Fact Check on #SOTU and Rep. Doc Hastings
2013-02-14
In Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama stated: “Now, in the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. We need to encourage that. That’s why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.” House Natural Resources Committee… Read more »
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#NYFrackingScandal Hits Cuomo Administration: Newly Disclosed Documents Show Conflicts of Interest
2013-02-11
With only two days before the expected release of New York’s Environmental Impact Assessment on fracking (also known by the industry term hydraulic fracturing), Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration is at the center of a new conflict of interest scandal regarding two of his top aides.  Today, seven groups requested the Albany County District Attorney General… Read more »
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Report: Fossil Fuel Front Groups on the Front Page
2012-12-12
Update: The report was covered in E&E News (subscription), Mother Jones, Think Progress and DeSmogBlog. Click-through for more on our groundbreaking research on fossil fuel-funded groups in the media. Fossil fuel-funded front groups, commonly referred to as “think tanks” or “institutes”, have been secretly influencing the media and the public on energy issues by moving… Read more »
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Oil shale: Energy’s pink unicorn
2012-12-7
Grover Norquist, founder of the right wing, anti-tax group Americans for Tax Reform, recently spoke out about the folly of spending tax dollars on pink unicorns, since they don’t exist. Following his logic, government shouldn’t create handouts for oil shale, since it doesn’t exist as an energy source. We want to see if Mr. Norquist… Read more »
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Oil shale industry front group misleads public on support for radical oil shale plan
2012-10-30
The industry front group, Environmentally Conscious Consumers for Oil Shale (ECCOS) deliberately misled the public and trumped up support for a radical plan that puts our water and communities at risk from oil shale speculation. The group’s Executive Director Brad McCloud purposefully misrepresented stakeholder comments submitted on the Interior Department’s draft proposals for the research… Read more »
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Could be a sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
2012-06-8
Alan Prendergast at Westword tells the story of Rep. Jared Polis’ successful effort to stop a new $25 million giveaway for the failed energy source oil shale. And he starts it with the best headline we’ve ever seen: Jared Polis, zombie killer, dispatches undead oil shale subsidies (Also, thanks for the shout out Alan) Excerpt:… Read more »
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Colorado politicians fast track new giveaways to donor oil companies
2012-04-26
Matt Garrington, Denver-based co-director of The Checks and Balances Project, offered the following statement and facts regarding today’s hearing on Colorado House Republicans’ three bills to give away more of the West to the oil and gas industry: H.R. 4381, H.R. 4382 and H.R. 4383. “Reps. Lamborn, Tipton and Coffman are doing a great job… Read more »
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All of the above means we have to go beyond oil
2012-03-22
As gas prices top $4/gallon in an election year, Americans are fed up with empty promises and cheap gimmicks. Who in their right mind buys Newt Gingrich’s claim that he can lower gas prices to $2.50/gallon? So, who or what is to blame for high gasoline prices? The Big Oil spin machine and the Republicans… Read more »
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Roberts amendment hangs oil company boondoggle on Senate transportation bill
2012-03-13
NEWS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2012 CONTACT: Matt Garrington, (720) 206-4348 Roberts amendment tries to hang oil shale boondoggle on Senate transportation bill The following is a quote from Denver-based Checks and Balances Project Co-Director Matt Garrington about S.AMDT.1826, Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R-KS) oil shale amendment to the Senate transportation bill. “After taking… Read more »
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