There are reports that the federal government is thinking about allowing the export of American oil again. The U.S. used to be a large oil exporter, decades ago, but that stopped in 1973 as crude production on domestic soil reached a peak and an Arab oil embargo threatened our economy. But then came fracking, which has been a game changer for producing oil and natural gas, from Pennsylvania to...
North Dakota leaves it socks laying around — and they’re radioactive
Did you ever do the laundry and find that you’ve lost a sock…or two? It’s one of the great mysteries of modern life — but at least it’s one that we can laugh off. But when the oil industry of North Dakota starts losing its socks — now that’s a completely different story. That’s because the oil socks of North Dakota are chock full of TERM —...
Near disaster in Philly highlights an oil-by-rail safety crisis
Philadelphia — the densely populated 5th-largest city in America — dodged a bullet this week…but just barely: IT COULD HAVE been worse – a lot worse. None of the seven CSX cars – six of them loaded with volatile crude oil – that derailed on the 128-year-old rail bridge over the Schuylkill between University City and Grays Ferry about 12:30 a.m. yesterday fell...
Tragedy in Quebec and the consequences of oil addiction
There was a new environmental tragedy this weekend — and it came with a twist. A train that was hauling tanker cars laden with oil produced in the booming Bakken fields in North Dakota and bound for refineries in Eastern Canada broke loose and crashed into a small town in Quebec near its border with Maine, unleashing an ungoldy amount of death and destruction: LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (AP)...
North Dakota gets fracked over
I could tell you about the out-of-control drilling boom in North Dakota, or you could see it for yourself. From outer space! The picture at the top of this post — taken by satellite of the United States at night — reveals an amazing truth: The gas flares in and around tiny Williston, North Dakota, now burn as brightly, and are as visible from space, as major U.S. metropolitan areas...