Track COVID 19 around the world, in real time – compliments of Microsoft
Oil
Banks divesting from Arctic oil
development are in a glass house throwing stones
Anchorage Daily News Editorial Board, March 15, 2020
The past several weeks have seen a handful of the world’s largest banks announce that henceforth, they won’t finance oil development in the Arctic, with some calling out specific areas of concern and others issuing more general statements. The banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and UBS, have laid out their concerns with high-minded language pledging a commitment to a sustainable planet, protection of fragile ecosystems and reducing high-density carbon emissions. The problem is, all that talk doesn’t amount to meaningful action toward those goals.
U.S. To Buy 77 Million Barrels Of
Crude For Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Irina Slav, OilPrice.Com, March 16, 2020
The United States will start buying crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve within the next two weeks, with plans to buy around 77 million barrels, Bloomberg reported. The move–which follows President Trump’s announcement last week that the government will buy “large amounts” of crude–aims to replenish the SPR by taking advantage of low oil prices while providing some much needed support for the local oil industry. The industry suffered a substantial blow by the latest oil price crash, especially in the shale patch. According to Trump, the purchases would save “the American taxpayer billions.” According to Bloomberg calculations based on the Friday closing price of West Texas Intermediate, if the government buys 77 million barrels of crude, it will pay $2.4 billion for it.
Gas
Market, not regulators, should judge
LNG, climate projects, says Chatterjee
S & P Global Platts, March 13, 2020
Decisions about whether new liquefaction projects in the US are commercially viable should be left up to developers, “not unelected bureaucrats in Washington,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said Friday in a wide-ranging interview that also touched on climate, landowner and workflow issues.
Mining
Copper kills coronavirus. Why aren’t
our surfaces covered in it?
Mark Wilson, FastCompany, March 16, 2020
In China, it was called “qi,” the symbol for health. In Egypt it was called “ankh,” the symbol for eternal life. For the Phoenicians, the reference was synonymous with Aphrodite—the goddess of love and beauty. These ancient civilizations were referring to copper, a material that cultures across the globe have recognized as vital to our health for more than 5,o00 years. When influenzas, bacteria like E. coli, superbugs like MRSA, or even coronaviruses land on most hard surfaces, they can live for up to four to five days. But when they land on copper, and copper alloys like brass, they die within minutes. “We’ve seen viruses just blow apart,” says Bill Keevil, professor of environmental healthcare at the University of Southampton. “They land on copper and it just degrades them.” No wonder that in India, people have been drinking out of copper cups for millennia. Even here in the United States, a copper line brings in your drinking water. Copper is a natural, passive, antimicrobial material. It can self-sterilize its surface without the need for electricity or bleach.
Politics
Biden Faces Skeptical Oil Workers in
Swing States Like Ohio
Ari Natter, Bloomberg, March 16, 2020
Joe Biden’s chief claim to the Democratic nomination is that he can compete better in the Rust Belt states that Donald Trump won in 2016 — places like Ohio and his native Pennsylvania, where he grew up in Scranton. But to win there, he’ll have to overcome his party’s baggage on energy. Many Rust Belt voters rely on oil and natural gas jobs and they’re wary of Democratic proposals, such as the “Green New Deal,” that push for “net-zero emissions” and would effectively put coal and other fossil fuels out of business. The party has also taken aim at fracking, which has become the lifeblood of many previously down-and-out rural communities in those states.
Our Take: Embracing fracking bans and plans to kill coal and other fossil fuels probably won’t garner votes in the energy driven swing states.