If anyone needs more evidence that the EPA is out of control, one does not need to read much more than this report. The EPA has stopped Shell Oil from drilling in the Arctic because of exhaust from an ice-breaking vessel.
Data points regarding Shell Oil's prospects:
- 27 billion barrels of oil (USGS, which is generally conservative in its estimates)
- This represents 2.5 times the total amount of oil that the Trans Alaska pipeline has carried in 30-year history
- The Trans Alaska pipeline will shut down if flow gets much lower
- Current Trans Alaska pipeline flow: 600,000 bopd; one-third of its capacity
- Production on the North Slope of Alaska is declining at a rate of 7 percent/year
- Five years of exploration
- $4 billion invested
- Beaufort and Chukchi Seas
- Leases alone cost $2 billion
- Air quality
- "The EPA's appeals board ruled that Shell had not taken into consideration emissions from an ice-breaking vessel when calculating overall greenhouse gas emissions from the project. What the modeling showed was in communities like Kaktovik [population: 245], Shell's drilling would increase air pollution levels close to air quality standards."
Meanwhile, the President has established a task force to see why oil prices are so high. His attorney general is looking into fraud on the part of speculators and traders.
I can't make this stuff up.
What Shell needs to do is ask the EPA if they can put up some wind turbines outside Kaktovik to blow the exhaust from the ice-breaking vessel.
Oh, one more thing, and perhaps this was the tipping point in the environmentalists' argument: it's all about the polar bear.
But environmental groups were ecstatic [over the ruling], saying more study needs to be done before allowing drilling in polar bear habitat.By the way, the Obama administration agrees with the Bush administration: the polar bear is not an endangered species and remains off the endangered species list.
Meanwhile, WTI oil hit $113/bbl earlier today, but has since backed off a bit. Gasoline is now solidly above $4.00/gallon across much of the US.
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
- This was all predicted in Ms Rand's book, published in 1957. Absolutely prescient.
these people need to be delt with,, take their cars turn off their heat,, all else fails, BEAT THE HELL OUT THEM,,,jmop
ReplyDeleteI don't think they own cars. (Some time ago there was a story about an Obama commission looking into some aspect of automobiles, and it turned out that no one on the commission actually owned a car.)
ReplyDeleteTurning off their heat would be a nice start, but going to into the summer in Washington, turning off their air conditioning would be even more effective.
I am absolutely amazed at this. My hunch is that once Congress gets back to work, representatives from the oil states will be talking.
And that's why giving fracking control to EPA will be a disaster. Remember, EPA took control of two or three coal-powered plants in North Dakota today, also.
so whos the TERRORIST???
ReplyDeleteI agree, and I am amazed this is not a story on CNBC. I have not been home today, so have not seen CNBC but something tells me this did not rise to the level of interest that it made the CNBC news.
ReplyDeleteWith global warming, why was there ever a need for icebreakers? Shouldn't the need for an icebreaker in the Arctic be front-page news? Newpapers have been bombarding us that the Arctic was ice-free.
ReplyDeleteseen it on FOX
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought (an ice-free Arctic).
ReplyDeleteBut I guess I jumped the gun; it won't be ice-free for at least another 30 years. Although even half ice-free would seem to be enough.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090402_seaice.html
Yes, I believe the story "broke" on Fox, and that isn't even a business channel/station like CNBC.
ReplyDeletehere is a link to the story , from fox news.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/25/energy-america-oil-drilling-denial/