Fossil Fuel Energy Production

Perry Vetoes Modest, Mincing Reform of Texas' Political Aspirant "Springboard" (Aka the Railroad Commission)

In case you missed it, Gov. Rick Perry used his veto Friday to override the bipartisan will of the legislature, which sought to inject the most meager, almost universally agreeable ethics reform into the state oil and gas regulator. They attempted to do this because the Railroad Commission of Texas ... More >>

Texas Landowners Say TransCanada is Digging Up Parts of Keystone Pipeline for Repairs

Landowners along the nearly 500-mile southern section of the Keystone XL pipeline say contractors have been excavating long-buried lengths of pipe to repair apparent defects. They've documented stakes jutting from turned-up dirt near the pipeline right-of-way through East Texas that read, "anomaly," ... More >>

Mike Bishop, Hellbent on Stopping the Keystone Pipeline, Sues the Corps of Engineers

Earlier this year we introduced you to Mike Bishop, the irascible ex-Marine with 20 acres in the path of the Keystone pipeline, just east of Nacogdoches. When we met him, the retired chemist and bio-fuel tinkerer was livid, cataloging the insults to his land -- the 'dozed crops, the clear-cut woods ... More >>

Trinity East's Vapor Chase

Drilling thousands of feet into the earth is a cakewalk compared with dealing with City Hall.

State Department's New Keystone XL Pipeline Report Proves Battle to Stop Tar Sands Is Probably Already Lost

On Friday afternoon came the unheralded release of a pretty important preliminary analysis from the State Department regarding the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a conduit for diluted bitumen mined in Alberta and destined for the Texas Gulf Coast petroleum refineries. The takeaway, however, has to ... More >>

Rawlings and Suhm's Attempt to Spin Secret Gas Deal into Something Innocent Is Hot Air

Some stuff won't spin. Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm is trying desperately to spin the story of her side-deal with Trinity East Energy. But that story is stuck in the ground like a tree. The Observer reported yesterday that Suhm signed an agreement five years ago with a gas drilling company to help ... More >>

Loretta Lynn

Saturday, February 9, at Arlington Music Hall

Nacogdoches County Landowner Wins Temporary Restraining Order Against Keystone Pipeline

Nacogdoches County Court at Law Judge Jack Sinz issued a temporary restraining order against TransCanada Tuesday, preventing the company from continuing construction of the southern leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline crossing Mike Bishop's land. I met Bishop a few weeks ago at his place ... More >>

Texas Railroad Commission Still Needs to Work on Holding Oil and Gas Producers Accountable

Once again, the Railroad Commission of Texas' raison d'être has been evaluated by a commission comprising state legislators and two regular citizens. Once again, it was given a reprieve from being abolished, given the gang-busting pace of oil and gas development over the last several years. But not ... More >>

More North Texas Landowners Accuse Chesapeake of Skimming Royalties, File Class Action Suit

Chesapeake Energy, the country's second-largest producer of natural gas, has been hit with a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of violating royalty agreements with landowners in Tarrant and Johnson counties. As you may recall, an identical suit was brought in July by a family of Johnson Cou ... More >>

Keystone Pipeline Protesters Tie Themselves to Construction Equipment, Halt Work

Three protesters tied themselves to logging equipment clearing trees for the southern portion of the Keystone pipeline early Wednesday morning. A representative of the group, which calls itself the Tar Sands Blockade, says work on the East Texas site is currently halted. "A caravan of between seven ... More >>

TransCanada Can Move Ahead With Texas Portion of Pipeline, But the Fight Isn't Over

Earlier this month, three East Texas hamlets with a collective population of fewer than 2,000 souls filed suit in a federal court in Oklahoma City to halt construction of the southern half of The International Pipeline Formerly Known as Keystone XL. The Keystone was to be a massive piece of infrastr ... More >>

Lead Researcher of UT Fracking Report Has Substantial Ties To Industry

Back in February, I wrote about a heavily publicized report released by the University of Texas Energy Institute that billed itself as the authoritative guide for regulators wrestling with the extraction of natural gas from shale formations and the novel combination of directional drilling and hydra ... More >>

Rep. Ralph Hall From Rockwall Is Turning 89, Will Do Keg-Stands with Rick Perry, T. Boone Pickens, Harlan Crow

Congressman Ralph Hall, the near-nonagenarian, oldest serving member of Congress, who was elected to things five years after World War II ended, just turned 89 years old. What do you give the man who has everything -- a powerful committee chair; a devilish sense of humor (he loves Mormons!); and a f ... More >>

How One Man's Flaming Water Fired Up a Battle Between Texas and the EPA

Steve Lipsky's epic battle and what it means for the future of fracking.

Rolling Stone Article Launches Fracking Fight with Chesapeake

Chesapeake Energy and Rolling Stone writer Jeff Goodell are battling over his March feature. The abridged version of the lengthy piece, unpacked further by Brantley, goes like this: Drilling appears to be a Ponzi scheme with Chesapeake's founder, Aubrey McClendon, as its leader. Neither McClendon no ... More >>

Fracking Boom a Ponzi-Inflated Bubble About To Pop? Rolling Stone Sure Thinks So.

Is the United States the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas?" as President Barack Obama has said. Or has the energy industry used fuzzy math to hype its estimated reserves to entice buyouts and Wall Street investment? Tough to say for sure, but last month the U.S. Energy Information Administration scaled ... More >>

Shippin' Shale: Energy Independence Means Exporting It So We Can Import It. Got That?

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to us either. A couple of weeks ago we asked if America could stop pretending that politicians and their benefactors in the energy industry actually give two shits about "energy independence" or "energy security," or any of the other portent-laden, focus-grouped catch phr ... More >>

As Council Was to Take Up L.B. Houston Gas Drilling, It Retreated Behind Closed Doors

From today's council agenda​Council just wrapped discussing that police helicopter sale; Sandy Greyson, concerned about terrorist what-ifs, wanted it pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion, but the sale sailed through. This item's about something a little further down the agenda. As ... More >>

Well, At Least One Council Member's Ditching the Mayor's Dinner Tomorrow Night

Photo by Patrick Michels​Still having a hard time figuring how Mayor Mike or his staff could schedule a dinner with the council tomorrow night -- the same night as one of only two gas drilling task force public hearings. A couple of council reps think it's important enough to mention to their cons ... More >>

UT Researcher Leading Fracking Study: "We're Gonna Look at Every Claim We Can Find."

UT-Austin geology professor Chip Groat​A week ago today, as you may recall, the University of Texas at Austin's Energy Institute announced they'd be joining the growing ranks of universities with major studies of hydraulic fracturing, with a $300,000, nine-month project of their own. Today, thank ... More >>

Want to Be on Dallas's Gas Drilling Task Force?

​After council member Angela Hunt pushed the city council to form the gas drilling task force Dave Neumann only talked about, it's time to assemble the dream team: Moments ago, Dallas City Hall sent word that it's taking applications from those interested in serving on the task force. For those wh ... More >>

Activists Ask West to Kill Bill That Would Gut Cities' Ability to Regulate Gas Drilling

Photo by Patrick MichelsRaymond Crawford and his 21-foot-long scroll of signatures unfurled at Dallas City Hall on April 20​Dallas anti-gas drilling activist Raymond Crawford just copied us on a letter he's sending to state Sen. Royce West today, asking him to "personally get involved [and] do wha ... More >>

Tomorrow Night in Far West Oak Cliff, Mayor and Council Candidates Tackle Gas Drilling

Hey, Dave, how you feelin' about tomorrow night's debate over gas drilling?​Not sure if there's more fun to be had this election season than at the North Texas GLBT Chamber's mayoral forum tonight, moderated by both Robert and Schutze -- but tomorrow night in far western Oak Cliff sure might come ... More >>

Raymond Crawford, Actual Citizen, Fought the City on Fracking -- and Won

When Dallas' drilling rules get tougher, you'll have a professional needlepointer to thank.

Environmentalists, NAACP Unite To Ask Council For Strong Gas Drilling Task Force

Photos by Patrick MichelsRaymond Crawford unfurls a 21-foot scroll of signatures from folks concerned with gas drilling in Dallas during this morning's press conference..​It's The Big Day today for gas drilling activists here at City Hall, and as Robert mentioned yesterday, the environmentalist se ... More >>

Liveblogging City Council's Look at Gas Drilling Task Force. Or: The Return of Lois Finkelman!

Welcome back to City Hall, where the council's settling back into their seats in the briefing room after a much-needed break for lunch. Word was that the council was going to treat us to its gas drilling update in the morning -- but after taking an extra-long executive session to work out just who' ... More >>

Natural Gas Drilling Continues to Define Council Battle Between Dave Neumann and Scott Griggs

Photo by Sam MertenDave Neumann (left) and Scott Griggs (right) at their first debate in late February.​From the beginning of last night's forum at the Avalon at Kessler Park, questions from the crowd of nearly 100 District 3 residents focused squarely on natural gas drilling and incumbent cit ... More >>

Mayor Caraway Says He's Got That Whole Gas Drilling Task Force Thing Covered

​A few weeks ago, as you'll no doubt recall, Angela Hunt called for the formation of a gas drilling task force that would consist of no fewer than 10 people, among them experts well versed in the subject of fracking, neighborhood residents impacted by XTO Energy's requests to drill near Hensley Fi ... More >>

Toxic Avenger: In the War Between the Feds and Texas, EPA Chief Al Armendariz has Science on His Side. Is That Enough?

Oscar-Nominated Gasland Director Josh Fox On Gas Drilling in the Barnett Shale and the Backlash from Industry

Patrick MichelsGasland director Josh Fox answers questions at an October screening at the Magnolia, alongside DISH mayor Calvin Tillman and gas drilling activist Sharon Wilson.Almost as soon as Gasland nabbed one of this year's Academy Award nominations for best documentary, industry groups rushed o ... More >>

Gas Drilling Variances Denied Near Grapevine Lake, While A Pair of Federal Suits Allege Water Contamination from Barnett Shale Fracking

​Worries about groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing around the Barnett Shale got a fresh wave of attention yesterday -- first with a pair of federal suits filed in Dallas, and then with the Town of Flower Mound's denial of a request to drill near to Grapevine Lake. Keystone Energy w ... More >>

Drill, Maybe, Drill? Almost Three Years After Council OK'd Gas Leases, Hunt Still Concerned.

​Patrick Michels has been all over XTO Energy's efforts to sink some gas drills in and around Dallas, a piece of which may or may not wind up on the council's year-ending agenda on December 8 following the City Plan Commission's decision last month to deny the wastewater-spilling Exxon subsidiary ... More >>

While Council Waits to Consider First Gas Drilling Site in Dallas, Plan Commission's About to Tackle XTO Energy's Second Proposal

XTO Energy's second proposed drill site in Dallas, just north of Joe Pool Lake.​Back on October 21, you'll recall that the City Plan Commission narrowly voted to deny XTO Energy's application to set up gas drilling along Mountain Creek Lake. The City Council's likely to have their final say someti ... More >>

At Friday's Screening of Gasland, Rallying the Troops to Keep Gas Drilling Out of Dallas

Photos by Patrick MichelsAfter the movie, director Josh Fox, center, stuck around for a Q&A joined by the Sierra Club's Peter Wilson, Dallas drilling activist Raymond Crawford, DISH mayor Calvin Tillman and drilling activist Sharon Wilson.​Gas drilling opponents from around North Texas rallied ... More >>

Liveblogging's A Gas at City Hall, As Plan Commission Denies XTO's Drill Site Application

Flickr user Schlüsselbein2007Mountain Creek Lake in far western Oak Cliff, which could be the site of Dallas's first gas drilling operation.​[Update at 6:45: To spare you the trouble of reading all the way through, here's the news. With a 7-6 vote, the commission denied XTO Energy's application f ... More >>

At Dave Neumann's Invitation, XTO Energy Briefs Neighbors on Hensley Field Drilling Plans

Photos by Patrick MichelsCouncilman Dave Neumann uses his hands to clear up confusion over XTO's gas drilling plans at Hensley Field along the Grand Prairie border. Never one to let an unwelcome neighbor move in unannounced, Councilman Dave Neumann invited residents around far west Oak Cliff's Hensl ... More >>

As Natural Gas Drilling Spreads East Into Dallas, A New Activist Group Is Born

Patrick MichelsNo word yet on whether this guy'll turn up again at tonight's meeting.The natural gas industry's slow creep toward Dallas over the Barnett Shale has launched a small army of activists in Fort Worth's exurbs, from small-town mayors to goat fromagers -- a well-organized crew that's gott ... More >>

Alan Todd May, Who Feds Say Ran Ponzi Scheme From Downtown, Caught in S.F.

Some of the very generic imagery featured on Alan Todd May's company's Web site​Alan Todd May spent the better part of 1983 to 2002 in and out of prison, having been arrested for such things as credit card abuse, check fraud, theft ... well, you name the hustle, he hustled it. There were 14 convic ... More >>

The Real World

Hello, Dali

Wormhole

Take It Easy

Nicholson plays grumpy in Pieces

An Artful Trek

14th Street honors Halliburton’s Journey

Starring Roles

Why don’t we have a nationwide restaurant rating system?

Wrapped Up In Chains

Fast-food restaurants are quietly taking over the world

More pixie dust, please

The Pegasus Room flies at low altitude

Hope sinks

Big Fish Little Fish's flavor doesn't match its wallet bite