North of 60 Mining News: The minerals industry of Northwest Territories April 30 congratulated the Tłı̨chǫ Government for the release of their long-awaited Tłı̨chǫ Wene’ke, or Tłı̨chǫ Land Use Plan.

Note to Readers: We think the "Jobs" link above is among the most useful anywhere. Check it frequently for updates and feel free to suggest additions/corrections for the benefit of other NGP readers!  -dh

Action Alert!

Resource Development Council

Our return from China occurred too late for us to update our stock photos of  the Kentucky Derby for the fourth year in a row.  However, we note with pleasure that there is a new kid on the block: Frac Daddy!

Alaska’s constitutional mandate to reasonably develop natural resources is again subject to debate.  Our Friends at the Resource Development Council for Alaska have urged us to provide a comment to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by MONDAY’S May 6 deadline.

Here is a link to RDC’s analysis and recommendation.

Here is a link to a comment delivered by Alaska State Senator Cathy Giessel (NGPCathy Giessel, Alaska State Senate, Resources Committee, Nondalton Tribal et al v. State of Alaska Photo) to the Department of Natural Resources wherein she cautions DNR, "Our state government is directed, by Article VIII, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution, ‘to encourage the settlement of its land and the development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest.’  

"Our lands are rich in resources," she writes, "which create wealth and economy, supporting healthy people and communities. Alaska is not a massive park. Alaska is a land which has supported multiple-use resource development for generations.  Please stand firm and reject narrow proposals that seek to restrict access by our people to our lands and its resources."    -dh

Today’s Consumer Energy Alliance Energy Links:

 

LNG 13 Conference Report Here

Bloomberg: Keystone foes seek climate measures in case they lose – President Barack Obama is being pressed by opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline to tie any approval to measures that would curb climate change, reflecting mounting pressure on the administration to mitigate the project’s impact if it goes forward.

 

POLITICO Pro: Dip in gas prices prompts GOP to shift tactics – The threat of $4 a gallon gasoline is a fast-fading memory, forcing House Republicans to shift tactics as they continue to blame President Barack Obama’s policies for driving up Americans’ energy prices. Republicans’ broad agenda is largely unchanged, anchored by the Keystone XL pipeline, expanded offshore drilling, a rollback of EPA regulations and other steps they say would offer relief for consumers. But unlike the past two years, the price on the pump isn’t cooperating this time around.

 

Houston Chronicle: Environmental groups sue EPA over refinery emissions – Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to force federal regulators to review the way they calculate emissions from petrochemical plants, oil refineries and other large industrial facilities. In the suit filed on Thursday, Air Alliance Houston and three other groups accuse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of using outdated and inaccurate formulas to estimate levels of air pollution.

 

Associated Press: Oil drilling technology leaps, clean energy lags – Technology created an energy revolution over the past decade — just not the one we expected. By now, cars were supposed to be running on fuel made from plant waste or algae — or powered by hydrogen or cheap batteries that burned nothing at all. Electricity would be generated with solar panels and wind turbines. When the sun didn’t shine or the wind didn’t blow, power would flow out of batteries the size of tractor-trailers.

 

Bloomberg: Anti-fracking laws in New York towns upheld on appeal – Anti-fracking laws passed in two New York towns were upheld by an appeals court, which rejected arguments by a dairy farm and a Norwegian energy company that the bans are superseded by state law. An appellate panel of the New York State Supreme Court in Albany today ruled that drilling bans in the towns of Dryden and Middlefield don’t conflict with state regulations for the oil and natural-gas industry.

 

U.S. News & World Report: Fight Over Fracking Continues as Counties Begin to Ban Practice – While the nation’s so-called "Shale Gale" might be benefiting some communities in the United States, one county in New Mexico has said "no thanks" to a stronger oil and gas industry presence in its region. Mora County, N.M. voted to ban all oil and gas extraction this week, after commissioners decided federal and state laws did not adequately protect communities from the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, a common practice used to extract oil and gas from shale rock.

 

Bloomberg: Natural gas tumbles most in nine months after stockpile increase – Natural gas futures dropped the most in nine months in New York after a government report showed that U.S. stockpiles expanded by more than forecast. Gas slid 7 percent, the biggest one-day decline since Aug. 2, after the Energy Information Administration said inventories rose 43 billion cubic feet in the week ended April 26 to 1.777 trillion cubic feet. Analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg showed a gain of 29 billion. Unusually cold weather into early spring helped eliminate a supply glut that emerged in late 2011.