Despite progress, US infrastructure continues to get a near-failing grade from the nation’s engineers, the Keystone debate drags on, climate change policy is back in the headlines and Europeans contending with Cyprus’ financial meltdown are wondering if oil and gas development could help resolve some of the island nation’s issues.
The American Society of Civil Engineers releases its 2013 Report Card for America’s infrastructure today, and the country’s parents wouldn’t exactly be enthusiastic. From deficient bridges to power outages and ever-growing traffic, the country’s score only “inched up” to a D plus, the group says. Find out more here.
What the engineers say about energy infrastructure: “Energy’s grade remained the same at a D+. The U.S. relies on an aging electrical grid and pipeline distribution system, some of which originated in the 1880s. While demand for electricity has remained level, the availability of energy will become a greater challenge after 2020 as the population increases. Although about 17,000 miles of additional high-voltage transmission lines and significant oil and gas pipelines are planned over the next five years, permitting and siting issues threaten their completion.”
Because its a day that ends in a “y” the Keystone pipeline project is continuing to generate news. A new bill in Congress is attracting the support of the American Petroleum Institute because it would accelerate approval of the project; Keystone is currently stuck in Administration reviews after President Obama kicked the decision date past the 2012 elections. API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin says that the science is complete and the time has come “to put pipe in the ground.” Read a full story on UPI here.
Could a Nixon-era law come to the rescue of continuously-foiled attempts by the Obama Administration to do something about greenhouse gases and climate change? The latest indications are that the White House might use authority under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to review and publicize the impact any regulatory approvals for projects would have on climate change. The administration has previously said it would work to “strengthen” NEPA (see a White House statement on that here) but according to Chris Tackett at Treehugger that effort is finally taking form when it comes to climate change practices (if not quite policy).
And natural gas is the new money in Cyprus. The president – Nicolas Anastasiades – says domestic bank deposit-holders, facing new taxes that have thrown the country’s banking sector into disarray and shaken the already-fragile European banking system, could be issued natural-gas-revenue backed bonds if they keep their money in the country. The idea isn’t without some precedent, according to reporting by Josephine Moulds at The Guardian, but fails to take into account the complexities of natural gas and oil project development, as well as ongoing disputes between the region’s countries over who owns the sub-Mediterranean Sea reserves.
