Forbes – It’s Time To Repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard

A "consensus has concluded that EPA fuel standards are sorely at odds with the interests of fuel and food consumers in the United States,” writes contributor Robert Bradley. “The direct economic cost of implementing and enforcing these fuel standards far outweighs the questionable benefits."

The Washington Post – Keystone XL Opposition Wanes Among Nebraska Landowners

With the Keystone XL debate set to head back to Nebraska today, the Post reports that folks in the state “largely support the pipeline project.”

Star-Gazette – Anti-Fracking Equals Pro-Poverty for New York

In the heart of the fracking moratorium debate in New York’s Southern Tier, Corning resident  Mike Morrongiello writes a guest column on the booming econom... more »

Nice video below on the “downstream” folks of America’s oil and natural gas industry – the people who run refineries and deliver petroleum products across the U.S.:

As the video says, these highly trained workers are the heart of the oil and natural gas industry.

They work in refineries, which support 540,000 good-paying jobs and contribute $268 billion to U.S. GDP, making fuels that literally run our economy and make modern mobility an afterthought for most of us.

They produce the feed stocks for countless petroleum-based products – from chemicals and clothing to plastics and fertilizers – that make all our lives easier and healthier, every day.

They operate 170,000 miles of secure pipeline to transport products to each corner of the country.

They keep America moving.

The Common Ground Alliance is about digging safety – getting folks to call 811 before they did to prevent accidents with buried utilities, including gas lines. Right now the alliance is running a campaign urging Americans to “Make the 811 Promise” – a commitment to always call 811 before digging.

There’s a sweepstakes to help promote the campaign, “Race to South Beach,” with the winning prize being a trip to Miami for NASCAR’s Nov. 18 Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Details here.

Here’s a concerning factoid: Digging activity in the United States damages a buried utility line every three minutes. According to the Common Ground Alliance, one-third of those accidents could’ve been avoided if someone had called 811 to notify the local call-before-you-dig center. Making the call reduces the likelihood of an incident to less than 1 percent, the alliance says.

All it takes is taking the time. It’s a free phone call. The upside is individual and community safety: Excavation damage is the leading cause of injury and death from pipeline accidents.

Right now the alliance is conducting a campaign to “Make the 811 Promise” – a commitment to always call 811 before digging. There’s also a feature to share the 811 Promise message with colleagues and others.

Visit the websi... more »

Interesting piece in the Washington Post – detailing the sharp differences over whether the Keystone XL pipeline will impact the Ogallala aquifer as it crosses Nebraska.

On one side: activist Jane Kleeb, who believes the pipeline would endanger the primary water supply to the Great Plains. On the other: University of Nebraska professor emeritus James Goecke, who has studied the aquifer for more than three decades.

The Post notes that Kleeb is a “savvy activist” who moved to Nebraska in 2007. Goecke is a hydrogeologist, the Post reports, who has been “measuring water tables in Nebraska’s ecologically sensitive Sand Hills region since 1970 …”

Kleeb tells the newspaper that if the Keystone XL leaked, “oil could quickly seep into and through the porous, sandy soil.” The Ogallala is a “... more »