PDF version
WildEarth Guardians (WEG) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) are the two most litigious groups when it comes to our western oil and natural gas issues. Sure, there are other environmental groups, like Western Watersheds and the Sierra Club,...
The Source Rock Blog
by Kathleen Sgamma, President of Western Energy Alliance on May 16, 2019 - 12:18pm
by Kathleen Sgamma, President of Western Energy Alliance on April 18, 2019 - 10:36am
It was absolutely devastating to see Notre Dame up in flames this week. I remember being just as shocked and dismayed to see the Taliban destroy 1,700-year-old Buddhist statues after taking over much of Afghanistan. Not only is it horrifying to see two such important expressions of...
Tags: BLM, leasing, public lands
by Tripp Parks, Manager of Government Affairs on April 16, 2019 - 7:18am
In a blog post short on facts but filled with pie-in-the-sky campaign dreams, Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) outlined her plan for public lands should she be elected president in 2020. First and foremost: a moratorium on all new BLM leasing for oil and natural gas...
Tags: leasing, public lands
by Kathleen Sgamma, President of Western Energy Alliance on March 21, 2019 - 10:31am
Or How a #FakeNews Narrative is Born
This week, the D.C. District Court ruled that BLM did not conduct adequate greenhouse gas analysis under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for 300,000 acres of leases in Wyoming. While Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that...
Tags: BLM, leasing, public lands
by Aaron Johnson, Vice President of Public Affairs on March 13, 2019 - 11:44am
This week in the U.S. House, the new majority hit pause after holding 15 hearings about climate change to discuss energy policies at federal agencies. Appearing before the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Development was the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Deputy...
Tags: BLM, leasing, public lands
by Kathleen Sgamma, President of Western Energy Alliance on February 27, 2019 - 8:48am
Few members of the public realize it, but the oil and natural gas industry has been the major source of funding for conservation for decades. The most obvious is the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is funded by a portion of offshore oil and natural gas royalties. The original intention of the LWCF was...
by Kathleen Sgamma, President on February 6, 2019 - 11:17am
A few years ago, we communicated with several craft breweries who had supported anti-fracking rallies and/or an anti-industry campaign by WildEarth Guardians (WEG). We sent polite letters and started a dialogue. Several removed their names from WEG’s anti-energy list as a result...
Tags: craft beer, fossil fuels
by Kathleen Sgamma, President on December 4, 2018 - 8:11am
The news out of France wasn’t just about stopping the carnage after weeks of violent protests and vandalism. And it wasn’t just an embarrassing cave-in by previously high-flying President Emmanuel Macron. It was a huge statement by average citizens clad in the yellow...
Tags: carbon tax, climate
by Aaron Johnson, Vice President of Public Affairs on August 27, 2018 - 1:39pm
As printed for the Montana Petroleum Association Treasure State Journal
“Are you KIDDING me?? You want to RESCIND the methane rule? Who ARE you?,” wrote one person anonymously to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this spring. Another commented, “The BLM should be restricting toxic methane emissions, not encouraging them. Honor our laws and the regulations that spring from them.”
Predictably, these points of view dominated the 223,585 public comments submitted to BLM on plans to revise the venting and flaring rule. The comments reflect the deepening lack of understanding around...
Tags: BLM, regulations, venting
by Kathleen Sgamma, President on August 21, 2018 - 12:17pm
We’ve already seen companies like New Belgium Brewery and Patagonia fund anti-fracking environmental groups and activities. And of course the Outdoor Industry Association and many of its members are advocating against responsible oil and natural gas development on public lands.
But Bank of the West took it up a notch earlier this month with a social media post that kicked off a major campaign. The Craig Press reported that the original Facebook post said “We've made the decision to take action; we will no longer fund tobacco, coal, fracking, or Arctic drilling." But then the post...
Pages
