"A coal mining company with ties to Scott Pruitt, and a handful of companies serving the oil and natural gas industry, are among the beneficiaries of a loan program Congress established to help small businesses get through the coronavirus pandemic."
Tracking the oil market — or more precisely, the price of oil — will tell you a great deal about environmental issues, whether it be fracking, pipelines, land use, toxic emissions or more. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you follow the data for your stories. Plus, a Backgrounder on Big Oil and how it drives not just energy but environment stories.
"The day started like any other gloomy Monday in the oil market’s worst crisis in a generation. It ended with prices falling below zero, thrusting markets into a parallel universe where traders were willing to pay $40 a barrel just to get somebody to take crude off their hands."
The dramatic drop in demand for oil, driven by the shutdown of world economies by coronavirus, has meant a corresponding fall in prices. And that has profound environmental implications. But it’s a complicated dynamic to assess. Our Issue Backgrounder provides a look under the hood of Big Oil, and explains what it means for environment reporters. Plus, a Reporter’s Toolbox for tracking the data.
"Covid-19 and climate change are testing a food system that critics say has lost its resilience."
"The great price collapse of 2020 will topple companies and transform states."
"Plummeting global demand for fish and seafood as a result of the coronavirus crisis is likely to create an effect similar to the halt of commercial fishing during World Wars I and II, when the idling of fleets led to the rebound of fish stocks."
"The Trump administration is considering paying U.S. oil producers to leave crude in the ground to help alleviate a glut that has caused prices to plummet and pushed some drillers into bankruptcy."
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