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Recent posts
- Beartooth landowners victorious in lawsuit against Stillwater County
- PLEASE NOTE: Change in Zoom access code for today’s hearing
- Action alert: Watch court hearing on Zoom, Thursday, 2:00 pm
- Action alert: Stillwater County Planning Board meeting, Wed, 9/4, 7pm
- Must attend! Stillwater County Planning Board: Wednesday, August 7, 7pm
Blog Archives
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Author Archives: davidjkatz
Billings Gazette Editorial: Montana can’t stake its future on coal
There was an interesting and unexpected editorial in this morning’s Billings Gazette, entitled “Montana can’t stake its future on coal.”
The central argument of the editorial is that US coal-fired power generation will continue to decline and be offset by an increase from renewable sources, so it makes no sense for Senator Daines and others to accuse the Administration of “killing coal,” as Daines did this week in Billings. Instead “Montana must look forward….We don’t want anyone to lose jobs, but in a dynamic economy jobs are lost and new jobs are created. Any Montana workers who will be displaced by changes in the coal and electrical industries deserve training and support to land good, new jobs.
“Montana’s leaders in government and business should host summits on energy diversification. Let’s figure out how to provide what energy customers want and how to best transition out of the energy they don’t want.”
This is an argument that we have been making on this site for years. Montanans need to recognize that the battle to prop up fossil fuels is lost. The transition to a clean energy economy may play out over years or decades, but it is time for the state’s leaders to step forward to put Montana at the forefront of that transition, not, as Senator Daines would have it, trying to beat a dying horse. Continue reading
Congratulations! You’ve just lived through the hottest year on record. Again.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a press release issued today:
“During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.62°F (0.90°C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest among all years in the 1880-2015 record, surpassing the previous record set last year by 0.29°F (0.16°C). This is also the largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken. Ten months had record high temperatures for their respective months during the year. The five highest monthly departures from average for any month on record all occurred during 2015. Since 1997, which at the time was the warmest year on record, 16 of the subsequent 18 years have been warmer than that year.”
The issue of global warming has taken on increasing importance in this presidential election year, since the candidates hold widely divergent positions on whether warming actually exists, and, if it does, what humans should do about it. Continue reading
Posted in Climate change
Tagged climate change, global warming, presidential candidates, Ted Cruz
1 Comment
We’ve reached a tipping point: there are now more solar jobs than oil jobs
For local communities, the most compelling argument for the growth of oil and gas operations is the promise of jobs. But, as we’ve learned from the boom and bust in the Bakken over the last two years, explosive growth can occur, but oil jobs are not sustainable over the long term.
By contrast, the solar industry is growing at 20% per year, and this growth is likely sustainable, driven by substantial reductions in the cost of installation since 2010. As a result, solar is now an affordable energy source. And solar growth is not subject to the same booms and busts as oil extraction, because it is not dependent on volatility in the price of an external energy source.
The implications for local communities are clear, and elected officials in Carbon and Stillwater Counties would do well to take heed. Continue reading
Important new study shows link between fracking chemicals and reproductive and developmental toxicity
A new study from Yale University released this week shows that a large number of chemicals found in fracking fluid and wastewater are associated with reproductive and developmental toxicity.
The study, “A systematic evaluation of chemicals in hydraulic-fracturing fluids and wastewater for reproductive and developmental toxicity,” was published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology on January 6, 2016. In the study, the authors systematically evaluated 1,021 chemicals identified in fracking fluids, wastewater, or both for potential reproductive and developmental toxicity to identify those with the potential for human health impacts.
They researched each against a database, and discovered the following:
-Toxicity information was lacking in the database for 781 chemicals (76%).
-Of the remaining 240 substances, evidence suggested reproductive toxicity for 103 (43%), developmental toxicity for 95 (40%), and both for 41 (17%).
-Of the 157 chemicals associated with toxicity, 67 either already have or have been proposed for a federal water quality standard or guideline.
This data points clearly to the need for local regulation of oil and gas drilling along the Beartooth Front and in other local communities. Continue reading
The first electric car for the masses is here. It’s time to start planning for a renewable energy future.
For those of you who have missed me, I’ve been taking some time off enjoying holidays with an expanding family. Number one son is getting married, and I’ve already got a “World’s Greatest Father-in-Law” coffee cup. If I’d only known it was this easy.
Lots is happening on the energy/climate front, and I’ve got a number of posts started, but I saw something today that really brought home how fast the world of energy is changing.
Whenever I write something remotely negative about the oil and gas industry, I’m sure to get at least one email that says something like, “If you hate oil and gas so much, why don’t you get rid of your car and start walking?” I usually resist the urge to respond, although I’ve got some good comebacks up my sleeve.
What got me so excited is that, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, Chevrolet announced that it has won the race to produce an electric car for the masses. It’s called the Chevy Bolt, ready for sale later this year.
It’s like the first robin of spring. There are many more that will follow.
It’s time to start planning for a renewable energy future. Continue reading
Posted in Clean energy
Tagged Chevy Bolt, clean energy, Consumer Electronics Show, electric cars, renewable energy
3 Comments
Steve Daines joins the carbon reduction bandwagon! Wait a minute…
No sooner did we get the exciting news from Paris about the international climate agreement than my good friend Steve Daines sent me an invitation to attend the third annual Montana Energy Conference in Billings on March 30-31. According to Senator Daines, it’s an opportunity to “continue the discussion on state and national energy opportunities and provide an all-encompassing look at Montana’s energy potential.”
I was really excited to see that our junior Senator has jumped on the bandwagon to transition Montana’s energy portfolio from fossil fuels to clean energy. This kind of leadership is exactly what’s required to help us meet the treaty’s ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions.
I went over to the event web site, where I discovered that the conference will have a “fresh new look and perspective,” and that “energy professionals, policy and decision makers at all levels” will take “an all-encompassing look at Montana’s energy potential.”
This is exactly what we need!
If you’re a regular reader, you know there’s more to this post. Click to read what this conference is really about. Continue reading
Posted in Community Organization, Politics and History, Uncategorized
Tagged Montana Chamber of Commerce, Montana Coal Council, Montana Contractors' Association, Montana Energy Conference, Montana Environmantal Information Center, Montana Green Power, Montana Petroleum Association, Montana Renewable Energy Association, National Resource Defense Council, Northern Plains Resource Council, Senator Steve Daines
6 Comments
Delegates reach historic climate agreement in Paris
Representatives of 195 countries, representing more than 95% of global greenhouse gas emissions, today reached a landmark climate agreement that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change. The goal of the agreement is to limit global temperature rise to less than 2° Celcius, along with a stretch goal of 1.5°. Continue reading
Posted in Climate change, Uncategorized
Tagged climate change, COP21, global warming, Paris agreement
9 Comments
The oil market just gets worse and worse.
From time to time we check in on the state of the oil industry to determine whether we are approaching a time when it might become profitable to drill along the Beartooth Front. We’re far from it. As of the close of business on Monday, the price of oil touched a seven-year low as active rig counts dropped to their lowest levels since 2010, and gas prices in the area stayed at low levels.
This means that nobody is going to be drilling along the Beartooth Front very soon. And we should all be aware that when the oil companies come knocking with promises of economic growth and plenty of jobs, that promise is only as good as an oil market that we have no control of.
What we can control are the terms under which oil and gas operators do business when the market changes. Continue reading
Posted in Fracking Information
Tagged active drilling rigs, gas prices, oil and gas market, oil prices
1 Comment
Silvertip landowners’ Supreme Court case receives boost from University of Montana amicus brief
Belfry landowners attempting to form the Silvertip Zone in Carbon County received a significant boost in their Montana Supreme Court case last week when the prestigious Natural Resources and Land Use Clinic at the University of Montana School of Law filed an amicus brief in the case.
The brief is worth a read. It is easily understandable for a non-attorney, and includes a thorough discussion of the history of zoning in Montana.
To read the brief, understand its importance to the case, and read other documents, click below.
Preserve the Beartooth Front 