Category: Uncategorized

Uncategorized 30 Mar 2017

U.S. House of Representatives Approves Honest and Open Science Act

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
http://www.thegwpf.com

WASHINGTON – The U.S House of Representatives today approved H.R. 1430, the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017 (HONEST Act), introduced by Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).

The bill passed by a vote of 228-194. The HONEST Act requires that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations be based upon science that is publicly available.

Chairman Smith: “The American people have a right to see the data that is used to justify EPA’s costly regulations. The HONEST Act requires EPA to base new regulations on sound science that is publically available, and not hidden from the American people. The days of ‘trust me’ science are over. Allowing EPA’s data to be independently reviewed promotes sound science that will restore confidence in the EPA decision-making process. With House passage of this critical bill, we are one step closer to a more open and honest EPA.”

Background

The HONEST Act of 2017 was introduced by Smith and cosponsored by Cuellar, Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Brian Babin (R-Texas), Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Ralph Abraham (R-La.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), Bruce Westerman (R-Ariz.), Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Joe Barton (R-Texas), Stevan Pearce (R-N.M.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Scott Tipton (R-Colo.), and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

The HONEST Act gives independent scientists a fair chance to validate the studies EPA uses to make new regulations. This bill affirms laws prohibiting the disclosure of confidential or proprietary information. The bill does not require retroactive action; it focuses on future regulations issued by the agency. The bill forges a new path forward embracing scientific integrity and open government.

U.S. Committee on Science, Space and Technology

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

March 29, 2017 at 08:53PM

Uncategorized 30 Mar 2017

A big shift: Labor heavyweight tells Greens MP off for zany and mean climate zealotry

via JoNova
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The unravelling of the climate religion continues: Graham Richardson is an old-school Australian Labor powerbroker and former senior minister, and yesterday he was bagging out Adam Bandt, the Greens MP, for his atrocious timing, and “meanness of spirit” in using cyclone Debbie to score political points about climate policy “while hundreds of thousands of people are wondering what they will have left.”

What’s remarkable is how flat out unapologetic, no-pussy-footing plain and clear he is, and how much he is making the same points that sensible skeptics have been saying. Is this the first sign of a shift in the ranks of the Labor Party?

Richardson, 2015 was determined to fight for carbon pricing:

You need not worry, dear readers. This fearless correspondent will continue to wage war on this issue even when all my comrades have surrendered.

Graham Richardson 2017:

It is becoming increasingly difficult to remain a hard-core supporter of climate change belief. The entry into the debate this week of zany zealot Adam Bandt was horribly wrong on several fronts.

He [Bandt] made the staggering claim that Malcolm Turnbull would have “blood on his hands” if he supported the […]

Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

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March 29, 2017 at 07:03PM

Uncategorized 30 Mar 2017

Nuclear Power: the ‘Grown Ups’ Option for Australia’s Unfolding Power Crisis

via STOP THESE THINGS
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maturity, noun: the quality of behaving mentally and emotionally like an adult; a very advanced or developed form or state. If there is one attribute sorely missed in Australia’s energy debate it has to be ‘maturity’. Now that Australia’s suicidal renewable energy policies are starting to bite, destroying the viability of our cheapest and most […]

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March 29, 2017 at 06:34PM

Uncategorized 30 Mar 2017

USA FRACKING PRODUCES PROFITABLE OIL AT $20 A BARREL

via climate science
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Shell’s New Permian Shale Play Profitable At $20 A BarrelOil Price, 24 March 2017

Rakesh Upadhyay
OPEC’s worries about the booming U.S. oil production have increased significantly with the big three oil companies’ interest in shale. 2017-19 is likely to see the largest increase in mega projects’ production in history.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and Chevron Corp., are planning $10 billion of investments in shale in 2017, a quantum jump compared to previous years. All the naysayers who doubted the longevity of the shale oil industry may have to modify their forecasts.

OPEC lost when they pumped at will as lower oil prices destroyed their finances, and now they are losing their hard-earned market share as a result of cutting production. Shell’s declaration that they can “make money in the Permian with oil at $40 a barrel, with new wells profitable at about $20 a barrel” is an indication that Shell is here to stay, whatever the price of oil.

The arrival of the big three oil companies with their loaded balance sheets is good news for the longevity of the shale industry.

The oil crash, which started in 2014, pushed more than 100 shale oil companies into bankruptcy, causing default on at least $70 billion of debt, according to The Economist. Even the ones that survived haven’t been very profitable, according to Bloomberg, which said that the top 60 listed E&P firms have “burned up cash for 34 of the last 40 quarters”.

Therefore, during the downturn, the smaller players had to slow down their operations, but this will not be the case with the big three.

“Big Oil is cash-flow positive, so they can take a longer-term view,’’ said Bryan Sheffield, the billionaire third-generation oilman who heads Parsley Energy Inc. “You’re going to see them investing more in shale,” reports Bloomberg.

The majors are attempting to further improve the economics of operation. Shell said that its cost per well has been reduced to $5.5 million, a 60 percent drop from 2013. Instead of drilling a single well per pad, which was the norm, Shell is now drilling five wells per pad, 20 feet apart, which saves money previously spent on moving rigs from site to site.

Shell is not the only one—Chevron expects its shale production to increase 30% every year for the next decade. Similarly, Exxon plans to allocate one-third of its drilling budget this year to shale, and it expects to quadruple its shale output by 2025.

A little known miner has gained access to the world’s most valuable copper land package which could soon turn this company into the next big thing for investors.
“The arrival of Big Oil is very significant for shale,” said Deborah Byers, U.S. energy leader at consultant Ernst & Young in Houston. “It marries a great geological resource with a very strong balance sheet.” […]

“2017-19 is likely to see the largest increase in mega projects’ production in history, as the record 2011-13 capex commitment yields fruit,” the U.S. investment bank said in a research note on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

So much for the end of fossil fuels!

via climate science http://ift.tt/2jXH2Ie

March 29, 2017 at 06:30PM