Oil Boom Shifts The Landscape Of Rural North Dakota

“Yet another reason to hate fracking: It’s connected with an increase in STDs, car crashes, drug-related crimes, and sexual assault in areas where the oil and gas industry sets up shop.” The article then goes on to explain that it’s actually not hydraulic fracturing that’s linked to these things, it’s working conditions at oil and gas fields. [Grist]

Apple is getting aggressive with its energy and environmental initiatives. The company has taken on former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson as its environmental chief, and “is striving to power its facilities with 100 percent clean, renewable energy – a mix of electricity generated by solar, wind, hydro and geothermal sources”. [Forbes]

A consortium of Shell, Total, China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp and Petrobras won the bid for Brazil’s offshore sub-salt Libra field, which could hold up to 12 billion barrels of oil. The group was the only bidder. [FT]