Drill, baby, drill, because we need to
With a nuclear plant off line in Japan, and instability in the Middle East growing more worrisome by the day, Jon Basil Utley says in Reason that now is the time to put the pedal to the metal when it...
View ArticleBread & butter & gas
In case you haven’t been to the grocery store lately, food prices are going up. So are gas prices, which food producers and retailers blame for the increases. Prices for food and gas are up so much, in...
View ArticleBig Oil’s welfare program
Our opinion: A government desperate to cut deficits can’t afford to subsidize wealthy companies. Whatever you may think about tax breaks for the oil industry, keep in mind that somebody has to pay for...
View ArticleRecovery stalls as gas prices rise
Our opinion: Yes, we should find out why oil prices are rising. But we already know at least some of the solutions. Delay is only hurting the economy. Why are gas prices going up and down and up again?...
View ArticleReject the tar sands pipeline proposal
The proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline will not make oil cheaper or safer for the United States, says Bernie Sanders in The Guardian. And that, Sanders says, is reason enough for the president...
View ArticleAre low gas prices good news or bad?
Before you decide whether the recent drop in gas prices is actually good news, Derek Thompson in The Atlantic points out that low gas prices indicate a sluggish economic outlook. So good news at the...
View ArticleCanada’s troubling economic growth
Western Canada’s rising petroleum production is killing manufacturing jobs in the East, creating an economic rift in the country, affecting trade with the U.S., and rendering the economy vulnerable to...
View ArticleEliminate the oil middlemen
The price of oil is kept artificially high by speculators, says Jospeh P. Kennedy II in The New York Times. “They should be banned from the world’s commodity exchanges,” he says, “which could drive...
View ArticleWall Street’s casino: the oil markets
The price of gas may have more to do with speculation in the oil markets than supply and demand, says Les Leopold in AlterNet. The “swindlers who puffed up the housing bubble and then milked it dry are...
View ArticleDrop in prices threatens progress
A prolonged dip in the price of oil may be welcome news for drivers, but it may not be good for a society that needs to look for alternative energy solutions, says Ariel Schwartz in Fast Company. Lower...
View ArticleA delay for train safety
Our opinion: The rail and oil industries’ delay and denial on rail safety is bad enough, but it is unacceptable that the federal government is dragging its feet. The game of hot potato currently...
View ArticleMove oil trains, possible hazards, out of the port
The controversy surrounding the hazard of crude oil trains passing through the city of Albany and environs to the Port of Albany continues. We need to eliminate the oil trains from the port, require...
View ArticleUse settlement on spill response
There have been many wise suggestions on what to do with the billions of dollars of settlement money received by the state this year, including those in your recent editorial (“N.Y.’s newfound riches,”...
View ArticlePower the future with renewable energy
The recent oil spill near the Port of Albany reminded us that the dangers of relying on dirty energy are never very far off. While this was a relatively minor spill, we know petroleum spills can have...
View ArticleRail oil critics ignore use of fossil fuel products
I am always amazed by the “not in my back yard” environmentalists. Environmental groups and local neighbors are expressing concern over oil shipments through the Port of Albany and Selkirk railyards....
View ArticleSearch for fossil fuels alternatives needed
In response to Paul J. Burgdorf’s false characterization of rail oil critics as “not in my backyard environmentalists” in his letter (“Rail oil critics ignore use of fossil fuel products,” Sept. 28),...
View ArticleCrude booms, safety lags
Our opinion: Amid a crude oil boom, state and federal regulators need to heed local voices urging action on public health and rail safety. Federal and state regulators trying to grasp the downside of...
View ArticleN.Y. fights to remain pristine
Folks living in Schoharie County 20 years ago would have called their way of life idyllic. Not today. Struggling after two hurricanes, the county finds itself in a battle to stop a pipeline for...
View ArticleA small step on rail safety
Our opinion: Global Partners has rid itself of the weakest crude oil rail tanker cars. But crude transportation overall isn’t yet anywhere close to being safe. As promised, Global Partners has weeded...
View ArticleTime for officials to reject oil trains
I wonder how many train articles appeared in the Times Union before 2012 at the time when shipments of Bakken crude oil began to invade our city. On Nov. 3, there was an editorial headlined “A small...
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