News

Let the great debate begin — IER releases energy inventory report that attacks the narrative energy scarcity Powerline Blog (12/6/11) reports: For a long time, the Left has gotten away with underselling America’s energy resources. The old chestnut that the U.S. uses 25% of the world’s oil but only has 2% to 3% of the world’s oil reserves has been repeated endlessly by Barack Obama and many others. This claim fooled millions of people who didn’t understand that in the U.S., “reserves” means petroleum that is 1) legally available for development, and 2) profitably extracted at current prices. So if Democrats would stop preventing drilling, we could vastly increase our “reserves,” as legally defined, overnight…Happily, the publicity that has recently been given to massive shale oil and natural gas deposits in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and elsewhere has awakened many Americans to the fact that our energy resources are truly vast–greater, in fact, than any other country’s. The point is driven home by a new report that has just been released by the Institute for Energy Research. IER describes the problem (and the opportunity) bluntly 

Yesterday we told you that the navy bought biofuel at $15 a gallon. We were wrong. It actually costs $26 a gallons before it is blended with other fuel Wired (12/6/11) reports: The Navy just signed deals to buy 450,000 gallons of biofuels — arguably the biggest purchase of its kind in U.S. government history. The purchase is a significant step for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus’ plans to transform the service into an energy-efficient fleet. But at approximately $15 per gallon — nearly four times the price of traditional fuel — the new fuels won’t come cheap…The $12-million purchase, expected for months, will all be used this summer off the coast of Hawaii. There, supersonic F/A-18 jets will launch from the deck of an aircraft carrier, powered by fuels fermented from algae. A 9,000-ton destroyer and a cruiser will join it on a voyage across the Pacific, using fuel made from fats and greases. (The carrier itself runs on nuclear power.) It’ll be the first demonstration of the so-called “Great Green Fleet” — an entire aircraft-carrier strike group relying on alternative energy sources.

Well, we’re glad that is settled — Lisa Jackson argues that new pollution rules are ‘myths’ and will not negatively affect the economy Energy Guardian (12/7/11) reports: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson struck back Tuesday at anti-regulatory legislation racing through the House, accusing Republicans of pursuing “myths” about the Obama administration’s pollution programs…In a speech at Duke University, Jackson pointed to scores of votes by House Republicans this year to delay or overturn water and air pollution regulations advanced by EPA, and the vehicle mileage standards it has put into place with the Department of Transportation…”Many of these advances, including the Clean Cars program and our fundamental environmental protections, are under threat right now,” she said.

How do you say ‘idiot’ in English? The Sun (12/7/11) reports: Pupils shivered in coats, hats and scarves as temperatures fell to just 1°C (34°F). Head Rob Benzie switched off the radiators to show how the secondary school could cut its carbon footprint. ‘Success’ … Mr Benzie.  But some staff and parents slammed the “barbaric” plan. One teacher called it “beyond stupid” and added: “It was absolutely ridiculous. “I’ve never worked in such cold. I’m all for saving the planet but this was barbaric. “Nobody could work properly and kids could not even grip a pen through their gloves.” The mum of a 12-year-old at Ansford Academy in Castle Cary, Somerset, said: “She was shaking when she came home. I was absolutely furious.”

The Journal wants FERC to drop a 215 finding on the EPA rules.  Unfortunately, FERC has yet to even conclude that there will be a reliability problem, despite testimony on the point from the nation’s two largest utilities, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, NERC, PJM, etc., etc.  In other words, FERC, which used to be a proud independent agency, is now just like everyone else in the sad, diseased Administration Wall Street Journal (12/6/11) reports: Say what you will about Obama Administration regulators, their problem has rarely been a failure to regulate. Which makes the abdication of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission especially notable—and dangerous for the U.S. power supply…Last week FERC convened a conference on the wave of new Environmental Protection Agency rules that are designed to force dozens of coal-fired power plants to shut down. The meeting barely fulfilled the commission’s legal obligations, but despite warnings from expert after expert, including some of its own, the FERC Commissioners refuse to do anything about this looming threat to electric reliability.

It is enough to make you think about voting for Huntsman.  Even if he was a punk when he was our classmate at Penn Politico (12/6/11) reports: Jon Huntsman, who slammed Rick Perry over the summer for not trusting scientists on climate change, has now developed his own doubts…“The scientific community owes us more in terms of a better description of explanation about what might lie beneath all of this. But there’s not information right now to formulate policies in terms of addressing it over all, primarily because it’s a global issue,” the former Utah governor said Tuesday at an appearance at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Once again, America leads in the next energy revolution, but will our government get out of the way? Wall Street Journal (12/5/11) reports: Big Oil is redrawing the energy map…For decades, its main stomping grounds were in the developing world—exotic locales like the Persian Gulf and the desert sands of North Africa, the Niger Delta and the Caspian Sea. But in recent years, that geographical focus has undergone a radical change. Western energy giants are increasingly hunting for supplies in rich, developed countries—a shift that could have profound implications for the industry, global politics and consumers.Driving the change is the boom in unconventionals—the tough kinds of hydrocarbons like shale gas and oil sands that were once considered too difficult and expensive to extract and are now being exploited on an unprecedented scale from Australia to Canada.

I wish we had been saying this.  Oh wait, we have been.  Well, then I wish that some of our friends (Members of Congress?  Campaigns?) would start to talk about it Market Watch (12/4/11) reports: After all, shale is an abundant source of natural gas and it’s one that’s expected to last long term. Stir in its low price and relatively low emissions with calls to reduce the nation’s dependence on pricey foreign oil and the energy market’s got plenty of reasons to like natural gas…It’s “hard to argue against natural gas as a clean, abundant, and domestic energy supply,” said Dan Pratt, director of equity research at IHS Herold. “It should be a growing component of our energy supply going forward…“However, the speed of development will depend on many things, including economic, political, and environmental issues,” he said.

No need to add to this headline–Newt in ’07 “I strong support carbon caps.” Washington Times (12/5/11) reports: Two years before policital unpopularity forced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to abandon cap-and-trade legislation regulate carbon emissions, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., praised the idea of “mandatory carbon caps” combined with tax incentives, and said that then-President Bush should have led the charge to implement such a policy…”I think if you have mandatory carbon caps combined with a trading system, much like we did with sulfur, and if you have a tax-incentive program for investing in the solutions, that there’s a package there that’s very, very good,” Gingrich said during a PBS interview on February 15, 2007. “And frankly, it’s something I would strongly support.”…Gingrich also said that Bush should have kept his campaign promise to implement carbon caps. “If [Bush] had instituted a regime that combined three things I just said — mandatory caps, a trading system inside the caps, as we have with clean air, and a tax incentive to be able to invest in the new technology and to be able to produce the new technology — I think we would be much better off than we are in the current situation,” Gingrich suggested.

We completely agree.  The President should make a decision on Keystone before the 2012 election Huffington Post (12/4/11) reports: Everyone who helped slow down TransCanada’s “Keystone XL” tar sands juggernaut — rural farmers and ranchers, Native Nations, organized labor, elders, faith leaders, youth, environmentalists and others who protested at the White House this summer and fall — should be proud of what we have accomplished. By bravely standing together and uniting our voices against Big Oil, we forced President Obama to react to our demands. His decision to delay a decision on the pipeline until after the 2012 election is a testament to the power of the people…But let’s not kid ourselves: opponents of Keystone XL have “won” nothing, save more time to organize. Now is not the time for victory celebrations, but for redoubling our efforts to beat back this lethal energy scheme. When you have your opponent staggered and against the ropes, you don’t back off and let them recover their strength. You keep on coming until you’ve landed the knock out punch.

Mark Ruffalo embraces his position in the 1% so he can push for additional regulation to keep the 99% down… New York Times (12/4/11) reports: STROLLING by restaurants and antiques stores on a quiet Main Street the day after Thanksgiving, Mark Ruffalo waved hello to a girl in the back of a passing S.U.V. and greeted friends on the sidewalk who were eager to introduce visiting relatives…Mr. Ruffalo, the actor known for indie hits like “The Kids Are All Right” and “You Can Count on Me,” has lived in this sleepy Catskills burg on the Delaware River for three years now, settled into a routine focused on raising three children with his wife, the actress Sunrise Coigney, on a former dairy farm with a 2,500-square-foot house, a barn and a pond.

The Chicago Three Step: You take three steps forward and two steps back, which makes you look reasonable, but still gets you closer to what you want Wall Street Journal (12/5/11) reports: The Obama administration revised one of its most hotly contested environmental rules and proposed a more-lenient measure to reduce toxic emissions from certain industrial facilities…The new proposal won cautious praise from several industry groups, though one said it was still too burdensome…It was the latest example of the fine line President Barack Obama has walked on environmental policy, where he is often attacked by Republicans on the campaign trail. The administration has become sensitive to costly rules that could damp economic growth…Earlier this year, Mr. Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to drop a separate proposal that would have curbed smog-forming emissions. That angered environmentalists, but they were pleased last month when the administration delayed approval of a pipeline that would carry Canadian oil through environmentally sensitive parts of Nebraska.

She might be able to make due with off shore wind energy, but I don’t live in a hovel and I enjoy my big screen TV Richmond Times (11/30/11) reports: About 50 environmental activists called on the State Corporation Commission Wednesday to require Dominion Virginia Power to invest more in renewable energy…”There’s enough offshore wind energy in Virginia to provide all of our energy needs,” Sierra Club organizer Patrick Stelmach said…Enough sunlight falls on downtown Richmond that “we’d be able to power almost every single business,” said James Huff, the CEO of abakus solar USA, a wholesale solar-energy components business in Richmond…Chanting “What do we want? Clean energy,” the group unfurled a 300-foot-long petition outside Dominion Virginia Power’s main office in downtown Richmond…”I feel very strongly we’ve got to deploy renewable energy resources and move off coal,” said Susan Stillman, a retired technology saleswoman from Vienna. “Energy absolutely is an issue when it comes to climate change.”

Continuing the theme — President Obama assures consumers that his new air quality rules  (which will shut down 28 gigawatts of power) will create no disruption in electricity New York Times (12/1/11) reports: The Obama administration said Thursday that a series of new air pollution rules for power plants would not cause power shortages, although the expert panel designated by the government to ensure electricity reliability warns that compliance with these rules could strain generating capacity… The Environmental Protection Agency, under fire from the utility industry and from Republicans in Congress for what they call excessive regulation, has sent signals that it will be flexible in applying the new rules and may grant extensions or exemptions to make sure the lights stay on.

Shaky? Shaky? For the love of God he said that killing ESA reform was his greatest accomplishment as Speaker. Darren needs to get better sources Politico (12/1/11) reports: The differences between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney on energy and environmental policy seem to be more about style than substance…Romney is widely seen as the more cautious of the two GOP presidential front-runners, someone more likely to start a White House term by proposing new economic and tax ideas and shying away from antagonistic battles with environmentalists and Democrats.

SolarCity is praised for finding private capital and for not going bankrupt…these are the times in which we live Los Angeles Times (12/2/11) reports: SolarCity, the San Mateo-based company that is one of the country’s largest residential solar energy system providers, is proving that you don’t need a federal loan guarantee to find financing for major projects…SolarCity Corp. had seen its hopes for a U.S. loan guarantee evaporate in the political fallout from the widely publicized Solyndra LLC bankruptcy. But the company said this week it was able to obtain financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch…The Bank of America financing will allow SolarCity to move ahead on its five-year, $1-billion “SolarStrong” rooftop project for military housing. As part of the project, SolarCity plans to partner with privatized military housing developers to install, own and operate rooftop installations and provide solar electricity for Armed Forces families at lower costs than traditional utility power.

Really? This character is being hailed as in innovator on the climate debate because he threw a Frisbee in the crowd? Reuters (12/2/11) reports: When Pablo Suarez began teaching farmers, fishermen and emergency volunteers about rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns using scientists and a powerpoint presentation, people were falling asleep in their chairs…Eventually he decided on a very different approach…”I had to convey the idea of a storm, of an extreme weather event, and I had a Frisbee and I just threw it into the audience,” Suarez, a Red Cross associate director of programs, told Reuters on the sidelines of a global climate summit…”And the audience woke up, they saw that there was danger.”

President Obama’s new electric car will cost $96,000 this holiday season (batteries not included) Greenwire (11/30/11) reports: A123 Systems has cut 35 percent of the workers at two Michigan plants that make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles following a reduction in orders from prime customer Fisker Automotive…The company, which received a $249 million grant from the Department of Energy to produce batteries in Michigan, has been touted by the Obama administration as evidence of its success in using federal funding to create jobs. Until this round of layoffs, the company employed about 1,000 workers in Michigan…A123 cut about 225 full-time workers on temporary contracts in early November and laid off another 125 staff members last week, company officials said yesterday…”This is an unfortunate blip in what has been a strong record in hiring people,” said Jason Forcier, who heads A123’s automotive business…The company expects Fisker’s orders to pick up again in the second quarter of 2012, A123 spokesman Dan Borgasano said…”We expect that this will be a temporary reduction in workforce that will last six months or less,” he said…Fisker, which builds the $96,000 luxury plug-in Karma, has received $529 million in DOE loans. But delays in rolling out the company’s hybrid have led to questions over the automaker’s fortunes (Greenwire, Oct. 21)…A123’s stock has fallen 76 percent since the start of the year.

“Our customers’ peace of mind is too important to us for there to be any concern or worry.”  You think maybe they would have thought of that before they started to pimp an expensive, unreliable, environmentally-damaging, dangerous product…like the Volt New York Times (11/30/11) reports: General Motors said on Monday that it would offer free loaner cars to Volt owners worried about the safety of their vehicles, a move that underscored the fragile reputation of automobiles powered primarily by batteries and the growing consternation set off by the federal action. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened a formal defect investigation into the Volt after two batteries caught fire as part of testing by regulators…“Our customers’ peace of mind is too important to us for there to be any concern or worry,” Mark L. Reuss, head of G.M.’s North American division, said in announcing the offer of loaner cars. “This technology should inspire confidence and pride, not raise any concern or doubt.”

Do these guys know who runs FERC nowadays? The Hill (11/30/11) reports: Republicans on both sides of Capitol Hill are taking steps this week to impose a political price on the White House for delaying a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline until after the 2012 election…Senate GOP leadership on Wednesday promoted new legislation that would force a much faster decision on TransCanada Corp.’s proposed $7 billion Alberta-to-Texas pipeline…They argue the bill (which E2 covered here and here) will help create jobs quickly, and alleged the recent administration delay was a political decision to appease green groups.

Yikes.  When even the crazies refuse to associate themselves with this mess, you know it must be bad Washington Post (11/30/11) reports: A broad coalition of civic leaders, elected officials and labor, environmental and social activists launched a new campaign Wednesday aimed at persuading U.S. politicians that they should curb greenhouse gas emissions for moral and ethical reasons…The Climate Ethics Campaign–which kicked off with a Capitol Hill press conference headlining Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)–comes as negotiators are struggling to make progress at United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa.

Turns out there was a little ‘dust’ up with the EPA in Congress yesterday Politico (12/1/11) reports: The House Energy and Commerce Committee operated on the Clean Air Act on Wednesday, passing legislation that would cut into the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate particulate matter in numerous situations…“We don’t trust EPA. We know they’ll come back. We know they’ll go after dust. … That’s why we have this bill,” Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) said.

It is tough to imagine EPA would do this.  But then again wrecking the relationship with Canada to satisfy some enviro crazies and Senator Johanns over Keystone seemed unlikely Bismarck News (11/27/11) reports: With millions, if not billions, of dollars hanging over the ledge, the boom in the oil patch would go into a free-fall if drilling suddenly stopped…Thousands of workers unemployed overnight, housing starts abandoned, businesses shuttered and bustling oil towns from Williston to Belfield emptying out instead of filling up are all part of a future few would prefer — even if they despair of the changes to land and lifestyle wrought by the upswing of oil…Even with oil near $100 a barrel and 200 rigs drilling in North Dakota last week, the specter of some sort of free-fall caused by a federal push to regulate hydraulic fracture treatment weighs heavily on Lynn Helms. He’s the director of the Department of Mineral Resources, the one man most in charge of this seemingly unstoppable surge centered on the Bakken.

Liam misses mention of the reduced demand being due to chronic unemployment running at  ~17% Wall Street Journal (11/28/11) reports: In 1973, Richard Nixon, in the teeth of the Arab oil embargo, pledged that the U.S. would achieve energy independence within seven years. Like his presidency, that didn’t quite work out. Net imports provided 35% of U.S. oil in 1973. Seven years later, they supplied 37%, and by 2005, 60%…Now, that trend is reversing fast. In the 12 months ended in August, net imports met just 46% of oil demand. Similarly, net imports of natural gas climbed from 4% of consumption in 1973 to a peak of more than 16% in 2007, but were back under 9% in the year ended in August.

Thank goodness the feds are investigating this.  I mean, the Chevy Volt is their car, right? Sign On San Diego (11/26/11) reports: Federal officials say they are investigating the safety of lithium-ion battery in General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Volt after a second battery fire following crash-testing of the electric car…The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that three Volt battery packs were crash-tested last week. In one instance, the battery caught fire afterward, and in another the battery emitted smoke and sparks…Last May, a fire erupted in the battery of a Chevy Volt that had been damaged during a government crash test three weeks earlier. Last week’s tests were an attempt to replicate the May fire.

This all seems pretty sketchy.  A jobs boom?  Wouldn’t the Obama crew want to encourage such a thing? Wall Street Journal (11/28/11) reports: So President Obama was right all along. Domestic energy production really is a path to prosperity and new job creation. His mistake was predicting that those new jobs would be “green,” when the real employment boom is taking place in oil and gas…The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that the U.S. jobless rate remains a dreadful 9%. But look more closely at the data and you can see which industries are bucking the jobless trend. One is oil and gas production, which now employs some 440,000 workers, an 80% increase, or 200,000 more jobs, since 2003. Oil and gas jobs account for more than one in five of all net new private jobs in that period…The ironies here are richer than the shale deposits in North Dakota’s Bakken formation. While Washington has tried to force-feed renewable energy with tens of billions in special subsidies, oil and gas production has boomed thanks to private investment. And while renewable technology breakthroughs never seem to arrive, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have revolutionized oil and gas extraction—with no Energy Department loan guarantees needed.

This was probably painful for Andy to write.  But, despite our differences, he is a good journalist.  Oh, by the way, the referenced study provides a little bit more confirmation that the hype has been way overblown New York Times (11/26/11) reports: Recalling the perils of single-study syndrome, it’s still important to note a new study that appears to go a long way toward narrowing the extent of possible warming projected well into this century from the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Eric Berger of the Houston Chronicle describes the research, published today in Science. The work, led by researchers at Oregon State University, had surfaced earlier but has now survived peer review…Berger provides useful context from Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University, who noted that most people publishing on this question have long seen very low odds of runaway or extreme warming: