, is about to hit the market. There's only one problem: It costs $50. The price of your standard incandescent bulb, on the other hand, hovers in the $1 region. The $10 million award, dubbed the L Prize, is part of the government's plan to phase out all energy-wasting incandescent bulbs over the next several years. But could Obama's $50 light bulb possibly be worth its price?

No one will pay $50...

The return of deepwater drilling: By the numbers

The Week — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:07:00 -0500

When BP's explosion-wrecked Deepwater Horizon oil rig was bleeding millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from April to August of 2010, an overwhelming number of critics questioned the safety of deepwater oil drilling. Those days seem to be long gone. It's been more than a year since the Obama administration ended its post-spill moratorium on deepwater Gulf wells, and today, deepwater drilling is expanding in the waters off Mexico and Cuba, in the Mediterranean, and off the coast of East Africa. "We need the oil," Rice University energy expert Amy Myers Jaffe tells The New York Times...

High gas prices: Blame the Fed?

The Week — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:10:00 -0500

When the 2008 financial crisis struck, the Federal Reserve unleashed billions of dollars into the market in an attempt to jump-start the economy. Skeptics at the time said the Fed's loose monetary policies, which amounted to printing more money, would lead to a spike in inflation. Now that gas prices are rising, critics are bringing out their knives for the central bank, saying it is responsible for drivers' pain at the gas station. And they say the Fed holds the key to lowering prices, too — all it has to do is turn off the money spigot. Is the Fed to blame for expensive gas?

Absolutely...

5 myths about gas prices, Big Oil, and the presidency

The Week — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:30:00 -0500

When it comes to presidential elections, gas prices aren't as important as you think. Sure, they're a relevant data point, but a study by Yale economist Ray Fair shows that dating back to 1948, there is little correlation between election results and your pain in the gas.

Take 1992. Gas prices were at their lowest levels in decades. The economy was pulling out of a recession. And the president had just won a war in convincing fashion. What happened next? Voters gave President George H.W. Bush the boot.

Fast forward to 2004. The economy was again pulling out of a recession — but gas...

Should Obama tap America's emergency oil supply?

The Week — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:45:00 -0500

With oil and gasoline prices rising dramatically, Republicans and Democrats alike are demanding action to keep energy costs from shattering the fragile economic recovery. The national average price for a gallon of gas hit $3.65 last week, inching perilously closer to the critical $4-a-gallon level. While GOP politicians are reviving their "drill, baby, drill" calls, saying increasing domestic oil supply is the key to energy independence, Democrats are urging President Obama to tap into the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down oil prices. Should Obama turn on the spigots?

Obama should...

Obama's rejection of the Keystone pipeline: Winners and losers

The Week — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:27:00 -0500

As part of last year's payroll-tax deal, congressional Republicans squeezed a seemingly unrelated promise out of President Obama: Instead of punting until after the 2012 election, he'd have to decide by Feb. 21 whether to allow TransCanada to build an oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, Obama made his decision, denying TransCanada's permit request — at least for now. The State Department notes that TransCanada can still reapply for a permit, and the company says it will try again. But in the meantime, the political fallout was swift and immediate...

Will Iran's oil threat lead to $5 gas?

The Week — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:32:00 -0500

Iran's increasingly provocative behavior is already having global consequences. Its threat to shut down the critical Strait of Hormuz has unnerved the oil market, pushing prices above $100 a barrel. Of course, the price hikes to date are nothing compared to what we'll see if armed conflict breaks out over Iran's refusal to rein in its nuclear program. Energy analysts warn that war could push prices above $150 a barrel, possibly pushing gasoline prices to $5 a gallon. Could it really get that bad?

In short, yes: For the time being, we're probably safe, says Michael Sivy at TIME. The U.S. could easily...

Will ethanol survive without government subsidies?

The Week — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 09:52:00 -0500

A federal tax credit for ethanol quietly died as 2012 began, ending a controversial program that began more than 30 years ago. The 45-cent-per-gallon tax credit for corn-based ethanol and an accompanying 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol were intended to encourage the domestic production of greener fuel. The tax credit, which was worth $6 billion a year, once seemed untouchable, particularly because it was so popular with corn growers in Iowa. But in recent years, it lost supporters as Congress focused on reducing deficits. How badly will the loss of subsidies hurt the ethanol industry...

Obama's 'stunning' Keystone XL oil pipeline delay: 4 takeaways

The Week — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:16:00 -0500

The State Department announced Thursday that it will postpone until 2013 a politically divisive decision on the controversial 1,700-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline that would move tar-sands crude from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries, saying the U.S. needs more time to study alternative routes. A possible ulterior motive: President Obama can now avoid saying whether he'll allow construction of the $7 billion pipeline until after the 2012 election. What does the "stunning victory" for the project's environmentalist opponents mean? Here, four key takeaways:

1. Obama is worried about angering the base...