Blow

Hurricane Sandy, which dealt a heavy blow to New York City and portions of the eastern seaboard, spared Spectra Energy Corp. operations in the area, company officials said during a conference call with analysts Thursday morning.

Efforts to replicate in Europe the United States’ shale gas success took another blow Friday when French President Francois Hollande said that a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) would remain in place during his five-year term. Hollande, the candidate of the Socialist party, became president following a two-round election earlier this year.

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a man accused of trying to blow up a natural gas pipeline in suburban Dallas last month.

Chemical industry executives are believers in the North American shale gas miracle, and they’re investing accordingly. But there’s still time to blow it with bad policies and regulation, speakers at a Houston industry conference said.

Chemical industry executives are believers in the North American shale gas miracle, and they’re investing accordingly. But there’s still time to blow it with bad policies and regulation, speakers at a Houston industry conference said.

Legislation that would ban the use of “flammable gas to clean or blow the gas piping” of electric generating facilities has been approved by the Connecticut Senate and needs only the signature of Gov. Dannel Malloy to become law.

A centerpiece of California’s precedent-setting climate change law (AB 32) was dealt a blow by a San Francisco Superior Court March 17 ruling that could require a full-blown environmental impact report (EIR) before the proposed cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be implemented. It was set to be effective next year.

A centerpiece of California’s precedent-setting climate change law (AB 32) was dealt a blow by a San Francisco Superior Court ruling released last Monday that could require a full-blown environmental impact report (EIR) before the proposed cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be implemented. It was set to be effective next year, but could have to wait until at least to 2013.

Hurricane Bill is strengthening in the Atlantic and could give the coast of New England a glancing blow this weekend, while Ana, which has lost much of its power since Monday, could still reform in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).