News

Vrmmm, Vrmmm….Chevy sold 481 Volts last month Green Auto Blog (6/21/11) reports: Once again, General Motors is burying the monthly sales totals for the Chevy Volt. In a press release headlined “May U.S. Retail Sales Rise 9 Percent on Demand for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles,” the Volt’s sales numbers are not disclosed. Instead, the total – 481 – is in the detailed PDF of the Chevrolet brand sales totals and shows the car is suffering from another month-to-month drop; GM sold 493 in April. Last month, GM told us that drop in Volt sales compared to March’s 608 units was due, in part, to the company sending 300 Volts to dealers to use as demo vehicles. We await word on what the reason for the drop is this time…On the other hand, Nissan is proudly proclaiming that it sold 1,142 units of the Nissan Leaf in May, a huge increase over the 573 sold in April. Overall, Leaf sales have now totaled 2,167 deliveries this year. For comparison, GM has sold 2,184 Volts in 2011. If this trend continues, it won’t be long before we hear Nissan touting a new tagline for the Leaf: the best-selling plug-in car in America. You can see the press releases from both companies after the jump.

How do you like your Bryson? Well done or medium rare? Either way, the Senate will be turning up the heat today…we hope Los Angeles Times (6/20/11) reports: Tapping a respected Southern California businessman as the next Commerce secretary seemed an astute move by President Obama to mend fences with corporate America, but former Edison International Chief Executive John Bryson still faces a rocky road for confirmation. Heading into a Senate hearing Tuesday, Bryson, 67, has become a pawn in a hyper-partisan Washington political chess match that has left dozens of nominees on hold…Nearly all Senate Republicans have vowed to block his confirmation unless the White House advances three pending free trade deals…Another Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, has promised to hold up the nomination until Obama speaks out against a National Labor Relations Board complaint that accuses Boeing Co. of building a non-union assembly plant in his state in retaliation for union strikes. Bryson had served on Boeing’s board before recently stepping down because of his nomination.

A man can dream of a future of solar energy, but just don’t tax me for it Huffington Post (6/20/11) reports: If we think about the energy future and imagine the energy that will someday power the homes of our children and of their children, we know it will not be fossil fuels. Maybe it will be some high tech variant of nuclear power, but my view is that it will be some form of solar power. Here in New York, our city government is considering placing solar cells over our now closed garbage dumps. Last week, Mireya Navarro reported in the New York Times on a new City University of New York study of the potential for using New York’s rooftops for solar collectors. According to that report.

We are looking forward to the results from the FTC probe into the price of crude oil because I have a hunch they are going to name Bromwich and Salazar Wall Street Journal (6/20/11) reports: Regulators are examining whether oil companies, refiners or traders have manipulated crude-oil markets, the latest government action spurred by the rise in fuel prices this year. The Federal Trade Commission on Monday said in a letter to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.) that it has launched an investigation to determine whether oil-market participants engaged in anticompetitive practices or manipulation, or provided false information to federal agencies about the price of crude oil. Sen. Cantwell has been a proponent of further regulatory scrutiny of the energy markets…The agency plans to review how refinery operators decided to shut some equipment for maintenance, which sometimes leads to higher gasoline and diesel prices, among other matters. The FTC also is looking at the practices of firms owning pipelines and other transportation and storage infrastructure. The FTC declined to comment…The investigation by the FTC underscores the renewed drive by regulators to demonstrate they are serving as watchdogs in the crude-oil market…In April, the Obama administration launched a joint task force, which includes the FTC and is led by the Justice Department, to investigate the oil and gas markets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last month brought charges against two oil traders at Arcadia Petroleum Ltd., alleging they manipulated the physical and financial oil markets in 2008. Arcadia said it plans to fight the charges.

Green power companies and trade groups are uniting against poor people to increase the cost of electricity The Hill (6/21/11) reports: Green power companies and trade groups are uniting in an effort to shape and advance legislation that would require a steep increase in generation of U.S. electricity from low-carbon sources…Last month they formed the Coalition for Clean and Renewable Energy to advocate for a “clean energy standard,” an idea President Obama pushed in his State of the Union address that faces considerable resistance on Capitol Hill…Members of the new coalition include the American Wind Energy Association, the Biomass Power Association, the Energy Recovery Council (which represents waste-to-energy companies), and several individual companies such as Iberdrola Renewables, enXco, and Covanta Energy…Two well-connected Beltway firms are representing the new coalition: ML Strategies is taking the lead on lobbying while the Glover Park Group is handling communications…“We applaud the efforts that have been made to advance a Clean Energy Standard and urge that any final policy establish both a strong, long-term goal and aggressive near-term targets to accelerate deployment of clean, renewable energy beyond business as usual, while recognizing the role of existing clean and renewable energy technologies,” the group’s principles state.

So it’s going to be that kind of fight? Greenies in New Jersey are huffing and puffing to keep the windmills going E&E News (6/21/11) reports: Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey moved legislation yesterday that would block Gov. Chris Christie (R) from pulling the Garden State out of the nation’s only operating cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases…The state Senate Environment and Energy Committee approved a bill that would prohibit Christie directly from exiting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, which caps carbon dioxide emissions in 10 states in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. The committee also backed a resolution that declares that the governor’s decision was inconsistent with the original “legislative intent” of an old state law governing state participation in the regional carbon trading plan…Last month, Christie announced plans to depart the initiative by the end of the year (ClimateWire, May 27). At the time, Christie said that the program was doing little on its own to curb emissions and that other state policies would go a longer way in preventing climate change.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while – LA Times Editorial Board comes out hard against ethanol Los Angeles Times (6/15/11) reports: It isn’t too often that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a pro-environment Democrat from California, and Sen. Tom Coburn, a “drill, baby, drill” Republican from Oklahoma, agree on energy issues. Yet when it comes to the ethanol tax credit, an egregious form of corporate welfare that unites liberals and conservatives in opposition nationwide, they are of one mind. That’s why it was disheartening Tuesday when an attempt to end the subsidy and save taxpayers nearly $6 billion a year went down in flames in the Senate…Opinions vary about whether corn-based ethanol is a worthwhile alternative fuel. Backers, including President Obama, say it reduces reliance on foreign oil and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it has a host of negative consequences. The U.S. diverts about 38% of its corn crop to make biofuels, raising food prices around the world and encouraging overuse of environmentally destructive fertilizers. Cellulosic ethanol, made from plant waste or non-food plants such as switchgrass, is a far better alternative, but the technology to produce it inexpensively isn’t ready.

Greenies want to switch out OPEC for Red China — Mr. President, those shovel-ready green jobs will have to wait…your green friends won’t let us mine in the U.S. Recharge News (6/15/11) reports: Ming Yang says the agreement with Ganzhou, the second-largest city in China’s Jiangxi province, makes it the first Chinese wind group to gain such access to the key raw materials used in permanent-magnet generators (PMGs) for turbines…Ganzhou has granted Ming Yang the right to be its leading partner in Ganzhou Rare Earth Mineral Industry Group, a state-owned company formed by the municipal government that enjoys rare-earth resources development rights in eight counties…Ming Yang says it will invest in rare-earth research and development projects, and the production of core components such as PMGs…The framework agreement also gives Ming Yang exclusive rights to operate wind farms in the area and grants priority status to the manufacturer’s turbines in Jiangxi province, according to the company… “Building a wind-power upstream supply chain is a core part of Ming Yang’s strategic development,” says chairman and chief executive Zhang Chuanwei.

Washington Times calls out T. Boondoggle Pickens for wanting to pass gas in public with no shame Washington Times (6/15/11) reports: Congress is considering the NAT GAS Act (H.R. 1380), which would provide very generous tax credits – as much as $64,000 per vehicle – to those who retrofit trucks to run on natural gas. This legislation, the brainchild of hedge fund-operator and sometimes oil- and gasman T. Boone Pickens, is deeply flawed and would damage consumers, farmers and manufacturers…How would it do this damage? The legislation is specifically designed to increase demand for natural gas in the transportation sector. This artificially enhanced and government-driven demand will, in turn, increase the cost of natural gas for those who use it to heat their homes, use electricity generated from natural gas or use natural gas for chemicals and fertilizers…Worse, the effects of H.R. 1380 will be magnified because they will appear at the same time as the unprecedented, cumulative effect of the ongoing coal-to-natural-gas fuel switch in the power-generation sector, driven mostly by environmental regulations. They also will coincide with similar fuel-switching by the industrial sector, driven primarily by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently issued regulations on maximum achievable control technology for industrial boilers. The cost effects will even be magnified by Department of Energy-approved exports of liquefied natural gas from Louisiana and Texas to China and the European Union…Taken together, these policy actions will significantly drive up demand and price for both natural gas and electricity for the entire country – hardly a prescription our ailing economy needs.

With friends like these… Obama praises Romney on health care. Al Gore praises him on his global warming stance. What’s next, an endorsement from Bill Clinton for his family values?National Journal (6/16/11) reports: Gore praises Romney on Climate. First Obama praised Mitt Romney on health care. Now, in another turn that’s sure to chagrin the Republican front-runner, the Goracle is praising him for sticking to his principles (aka, science) on climate change. On his blog, the former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner writes, “Good for Mitt Romney — though we’ve long passed the point where weak lip-service is enough on the Climate Crisis. While other Republicans are running from the truth, he is sticking to his guns in the face of the anti-science wing of the Republican Party.”

From time to time, the obvious needs to be said — IEA says high energy costs will lead to economic hardship Wall Street Journal (6/16/11) reports: The continuing high price of crude oil risks creating a hard landing for the world economy, the International Energy Agency’s Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said Thursday…Addressing a briefing at the start of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Mr. Tanaka said: “If the current oil price continues it will be to the detriment of the global economic recovery.” The current situation “is starting to resemble 2008, and we know that 2008 was a very hard landing for the world economy. We’d prefer a soft landing,” he said…The IEA is still monitoring the global oil-supply situation in the wake of this month’s fractious meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mr. Tanaka said, against a background of evidence showing that the world needs more oil from OPEC, which controls around a third of the globe’s production and is home to almost all of the world’s spare production capacity…OPEC’s ministers last week refused to endorse a group-wide increase in output to take the edge off crude prices, to the frustration of its largest producer, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also has the bulk of OPEC’s spare capacity…Earlier in the briefing, David Fyfe, head of the IEA’s oil-markets division, said that current prices for crude oil don’t reflect any degree of “excessive speculation,” but rather reflected a genuine tightening in the world market.

The line in the sand has been drawn — 40 Senators took a stand against ethanol subsidiesThe Hill (6/14/11) reports: Thirty-four Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to advance a proposal eliminating a $6 billion ethanol tax break, which one GOP leader said struck a blow against the Taxpayer Protection Pledge…But the measure fell 20 votes short, 40-59, as most Democrats voted against proceeding… The vote came on an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to eliminate a 45-cent tax break given to refiners for every gallon of ethanol they blend with gasoline…The proposal did not offset the cost of the increase, an apparent violation of Americans for Tax Reform’s (ATR) tax pledge requiring signatories to oppose “any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”… The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated Tuesday that Coburn’s amendment would raise $2.4 billion in tax revenue over the rest of this year.

Whoops! Turns out greenies haven’t done the math on electric cars and as it turns out, those battery powered vehicles are horrible for the environment The Australian (6/14/11) reports: An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime because they typically have a range of less than 145km on a single charge and are unsuitable for long trips. Even those driven 160,000km would save only about a tonne of CO2 over their lifetimes…The British study, which is the first analysis of the full lifetime emissions of electric cars covering manufacturing, driving and disposal, undermines the case for tackling climate change by the rapid introduction of electric cars…The Committee on Climate Change, the UK government watchdog, has called for the number of electric cars on Britain’s roads to increase from a few hundred now to 1.7 million by 2020.

Oh yeah, and people don’t have the proper outlets at home to charge electric vehicles eitherCNBC (6/15/11) reports: Few U.S. homeowners who are interested in owning electrical vehicles live in houses equipped to charge them quickly, a survey found Tuesday… More than three-quarters, 78 percent, of potential buyers of electric cars like the Chevy Volt do not have the high-voltage electrical outlets in their garages that can quickly charge such vehicles, according to a survey by diversified U.S. manufacturer SPX Corp, which makes equipment to charge electric vehicles…However, 99 percent of respondents lived in homes that could have the necessary 240-volt outlets — also commonly used for heavy appliances like electric dryers — installed…The survey highlights an obstacle to wider adoption of electric cars, which are gaining in popularity but still account for a small portion of overall U.S. car sales.

Time to come clean you anti-coal folks and just admit you hate human progress and the poorNew York Times (6/14/11) reports: The six massive silos standing beside this industrial port in northeastern China hold seemingly contradictory promises: They could help improve the quality of China’s polluted air, but they might also contribute to faster global warming… The silos, which are scheduled to start operation in July, are designed to blend cleaner-burning imported coal with China’s own high-polluting domestic coal, which is contaminated with sulfur and dust…Coal blending will produce a mixture that will help electric utilities meet China’s steadily tightening environmental regulations. It will also increase the efficiency of coal-fired plants by slightly reducing the quantity of coal needed. Burning less coal means less greenhouse gases emitted…But critics argue there is a darker side to cleaner coal…“Anything that makes coal more cost effective, like blending, which is only enabling China to burn more coal, is bad news for the global struggle against carbon emissions,” said Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society in New York.

Hey greenies, stop recording Rachael Maddow every night — your DVR is destroying the world CNET News (6/15/11) reports: The Natural Resources Defense Council has ranked the biggest energy hogs in the home, and the thing that’s gobbling up the most is probably not what you think: the pairing of your digital video recorder and set-top box…The environmental monitoring group released a study today that says that a high-definition cable or satellite set-top box when combined with a high-definition DVR uses up 446 kilowatt hours per year. That’s more than a new Energy Star rated 21 cubic-foot refrigerator, which uses 415 kWh per year, according to the NRDC’s data…The combination of an HD DVR and an HD cable or satellite box in a house wastes many hours of energy even when not in use, the group found. The study reports that it costs American consumers more in electricity bills per year when they’re not using their DVR and set-top box than when they are: $2 billion a year versus $1 billion a year collectively…The group estimates that there are 160 million set top boxes currently installed in U.S. homes, and together they emit 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year…Among the different types of set-tops the NRDC tested, streaming only devices (Roku, Apple TV), and standard-definition receivers consumed much less power than HD receivers and HD DVRs.

New game we like to play, what will Mitt Romney say to get elected? Politico (6/3/11) reports: Despite the libertarian, small-government rhetoric from conservative candidates and voters, Republican presidential hopefuls aren’t ready to quit energy subsidies just yet…It sure sounds like GOP contenders are talking tough: Tim Pawlenty has turned on his old buddy, ethanol, and Sarah Palin called this week for cutting all energy subsidies, setting a tea-party-like marker that others may feel pressured to emulate…But in fact, the declared and potential presidential candidates are all over the map — and by no means fleeing en masse from their traditional support for subsidies…Mitt Romney still supports ethanol subsidies. So do Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, sort of. And the Republicans still oppose President Barack Obama’s idea of getting rid of subsidies for the oil industry…The focus on the campaign trail thus far has been on continued federal help for corn-based ethanol — understandable as it remains an important commodity in Iowa, home to the first caucus and official test at the ballot box in the Republican primary

Maybe Laura Bush doesn’t understand that her husband offered fewer lands onshore and offshore for lease during his 8 years than President Bill Clinton did, despite much higher prices.  And she probably doesn’t know that it wasn’t until prices reached $147 per barrel, with all the ensuing economic pain on Americans that contributed to the financial collapse, that Mr. Big Oil finally lifted the moratorium.  Or maybe she does Wall Street Journal (6/6/11) reports: Our first national park was named not after a mountain or forest but for a mighty river: Yellowstone. For centuries the world’s waters have connected us. Explorers, traders, scientists and fishermen have traveled our oceans and rivers in search of new resources and a greater understanding of the world. This Wednesday, as we mark World Oceans Day, we must intensify our efforts to better understand, manage and conserve our waters and marine habitats if they are to remain a vibrant source of life for future generations…Great progress has been made in protecting our environment over the past several decades, but too little of that progress addresses 70% of the world’s surface—our oceans. Less than one-half of 1% of the world’s oceans are protected in ways that will ensure they stay wild. Too often overharvesting depletes what should be a lasting bounty of fish. In some parts of the oceans today up to 90% of large fish are gone from natural ecosystems.

The Obama administration’s Navy claims that using liquid fuel from coal is too expensive while promoting using $65 per gallon biofuel E&E News (6/5/11) reports: Using “liquid coal” in U.S. military aircraft and vessels as an alternative to gasoline tied to world oil prices would come at an enormous cost and impact on carbon emissions, said a Navy official Friday…Tom Hicks, deputy assistant Navy secretary for energy, said in testimony to Congress that the rising price of oil “dramatically impacts the military.” For every $1 a barrel increase in oil, the Navy and Marine Corps pay more than $30 million. “We don’t have that money to spare.”…Yet investment in technology to convert coal into liquid transportation fuel isn’t a clear alternative. Huge amounts of water and new coal resources would be needed, Hicks said, and capital costs could reach $10 billion per plant. That would result in a coal-to-liquids product that has more than double the carbon emissions of conventional petroleum…The United States has the largest coal reserves in the world. Boosters of expanding coal’s role in meeting U.S. energy demand have long pushed the idea of converting coal to liquid fuels. As growth in domestic demand slows, coal-state members of Congress are considering policy options to bolster the domestic market.

You can’t always get what you want (cap and trade), but if you try sometimes, you might  find, you get what you need (high gas prices) Politico (6/6/11) reports: President Barack Obama is deliberately trying to raise gas prices to cut pollution and make clean energy alternatives more attractive, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour charged on Sunday…“This administration’s policy has clearly been to drive up the cost of energy so Americans will use less of it,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “That’s environmental policy, that’s not energy policy. But that’s their policy. They think it will give you less pollution, make alternative energy solutions more competitive.”…Barbour, a Republican who has just opted against a 2012 presidential run, said gas prices were about $1.80 per gallon when Obama took office in early 2009. Now, they’re about $4 a gallon…That’s not surprising, Barbour said, given remarks in 2008 by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a former professor at the University of California-Berkeley, that the United States needs to boost its gas prices to levels in Europe to ween the country off of petroleum.

Go figure: as it turns out, figures 2 and 3 demonstrate the energy boondoggle our elected officials created by waging war on affordable energy and allying with renewable energy Congressional Research Service (6/6/11) reports:  Current U.S. energy tax policy appears to be aimed at stemming growth in U.S. dependence on imported oil, especially from volatile regions of the world. This reflects the belief that national security is linked to energy security…Recently, policies have been adopted that support the transportation sector, with tax incentives for hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles and alternative fuels. Table 1 contains a current list of energy related tax expenditures and other energy tax provisions – click above link tor here to see PDF.

You smell that?  Oil son, nothing else in the world smells like that.  The smell, you know that gasoline smell.  Smells like…victory.  Someday this war (on affordable energy) is gonna end Anchorage Daily News (5/29/11) reports: Robert Duvall won’t be on board the ship that offloads Escopeta Oil’s jack-up rig this week but he will be making a trip north once the company starts drilling for oil and natural gas in Alaska’s Cook Inlet… A long-time friend of Houston-based Escopeta President Danny Davis, the well-known actor and director is a staunch supporter of domestic oil and gas drilling…”Alaska’s got plenty of oil and gas that we need down here,” Duvall said in an interview Thursday with Petroleum News. “It’s preferable to importing energy from foreign sources, such as the Middle East.”…Duvall would have been on board the vessel that is bringing the Spartan 151 jack-up rig into Cook Inlet, but he’s about to start work on an independent film, “Jayne Mansfield’s Car,” directed by Billy Bob Thornton…However, Duvall plans to visit the offshore rig once it starts drilling.

Game changer: new oil shale deposit in Texas could be large enough to power Al Gore’s homes, jets, and the rest of America for over 100 years New York Times (5/27/11) reports: Until last year, the 17-mile stretch of road between this forsaken South Texas village and the county seat of Carrizo Springs was a patchwork of derelict gasoline stations and rusting warehouses… Now the region is in the hottest new oil play in the country, with giant oil terminals and sprawling RV parks replacing fields of mesquite. More than a dozen companies plan to drill up to 3,000 wells around here in the next 12 months…The Texas field, known as the Eagle Ford, is just one of about 20 new onshore oil fields that advocates say could collectively increase the nation’s oil output by 25 percent within a decade — without the dangers of drilling in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the delicate coastal areas off Alaska… There is only one catch: the oil from the Eagle Ford and similar fields of tightly packed rock can be extracted only by using hydraulic fracturing, a method that uses a high-pressure mix of water, sand and hazardous chemicals to blast through the rocks to release the oil inside.

Can’t stop, won’t stop — Gov. Chris Christie continues to save his state by removing taxpayer funded green energy rabbit holes New York Times (5/30/11) reports: Running for governor in 2009, Chris Christie vowed to become “New Jersey’s No. 1 clean-energy advocate.” That was a hollow promise. As governor, Mr. Christie proceeded to cut all the money for the Office of Climate and Energy. He raided $158 million from the clean energy fund, meant for alternative energy investments, and spent it on general programs. He withdrew the state from an important lawsuit against electric utilities to reduce emissions… On Thursday, he took the worst step of all: He abandoned the 10-state initiative in the Northeast that uses a cap-and-trade system to lower carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants. The program has been remarkably successful, a model of vision and fortitude. Lacking that, Mr. Christie has given in to the corporate and Tea Party interests that revile all forms of cap and trade, letting down the other nine states trying to fight climate change…The system works by requiring utilities to either lower their emissions or buy allowances to pollute. Money from the allowances goes to states for clean-energy programs. Since it began in 2008, the system has created more than $700 million for these programs; New Jersey has spent some of its share on helping cities become more energy-efficient. Greenhouse emissions from power plants in the region went down about 12 percent from 2008 to 2010 for many reasons, including lower natural gas prices. Programs like the regional initiative are estimated to have produced more than 10 percent of that decline.

Sooner or later these cities are going to run out of other peoples money for their green dreams Bloomberg (5/31/11) reports: Cities from Los Angeles to Johannesburg are changing street lights, insulating buildings and promoting cycling to slash carbon emissions as envoys at United Nations talks bicker about binding greenhouse-gas goals…“While national governments continue their excruciatingly frustrating dialog on climate change, we in the cities are acting,” Portland Mayor Sam Adams said in an interview. “It’s sheer common sense. Becoming more efficient with your city’s energy needs means you’re also more economically secure.”…Wracked with budget deficits and economies recovering from recession, municipal leaders are looking for cheap ways to curb energy consumption and help governments meet pollution targets. General Electric Co. (GE) and Siemens AG (SIE), which make power generation equipment, and energy management tool-makers Johnson Controls Inc. and Honeywell International Inc. (HON) are winning contracts from cities to work on efficiency projects.

One two punch: first, Chrysler makes a come back with SUV’s and now a revolutionary gas powered engine with better gas mileage than Chevy Volt at a third of the price Forbes (5/27/11) reports: Everybody wants to talk about what kind of alternative vehicle we’ll be driving next, but I’ve got news for you: the traditional internal combustion gasoline engine isn’t going anywhere. In fact, this 125-year-old invention is getting more efficient all the time, which means we might not have to seriously contemplate those other possibilities any time soon…Automakers have been achieving incremental improvements in the efficiency of their conventional engines with new technologies like direct-injection, six-speed transmissions, turbo-chargers and start-stop systems. With the government breathing down their neck, you can bet they’ll continue to do so. As the U.S. Department of Energy’s fuel economy website shows, each one of these technologies can improve your fuel economy by 5% to 13%. Put them together in a vehicle like the 2011 Ford Explorer and you’re talking about some meaningful improvements…And then there are promising innovations like the gasoline-powered Scuderi engine, whose developer is reporting some massive leaps in fuel economy, at least in laboratory tests. A recent computer simulation conducted by the Southwest Research Institute found that a turbocharged version of the Scuderi split-cycle, air hybrid engine boosted the fuel economy of a 2011 Nissan Sentra by 54%, to about 50 miles per gallon.

Now let’s see if we can use the tax code to remove Secretary Salazar’s tax deductions and revoke his license to drive The Hill (5/23/11) reports: “Every day, Interior’s policies are costing more Gulf energy workers their jobs. But the Interior secretary needs a raise? That’s ridiculous – it’s offensive,” Mr. Vitter said in a statement to The Washington Times. “I’ll do everything I can to block his raise until Gulf energy workers are at least where they were in terms of work and job security pre-BP. I really want to see new deepwater exploratory permits being issued at pre-BP levels over a three-month period.”… hanks to a constitutional quirk, Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar makes less than most of his colleagues in President Obama’s Cabinet, and a Republican senator says he’ll keep it that way, blocking a nearly $20,000 raise for the high-level appointee until the administration approves more deep-water oil drilling…Mr. Salazar’s salary is set at $180,100, which is $19,600 less than most other Cabinet secretaries. The Constitution prohibits legislators from taking positions in the executive branch for which they voted to raise the salaries, and since Mr. Salazar approved secretaries’ pay levels when he was in the Senate, he would have been barred from taking the Interior job unless the salary was reduced to its earlier level…His Senate term would have expired in January, though which means he’s once again eligible for the higher pay rate…Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, tried to get consent this week to pass the change in the Senate but was blocked by Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican who said he won’t yield until Mr. Salazar approves more oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

You know your state has problems when a San Francisco judge is the voice of economic reason Bloomberg (5/23/11) reports: A California judge’s ruling is unlikely to mean a long delay in starting the state’s cap-and- trade program for greenhouse gases next year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance…The decision will require California’s Air Resources Board to resubmit its analysis of alternative policies, which will take “a couple of months,” Tom Marcello, an analyst for New Energy Finance in New York, said yesterday by e-mail. Another ruling might have slowed the launch of what is forecast to be the largest U.S. carbon market by six months, he said…Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith in San Francisco ordered the board on May 20 to stop making rules for cap and trade until the state reviews other ways to limit greenhouse gases, such as a carbon tax. While President Barack Obama failed to win Congressional approval for a national emissions trading program, California is pressing ahead with plans to issue pollution allowances that may be valued at $19 billion by 2020, according to New Energy Finance…The board in California will appeal the ruling today, said Stanley Young, a spokesman for the agency.

The NYT editorial board doesn’t understand economics or history. Oil prices fell $9 as President Bush announced the end of the moratorium on the OCS New York Times (5/20/11) reports: The closer one looks at what passes for serious debate in Washington over energy, the more depressing it gets. The Republicans have nothing to offer but drill, baby, drill. The Democrats are rightly trying to end industry’s cushy tax breaks, but that’s not an energy strategy… And everyone, including President Obama, seems more interested in scoring political points over rising gas prices than in confronting complex matters like energy security and climate change…In the Senate, the two parties spent this week beating each other up without advancing the discussion. The Republicans and three oil-state Democrats blocked a worthy Democratic attempt to strip the five biggest oil companies of $2 billion in tax breaks they do not need. The Democrats then crushed an effort by Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, to match two outrageous measures passed by the House that would expedite lease sales in protected coastal waters while undermining safety reforms adopted after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico…Mr. McConnell said his bill would bring relief at the pump by raising domestic output. That is fiction. Production will take years to come online and even then would have a tiny impact on prices set on the world market.

The next time someone says that central banking and inflation do not impact the price of crude oil, send them this article Reuters (5/23/11) reports: North Sea Brent crude futures led the oil complex lower, trading down $2.91 at $109.48 a barrel by 1029 GMT, having dropped by $3.26 earlier…U.S. crude was trading $2.63 lower at $97.46…”The ratings cut for Italy and concern over Greek restructuring and the subsequent euro weakness appear to have prompted the price fall in crude this morning,” Mark Thomas, head of energy Europe with brokerage Marex Financial, said…The dollar rose against the euro as a block of bad news about the euro zone crisis hit the single currency…Fitch Ratings cut Greece’s debt rating by three notches on Friday, pushing the country’s debt deeper into junk status, and rival Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for Italy to “negative” from “stable” on Saturday….The euro fell below $1.40 briefly, the level which had been seen as an important support…Olivier Jakob with Petromatrix said the euro would remain the key focus for global investors…”Crude oil has not been able to find any follow-through buying over the last ten days and without new fundamental developments it is likely to be harder to find strong fresh buying into crude oil if the Euro weakens further,” Jakob said.

And next time President Obama tells you that increasing supply does not affect prices, send him this article Wall Street Journal (5/23/11) reports: The natural-gas industry touts its fuel as an attractive alternative to coal and oil, saying it’s comparably clean, domestically abundant and cheap…But that final selling point might not last if the industry succeeds in stirring demand even as it cuts back on drilling…In the past few years, a glut of natural gas has driven down the price to half the 2008 average—a level where it costs a U.S. consumer $2.75 a day to meet a home’s natural-gas needs, according to the American Gas Association. That’s good news for consumers, but a recent study by consultancy Wood Mackenzie found that 40% of U.S. natural gas produced last year didn’t meet break-even prices for producers…Natural gas now costs roughly the same as its energy equivalent in coal and a quarter of its energy equivalent in oil. The gas industry is making some headway in capitalizing on its relative cheapness: President Barack Obama has endorsed incentives for trucks powered by natural gas, and power companies are considering replacing coal-fired plants with gas-burning ones…Those steps would increase natural-gas consumption just as production growth is likely to slow. That’s because companies now can make more money drilling for oil, whose price has soared last year and in recent months on unrest in Northern Africa and the Middle East.

Too little too late Senator Hutchison, but I guess I do appreciate the tough talk as you head for the exit The Hill (5/23/11) reports: A week after President Obama laid out a plan designed to show his administration is serious about expanding domestic drilling, a top Senate Republican said the administration is not doing enough to encourage production…“It is not enough for the president to talk about producing energy in America,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) said in the Republican weekly address. “We call on him to put policies in place that cut the bureaucratic red tape and put Americans to work doing it.”…Hutchison’s comments underscore the bitter partisan divides between Democrats and Republicans on drilling and the major hurdles policymakers face in coming to a compromise on the issue.

We will remind people that, as Hunter Thompson once wrote, only the doomed argue with Chris Tucker E&E News (5/20/11) reports: “If the story here is that EPA didn’t like that decision, that it wasn’t supportive of Congress clearly delineating where its authority ended and the states’ authority began, then here’s another story for you: The sun rose today,” said Chris Tucker, spokesman for Energy in Depth, which was created by the Independent Petroleum…Association of America to fend off federal regulation of fracturing. The U.S. EPA official who oversaw the George W. Bush administration’s 2004 study of hydraulic fracturing says its conclusions about safety have been exaggerated for years….The study found that in certain circumstances, fracturing presented “little or no threat” to drinking water. But Ben Grumbles, who ran EPA’s Office of Water, says the study didn’t deem all “fracking” to be safe, and it didn’t justify exempting all forms of it from drinking water protections….”EPA, however never intended for the report to be interpreted as a perpetual clean bill of health for fracking or to justify a broad statutory exemption from any future regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” Grumbles wrote in an article this week for the nonprofit he now runs, the Clean Water America Alliance…The former assistant EPA administrator also says that after five years and a nationwide surge in drilling, it might be time to take another look at the exemption, which was included in a 2005 energy bill…”A lot has happened since 2005 and, in my view, it makes sense to review the Safe Drinking Water Act landscape as well as the relevance of Clean Water Act programs,” he said

HuffPo provides all the evidence for more domestic oil production, but then stops just short of admitting the benefits of affordable energy Huffington Post (5/20/11) reports: The price of oil eroded Americans’ spending power over the last several months, according to new post from the Commerce Department….As oil prices have shot up and gas prices at the pump have followed, consumers and businesses have been forced to pay more for fuel. The average household monthly motor fuel expenditure increased by more than 22 percent between October and March, the post by Commerce Department Chief Economist Mark Doms showed. Even though oil prices abruptly dropped earlier this month, crude has since pared some of its losses, and pump prices remain high, suggesting that fuel will continue to sap household finances… At this rate, the net amount of money the nation pays to other countries for oil is on track to reach about $3,000 per household in 2011, an increase of 25 percent from last year, the note said. This fuel trade deficit per household grew by two-thirds between October and March, and in the first quarter of the year, petroleum-related products made up nearly 60 percent of the total U.S. trade deficit, the note showed.

I almost feel sorry for Sen. McCaskill because she doesn’t understand her vote to make gas more expenseive will ignite the populist rage she is trying to channel Politico (5/20/11) reports: Sen. Claire McCaskill’s energy playbook for her 2012 reelection campaign is starting to sound a lot like a cut-and-paste job…On Tuesday, the Missouri Democrat led a futile Senate floor debate to repeal tax breaks from the five major oil companies. At the same time, her party’s main campaign arm issued a press release slamming “Big Oil Todd” — a reference to Todd Akin, the six-term Republican congressman who hours earlier formally declared his Senate candidacy against her… McCaskill used a similar line of attack when she first rode the populist wave to Washington in 2006. One of her most potent campaign ads slammed then-Sen. Jim Talent for voting to keep the oil industry’s subsidies alive despite what were then record profits….Environmentalists and Democrats made the same case last November in their unsuccessful bid to defeat Republican Roy Blunt, running “Big Oil Blunt” campaign commercials and even launching a spoof website…”It’s a page out of their playbook and it doesn’t matter,” Blunt, now the state’s junior senator, told POLITICO. “It didn’t matter if the oil companies had given you $2 million over the course of a long career, or $12,000, they still ran the same ad.”

Carry the one…EPA admits mistake on mercury proposal. Now, let’s admit our mistake and reign in the EPA New York Times (5/20/11) reports: After being taken to task by critics in the utility industry, U.S. EPA conceded yesterday that it made mathematical errors in newly proposed limits on mercury from coal-fired power plants… The Utility Air Regulatory Group, a coalition of power companies that often challenges new Clean Air Act rules, recently claimed that “egregious errors” by EPA led to estimates that the cleanest power plants are releasing 1,000 times less mercury than they actually are. The mercury limits are one of the key requirements of the proposed limits on toxic emissions from coal plants, which were proposed in March (Greenwire, March 16)…EPA did err when it calculated what the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) can achieve, but the mistakes aren’t as serious as was claimed, air chief Gina McCarthy said in a letter to the industry attorneys yesterday…Nudging the limit upward to correct the error would allow U.S. coal plants to release an extra 1,000 pounds of mercury per year — a small fraction of the 29 tons of mercury that the plants now release into the air. After the change, power plants will still need to trap 90 percent of the mercury that is naturally found in the coal they burn, the letter says.

Senator Richard Burr is asking for leadership on the energy debate; how’s this for some direction: lease more than 3% of OCS and more than 6% for onshore energy production New York Times (5/20/11) reports: As lawmakers weigh a range of options following the defeat in the Senate this week of highly partisan energy bills, many are looking to President Obama to help loosen political gridlock over energy policy or use his executive powers to spur new production… Votes this week on a measure from Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to slash oil industry tax breaks and a proposal by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to ramp up drilling and leasing failed to garner bipartisan support. Both bills were offered as the political parties seek an advantage on the vexing issue of skyrocketing gasoline prices…Now the question is, what comes next?…While some senators and House members are promising to keep pushing energy packages they say have a chance of passing, lawmakers of both parties said Obama needs to take a more active role in brokering a deal on energy policy…”It’s never been the Congress that provided the leadership. We’re two different political parties,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). “This is where we hash out the specifics. But we don’t have the leadership yet that says we have to get to this goal. I think when the president engages we’ll have an energy blueprint.”…Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden yesterday said that while he is hopeful lawmakers can also reach bipartisan agreements on energy bills, he’d like to see the president take unilateral steps as well.

If the West is dumb enough to mandate renewable energy the Chinese are smart enough to make it Wall Street Journal (5/20/11) reports: China will offer interest-rate subsidies to the renewable-energy and high-technology material sectors, Vice Minister of Finance Li Yong said Friday….Mr. Li said in a speech at a forum in Shanghai that the government will make comprehensive use of interest-rate subsidies as well implement other incentives to support new energy and new materials. He said it would do this as part of a rebalancing of the economy under the country’s 12th five-year plan, which extends through 2015…China, the world’s largest energy producer and user, has pledged to reduce pollution and cut the amount of carbon emissions per U.S. dollar of economic output by 40% to 45% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels….To that end, it aims to have 15% of its energy mix come from nonfossil fuels such as nuclear and renewable energy sources by 2020 from 8% at present…However the ambitious program has been criticized for poor planning as a significant part of wind-power generating capacity installed around the country has been left idle due to insufficient grid connection…China has been using subsidies to promote the use of wind and solar power as well as energy-efficient cars…But the use of subsidies has created friction with trading partners.

The UK didn’t meet their CO2 reduction target for 2010, even with the recession. So what’s their response? Double down New York Times (5/16/11) reports: Britain is poised to announce some of the world’s most ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions — a striking example of a government committing to big environmental initiatives while also pursuing austerity measures… Chris Huhne, the secretary of state for energy and climate change, is expected to release a statement on Tuesday that the British government will set in law a goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions about 50 percent by 2025…That reduction, based on 1990 levels, would be far deeper than the European Union’s goal of cutting emissions 20 percent by 2020, and it would mean that Britain would make faster emissions cuts than other similar size countries, including Germany. The goal could require households to spend on new energy-saving devices for the home. It could also revive stalled government support for large projects, like those that capture power from tides and that bury carbon dioxide emissions…A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change declined to comment before a formal announcement….Governments in Britain and North America have broadly retreated from far-reaching pledges since the financial crisis began two years ago.

We can’t tell if Reilly is grasping at the lime light or really cares about his job New York Times(5/17/11) reports: The Obama administration is pushing back against plans by its oil spill commission co-chairman to spread his message about offshore drilling reforms to Cuba, the panel leader said today… William Reilly, the co-chairman of the presidential panel that made a series of recommendations earlier this year to improve offshore drilling safety and regulation after the BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last summer, has already helped convinced Mexican drilling regulators to adopt U.S. regulatory structures…But he said he has had his “wrist slapped” by the Obama administration for his plans to discuss reform with Cuba, with which the United States has had no diplomatic relations since 1961…”I have been causing grief to the State Department,” Reilly, a former U.S. EPA chief under President George H.W. Bush, said during an event hosted by Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C…Cuba is developing plans to drill 16 oil and gas wells in waters 50 miles from Key West, Fla., using Spanish oil and gas giant Repsol YPF and Russian natural gas producer Gazprom.

The plan worked: Obama was able to talk a tough game knowing the Senate wouldn’t actively make gas prices higher by increasing taxes The Hill (5/17/11) reports: The White House is vowing a continued campaign to repeal billions of dollars worth of oil industry tax breaks after a Democratic bill to nix several incentives sputtered on the Senate floor Tuesday…White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, in a statement Tuesday night, called the 52-48 Senate vote that blocked the bill progress even though 60 supporters were needed to advance the measure….“The vote today – with support from over half the U.S. Senate – is an important step towards repealing these unwarranted subsidies for the oil and gas industry. The Administration will continue to pursue this important reform,” he said…Senate Democratic leadership is vowing to keep the issue alive in wider talks with Republicans and the White House on deficit reduction…Carney also took a shot at Republicans in his statement on the procedural vote, which saw two Republicans vote to advance the bill while three Democrats joined 45 Republicans in voting against it.

If you think Bromwich is losing it now, just wait until the Senate discovers he’s behind skyrocketing gas prices! The Hill (5/17/11) reports: Four Senate Democrats this week asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether U.S. oil refineries are purposefully cutting back capacity levels in order to keep gasoline prices high…Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) cited press reports that this may be happening and told FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz that this would be a “direct affront” to American consumers… “At a time when major refiners and oil companies are making record profits and American families continue to struggle with gasoline at record prices, the idea that refiners may be manipulating the market to keep prices artificially high is offensive,” they wrote…”It is incumbent upon the Commission to ensure that the American people are protected from this type of manipulation,” the letter continued. “Accordingly, we request that the Commission open a full investigation into these allegations of wrongdoing and to determine the impact this behavior, if confirmed, has on regional and national gasoline prices.”

Governor Mitch Daniels puts Indiana on the road to serfdom Renewable Energy World (5/11/11) reports: AWEA applauded Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels for signing into law a voluntary Clean Energy Portfolio Standard (CPS), which sets a goal of 10 percent of the state’s electric generation to come from clean energy sources by 2025 and incentivizes utilities to participate in the CPS…“I applaud the Indiana Legislature and Governor Daniels for setting a course toward more affordable, homegrown Hoosier energy,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). “In particular, I would like to thank the bill’s author, State Sen. Bev Gard, as well as Speaker of the House Brian Bosma for his guidance, Sen. Brandt Hershman, the Senate leadership, and Rep. David Frizzell, for supporting the economic development that this bill will foster in Indiana.”…The bill, SB 251, encourages investment in the state’s growing wind industry as well as other forms of lower-emission energy, including solar, nuclear, clean coal, and hydro. It reflects an amendment offered in the Indiana House by Frizzell (R-Indianapolis) that calls for at least 50 percent of the qualifying energy obtained by Indiana utilities participating in the CPS to come from within the state. The House passed the amended bill on a bipartisan vote of 62-34 on April 21, and the Senate passed the bill by a 31-19 bipartisan vote on April 26.

Fracking Lies — new study out reports that drinking water is safe in Marcellus Shale region Fuel Fix (5/16/11) reports: Several tests of western Pennsylvania river water prompted by fears of contamination from the state’s rapidly growing natural gas drilling industry didn’t turn up elevated or harmful levels of radioactivity or other pollutants not routinely monitored, a private water utility said Monday…The Pennsylvania American Water Co. said its tests showed that its water quality complies with federal and states standards…Water for one set of tests was drawn from Pennsylvania American’s intakes along the Allegheny, Clarion and Monongahela rivers and Two Lick Creek, which serve the cities of Pittsburgh, Clarion, Kittanning and Indiana. In addition, Pennsylvania American said it found the same result after testing treated drinking water at three plants in late March. Two of the plants serve Pittsburgh, while the third serves Clarion…State regulators have previously said that tests from samples they collected in November through February of water downriver from western Pennsylvania treatment plants raised no red flags for radioactivity. The treatment plants have been handling wastewater from drilling in the vast Marcellus Shale natural gas reservoir – a practice that is scheduled to end this week because of concerns over how it could affect drinking water.

Americans are demanding more energy and the U.S. Government is helping Brazil and India U.S. Department of Energy (5/16/11) reports: As part of the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy announced by President Obama and Prime Minister Singh of India last November, the Department of Energy has committed $25 million over the next five years to support the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC)…This first-of-a-kind effort is a key component of the U.S. and India’s commitment to improve energy access and promote low-carbon growth by facilitating joint research and development of clean energy technologies. Teams of scientists and engineers from the U.S. and India will initially focus on research in three priority areas – building energy efficiency, second-generation biofuels and solar energy…”Developing and investing in new technologies is a key component to meeting the goals of a clean energy future,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “This innovative approach to collaborative research is a testament to the special relationship shared by the two countries. By working with our partners in India and sharing a strong commitment to building a clean energy economy, we can get further, faster, than by working alone.”

This is almost poetic justice — solar farm can’t pay property taxes even with a 45 cent kilowatt hour tax payer subsidy Michigan Live (5/16/11) reports: Producing 225,592 kilowatt hours of electricity in its first year of operation, a solar farm in eastern Kalamazoo Coun­ty that went online in early 2010 has exceeded expectations…Also exceeding expecta­tions is the property tax, said Sam Field, a Kalamazoo attor­ney and one of the owners of Kalamazoo Solar…The $27,689 tax bill for the Charleston Township prop­erty means that the owners are losing money, even when being paid a premium price of 45 cents a kilowatt hour by Consumers Energy, he said…“That Michigan property tax burden works out to a cost of 12.3 cents per kilowatt hour,” Field said. “That amount is more than the retail value of the electricity.”…For comparison, Field re­searched the property tax for the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township along Lake Michigan. He found that the annual real and personal property taxes for Palisades are just over $12 million or .2 cents per kilowatt hour.

This article is for those who doubt speculators or the Federal Reserve play a role in oil markets Fuel Fix (5/16/11) reports: Attempts by the Federal Reserve Board and the Obama administration to head off an economic collapse in 2008 have resulted in a jump in gasoline pump prices of 56 cents per gallon, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, said today…Brady, the top House Republican on the congressional Joint Economic Committee, released a study that looked at the economic costs to average Americans of the massive infusion of dollars into the U.S. economy by the Fed designed to stimulate the economy and stave of a national economic catastrophe as the U.S. financial system teetered on the brink of collapse…“Americans are paying a steep price at the pump as a result of the weak dollar policies pursued by this administration and the Federal Reserve”, said Brady…The study, entitled The Price of Oil and the Value of the Dollar, states that the value of the U.S. dollar has declined by 14 percent since the Fed began its program formally known as “quantitative easing” (also called “QE1″) in November of 2008, as the financial system neared meltdown.

A moment of clarity from the USA Today — it’s time to end all subsides, simplify the tax code, and lower tax rates for everyone USA Today (5/16/11) reports: Not surprisingly, the oil industry is grumbling. “A vindictive money grab,” is how the head of the American Petroleum Institute sums up the effort…In truth, it is all of those things, but mostly it is an example of the sort of political gamesmanship that substitutes for serious deficit reduction…The $20 billion is real money worth saving, but it is just 1/200th of the $4 trillion that is widely seen as the minimum that needs to be found over the next 10 years…Earlier this spring, Republicans indulged in their own game of Trivial Pursuit, cutting some minor agencies, such as public broadcasting, that weren’t contributing much to the deficit but which they didn’t much like. Now Democrats are saying, in effect, two can play at that game. They are trying to force Republicans to take the side of an industry about as popular as the flu. With gasoline at $4 a gallon, it’s an easy target…But the initiative is also government at its arbitrary worst, further complicating the tax code by singling out five companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell and BP — for special taxes not paid by smaller energy concerns, or by similar companies in other industries.

Senator Bingaman plans on making sausage…err energy policy with Senator Menendez C-Span(5/15/11) reports: As gas prices reach $4 and higher in many parts of the country, Congress is debating several bills related to the oil industry and efforts to curb spending…Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) gives his thoughts on a bill sponsored by his colleague, Sen. Menendez (D-NJ), to repeal tax breaks and subsidies for large oil companies…Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is currently in negotiations to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. However, it’s met opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. Sens. Landrieu (D-LA), and Begich (D-AK), who represent energy-producing states, have come out against the bill…The House is also focused on energy legislation. This past week the Republican leadership passed three drilling-related bills which differ from the Senate agenda. The legislation aims to expedite approvals of oil drilling permits, reverse President Obama’s imposed moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and to set a national goal for oil and gas production.

Obama says not to worry, more oil production is on the way —I’m still worried New York Times(5/16/11) reports: President Obama, facing voter anger over high gasoline prices and complaints from Republicans and business leaders that his policies are restricting the development of domestic energy resources, announced Saturday that he was taking several steps to speed oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters… It was at least a partial concession to his critics at a time when consumers are paying near-record prices at the gas pump. The Republican-led House passed three bills in the last 10 days that would significantly expand and accelerate oil development in the United States, saying the administration was driving up gas prices and preventing job creation with antidrilling policies…Administration officials said the president’s announcement, which included plans for expanded drilling in Alaska and the prospect of new exploration off the Atlantic coast, was intended in part to answer those arguments, signal flexibility and demonstrate his commitment to reducing oil imports by increasing domestic production…But in fact the policies announced Saturday would not have an immediate effect on supply or prices, nor would they quickly open any new areas to drilling.

Here’s why I’m worried: the number of rigs actively exploring for new oil is down Fuel Fix(5/13/11) reports: The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by six this week to 1,830…Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday that 947 rigs were exploring for oil and 874 for gas. Nine were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, the count was 1,506…Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained two rigs while Alaska, North Dakota, Texas and West Virginia each gained one…Arkansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania each lost two rigs and Louisiana lost one. California, Colorado and Wyoming were unchanged…The rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981, the height of the oil boom. The record low of 488 was in 1999.

I’m not the only one worried — Rep. Upton and Rep. Whitfield are heading down to the Gulf The Hill (5/13/11) reports:  The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s GOP leadership will visit the Gulf of Mexico next week to in a trip aimed at making the case for expanded offshore oil-and-gas development…Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) — his top lieutenant on energy — will be in Louisiana Wednesday through Friday on a tour led by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.)…A Scalise aide said the trip will include meetings with energy industry officials Wednesday, a day-long visit Thursday to a Chevron Corp. deepwater drilling platform, and a Friday boat tour of the Louisiana coast…“This is a way to get members down so they can see Louisiana because it is truly America’s energy coast,” said Scalise spokesman Stephen Bell. He said the tour of the Chevron facility is aimed at reviewing the infrastructure and technology that companies are using to drill with safeguards in deep waters.

We might need to dam up enviros’ tears with this news — hydro power works and developing countries can’t get enough New York Times (5/15/11) reports: Hydropower, a renewable energy source often overshadowed by excitement about wind and solar power, is enjoying something of a global resurgence…Huge, controversial dam projects have recently made headlines in Brazil, Chile and Laos. Many developing countries, hungry for energy to supply their growing economies over the long term, are determined to keep building more modest-sized dams too…Record amounts of hydropower capacity came online in 2008 and 2009, the most recent years for which data are available, according to Richard Taylor, executive director of the International Hydropower Association in London…“There has been, over the last decade, a dramatic increase in the deployment of new hydropower capacity,” Mr. Taylor said.