Sage grouse
A male Sage Grouse (also known as the Greater Sage Grouse) in the USA

Interior Department To Overhaul Sage Grouse Conservation Plans

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The sage grouse is back in the national discussion. The Department of Interior is loosening rules that protect the western, chicken-sized bird; recommendations include giving states more leniency in enforcing the rules and easing restrictions on land development. The two-year old conservation plan helped the sage grouse avoid an endangered listing under the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Many environmentalists are concerned the changes could spell doom for the vulnerable species.

Audio

What A West Coast Gas Terminal Could Mean For The Rockies

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There is a lot of natural gas locked underground in Western Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Trouble is, it can be tough to get that gas to market. Enter President Donald Trump. The administration is signaling that a natural gas terminal in coastal Oregon denied a critical permit under the Obama administration could have new life.

Audio

Oil Exports Bring Boom Times To Texas Port

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A surge in production in the Permian Basin of west Texas—-already the nation’s highest producing oilfield — is extracting more crude oil than refiners in Texas can handle. But now, producers in the Permian have new outlets for that oil with economic implications hundreds of miles away from the flatlands of west Texas. Based on crude oil export projections, port officials say they expect to add 5000 direct and indirect jobs in 2017. 

“This is not a bubble, this is real growth,” said vessel traffic controller Mike Stineman, as he scanned real time navigation charts indicating vessel traffic at the port. Radio chatter between vessels, the Coast Guard and the Vessel Control Center provided a non-stop soundtrack of the the pulse of the port. A longtime ban on U.S. crude exports was lifted last year.

Inside Energy News

A Billion-Barrel-A-Year Problem

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A key solution to the earthquake crisis in Oklahoma and some other energy states is the long-term management of an enormous amount of oil-field wastewater likely triggering the shaking. The energy industry is working to solve this billion-barrel-a-year problem, and one promising alternative to risky disposal wells is reusing wastewater instead of pumping it underground.

Inside Energy News

Bring On The Heat, Says Coal Industry

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A changing climate may be bad PR for fossil fuels, but it could help their bottom line. Two major coal companies released earnings reports in late July stating how higher temperatures could mean more energy use, which could ease some coal stockpiles.

Climate Change

IE Questions: “How Can We Know When Methane Leaks Happen?”

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Natural gas has lower emissions than other fossil fuels, and so it is often touted as a “bridge fuel” to ease our country’s transition from big polluters like coal and oil to a cleaner, greener, low-carbon energy future. But methane leaks as a result of natural gas production may put that clean gas bridge in doubt.

local advocacy

Proposed Coal Mine Faces Resistance From Local Groups

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A new coal mine may be opening in the Powder River Basin — if it does, it would be the first to open in Wyoming in 50 years. Before that can happen, they have to obtain a permit. Local groups are arguing against one. They say the mine’s proposed permit is lacking and worry about the environmental impacts of a new mine.