EnergyNet auctions off oil and gas leases for state and federal lands—and business is booming under the Trump Administration.
As the Trump Administration has taken steps to expand oil and gas drilling, advocates have sounded the alarm against the privatization and destruction of protected open space. But one company has carved out a niche as "the platform through which this massive opening of federal lands for energy extraction will happen."
In Outside Online, Mya Frazier profiles EnergyNet, an online auction platform specializing in oil and gas leases. Thanks to exclusive contracts with state agencies and the Bureau of Land Management, leases for public land accounted for fully half the site's business—$600 million in transactions—in 2017.
In the piece, Frazier outlines the lobbying and business practices that have enabled the Texas company to make public land auctions increasingly profitable, frequent, and tucked away from public scrutiny or protest.
FULL STORY: The Private Company Selling Off America's Public Lands
Trump Administration Reopens California Public Lands to Oil and Gas Drilling
A decision by the Bureau of Land Management on Oct. 3 may reverse the outcome of a 2013 lawsuit against the Obama administration by two environmental groups that effectively halted drilling in Fresno, Monterey and San Benito counties.
'Unprecedented' Sale of Public Land Concerns 'Even Some Republicans'
As the Department of the Interior auctions off 'vast swaths' of American wilderness to oil and gas companies, fiscal conservatives and conservationists alike wonder if it’s the right thing at the right time.
Colorado oil and gas land lease on public land could imperil nation's largest elk herd
The federal government approved the largest land lease to oil and gas interests in Colorado history.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
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