Breaking: Big Oil Companies Oppose "Reckless" Trump Environmental Laws

[real Cannabis calm]

Trump administration to reverse limits on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas
Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, The Washington Post Aug. 29, 2019

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is set to announce Thursday that it will loosen federal rules on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas linked to climate change, according to two senior administration officials.

The proposed rule will reverse standards enacted under former president Barack Obama that require oil and gas operations to install controls on their operations to curb the release of methane at the well head and in their transmission equipment, including pipelines, processing and storage facilities.

But several of the world's biggest fossil fuel companies, including Exxon, Shell and BP, have opposed the rollback and urged the Trump administration to keep the current standards in place. Collectively, these firms account for 11 percent of America's natural gas output.

"This reckless rollback highlights the Trump administration's complete contempt for our climate," said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group. "The EPA is now so determined to actually increase greenhouse pollution that it's even shrugging off concerns from oil and gas companies about gutting these protections. Fracked gas is a climate killer, and Trump's rash embrace of this dirty stuff showcases the need for the next president to commit to a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels."
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Trump-administration-to-reverse-limits-on-14397062.php

[Coventina]

1. Good lord, when the oil companies take the ethical stance against you.....

Even Satan must be backing away going, "Slow your roll, dude!"

[Pachamama]

2. +10000

It’s that bad....

[real Cannabis calm]

19. It could be good...

It could cause Big Oil companies to contribute to Democrats, for a change! (Yep, I know what readers will think in your dreams.

Still, I bet some of these mega-corporations are getting sick of Teflon Don trying to boss them around, by telling them where they should manufacture products.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. How weird is that? Big oil companies care more about the environment

than the government does, and oppose weakened regulations? WTF?

[panader0]

13. I think it's because the big oil companies already have the controls,

and the small companies cannot afford them. So rolling back the restrictions
will benefit the smaller companies and allow them to compete with the big ones.
I dunno, I could be wrong.

[real Cannabis calm]

20. That makes sense; but also

If you read the complete news article, it mentions wild-fires burning into areas, where they were never a problem before. Methane is extremely flammable; and refineries are very expensive. A fire at a methane plant would be difficult to extinguish and could cost a company massive expenses, even before the cost of rebuilding the facility becomes a factor.

[Celerity]

22. ding ding, we have a winner

Gabriel Kolko fan?

a New Left classic from 1963 :

The Triumph of Conservatism: A Reinterpretation of American History, 1900-1916



https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Conservatism-Reinterpretation-American-1900-1916/dp/0029166500

The era of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson has been labelled ""progressive"" by virtually all historians. Mr. Kolko maintains that is a misnomer and that it was, in fact, an era of conservatism. He details decisions made by the national political leaders during the period 1900-1916 and shows that, in virtually every case, they chose solutions as advocated by the business giants--such as the Morgans, the Rockefellers and the Harrimans. Such regulation of industry as was instituted in concern for general welfare was, in the author's words, ""invariably controlled by the leaders of the regulated industry"". What he is saying is that the American economy did not have to become one of business giants and monopolies, nor was regulatory federal legislation just a reaction to what has been assumed to be an inevitable tendency; it actually incubated the growth and concentration of economic power. His argument may cause some stir among historians, economists and big businessmen.

[Ponietz]

4. It is dawning on the megacorps they went too far in abetting the installation of Addleall T.

When your refinery is underwater it’s hard to make a profit.
I expect they will support the most ‘conservative’ Dem this time around.

[kimbutgar]

5. The oil companies like those feel good environmental commercials they put out

Give people something positive to think about them instead of pollution spewing villains.

[packman]

6. Well, I done seen about everything -

I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band
I seen a needle that winked its eye
I seen a front porch swing, heard a diamond ring
I seen a polka-dot railroad tie

I saw a clothes horse rear up and buck
And they tell me that a man made a vegetable truck

I heard a fireside chat, I saw a baseball bat
And I just laughed till I thought I'd die

But I be done seen about everything
When I see an oil company care about clean air

[3Hotdogs]

7. An I done seen a baseball bat,

And I done heard a fireside chat,

But I dice seen ‘bout everything,
When I seen an elephant fly

[Wellstone ruled]

8. The largest unchecked

Methane leaks seem to be in the Four Corners Area. And as we know,Colorado will not let this go on much longer.

[durablend]

18. IDK

Seems like there's a huge methane leak at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The sooner it's plugged, the better.

[0rganism]

9. they benefit from sane, uniform regulations, not spontaneous rollbacks

their's is far more of a profit-motivated stance than a principled one. if an oil company spent the better part of a decade retooling to comply with a fairly mild regulatory regime, it won't help them to suddenly scrap that regime, throw the competitive landscape into chaos, and dangle a temptation to go full rogue polluter when there's a high probability that significantly more severe regulations will be applied within a few years as a response. they have a multitude of reasons to oppose wildcat deregulation.

all of which speaks to the merits of establishing a firm, strict regulatory system with long-term benchmarks if/when responsible people take over again.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. There will be a massive backlash against oil companies after Trump is out of office.

[SCVDem]

11. Oil and auto companies do realize

that to change anything because the fart says so will result in undoing it when we take over.

We will override all these disastrous people killing measures.

Dude's Gotta Go!

[Grins]

16. Point! And the D's should be screaming that right now...

Those controls will come back in 2021, perhaps with even more controls, so if you don't want to pay double...

[Doitnow]

12. Ya mean Big Money cares what will happen to their children and grandchildren if they

now start talking like they actually CARE about the environment. Fat chance!! I think whichever conservatives are talking sweet these days are just trying to put a pretty face on what they've been pulling for for years. I don't trust any of them----and that includes all those who have supported Big Money while in office and are now just "waking up."

If they want to be believed, they should first spend 5-10 years performing worthwhile service to this country before having the nerve to again become a candidate for any office.

[hatrack]

14. No, this just fucks with their money - stranded assets/investments in CH4 controls (if in place) . .

And it makes it hard to plan for investment, etc.

Talk remains really, really cheap.

[Grins]

15. Translation: "We already paid for and installed those controls!" NM

[applegrove]

17. Kick

7

[dalton99a]

21. Man bites dog