New Mexico faces a multibillion-dollar shortfall
between the money companies have set aside to plug wells and the actual cost of doing so,
according to state research -- a reality mirrored in many states.

Across the country, more than 2 million oil and gas wells sit unplugged,
but the money held in cleanup funds,
called bonds,
is many tens of billions of dollars short of the projected costs,
ProPublica and Capital & Main found.

Now, a once-in-a-lifetime effort to shrink that shortfall is underway,
spurred in large part by federal funding for well-plugging efforts.

As regulators and legislators seek to require that drillers set aside more money for the work,
they have invited oil companies and trade groups to help write the regulations.

This dynamic
— politically expedient in states where the industry wields tremendous influence
— has combined with secretive drafting processes and millions of dollars of industry lobbying
to weaken or kill proposals in state after state.

In some, including Oklahoma and Utah,
lawmakers propose bills only after oil trade groups approve the language.

In many others, regulators and drillers work together through organizations such as the quasi-governmental "Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission" to design policy.

But even when given a seat at the table,
like in New Mexico,
the industry has turned against reform efforts.

Holly Hopkins,
a vice president of the American Petroleum Institute,
the industry’s largest trade group,
said in a statement,

“We are continuing to work with policymakers to advance balanced regulations that enhance safety, sustainability and environmental stewardship
and help ensure that American energy is produced responsibly from start to finish.”

Those working to reform a status quo that has left potentially millions of wells as orphans disagree.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat,
is preparing to file a bill in Congress targeting oil companies’ use of bankruptcy to offload cleanup obligations on the public.

“The challenge in anything that involves fossil fuels,
and particularly that addresses a profit strategy of fossil fuel companies,
is you’re taking on the most powerful lobby in the United States of America,” he said.

結成当時のメンバーは水谷孝、中村武志、若林盛亮。その他、山口冨士夫（元村八分、後にティアドロップス）、久保田麻琴などが一時在籍するなどメンバーは流動的。1996年を最後に活動を休止している。
Les Rallizes Dénudés Live 1972 at Circus Circus in Kyoto (Full Album) https://youtu.be/zoaAUptZ0mw

Bisous du train 😘😘😘😘

@Kahte 😘

Good to hear. Cats will usually bond after some initial unease, and will then gang up on you.

Ich drück dich, liebe Karin, und wünsche dir, dass es bald etwas besser wird! 🧡 🙏 🍀

😂 He takes up the whole spot so there's no room for any other cat. This way he doesn't have to share.

@Sharonbw
😂🤣😂 You understand him so well!