January 2013 - Checks and Balances Project

ICYMI: World-leading firm, government investors could lose big on Utah oil shale venture

2013-01-31

Some oil shale advocates like to point at the nation of Estonia as proof that oil shale can be a viable energy source. Unfortunately, Estonia isn’t saying the same thing about U.S. oil shale. According to Estonian media reports, opposition members of parliament are challenging the competence of Economic Affairs Minister Juhan Parts in light… Read more »

2013-01-31

Richard Fink has long been one of the Koch Brothers’ inner circle, playing the role of both political strategist and close confidante. Some say the Koch Empire wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without Fink. Without him and his ideas, what is now pejoratively known as the “Kochtopus” probably would not have branched so… Read more »

2013-01-30

Over the past couple weeks, fossil fuel interests and their allies have ramped up attacks on clean energy on the state level. As the Washington Post reported in November, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a fossil fuel-funded advocacy group, has made it a priority to eliminate clean energy standards across the country. From the East Coast… Read more »

2013-01-29

Today’s Denver Post features an op-ed by former Dinosaur National Monument Superintendent Denny Huffman. Huffman calls on Colorado BLM Director Helen Hankins’ to withdraw oil and gas drilling leases next to Dinosaur and Mesa Verde National Park. Huffman also ask Hankins to follow the balanced energy development approach outlined in the Administration’s 2010 leasing reforms,… Read more »

2013-01-28

Over the past year, Dr. Jeremy Boak, Director of the industry-funded Center for Oil Shale Technology and Research at the Colorado School of Mines, has stated that commercial oil shale extraction would use one to three barrels of water per barrel of oil shale produced. However, the independent, non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that… Read more »

2013-01-25

CO BLM says that coal leasing will be impacted if oil and gas leases are withdrawn “What many people don’t realize is that if the federal government were to cut the parcels to zero, it would also affect all minerals (rights) in the North Fork Valley,” said Shannon Borders, public affairs specialist for the BLM’s… Read more »

Report: 14 Places Poised for Protection

2013-01-25

A new report from the Center for Western Priorities highlights 14 Western sites where Congress and the Administration should act to protect public land. The report is based upon more than 50 proposals introduced by Republicans and Democrats. It comes on the heels of the 112th Congress adjournment without having protected one new acre of… Read more »

2013-01-22

Just a few weeks after news of a former staffer to Rep. Scott Tipton (R- Colo.) joining the oil and gas lobby group Western Energy Association, an Open Secrets blog has the continuing tale of the exodus from HNRC member offices to oil and gas lobbying groups. Rep. Doug Lamborn’s (R-Colo.) legislative assistant, Mallori McClure,… Read more »

2013-01-17

A new analysis by the Wilderness Society shows that Colorado’s oil and gas industry owns access to more federal lands in Colorado than nearly any other state in the Rockies. Their study finds that 11.8 million acres, (an area the size of Maryland and Connecticut combined) has been opened for oil and gas leasing. This… Read more »

2013-01-16

Dr. Jeremy Boak, Director of the Center for Oil Shale Technology and Research (COSTAR) has been working hard this past year, trying to downplay fears about oil shale’s impact on western water supplies. And, while Dr. Boak has plenty to say, he fails to mention that the companies experimenting with oil shale fund his program…. Read more »

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