News

She SaidIt: CEO of Big Wind Comes Clean on Taxpayer Handouts, “Without them, theIndustry Couldn’t Operate.”Politico (12/8) reports, “A pot of sweetenersin the form of tax extenders for pet energy industries could help ease thebitter pill that Democrats may have to swallow if they agree to the tax dealPresident Barack Obama and Republicans carved out. The expiring tax incentivesdesigned to boost ethanol and other energy industries might be enough toattract Democratic votes to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for two years. Part of the Baucus proposal wasa one-year extension of a 45-cent ethanol excise tax credit at 36 cents pergallon. This decrease in the subsidy for the mainly corn-based gasolineadditive is backed by House and Ways Means Democrats and the White House. Thetax totaled at least $5 billion this year and cutting the credit to 36 centsshould bring the annual cost down about $1 billion. Along with the possibledecrease in the ethanol credit, the White House also specifically cut out oftheir deal with Republicans $1.4 billion in federal grants that would boostwind, solar, geothermal and biomass projects. Denise Bode, CEO of the AmericanWind Energy Association, contends there is a misperception that theseincentives were born in the stimulus plan.“It’s a longtime business tax extender that was tweaked in orderto allow business in the renewable sector to continue to operate,” Bode saidWednesday. “So it’s not an original stimulus package program.”

1. That’s the Number of Deepwater PermitApplications Pending Before Interior Dept. So What’s Obama Admin. AnnounceYesterday? More Red Tape, Uncertainty – Won’t be Happy Till that Numberis Zero.Houston Chronicle (12/9) reports, “The Obama administrationwill require environmental studies before approving any deep-water wells – anew regulatory hurdle that virtually assures the government will notgreen-light any of those projects soon. In outlining the plan Wednesday, thenation’s top offshore drilling regulator said he hopes the environmentalreviews will add "weeks, not months" to the deep-water permitting processcritics say is already too slow. Butoil and gas industry leaders were skeptical, noting that even though the Obamaadministration lifted its moratorium on deep-water drilling in October, thegovernment has yet to approve any new wells that would have been blocked by theban. Dan Naatz, a vice president for the Independent Petroleum Association ofAmerica, said the move would further delay deep-water drilling by creating arequirement for reviews he called redundant. Mark Shuster, the manager of Gulfof Mexico exploration for Shell Oil, said it’s a significant concern that thegovernment no longer will exempt even relatively common sidetrack operationswhere new well holes are drilled near existing ones. If the assessment planencompasses all new drilling from offshore platforms – not just from drillingrigs – it will strain the ocean energy bureau’s resources, Shuster said. Thereviews also add to oil companies’ workload because they must supplyenvironmental information – a process that can take several weeks – beforeregulators can conduct their assessments.”

We Always Knew “Green” Jobs are Temporary Jobs; Now Big Wind Confirmsit: Without Taxpayer Handout to Wind Industry, “Tens of Thousands of Jobs” areat Risk. Bloomberg (12/8) reports,“Jobs will be cut in the solar and wind industries unless a U.S. tax-grantprogram that companies have relied on is extended, renewable-energy advocatessaid. Retention of the 1603 program, which gives developers grants equal toone-third of a project’s value, wasn’t included in the tax package negotiatedby President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress. The program, nowscheduled to expire on Dec. 31, was added to last year’s stimulus act to helpcompanies unable to get financing during the financial crisis. The grantprogram is “the most important policy for continuing growth of therenewable-energy industry in the United States,” Rhone Resch, president andchief executive officer of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said todayon a conference call with reporters. More than$5.5 billion in grants had gone to companies as of November, supporting morethan $18 billion in clean-energy development, according to the solar-industrytrade group. Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, said“tens of thousands of jobs” are at risk. The wind industry would create 20,000new jobs next year if the grants are extended, renewable-energy groups said ina letter yesterday to congressional leaders. The workforce may contract by 25percent without them, the groups said.”

Meanwhile, Nat Gas Industry inPennsylvania Hiring Thousands, Investing Millions, All a Resultof What we Call the Market.PittsburghTribune-Review (12/9) reports, “RangeResources Corp. could employ 1,000 workers in Western Pennsylvania five toeight years from now, an executive said Wednesday as the natural gas producermarked the start of construction on its new Appalachian offices.The FortWorth-based company has 300 employees now in the region and 400 acrossPennsylvania. All but about 20 are from Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio,Ray N. Walker Jr., senior vice president of Marcellus operations, said at thebuilding site in the Southpointe II complex in Cecil in Washington County."We are hiring the whole gamut," Walker said, from office workers to roustaboutswho labor at drilling sites, plus welders and fitters, geophysicists andgeologists. "There will be a whole lot more of the hourly workers that wewill hire going forward, as we get more wells," Walker said, estimatingRange Resources has hired just over 100 people in Western Pennsylvania thisyear. The company will have 180,000 square feet of space in its new building on13 acres of a hillside above Consol Energy Inc.’s headquarters. Southpointehouses offices for 58 energy-related companies, Walker said, and gas producershave other offices scattered around the region. Range Resources recently openeda field office near the Washington County Fairgrounds in Chartiers.”

Wind Energy Affordable? Not in the Ocean State; New Projectto More than Double the Cost of Electricity. Associated Press(12/8) reports, “A renewable energy company has proposed what it says would bethe largest offshore wind farm in the United States: a 200-turbine,1,000-megawatt project off the coast of Rhode Island that would provide powerto multiple states along the East Coast. Deepwater Wind LCC, which recentlymoved its headquarters from New Jersey to Providence, says the turbines wouldbe far enough offshore as to be barely visible from land and would be locatedin the ocean waters of Rhode Island Sound. The company has submitted anapplication for the project, estimated to cost between $4 billion to $5billion, to the U.S. Department of the Interior to lease the site where itplans to build the wind farm. It hopes to begin construction in 2014 and havethe first turbines in operation by the end of 2015. The project will requirestate and federal approval. The Deepwater Wind proposal is on top of a muchsmaller pilot project planned by the company off the coast of Block Island.Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch has appealed the power purchaseagreement to the state Supreme Court, saying the 24.4-cents-per-kilowatt dealwould force Rhode Islanders to buy overpriced electricity.”

Messagefrom the Mexican Government to US-Based Oil and Gas Companies: If the AmericanGov. Doesn’t Want You Operating in Their Waters, You’re Investment is WelcomeHere. Wall Street Journal (12/8) reports, “Mexico’sSupreme Court has given state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos the green lightto continue with plans to award incentive-based service contracts to privatecompanies that want to drill for oil in the country. At the same time, thecourt reiterated Mexico’s exclusive obligation and right to develop its oilwealth, reinforcing the understanding that any reserves and hydrocarbonsproduced remain the property of the state. The court issued a statement lateTuesday saying reforms to Mexico’s restrictive energy laws in 2008 are in linewith the country’s Constitution, which bars Mexico from granting oilconcessions or property rights in the energy sector to private oil companies,foreign or domestic. The ruling supports Pemex’s intentions to broaden itscollaboration with private firms, while offering the company legal cover incase of future legal challenges, says George Baker, of Houston-based consultingfirm Energia.com. A source within Pemex echoed Mr. Baker’s assertion, sayingthe ruling "removes obstacles" that may have prevented Pemex from hiringprivate firms to drill. Mexico expropriated foreign oil assets in 1938 and hassince kept foreign participation in the industry to a minimum. But with oilproduction sliding, the state company, which is extremely short on funds andtechnology, has been searching for ways to work with foreign energy companiesthat can offer both.”

Pyle: “Neitherjobs nor the nation’s energy security are important considerations for thispresident.” Thomas Pyle(12/7) writes on FoxNews.com, “Just prior to the mid-term elections,President Obama ended the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, at longlast heeding an outcry that included members of his own party. However, thegesture was purely political, and as it turns out, deceptive. Behind thescenes, his regulators imposed new red tape so complex that a de facto“permitorium” effectively kept the ban in place. The result was permanent joblosses, even as it came to light that the Interior Department doctoredscientific reports to enforce what turned out to be an unnecessary shutdown ofGulf energy exploration in the first place. The oil and gas industry supported$12.7 billion in household earnings in Louisiana alone, according to statedata, and a study by LSU Professor Joseph Mason found that the ban cost up to155,000 jobs. The impact extended to the region’s small businesses fromsuppliers to grocery stores relying on revenue from the oil and gas industry. OnDecember 1, the president finally gave up the charade and declared that nodrilling will take place in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for the next five years.He even upped the ante, adding the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts to the no-drillzones. Evidently, neither jobs nor the nation’s energy security are importantconsiderations for this president.”

Big Wind,Hat-in-Hand, Claims Thousands of Jobs at Stake if Taxpayer Handouts to theIndustry Aren’t Continued. Associated Press (11/7) reports, “The wind industry urgedCongress on Tuesday to extend a cash grant program for production of renewableenergy, claiming tens of thousands of jobs are at stake. Meanwhile, a birdadvocacy group, the American Bird Conservancy, cautioned lawmakers to limitgrant recipients to those who take steps to protect wildlife — arguingthat such protections are needed to prevent avoidable bird fatalities atwindmills. The flurry of lobbying came as Congress took up a tax package thatincludes President Barack Obama’s compromise with Republicans on tax cuts. TheAmerican Wind Energy Association wants the package to include renewal of thecash grant program for development in wind, solar and other renewable energy.The program, created by the federal stimulus law, is set to expire at the endof this month. The wind group said that tens of thousands of Americans couldlose their jobs or not get called back from layoffs unless the program isextended.”

Thousandsof Wells Drilled in Gulf, One Tragic Accident. Token Republican on SpillCommission says, “industry has not made safety a high enough priority.”Wall Street Journal (12/8) reports, “The oil and gas industryneeds a "major transformation" in its approach to safety to avoidanother big offshore-drilling disaster, a leader of the presidential panelinvestigating the BP PLC accident plans to tell a gathering of industryofficials Wednesday. William K. Reilly, co-chairman of the National Commission onthe BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, also plans to saythat BP and two other companies involved with the doomed Macondowell—Halliburton Co. and Transocean Ltd.—made "breathtakinglyinept and largely preventable" missteps, according to a copy of hisprepared remarks viewed by The Wall Street Journal. "The interest groupthat could most threaten the future viability of offshore drilling is the oiland gas industry itself," Mr. Reilly says in the speech. "There hasto be a recognition that the industry has not made safety a high enoughpriority. We need a major transformation in the oil and gas industry’sunderstanding of what it means to put a priority on creating a safety culture.This is an industry wide challenge that can’t simply be laid at the feet of afew rogue players."

Time forE&C to become H&C: First order of Business for Incoming Chair of ENERGY& Commerce Committee? Name Joe Pitts Chair the Healthcare Sub Committee. Politico (12/7) reports, “Overcoming concerns that he’s too moderatefor the job, Rep. Fred Upton emerged Tuesday as the winner of a bitter internalRepublican battle to lead the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee. TheMichigan Republican won the steering panel nod with critical support from Rep.John Boehner and a collection of senior and rank-and-file GOP lawmakers closelyallied with the incoming House speaker. The full GOP caucus must now ratifyUpton’s selection Wednesday, but that is expected to be a formality as formerEnergy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) told POLITICO he will notchallenge the steering committee’s decision. Upton ispoised to run a panel with broad authority over the economy, from health careto energy and telecommunications. While campaigning for the job, the 12-termlawmaker appealed to conservatives nervous about his credentials by pledging topursue repeal of key pieces of the new health care law and also closelyscrutinize the Obama administration’s climate change and energy policies. Uptonhas already made his first major choice – picking Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.)as chairman of the Health Subcommittee. “Together, we will protect the sanctityof life, ensuring early next Congress that no federal funds are used for abortion,”Upton said in a statement.”

StateDept. on Global Tour Promoting HF, Shale Gas Development. Stateside, EPA isLooking to Shutdown Process. Chris Tucker (11/8) writes on the Oklahoman, “An energy revolution is under way in the U.S.thanks to hydraulic fracturing, a 60-year-old oil and natural gas stimulationtechnology that — coupled with advancement in horizontal drilling —is making the development of energy from underground shale formationseconomical for the first time. Given that natural gas has half the carbonemissions as coal, the U.S. State Department is aggressively promoting shalegas exploration throughout Asia and Europe as a way to reduce global carbonemissions. While one bureaucracy in Washington is promoting natural gas abroad,another is angling to hamstring production at home, citing claims that itcontaminates groundwater. Despite how fracturing has been portrayed inHollywood and by some national media, it’s been tightly regulated byenergy-producing states for more than six decades, and safely used more than1.1 million times without impacting groundwater. Top EPA officials haveconfirmed this fact. For decades, politicians have touted “energyindependence.” As modern shale gas development continues to expand, energysecurity is now truly on the horizon. Oklahomans reside atop the WoodfordShale, whose development has contributed ample jobs and revenue to the state.Even President Obama recently cited natural gas as an area for congressionalbipartisanship.”

RES,CES, REM; Call it What you Want. Mandated Use of One form of Electricity OverAnother is a Win for Wall Street, Raw Deal for Main Street. E&ENews (subs.req’d, 12/7) reports, “Energy Secretary Steven Chu today laid out a possibleproposal for a "clean energy standard" to help provide energycompanies more long-term investment certainty. A requirement that utilities useclean energy sources — such as solar, wind and nuclear — to meet a percentageof electric generation could give certainty to the markets and power companiesjust as a price on carbon would, Chu said during a nuclear energy roundtablediscussion hosted by the think tank Third Way and the Idaho NationalLaboratory. The "clean energy standard" (CES) would provide a targetand guidelines to help businesses make decisions but would not cost the federalgovernment any money, instead becoming a direct cost to the consumers and themarket, he said. "The federal government is ultimately responsible for thelong-term … consistent policy" for energy companies, Chu said. "Aclean energy portfolio standard is one example of a potential policy that theadministration and Congress should discuss. … In this time of fiscalausterity I propose such a standard." Chu said it could be viable to set astandard of 50 percent clean energy by 2050, with an intermediate target of 25percent by 2025. Chu added that 2020 was too short a timeline for nuclearenergy because of the long licensing and construction time needed for newreactors. A definition for "clean energy" could be any generationthat was able to capture 90 percent of emissions, he suggested.”

Under Locke and Key:Lawmakers Ask Admin. to Release Internal Commerce Dept. Reports Showing TrueImpacts Expected from EPA’s Risible Boiler Rule. E&E News(12/7, subs. req’d) reports, “Lawmakers worried about the job impacts of finalair pollution standards for industrial boilers are still seeking informationabout the controversial proposal that was released in April, though U.S. EPAhas signaled that the final rule will be less aggressive. Based on discussionswith Commerce officials, businesses believe the department’s study"dramatically contradicts" EPA’s prediction that the rules would leadto about 8,000 job losses, according to an industry source. The existence ofthe Commerce study "reinforces concerns that this rule may significantlyundercut economic recovery in key affected industries," says the letter,which was sent Friday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Commerce SecretaryGary Locke. The four senators who sent the letter are among the 40-plussenators who raised concerns this summer about the stringency of the draftlimits on mercury, dioxins and other toxic emissions from boilers. Theregulations, which are supposed to be finalized by next month, have drawnintense criticism from paper mills, chemical plants and other businesses thatuse the boilers to power their facilities. Some companies using the boilers saytheir plants would not be able to achieve the pollution cuts that the draftstandards demanded.

Is the Reliable Delivery ofUtilities to Customers a “Nuisance” For Which Utilities Should Be Sued? SupremeCourt Says It’ll Weigh In Next Year.Associated Press (12/6) reports, “In a new case aboutclimate change, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from electric utilitiesthat are trying to short-circuit an effort by states to force cuts in powerplant emissions. The court agreed Monday to consider ending a federal lawsuitby eight states, New York City and others that accuse the power companies ofbeing among the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world. The suit asksa federal judge to order reductions in the emissions in plants in 20 states. Afederal judge initially threw out the case, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals in New York said it could continue. The lawsuit says carbon dioxide isone of the chief causes of global warming. The greenhouse gas is produced whencoal, gasoline and other fossil fuels burn. The American Electric Power Co. andthe other utilities do not want courts getting involved in the issue. Thecompanies argue that only the Environmental Protection Agency can set emissionsstandards. The Obama administration, representing the TVA, urged a middlecourse that would have avoided a full-blown hearing at the high court.

Fair Weather Friends: CarolBrowner’s Reign as “Energy Czar” Might Not Survive the Holidays – ButWaxman, Rahall, and Friends Aren’t Exactly Rushing to Her Defense. Politico (12/7) reports, “The “energy czar” position may not be thatappealing next year given the shrunken role for the president’s legislativeagenda and prospects of Republican investigations. GOP lawmakers havecomplained from Day 1 that Browner and similar White House officials have toomuch authority over established agencies that Congress can more easily keeptabs on. "Are the Senate-confirmed individuals allowed to do their job, ordo they find an emissary without a constitutional portfolio telling them how tospend money?" said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the incoming chairman ofthe House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Even key Democrats, suchas co-author of the House cap-and-trade bill, outgoing Energy and CommerceChairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), aren’t lining up to save the office. "Idon’t have any feelings about it one way or another,” Waxman said, noting thepresence of other sources for energy and climate advice, including the WhiteHouse Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency."Abolish that office," said Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the outgoingchairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who said it duplicates thework of existing agencies. "We’ll survive as a nation without it.”

Follow This Logic: Levelingthe Playing Field by Removing $0.45 Tariff on Importation of Ethanol WouldSomehow Hurt American Consumers – That’s What Big Corny Says.E&E News(12/6, subs. req’d) reports, “Ethanol boosters and bashers have conflictingpredictions for how fuel pump prices could change if tax credits and otherindustry supports are allowed to expire at the end of this year, with somepredicting a price drop, while others see it going up. Last week, Sen. ChuckGrassley (R-Iowa) declared in floor testimony, "A lapse in the ethanol taxincentive is a gas tax increase of over 5 cents a gallon at the pump." Inan address aimed at shoring up support for extending the 45-cent-a-gallonvolumetric ethanol excise tax credit, or VEETC, for blenders, Grassley said,"I just don’t see the logic in arguing for a gas tax increase when we haveso many Americans unemployed or underemployed and struggling just to get by.The ethanol industry is pushing hard to extend that and a 54-cent-a-gallontariff on imported ethanol that mainly serves to keep out cheaper,Brazilian-made sugar cane ethanol. In a paper published in July and updated inNovember, an economist from Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural andRural Development projected that an expiration of the VEETC and a54-cent-per-gallon tariff on ethanol, taken together, could lower pump pricesfor drivers. That study, by Center for Agricultural and Rural DevelopmentDirector Bruce Babcock, is favored by groups including the National ResourcesDefense Council and Friends of the Earth.

Cancun Climate Talks Goinga Lot More Smoothly than the Ones in Copenhagen Last Year – One Reason:“No Expectations” of Anything Getting Done, Says EDF.Washington Post (12/6) reports, “The U.N.-sponsored climatetalks, which began here a week ago, entered a new phase Monday, as delegatesand high-ranking ministers from nearly 200 countries settled into vast, sunlessmeeting rooms, intent on restoring the credibility of a process aimed atslowing global warming. While last year’s climate talks in Copenhagen producedlittle despite attracting more than 100 heads of state, some experts suggestedthis wonkish two-week meeting in a resort better known for college undergrads’drunken excesses could end up laying the groundwork for a future climateagreement. "In stark contrast to Copenhagen, there’s less acrimony, andless ambition and less expectations," said Jennifer Haverkamp, managingdirector for international climate policy at the Environmental Defense Fund.Patricia Espinosa, who is the conference’s president, vowed there would be nosecret negotiations on her watch. And Sunday she paired a minister from anindustrialized and a developing nation to head working groups on each of thekey elements of a final agreement.

The Eagle Has Landed:Unfortunately, Just Not In One Piece – Wind Producer Forced to Pay $2.5Min Legal Settlement for Killing Lots and Lots of Birds.Contra Costa Times (12/6) reports, “The largest wind energyproducer in the Altamont Pass area of eastern Alameda and Contra Costa countieshas agreed to replace 2,400 wind turbines within four years and pay $2.5million in a legal settlement to reduce deaths of eagles, hawks and otherraptors hacked by turbine blades. The settlement between NextEra EnergyResources, the state, and several environmental groups was announced Monday bythe state Attorney General Jerry Brown. One environmental leader praised thedeal as a model for producing wind energy while minimizing the heavy toll thewhirling turbine blades take on hundreds of raptors each year. "We thinkthat is a landmark agreement that balances the need for clean energy withprotections for wildlife," said Michael Lynes, conservation director forthe Golden Gate Audubon Society. "This is an aggressive schedule forreplacing turbines with new ones. It will go a long way toward reducing thekills in the Altamont area." The settlement resolves a debate about whetherthe company was making sufficient progress toward a previous legal pledge toreduce bird kills by 50 percent from 2007 to 2010.

Say What You Want AboutFred Upton, But You Gotta Hand It to the Guy: Dude Has Spent the Past 3 WeeksChurning Out a Ton of Great Material.The Hill (12/6) reports, “Drilling in ANWR has long been a bone ofcontention between Democrats and Republicans, and the letter could be seen as alast-minute attempt to win support from his GOP colleagues. Many Democrats arestaunchly opposed to drilling in the 19-million-acre parcel of land in Alaska,while Republicans argue that new drilling technology will make it safe to extractoil reserves from the wildlife refuge. “As ranking Republican on the Energy andEnvironment Subcommittee, I understand the politics of ANWR very well, andacknowledge that the base of your party is uncomfortable with lifting themoratorium on exploration and production in ANWR,” Upton said in a Dec. 6letter to Obama. “Nevertheless, I urge you to put our nation’s needs ahead ofpolitics, and implore you not to make it impossible to ever explore for naturalresources in ANWR.” Though Upton noted in the letter that it could take up to10 years from the time ANWR is opened for drilling in the refuge to becomeoperational, he nonetheless said the time frame “is not an excuse forcontinuing to kick the can down the road.”

Do It for Babs: You ThoughtDems’ Last-Ditch, Lame-Duck, Public Lands-Lock-Away Bill Was Just a DesperateHail Mary? Maybe So, Says Boxer – But Can’t You Do It For Me? Politico (12/6) reports, “Democratic efforts to push through more than100 public lands and water bills in the lame duck session are reaching a feverpitch, with the recognition this is the last chance many of them have to becomelaw. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has tasked Democratic leaderson at least three committees to come up with a list of bills that could getpast a GOP filibuster. They may also need to be able to secure the two-thirdssupport that would be needed if the House tries to expedite the package withoutamendments in a tight legislative calendar. Senate Environment and Public WorksChairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday that she has givenReid a draft list of bills to consider. That evolving list is believed toinclude plans to provide protection to the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, LakeTahoe, the Gulf of Mexico and the San Francisco Bay. “The issue is getting 60votes, which we think we can,” Boxer said. “They represent the work ofcommittees and senators over the course of this Congress and, for many, overthe course of a career and they deserve a vote,” the spokesperson said.

Carter Weeps: 50 Years AgoToday, Pres. Carter Officially Set Aside ANWR as Strategic Energy Reserve forUS – 50 Years Later, It Functions Today as an NRDC Direct-Mail Piece. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and SpencerAbraham (12/5) write in the Politico, “Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the northeast corner ofAlaska’s designation as the Arctic National Wildlife Range. This area, home tolarge quantities of natural resources, has been off limits to energyproduction. We had a unique opportunity 15 years ago to change course andfortify our nation’s domestic energy supply. But it was derailed. In 1995,President Bill Clinton vetoed legislation that would have allowedenvironmentally responsible exploration for an estimated 10 billion plusbarrels of oil in a tiny sliver of ANWR. This action deprived our nation of whatcould now be about one million barrels of oil per day—an amount thatwould allow us to reduce our imports by almost 10 percent. And that’s not all.Astoundingly, huge percentages of additional U.S. oil resources remainoff-limits to exploration. According to federal estimates, there is enough oilin deep waters many miles off our coasts and on federal lands to power morethan 60 million cars for 60 years. In addition, if we advance thecommercialization of the nation’s 2 trillion barrel oil shale resource, wecould meet U.S. oil needs for more than two centuries.

Dodgers: Utilities in LosAngeles Quietly Inform Mayor that His Goal of 40% of Renewable ElectricityGeneration is Insane — $2.4B in New Costs for Ratepayers, Well After Tony’sOut of Office.LA Times (12/5) reports, “As Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosaprepares to pick the next general manager of the Department of Water and Power— his sixth in three and a half years — the massive utility isquietly backing away from his ambitious goal of generating 40% of its powerfrom renewable sources by 2020. That shift, initiated under the leadership ofFirst Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner, is only the latest at an agency marked byupheaval as it pursues the mayor’s lofty environmental agenda. SinceVillaraigosa took office in 2005, the nation’s largest municipally ownedutility has been in a state of churn. Multimillion-dollar initiatives have beenannounced, then abandoned. Executives have been installed, then jettisoned. Theproposed 20-year plan calls for the DWP to reach a 33% renewable energy targetby 2020, putting it in line with state regulations. That move would cut coststo the utility’s residential and business customers by up to $2.4 billion over20 years. That view was not shared by former DWP General Manager H. DavidNahai, who said the DWP’s latest plan "constituted a U-turn" from themayor’s 2009 inaugural speech, Nahai said.

Unacceptable: Experts SayRamming-Through of Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia a More Important Priorityfor Lame-Duck than Mandate on Unaffordable, Unreliable Electricity.E&E News(12/6, subs. req’d) reports, “Sen. Byron Dorgan may end his 18-year Senatecareer in disappointment, as it looks doubtful Congress will pass a bill thissession requiring utilities to use a set amount of renewable energy generationfor electricity."Boy, it will be a major disappointment if this Congressshuts down at the end of this year without having done anything on energy,anything of consequence," said Dorgan, who is retiring this year. The RESmeasure faces stiff competition from an already-full Senate schedule. Congresshas two weeks to pass legislation to continue funding the government beyondDec. 18 and to negotiate a tax package that would extend expiring income taxcuts. Republicans say those measures must be finished before they will considerany other legislation. President Obama is pressing for passage of a nucleararms treaty with Russia — known as START — and Majority Leader Harry Reid(D-Nev.) also wants to take up a bill on immigration. Bill Wicker, a spokesmanfor Bingaman, said, "Tax issues and the [continuing resolution] and STARTare sucking all the oxygen out of the lame duck. Understandably, the prioritiesof Congress at this moment are deciding what to do about taxes. Once those areresolved, we’ll see if any time remains to take up a bill as sensible as theRES."

This Just In: CurrentAdministration Committed to “Aggressive Environmental Agenda” with EPA Runningthe Point from DC – Seems Like a Recipe for Job-Creation to Us.E&E News(12/3, subs. req’d) reports, “The Obama administration is committed to an"aggressive environmental agenda" that goes beyond what was achievedduring the past four decades, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said today duringa speech at Harvard University. Jackson spoke during a conference that featuredappearances by several leading lights of the environmental movement, includingEPA’s first administrator, Bill Ruckelshaus, and former Vice President Al Gore,who spoke to agency officials during an invitation-only luncheon. The eventcapped a week of events celebrating EPA’s 40th birthday and also previewed thecase the agency will make when the balance of power on Capitol Hill shiftstoward the Republicans next year. High-ranking Republicans have vowed to keepJackson and other top officials tethered to the witness stand, pushing Congressto block regulations that they feel would harm the economy. But while votersmay have been concerned about federal bureaucracy when they cast their ballotslast month, polls still show that they want the government to protect publichealth and the environment, Jackson said. In the past, Democrats andRepublicans have worked together to put those programs in place, she said.

Al Gore’s Campaign to Savethe Planet Having More Trouble These Days Saving Its Office Space; Last Year,Had Field Operations in 25 States – This Year? Seven.Politico (12/6) reports, “One of Al Gore’s campaigns to save the planethas scaled back its field operations since climate legislation failed earlierthis year in Congress. The Alliance for Climate Protection was operating inabout 25 states at its peak, including Florida, Michigan, Missouri, NewHampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania. "We’ve always believed it’s a mobileand nimble operation," said Sean Sarah, the non-profit group’s spokesman."We move to areas where it’s most effective. Of course the situation inCongress has changed. So our strategies and tactics have changed along withit." Sarah didn’t disclose which states the Alliance still has workersin. But he said the group retains its same staff size and headquarters inWashington and Gore’s hometown of Nashville. Gore in 2008 launched a $300million advertising and lobbying campaign through the Alliance to help passclimate legislation on Capitol Hill, telling CBS’ 60 Minutes at the time it wasa “blitz as sweeping and expensive as a big corporation’s rollout of a newproduct.” The group has not disclosed how much of that money it ultimatelyspent.

UN Climate KleptocratsDeliver Ransom Note to US Delegation in Cancun: Begin Destruction of YourEconomy in 24 Months, Or Risk Hairy Eyeballs at Next Cocktail Party. Bloomberg (12/6) reports, “Diplomats at United Nations climate talksthis week will consider a two-year deadline for industrial nations to sign upfor further cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions after Kyoto Protocol limits expirein December 2012. Brazil, named by the UN to help broker an agreement on thefuture of Kyoto, wants industrial nations at this meeting to agree to make newreduction pledges within two years. Mexico, which is coordinating thediscussions in Cancun, said the pledges would have to be in place in the firsthalf of 2012. Adopting the measures may help bolster the price of carbondioxide emissions permits, which tumbled after talks in Copenhagen in December2009 failed to produce a new treaty on reducing fossil fuel pollution blamedfor global warming. The envoys “need to send the right signal to the carbonmarket,” Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Brazil’s lead negotiator, said in aninterview in Cancun. “How this signal will be sent is perhaps the crux of theproblem.”

Just Do It: Nike, SundryOther Rent-Seekers Demand Immediate Action in Cancun to Cut American Jobs– Makes Sense, Since Most of Nike’s Employees Live in Bangladesh. The Hill (12/5) reports, “Companies including Starbucks and Nike sayU.S. officials should take the lead in creating a global climate change fund, amove that comes as some Senate Republicans are pressing the State Department tohalt climate financing for developing nations. A corporate coalition that alsoincludes Timberland, eBay, and PepsiCo. says in a letter to President Obamathat the U.S. should drive creation of the fund at the ongoing United Nationsclimate talks in Cancun, Mexico, calling it “imperative that the United Statesreassert its credibility and leadership on climate change and establish a fundat this critical juncture.” “Climate change effects are global. So are ourmarkets and supply chains. As outlined in your speech to the United NationsMillennium Development Goals Summit on September 22, 2010, it is in ourlong-term economic interest to partner with developing countries, which willbolster their efforts to transition from poverty to prosperity throughsustainable and equitable economic growth,” states the letter released Fridaythrough the group Oxfam.

Sen. Casey’s Anti-FRAC ActDidn’t See a Single Hearing or Markup During 110^th Congress –So Now, Naturally, He Wants It to Be Attached as Rider on Something Meaningful.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (12/5) reports, “Mr. Reid was going tobring the bill to the floor earlier this month but withdrew it because thebill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Orrin Hatch objected. A Hatch spokeswoman said thesenator didn’t like the fact that the bill was paid for with a dramaticincrease in a tax on companies for the oil spill liability fund. He’s not theonly one with a beef. Environmental groups lined up against the bill in aletter to Mr. Reid last week, protesting that it was a giveaway to the naturalgas industry without addressing environmental concerns over gas extraction."It’s crazy that we would consider investing money in natural gasinfrastructure and expanding the demand for natural gas when there are notbasic environmental and public health protections in place to protectPennsylvanians and all Americans from the effects of drilling," said AdamGarber, organizer for PennEnvironment. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is the leadsponsor of the FRAC Act, which would require drilling companies to disclose allthe chemicals used in the process of hydraulic fracturing — in which water,sand and chemicals are blasted into rock formations to free the gas — andwould bring the process under federal regulation. Mr. Casey said he is stillworking on getting disclosure language into law, as the FRAC Act hasn’tadvanced.

“So Very Hideous an Idea”:One Last Push for Land-Grab Monstrosity in Resources Coined by Hastings the“Frankenstein” Omnibus – 1,400 Pages, Millions of Acres Locked Away. Greenwire(12/2, subs. req’d) reports, “Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) struck a gothic tonein sounding off against Senate Democrats’ eleventh-hour effort to pass a bundleof stalled waterways, public lands and wildlife bills before this Congressends. Citing staff research and "reliable private accounts," Hastingssaid the "monstrous" measure could include as many as 126 individualbills, total 1,400 pages and authorize $10 billion in additional spending."Somewhere in the Senate, Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer are secretlyconstructing a Frankenstein omnibus of bills from three separatecommittees," said Hastings, who is expected to head the House NaturalResources Committee next year. "Democratic leaders are ignoring theoverwhelming message sent by voters in November that they wanted an end to thebackroom deals that produce giant bills loaded with new spending andjob-killing policies." Hastings was the second GOP leader in as many daysto publicly condemn the proposed package, the contents of which remain undernegotiation, according to Senate leaders.

“We’re Freezing”:Working-Class Folk Among the First to Feel the Bite of Salazar OffshoreMoratorium – Dearth of Home Heating Fuel Sends Prices Thru the Roof. Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12/2) reports, “As metro Atlanta’stemperatures grow colder, the demand for heat is, well, heating up. A day afterhundreds of people queued up outside a Marietta community center to apply forassistance with heat and power bills, hopeful applicants began lining up againaround midnight, waiting in the sub-freezing temperatures for the doors to openThursday morning. This time, however, officials let those in line come into theMansour Center on Roswell Street an hour early at 7:30 and get relief fromtemperatures that dropped to 27 degrees. “We’re freezing,” said Lecher Eady, aMarietta mother who arrived at midnight seeking help with her bills. “Our handsare cold, our feet are cold.” Eady, the mother of triplets in diapers, said shehas been out of work since August. “I’ve had three jobs this year, and I’vebeen laid off from all three,” she said. “I’m grateful just to get any type ofhelp they’ll give me.” That heating assistance will come in handy next week,when a surge of cold Canadian air will send overnight lows in metro Atlantaplummeting to the low 20s, with afternoon highs warming only into the mid-40s.

He Really Said This: Sen.Harkin Justifies $0.45 Tariff Wall Preventing Ethanol Imports from AccessingU.S. Markets on Basis that It “Comes Back to Consumers in Cheaper Gas Prices.”(!) The Hill (12/2) reports, “Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Thursday thatexpiring ethanol tax credits he’s battling to extend could hitch a ride on apossible omnibus appropriations package. “If we have an omnibus, the chancesare pretty good we might get that in the omnibus,” Harkin told reporters in theCapitol. However, the prospects for a catch-all federal spending package ratherthan a continuing resolution that maintains current spending levels are highlyuncertain. Harkin and other Corn Belt lawmakers are battling to extend thecredit that provides refiners and gasoline blenders 45 cents for each gallon ofethanol mixed into gasoline — an incentive supporters call vital toensuring a robust ethanol market. The tax credit and an import tariff thatprotects the domestic industry expire at the end of the year, and ethanol advocatesare battling a left-right coalition that’s trying to kill the incentives.Harkin said it’s unclear if there are enough votes for extending the credits.“I hope so,” he said. “The 45 cents per gallon comes back to consumers incheaper gasoline prices. Consumers are better off.

Enviros’ GOP “Plant” on theOil Spill Commission Not Exactly Working Out as Planned – Reilly SaysDevelopment Stall in the Gulf Shouldn’t Be Used to Justify Stall in Alaska. E&E News(12/2, subs. req’d) reports, “The co-chairman of the presidential oil spillcommission warned today against stalling Arctic oil and gas exploration forstudies of competing interests in the region’s waters. William Reilly, a formerU.S. EPA administrator and co-chairman of the National Commission on the BPDeepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, outlined several issues inthe Arctic debate, ranging from economic drivers and ecosystem impacts tothreats to native groups. "All these competing views point to aprecautionary approach for drilling in the Arctic, and a number of areaswarrant targeted research," Reilly said. "But the need for additionalresearch should not be used as a de facto moratorium but instead be carried outwith specific timeline drivers in mind." Arctic drilling should proceedcarefully, Reilly said. "That doesn’t mean cease operations until you’re100 percent sure of a satisfactory conclusion," he said. Reilly’s remarkscame as the seven-member panel deliberated on recommendations it will make toPresident Obama next month in a report on its investigation. The comments alsocame a day after the Interior Department announced it is open to possible leasesales in Arctic waters before 2017.

Oops: Only Weeks AfterReleasing New Rules Governing Industrial Boilers, EPA Forced to Admit New RegsWere Not “Achievable” – Another Embarrassment for Jackson. Greenwire(12/2, subs. req’d) reports, “Having taken comment on controversial newregulations for industrial boilers, U.S. EPA now believes that some pollutionlimits in the draft rules "were simply too tight to be able to beachievable," the agency’s air chief said today, signaling that the agencyis readying final regulations that won’t be as tough on businesses. When EPAissued the proposal in April, the agency was scrambling to meet a courtdeadline, said Gina McCarthy, the agency’s assistant administrator for air andradiation, on the sidelines of an event in Washington, D.C. There are manyindustries that use boilers to power their operations, and the agency had verylittle information on some of them. As a result, she said, the proposedstandards were "very difficult to achieve in certain sectors — which wedid not know," she said. "Now that we have the information at hand,it changes the calculation entirely," McCarthy added. "I think theanxiety really isn’t so much about the rule itself — it’s about making surethat we’re paying attention to the data that comes in, and that the datainforms a more robust decision. And it will." "The rule was based ona hypothetical boiler and emissions mix that didn’t conform to reality,"Walls said.

Hands Down the Best Part ofthese Int’l Climate Kleptocrat Conferences: The Never-Ending String of AwesomeJungle Metaphors. See Below, In Bold.Bloomberg (12/3) reports, “The U.S. pressed China to do more atclimate-change talks in Copenhagen last year. Now, as the U.S. falls short ofits own goals, China may have gained more credibility in renewed negotiationsby moving to clean up its energy industry. “TheU.S. is a wounded elephant,” Pa Ousman Jarju, Gambia’s climate envoy, saidin an interview on Dec. 1. “The elephanthad been moving very slowly, but now it’s limping. We have to be realistic.We know there’s nothing they can push here because of their domesticcircumstances.” The U.S. is pushing in Cancun for nations to embrace theCopenhagen accord, which calls for rich and fast-growing economies to cutemissions by 2020. It also envisions a system to measure and verify emissioncuts and proposes a $100 billion fund to channel climate aid to developingnations. The U.S. wants that to be the foundation of a new treaty. Japan saysit makes no sense to extend the Kyoto agreement without the two biggestpolluting nations subject to its terms. “Without the active participation ofthe two biggest emitters, namely China and the United States, it’s not a globaleffort,” Kuni Shimada, special adviser to Japanese environment minister RyuMatsumoto, said in an interview.

$40 Billion: No, Not theAmount that the Chinese Are Investing in Pinwheels and Suncatchers – theAmount They’re Investing in Developing Venezuela’s Offshore Oil.Wall Street Journal (12/3) reports, “China’s three mainstate-owned oil companies have strengthened their ties to Venezuela’s energysector, signing six agreements and increasing their investments to a planned$40 billion. The deals are the latest of a string of multibillion-dollar SouthAmerican ventures signed by Chinese companies in recent months, aimed atacquiring major chunks of the continent’s rich resources and at helping fuelChina’s economic boom. Among the agreements signed was one by China NationalPetroleum Corp.’s chairman, Jiang Jiemin, and Venezuela Oil Minister RafaelRamirez for the joint development of an oil block in the Orinoco basin, theCNPC said in its in-house newspaper Friday. It said the agreement had beensigned Wednesday. The cost of developing the block—known as Junin 4 andcapable of producing 400,000 barrels of crude daily—could be as much as$16 billion, with the block developed as a 60:40 joint venture by state-ownedPetroleos de Venezuela SA and CNPC, the two companies said in April when theyagreed to a preliminary pact.

You Heard the One About thePolish Guy Who Developed 47 Trillion Cubic Feet of Shale Gas In His Country?How Do You Say “Oh Sh*t” in Russian? Bloomberg (12/2) reports, “ConocoPhillips, the third-biggest U.S. energycompany, and Eastern European partner Lane Energy Poland plan to drill anotherexploratory well for natural gas in a Polish shale formation. Lane Energy thisyear drilled two vertical wells at its license in northern Poland. The companyis now testing the results and getting ready to drill a horizontal well in thesame area in the second quarter of 2011 and results should be ready by the endof next year, Kamlesh Parmar, Country Manager at Lane Energy Poland, said todayduring a conference in Warsaw. Shale drilling, where rock formations arehorizontally drilled and fractured using water and chemicals under highpressure, is driving a surge in U.S. natural-gas output. It last year made thecountry the world’s largest gas producer, overtaking Russia, and drove priceslower. Poland’s reserves of shale and tight gas may be as much as 3 trillioncubic meters, according to estimates by Advanced Resources International. Thatcould potentially turn the country into a net exporter of gas and reduceEurope’s dependence on Russian supplies.

Kish: New Obama OffshoreBan will “kill production, kill revenue, kill jobs and kill consumer hopes foraffordable fuel and a sane energy policy.”Washington Times (12/3) editorializes, “Virginia has becomethe latest victim of the Obama administration’s war against the domesticdrilling industry. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday thatwaters off Virginia and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico will remain closed todrilling through 2017 despite the commonwealth’s strong desire for oil and gasproduction. The moratorium will cost the Old Dominion jobs and tax revenuewhile further undermining America’s domestic energy industry. New drilling offVirginia might have helped make up that gap, at least in the long-term. Thefederal Minerals Management Service estimated that as much as 750 millionbarrels of oil and 6.65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie off Virginia’scoast. Mr. Obama and Mr. Salazar, doing the bidding of environmental radicals,are keeping those mineral riches off limits. In October, the Southeast EnergyAlliance estimated the commonwealth would gain 1,900 jobs and a $365 millionannual boost to its economy from drilling that’s now denied. If Virginia wereallowed the same percentage of proceeds as Gulf states, state government couldgarner up to $250 million annually. Those jobs and earnings are now off thetable for at least seven years. Dan Kish, policy chief for the industry-backed Institutefor Energy Research and former chief of staff for the House Natural ResourcesCommittee, uses even harsher words. "These guys have declared war onconventional fuels … and on the American public, frankly," he told TheWashington Times. The Obama administration has forsworn the idea of"drill, baby, drill" for that of "kill, baby, kill" – killproduction, kill revenue, kill jobs and kill consumer hopes for affordable fueland a sane energy policy.”

Did the E&C Rs Forgetthe Roll-Over Vote on the Blowout Prevention Act? You Know, the Bill that WouldPut Every Oil and Gas Well Under Federal Jurisdiction, Including Those onPrivate and State Lands? E&C Republicans (12/1) write for Politico, “With a newcongressional session comes a recycling of the old proposal to raid thejurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This seems a bizarremoment to advance the idea that a group, which didn’t stand up to the BarackObama-Nancy Pelosi axis on its radical energy and environmental initiatives,should now take over the work of the committee that did. Remember cap andtrade? What was supposed to be an unstoppable, greased-pig markup on the Obamaadministration’s signature cap-and-trade bill was turned into a fight by the 23determined Republicans on Energy and Commerce. Four long days and nights spentin Room 2123 of the Rayburn building found Republicans sharply disputingDemocrats and their theories about global warming and the U.S. economy. Dealswere offered and rejected, while 300 Republican amendments piled up on theclerk’s desk and majority members were forced into extended debate on 47 of them.”Flashback: Texas Railroad Commission comes out swinging against HR 5626.

Headline Says it All:“Unleashing U.S. Energy Resources Could Spark Economic Recovery,” if theGovernment Leased Some Land, Issued a Few Permits. Ben Lieberman (12/2) writes for the Washington Examiner, “Among the many suggestions for deficitreduction in the recently released Fiscal Commission report is a 15cents-per-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax. There is a better way.If raising energy-related revenues is the goal, why not fill federal coffers ina manner that actually reduces the price at the pump? Washington can accomplishthis by allowing more oil drilling. The federal government controls alloffshore areas beyond three miles from the coast, as well as vast expanses ofenergy-rich western lands. Unfortunately, only a fraction of these areas havebeen opened to energy leasing, due to legislative and regulatory restrictions.For example, a 2008 Department of the Interior report concluded that only 8percent of the estimated 31 billion barrels of oil beneath federal lands isfully available for leasing, while 30 percent is subject to significantrestrictions and 62 percent is entirely off-limits. America’ offshore areashold even greater potential but are also constrained. No other energy-producingnation on Earth has limited its own energy producing potential to this extent.Even with these restrictions, revenues from new energy leases reached $10billion dollars in 2008.”

The Great Green Revitalization?Not So Fast, Says Michigan Town That Was Home to a Refrigerator Plant of 4,000Workers, and now 320 Sun-Catcher Makers.Wall Street Journal (11/29) reports, “When a fast-growing makerof solar equipment broke ground here in 2006 on the first two of what it saidwould eventually be six giant new factories, it seemed the sun was finallyshining on this town’s battered economy. Just months earlier, Sweden’sElectrolux AB had shut its Greenville refrigerator plant, nearly snuffing outwhat had been the town’s marquee industry for more than a century. Countingjobs lost at local Electrolux suppliers and two other smaller factories, thiswestern Michigan town of 8,000 lost some 4,000 jobs almost overnight, andunemployment in Montcalm County soared to nearly 16%. Kenneth Snow, the town’smayor, says attracting the solar plants was a turning point at a dark moment. Butsolar hasn’t taken up the slack many thought it would. The two plants werebuilt, and now employ 320 people between them. The company—United SolarOvonic, known as Uni-Solar, a unit of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. of AuburnHills, Mich.—has indefinitely shelved plans for additional factories inGreenville.”

39% of Massachusetts HeatsTheir Home with Oil, 44% with Nat Gas, Got That? Markey Calls for RecordHeating Assistance Subsidies, Yet Opposes Production of those Fuels. MakeSense?Rep. Markey (12/1) press release, “Representative EdwardJ. Markey (D-Mass.) today led a letter, cosigned by 62 of his colleagues in theHouse of Representatives, calling for funding the Low-Income Home HeatingAssistance Program (LIHEAP) through September 30, 2011 at least at the FY2010levels of $5.1 billion – the highest funding level in the history of theprogram. “During these tough economic times, record numbers of Americanfamilies turn to this program so they don’t have to turn off their thermostats.Cutting funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program this winterwould lead to millions of families being turned away and a dramatic reductionin benefits. This holiday season, we can’t let this important program take afunding holiday from helping people to stay warm. I will continue to fight toensure that Massachusetts families are not left out in the cold this winter asCongress debates funding for home energy assistance later this month.”

“Forty years ago today, theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors,” and Waged Battle onAmerican Manufacturing and Energy Production. EPA Admin. Lisa Jackson (12/2) writes for the Wall Street Journal, “Forty years ago today, the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors, beginning a history ofimprovements to our health and environment. We reach this milestone exactly onemonth after the midterm elections strengthened the influence of groups andindividuals who threaten to roll back the EPA’s efforts. Last month’s electionswere not a vote for dirtier air or more pollution in our water. No one was sentto Congress with a mandate to increase health threats to our children… Special interests have spent millionsof dollars making the case that we must choose the economy or the environment,attacking everything from removing lead in gasoline to cleaning up acid rain.They have consistently exaggerated the cost and scope of EPA actions, and in 40years their predictions have not come true. These attacks are aimed at the EPA,but their impacts are felt by all Americans. Pollutants like mercury, smog andsoot are neurotoxins and killers that cause developmental problems and asthmain kids, and heart attacks in adults. We will not strengthen our economy byexposing our communities and our workers to more pollution. In thesepolitically charged times, we urge Congress and the American people to focus onresults from common-sense policies, not inaccurate doomsday speculations. Thatis how we can confront our nation’s economic and environmental challenges andlay a foundation for the next 40 years and beyond.

Why the “E” needs to be Removed from E&C: UptonFirst Order of Business, Healthcare; Sterns, the deficit; Barton,Bipartisanship; Shimkus, Who Knows, He Didn’t Speak to Reporters.Politico (11/30) reports, “Upton,Barton and Reps. John Shimkus and Cliff Stearns all made their presentations tothe GOP Steering Committee Tuesday. The panel, loaded with loyalists toincoming Speaker John Boehner, is expected to make its decision by nextTuesday. After being asked about his pro-life position by a member of thesteering committee, Upton said the first item on the committee’s agenda underhis leadership would be to codify a plan from Reps. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and BartStupak (D-Mich.) that would ban federal funds for abortions except in the caseof rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. Barton,who appeared first before the steering panel, told reporters afterward thatUpton isn’t ready to be chairman. “I think that I am more conservative and Ithink that Fred is well qualified at some point in time to chair thiscommittee, but not right now,” he said… I have the respect on both sides of theaisle and on both sides of the Capitol.” Stearns – who has owned a smallchain of hotels and restaurants – is seen as a long-shot candidate, butwas confident about his chances after appearing before the committee. “Andsince the election was about jobs and about the deficit, I explained to themhow I fulfilled the American dream and was able to create jobs through hotelsand restaurants.” Shimkus was less chatty than his competitors after hispresentation. “I’m no surprise as far as who I am, what I’ve done,” he toldreporters. “It’s over, so we’ll see. I don’t really have much to say.”

16. That’s the Number ofPermits Issued since the BP-Blowout; Interior Says “Ain’t our Fault.” Folks,this is what we Call the Permitorium. CNN Money (11/30) reports, “Drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico willremain light in the years ahead, despite the fact that the ban on drillingthere has been lifted, according to a survey of oil executives releasedTuesday. Nearly 70% of industry executives expect drilling activity in the Gulfto remain below 2009 levels until at least 2012, according to a survey by BDO,a Chicago-based accounting and consulting firm. Some say it will never returnto 2009 levels. "One message came through loud and clear in this year’ssurvey — that legislative changes represent the biggest threat to growth inthe oil and gas industry," said Charles Dewhurst, who heads BDO’s naturalresources group. The U.S. imposed a moratorium on new drilling activity shortlyafter the BP disaster in April. But since the ban was fully lifted in October,very few new permits for drilling in the region have been issued. Just 16permits for new wells have been issued since the ban on shallow water drillingwas lifted in June and the deepwater ban was lifted in October, according tothe Interior Department. In 2009, a total of 171 permits were issued. Thegovernment says the drop in permits is not entirely its fault. A spokeswomanfor the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said theagency has only received two requests for deepwater wells since the ban waslifted. She said the agency has approved the vast majority of the requests ithas received to drill in shallow water since June. Daniel Kish, a policyspecialist at the American EnergyAlliance, said oil and gas companies are holding off on requesting newdrilling permits until the government finalizes the regulations that apply todeep water drilling. "The problem is that no one knows what the changeswill be," he said. Requesting a new permit "is a difficult thing tojustify economically if you think the regulations are going to change."

SalazarCalls for Disclosure of HF Fluids; May Want to Visit Pa. DEP’s Website or Halliburton or Range Resources, to Name a Few. Associated Press (11/30) reports, “The Obama administrationmay require companies drilling for natural gas on public lands to disclose thechemicals being used in a technique called hydraulic fracturing. Officials areweighing the policy, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, calling hydraulicfracturing "a hot and very difficult issue" on public and privatelands. Also known as "fracking," the process involves pumpingmillions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals underground to forceopen channels so natural gas will flow. "As the nation’s largest landmanager, the Department of the Interior has a responsibility to ensure thatnatural gas is developed in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner andprotects the other valuable resources on those lands, including preventing harmto the air, water and species that call these lands home," Salazar saidTuesday at a forum he hosted on the issue. He said officials have yet to settleon a policy. Onshore gas wells on Interior-managed lands account for 11 percentof the nation’s natural gas supply. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency isstudying whether the drilling practice affects drinking water and the publichealth. The EPA has subpoenaed energy giant Halliburton, seeking disclosure ofchemicals used in their fracking fluids. Eight other drilling companies haveprovided that information to the EPA or promised to do so. Drilling companieshave resisted attempts to disclose publicly the chemicals in their frackingfluids, claiming proprietary information. The forum hosted by Salazar includedpanel discussions among federal officials, energy companies and environmentalgroups.”

By Targeting one Tool at aTime, Enviro Groups Aim to Empty the Affordable Energy Toolbox; Halt the use ofFossil Energy. E&E News (sub req’d, 11/30) reports, “Critics of thenew wave of gas drilling have focused too much on one process — hydraulicfracturing — when other aspects of drilling are proved to have caused moreproblems, an Environmental Defense Fund official said today. "If peopleover-emphasize hydraulic fracturing as a risk, they are doing industry afavor," Scott Anderson, senior policy adviser for EDF, said after a forumon fracturing at the Heritage Foundation. "They’re shortchanging attentionthat could be focused on practices that cause the bulk of the problem." Andersonsaid many people equate hydraulic fracturing with shale gas development ingeneral. But most of the documented problems with shale gas production, hesaid, have been spills of fracturing fluid, flowback or other toxic substances.Methane leaking into water supplies is also a widespread problem. Lee Fuller,vice president of government relations for the Independent PetroleumAssociation of America, said the debate isn’t about drilling safety, but thefuture of natural gas and other fossil fuels. "We tend to see the debatenot as about chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, but as a war over thefuture of fossil energy," Fuller said. "There’s a great number ofmembers of the environmental community who have as their charter theelimination of fossil fuel." Hydraulic fracturing suits environmentalgroups’ purposes, he said, because it’s not federally regulated while spillsand other processes are regulated. Once fracturing fades or gets resolved, hesaid, environmentalists will simply come up with a new way to eliminate fossilfuel use. "It will not end thatagenda," Fuller said. "They simply will move on to the nextbattle."

Corporate Welfare at itsWorst: Taxpayers to Fork Over $31 BILLION in Ethanol Handouts Over the NextFive Years. E&E News (sub req’d, 11/30) reports, A bipartisangroup of 17 senators is urging their chamber’s leadership to drop ethanol taxcredits and protective tariffs, projecting that the current subsidies, ifextended, would cost the Treasury $31 billion over the next five years. "Wecannot afford to pay industry for following the law," the letter argues,in reference to ethanol blending requirements under the federal renewable fuelstandard. "Eliminating or reducing the ethanol tariff would diversify ourfuel supply, replace oil imports from [the Organization of Petroleum ExportingCountries] with ethanol from our allies and expand our trade relationships withdemocratic states." Citing Congressional Budget Office analyses that showthe tax credit costs taxpayers $1.78 per gallon of gasoline consumption reducedand amounts to a $750-per-metric-ton tax on carbon dioxide emissions, theletter says the costs of the two measures outweigh the benefits. Led by Sens.Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the letter puts thesignatories — all from outside of the Farm Belt — on the record in favor ofletting the 45-cent-per-gallon ethanol blending subsidy and the54-cent-per-gallon imported ethanol tariff expire.”

Coal, Rare Earths, Oil,Natural Gas – You Name it, China is Importing It. Coal Imports Surge 45%over Four Years.Investor’s Business Daily (12/1/10) reports, “Whether a company isbased in Minneapolis or Mumbai, it’s clear that emerging markets are providingnew demand for coal, metals, oil and grains. And chief among the biggest newbuyers of these raw materials is China. Consider coal. China was the No. 1producer in 2009, providing half the world’s output, according to the EnergyDepartment. But it also was the world’s biggest coal consumer. Over the fouryears through 2009, the latest data available from the DOE, China’s usagesurged 45%. In the U.S., the second-biggest coal burner, usage fell 11% in thattime frame. More to the point, China’s demand growth outstrips its outputgrowth, which the DOE puts at 34% in that four-year stretch. So China’s coalimports have been growing at a breathtaking pace. China imported 151 millionshort tons of coal in 2009. That’s 240% more than the 2008 figure and 423% morethan the 2005 figure. China is the world’s biggest producer and importer ofcoal. The emerging behemoth also is the big name in the copper industry. Chinaimports about one-third of world production, says Bill O’Neill, a partner atLogic Advisors, a commodity consultancy, broker and money manager. The story ismuch the same in other base metals and, to some degree, oil. Booming demand andstrategic stockpiling are the magnets luring huge shipments to China fromproducers around the world. In this way, the China story can’t help but impactU.S. companies. Coal miners are thriving.”

Sound Familiar? Chu aimsfor 50% Renewable by 2050; Carter Called for 20% Solar by 2000, 30years ago. Platts (11/30) reports, “US Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesdaysaid he would like to see the country generate at least 20% of its electricityfrom renewable sources by 2020, and 50% or more by 2050. "And as time goeson, we get better and better at this and we can get [renewable generation]cheaper than fossil fuels, it’ll really take off," Chu said during awide-ranging live video chat on www.whitehouse.gov. "Certainly there’snothing in the laws of physics that say, by the mid to end of the century, wecan’t mostly be relying on renewable energy." But to do so will requirestates to enact robust renewable energy standards, as well as federal policiesthat guide the country towards clean energy, he said. Industry will also haveto find a way for renewable generation to be cheaper than electricity generatedfrom fossil fuels, so that such technologies will no longer require subsidies,he said. "Going into the future, we have to be able to say wind or solaror other renewables are going to be cheaper than gas, cheaper than coal,"Chu said.”

Beach Scopes: Lisa JacksonKickin’ It in Cancun This Week, Laments that Carbon “Pollution” Isn’t “Easy toPhotograph,” and Is Thus “Less Easy to Get People Riled Up About.” EnergyGuardian (11/30, subs.req’d) reports, “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jacksonsuggested in a speech Monday that congressional opposition and voter apathy tocapping greenhouse gas emissions was the outcome of her agency’s 40 yearsuccess in regulating pollution. “We’ve gotten to the point now where we don’tsee the pollution as often as we did, and in some ways, that makes our job alittle bit harder. It’s pollution that’s less easy to photograph and less easyto get people riled up about.” It’s a line unlikely to inspire confidence atCancun, especially with lingering questions about whether Congress can musterenough votes to block EPA from regulating large source emitters in 2011.Jackson even suggested in a Newsweek interview she might be open to delayingthe regulations. “I’m not saying there’s no accommodation that can be made withrespect to time,” she said. Energy Secretary Steven Chu sought to steer theclimate debate away from greenhouse gas emissions all together, suggesting inhis own speech Monday that the real reason to act was that China could beat theUnited States in a Sputnik-like race for clean energy technology and possiblyunseat America’s economic superiority. To developing countries being asked tocut greenhouse gases, the race for economic superiority is a low priority.

Shallow Thinking: BOEMRE’sContinued Inaction in Executing Basic Responsibilities on Shallow Water PermitsReally Starting to Irk Both Rs and Ds in Congress.Houston Chronicle (11/29) reports, “Gulf State lawmakers onMonday pressed federal regulators to speed up approvals for new offshoredrilling projects amid what they said was an economically devastating slowdownin well permits. A dozen members of Congress made their case in a closed-doormeeting with Michael Bromwich, the head of the Bureau of Ocean EnergyManagement, Regulation and Enforcement. Although the Obama administration liftedits moratorium on deep-water drilling in October, the government has yet tosign off on any new offshore project that would have been blocked by the ban.And fewer shallow-water permits are being sought or approved by the oceanenergy bureau than before the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion triggered the oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico and a swath of new offshore drilling requirements.Bromwich has insisted his bureau is moving as “expeditiously” as possible tovet new drilling applications without compromising safety and has reassignedroughly 20 employees from other divisions of the ocean energy bureau to helpwith the permitting logjam. After a meeting with offshore drilling contractorson Nov. 22, Bromwich noted that his agency “has been in frequent communicationwith representatives from the oil and gas industry.” But Gulf Coast lawmakerssaid those overtures have fallen short and told Bromwich that he needs to do abetter job explaining the new rules to oil and gas producers.

That’s a Relief: Steven ChuSays Obama’s Freeze in Salaries for Federal Bureaucrats Won’t Affect theBillions He’s Spending to Prop Up Unreliable Energy.The Hill (11/29) reports, “Energy Secretary Steven Chu has a simplereason why President Obama’s proposed federal pay freeze would not hinder DOE’spush to develop next-wave energy technologies. Chu said Monday that DOE alreadyattracts talent that’s willing to take big pay cuts to work for the agency. “Interms of the ability to attract quality people to the DOE, surprisingly, anumber of people have been willing to take cuts in pay” by a factor of two orfour or even 10, Chu said in remarks at the National Press Club. “They feel itis that important.” He pointed to Arun Majumdar, who directs DOE’s AdvancedResearch Projects Agency — Energy, which is aimed to cultivatinghigh-risk, high-reward research into technologies that curb reliance on foreignenergy and lower greenhouse-gas emissions. Before coming to DOE a year ago,Majumdar was an engineering professor at the University of California-Berkeleyand associate laboratory director for energy and environment at LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory (the lab Chu ran before coming to DOE). “It istough and you have to be, kind of, a little bit crazy and a whole lotpatriotic,” Chu said.

Here’s How You Know It’sTime to End the Ethanol Subsidies: When the Tea Party and Friends of the EarthGet Together on a Letter and Demand It.The Hill (11/29) reports, “A grab-bag of groups from across thepolitical spectrum are pushing Senate leaders to let a major ethanol tax breakexpire at year’s end. Friends of the Earth, FreedomWorks, Taxpayers for CommonSense and food industry trade groups made their case in a letter Monday toSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.). The tax credit for ethanol blenders helps boost the market for thecorn-based fuel, but the groups call it wasteful and pointless. “Congress hasthe opportunity to end the $6 billion a year subsidy to gasoline refiners who blendcorn ethanol into gasoline. At a time of spiraling deficits, we do not believeCongress should continue subsidizing gasoline refiners for something that theyare already required to do by the Renewable Fuels Standard,” the letter states.The Renewable Fuels Standard is the federal program created in a 2005 energylaw and expanded in a 2007 energy bill that requires increasing volumes ofethanol and other renewable fuels in the nation’s gasoline supply. “Experts like the Congressional Budget Officeand the Government Accountability Office have concluded that the subsidy is nolonger necessary, and leading economists agree that ending it would have littleimpact on ethanol production, prices or jobs,” the letter continues.

Mining of Phosphate HasHelped Florida Create Thousands of Jobs in Fertilizer Industry, Helped FarmersGrow Crops All Around the World – Which Is Precisely Why Sierra ClubWants It to Stop.Wall Street Journal (11/30) reports, “The phosphate mined formore than a century here in central Florida to make fertilizer has yieldedthousands of jobs and countless harvests around the world. But environmentalgroups are arguing in federal court that the cornucopia extracts too high aprice in lost wetlands, spoiled water supplies and ruined farmland. The SierraClub and local environmentalists have slammed the brakes on an 11,000-acre mineextension planned by industry giant Mosaic Co. after securing a courtinjunction in July—the first such ruling in a state that suppliesapproximately 70% of U.S. phosphate rock for fertilizer. Mosaic is appealingthe ruling. At the same time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to beginan environmental review early next year to determine the cumulative impact ofphosphate mining in this region—the first such study in Florida since1978. The hurdles are threatening jobs in a local economy that is strugglingto emerge from recession. Phosphate mining directly employs about 4,000 peoplein four Florida counties, generating an estimated 20% of the world’s phosphatefertilizer. In Hardee County, where Mosaic’s mine extension is located, theunemployment rate has more than doubled to 15% since 2007. On the main streetof Wauchula, the county seat, about half the store fronts are vacant. "Iwould hate to see anything happen that prohibits mining," said TerryAtchley, chairman of the county’s board of commissioners.

Clowns in NY LegislatureBad Enough in the Middle of the Day – Let ‘Em Vote on Things At Midnight,And They Pass Moratorium Bills Targeting Hydraulic Fracturing. Ithaca Journal (11/30) reports, “The Assembly approved atemporary moratorium on natural gas drilling Monday night, with the goal ofplacing a hold on hydraulic fracturing until May. The bill passed, 93-43,according to the unofficial tally. Assemblyman Robert Castelli, R-GoldensBridge, Westchester County, said the measure would help protect water qualityacross the state."Our environment should not be reducing the protection ofthe environment to the level of a political football," Castelli said.Though the moratorium was not on the agenda set by Paterson, AssemblywomanBarbara Lifton, D-Ithaca, said Sunday she was hopeful a vote would be taken onthe legislation. Because the bill was not on Paterson’s agenda, the Assemblyhad to gavel into a "regular" session in order to take up additionalitems, Lifton said."I’m pushing for a regular session so that we can bringboth the moratorium bill up and a stronger moratorium bill up," she said.Other lawmakers said the moratorium would hurt property owners in his district."There are a lot of small farmers, small landowners who are going to behurt by this," said Assemblyman James Bacalles, R-Corning, Steuben County.Actor Mark Ruffalo, a Sullivan County resident and an anti-drilling advocate,also released a statement through the Working Families Party, pushing for theAssembly to pass the bill and urging New Yorkers to sign a petition in favor ofthe moratorium.

Funny Thing About ShaleGas: The More of It We Produce, the More Rapid the Decline of Folks’ NaturalGas and Utility Bills – Even In Areas We Don’t Drill. Philadelphia Inquirer (11/29) reports, “Just in time for thewinter heating season, Philadelphia Gas Works announced Monday it will decreasenatural gas rates for the next three months, saving the average residentialheating customer about $14.69 per month. The municipal gas utility will lowerits residential gas-supply charge from $1.60 per hundred cubic feet to $1.50 onWednesday. The charge for commercial and institutional customers will also bereduced. The supply charge is adjusted quarterly to reflect changes in thewholesale market price of natural gas, which is depressed because of therecession and abundant supplies from new resources such as shale-gas. Basedupon current market projections, the company anticipates that its rates shouldremain stable through the spring.

If You Read Only OneArticle This Week, Make It This: Thousands of Folks Who Returned to School toLearn How to Do “Green Jobs” Find Themselves Without Work Because Of It.Washington Post (11/23) reports, “Anton has been out ofwork since 2008, when his job as a surveyor vanished with Florida’s once-sizzlinghousing market. After a futile search, at age 56 he reluctantly returned toschool to learn the kind of job skills the Obama administration is wageringwill soon fuel an employment boom: solar installation, sustainable landscapedesign, recycling and green demolition. Anton said the classes, funded with a$2.9 million federal grant to Ocala’s workforce development organization, havetaught him a lot. He’s learned how to apply Ohm’s law, how to solder tinycomponents on circuit boards and how to disassemble rather than demolish abuilding. The only problem is that his new skills have not resulted in a singlejob offer. Officials who run Ocala’s green jobs training program say the sameis true for three-quarters of their first 100 graduates. "I think I haveput in 200 applications," said Anton, who exhausted his unemploymentbenefits months ago and now relies on food stamps and his dwindling savings tosurvive. "I’m long past the point where I need some regular income."The industry’s growth has been undercut by the simple economic fact that fossilfuels remain cheaper than renewables. Both Obama administration officials andgreen energy executives say that the business needs not just governmentincentives, but also rules and regulations that force people and business toturn to renewable energy. NAM’s Carter Wood blogs on the WashPost story over atShopFloor.org.

Earlier This Year, BLMFound GHG Emissions from Wellsites Were Picayune – And Certainly Had NoImpact on Climate; Now, Enviros Want BLM To Ignore that Science and Delay NewProject.Associated Press (11/23) reports, “Environmental groups onTuesday sought to cancel the December sale of oil and gas leases beneath morethan 234 square miles of public lands in Montana, North Dakota and SouthDakota. In a formal protest letter sent to the Bureau of Land Management, thethree groups said the agency had not done enough to curb greenhouse gasemissions from oil field activities. Any leases sold in the Dec. 9 sale willnot be issued until the protest is resolved. The three environmental groups— Montana Environmental Information Center, Earthworks and WildEarthGuardians — sued the BLM over the same issue last year. The case wassettled when the BLM pledged environmental reviews on suspended leases totalingmore than 50 square miles. The agency also said it would conduct more detailedreviews on future lease sales. The BLM later determined that greenhouse gasemissions from drilling rigs, compressors and other oil field equipment wereinsignificant and could not be linked directly to climate change. Marc Smithwith the Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas trade association, defendedthe BLM’s findings on greenhouse gas emissions from oil field activity."The finding of no significant impact speaks for itself," Smith said."It begs the question, what is the greater good? Stopping the Americaneconomy for an impact you can’t measure, or moving ahead with ideas thatimprove overall power sector emissions, create jobs and reduce reliance onforeign oil?"

What Are You Thankful For,Tom Friedman? How About a Nation Called China and the 15.3 Million Short Tonsof Coal It Imported in September – A New World Record.CommodoreResearch projects thefollowing in its most recent China report: “During the last few months, we havebeen writing extensively about robust electricity demand in China. We continueto expect that Chinese coal imports will set records in November and December.China imported 15.3 million tons of coal in September (the vast majority wasthermal coal), an increase of 2.04mt (15%) from 13.26mt imported in August. Ourconservative estimates anticipate that Chinese coal imports will total about16.75mt in November and 17.25mt in December (coal trade figures for Octoberhave not yet been released). In the last few weeks, a very large amount ofvessels have been chartered to import thermal coal to China. China’s currentmonthly coal import record is 16.38mt imported in December 2009. Cold weatherhas enveloped northern provinces across China. A cold front has pushed down to asfar south as Beijing, with low temperatures now hovering at around 1 degreecelsius (33 degrees fahrenheit). Sporadic snowfall also hit much of northernChina over the weekend, forcing the closure of some highways and airports. Coldweather and winter conditions are likely to persist. Thermal coal demand willremain robust.

Markey Embarrassed YetAgain: New Report Shows that Dispersants in the Gulf Broke Up Double the Amountof Oil Than Was Previously Estimated, Saving Lots of Birds.Houston Chronicle (11/23) reports, “Chemical dispersantsappear to have done a better job that originally expected in breaking up oilspilled from the Deepwater Horizon accident this past summer, according to apeer-reviewed report on a previously released “oil budget”. It’s estimated thatabout 16 percent of the approximately 4.9 million gallons of oil were dispersedby chemicals either sprayed into the oil on the surface or as it streamed fromthe well 5,000 feet below, according to the report from the Federal InteragencySolutions Group. That’s up from an estimate of 8 percent that was in theoriginal oil budget released on Aug. 4. The percentage of the oil dispersednaturally was estimated to be about 13 percent (down 3 percent from original)and the amount that evaporated or dissovled estimated at 23 percent (down 2percent). The report estimates about 23 percent of the total oil spill remainsunaccounted for, down about 3 percent from the original report. NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said the relativelyclose proximity of the original numbers and Tuesday’s report serves as“validation of the original numbers.”

Wolverine: Rep. Upton FiresOff Long Letter to Sec. Chu with Questions About How His Agency Doled OutStimulus Cash – And Where It’s Hiding the Billions Never Spent. E&E News(11/23, subs. req’d) reports, “Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the leading contenderin a four-way race for the chairmanship of the powerful committee, today pushedEnergy Secretary Steven Chu to explain the agency’s decisions in doling out its$40 billion portion of the $800 billion stimulus bill. "The Obamaadministration and congressional Democrats narrowly passed a $862 billionstimulus package … in February of 2009 on the promise that money would go outthe door immediately to shovel-ready projects and that the unemployment ratewould stay below 8 percent," Upton wrote today in a letter to Chu."It is clear that the president’s economic team was wrong aboutunemployment staying below 8 percent. It is also now clear that the presidentwas incorrect in his assertion that money would go out the door immediately toshovel-ready projects." Upton goes on to question Chu about the status ofthe funding, the number of jobs created and the premise of doling out the fundsto "shovel ready" projects. DOE has been heavily criticized for notspending stimulus funds fast enough, and some congressional critics, includingUpton, have vowed to seize unspent funding. Upton’s letter is the latest in astring of actions he has taken to boost his conservative credentials as hejockeys for the top spot on the committee in the next Congress.

Interior Announces MajorNew Campaign to Break the Gridlock and Finally Issue Much-Needed Permits forOffshore Energy – Just Not for Oil and Gas.E&E News(11/23, subs. req’d) reports, “The Interior Department will announce a programtoday for fast-tracking the permits of offshore wind projects by identifyingpromising areas along the mid-Atlantic Coast and marshaling the resources of an11-state offshore wind consortium. The announcement scheduled for thisafternoon at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry will include a suite of proposals for"speeding up, expediting and facilitating the process of siting offshorewind energy on the outer continental shelf," Interior spokesman FrankQuimby said. At an offshore wind conference in Atlantic City, N.J., last month,Interior Secretary Ken Salazar hinted that his department would pursue aprogrammatic environmental review of offshore wind potential in the Atlanticsimilar to the Bureau of Land Management’s study of solar resources on federallands in the Southwest. BLM last year said it would conduct front-endenvironmental reviews of sun-drenched federal lands to encourage developmentwhere resource potential is high, environmental impacts are low andtransmission access is available (Land Letter, July 9, 2009). "If we cando this type of work on the 250 million acres of the Bureau of Land Management,we should be able to do the same on the 1.75 billion acres of our nation’s outercontinental shelf," Salazar said. "I am determined to accomplish asimilar objective of orderly, responsible and straightforward permitting forwind development on the Atlantic outer continental shelf."

Sierra Club Drops the FigLeaf on Coal: “We Don’t Want It Burned At All” – Too Bad the ChineseDon’t Speak Na’vi. NY Times (11/21) reports, “At ports in Canada, Australia, Indonesia,Colombia and South Africa, ships are lining up to load coal for furnaces inChina, which has evolved virtually overnight from a coal exporter to one of theworld’s leading purchasers. The United States now ships coal to China viaCanada, but coal companies are scouting for new loading ports in WashingtonState. New mines are being planned for the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.Indeed, some of the world’s more environmentally progressive regions arenascent epicenters of the new coal export trade, creating political tensionsbetween business and environmental goals. Traditionally, coal is burned nearwhere it is mined — particularly so-called thermal or steaming coal, usedfor heat and electricity. But in the last few years, long-distanceinternational coal exports have been surging because of China’s gallopingeconomy, which now burns half of the six billion tons of coal used globallyeach year. And the rush to feed this new Asian market has helped double theprice of coal over the past five years, leading to a renaissance of mining andexploration in many parts of the world. “This is a worst-case scenario,” saidDavid Graham-Caso, spokesman for the Sierra Club, which estimates that its“Beyond Coal” campaign has helped to block 139 proposed coal plants in theUnited States over the last few years. “We don’t want this coal burned here,but we don’t want it burned at all. This is undermining everything we’veaccomplished.”

Action Jackson: EPA’sUnilateral Assault on American Economy “Unprecedented” – And FindingItself Less Grounded in the Law by the Day. Wall Street Journal (11/22) editorializes, “The scale of theEPA’s current assault is unprecedented, yet it has received almost no publicscrutiny. Since Mr. Obama took office, the agency has proposed or finalized 29major regulations and 172 major policy rules. This surge already outpaces theClinton Administration’s entire first term—when the EPA had just beenhanded broad new powers under the 1990 revamp of air pollution laws. … A casestudy in the Jackson method is the EPA’s recent tightening of air-qualitystandards for sulfur dioxide. The draft SO2 rule was released for the formalperiod of public comment last December. Yet the final rule published in Junesuddenly included a "preamble" that rewrote 40-odd years of settledEPA policy. EPA has heretofore measured the concentration of pollutants in the ambientair by, well, measuring the concentration of pollutants in the ambient air. Thepreamble throws out this sampling and ultraviolet testing and substitutescomputer estimations of what air quality might be. The EPA favors modelingbecause it can plug in the data and assumptions of its choosing, like how oftena power plant is running at maximum capacity. Gaming the models will allow theagency to punish states and target individual plants, even if actualmeasurements show that SO2 is under the new EPA standard.

Dog and Phony Show: SalazarOn Hand in New Orleans Today to Talk About How Much He Loves the O&GIndustry – Notwithstanding the Permitorium that Remains In Place.The Hill (11/22) reports, “Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will meetMonday with oil industry officials in Louisiana to talk about offshore drillingpermits. The session is part of the deal that ended Sen. Mary Landrieu’s(D-La.) months-long obstruction of Jacob Lew’s confirmation as White Housebudget director. The department has promised a closed-door “informaldiscussion” with Salazar “to discuss the challenges affecting the offshore oiland gas industry and to hear the Secretary’s path forward to issuing permitsand getting this vital industry back to work,” according to Interior’sinvitation. Industry sources believe Salazar may announce the processing ofsome shallow-water drilling permits, and perhaps a nebulous roadmap fordeepwater projects. Oil-and-gas companies bashed the deepwater drilling freezeimposed after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill began, and have also criticized aslowdown in permits for shallow-water projects that were not covered by theformal ban. While the department lifted the official deepwater ban in October,industry critics claim a de facto freeze remains for both deepwater andshallow-water projects. Interior has imposed a suite of new rig safety mandatesin recent months, but says it wants to work with industry to get permitsrolling under the beefed-up standards.

Number of Senators DemandingPermanent Lock-Down of Alaska’s Coastal Plan Continues to Dwindle – ButBegich and Murkowski Aren’t About to Let ‘Em Off the Hook.EnergyGuardian (11/23, subs.req’d) reports, “Alaska lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Mark Begich, vowedto oppose any move by President Barack Obama to add new wilderness protectionsto the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A group of 25 senators, including Sen.Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and 24 Democrats, Friday called on Obama to use the50th anniversary of the refuge, on Dec. 6, to “grant the Arctic Refuge thestrong protections it deserves.” They noted that more than 100 million acresoutside ANWR have been made available for exploration. “Now is the time to findbalance in managing our public lands,” they said. Begich and Alaska Sen. LisaMurkowski, a Republican, urged that the appeal be ignored. “This is anothermisguided attempt to lock up ANWR by Sen. Lieberman and others who truly don’tunderstand its potential to help bring national and economic security to ourcountry,” Begich said. Begich and Murkowski support directional drilling, whichthey say can safely extract oil and gas from the 1.5 million coastal acres inthe ANWR that are not already off-limits. Exploration on the coastal acres issubject to congressional approval. “We should be discussing how to make thathappen, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, rather than writingmore letters that paint ANWR as this last bastion of wilderness,” Begich said. “The letter from my Senate colleagues offers no alternatives to ANWR’sresources, only more of the same old arguments about why America’s resourcesshould never be developed,” Murkowski said.

Your Government At Work: 6Months Removed from Federal Approval of Cape Wind Project, Folks Up in Mass.Still Can’t Get Any Permits from EPA, Interior. Boston Globe (11/20) reports, “The developers of theproposed Nantucket Sound wind farm said yesterday that they would not meet adeadline to qualify for a 30 percent federal cash grant for the project.However, it is not clear if the cost of Cape Wind’s electricity will rise,because the project could receive numerous other federal financial incentives.The price of electric power from Cape Wind, which would amount to roughly 2percent of electric bills for National Grid customers in Massachusetts, hasbecome one of the biggest controversies of the project. Cape Wind developershad asked the state Department of Public Utilities to rule by Nov. 15 on aproposed contract between the wind farm and National Grid for the utility topurchase 50 percent of the project’s electricity. They sought the rulingbecause they wanted to start construction by the end of this year, arequirement to receive the federal grant that is possibly worth hundreds ofmillions of dollars. That DPU decision has been delayed to at least Monday, buta Cape Wind official said last night that the main reasons for the misseddeadline were outstanding permits from the US Environmental Protection Agencyand the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Ethanol Fuel Mandate Uppedto 15%? No Problem, Says EPA – Totally Safe for Your Car, Unless YouHappen to Drive Anything Built Between 2001 and 2006. The Hill (11/19) reports, “EPA is delaying a decision likely untilearly next year on whether a higher ethanol blend is appropriate for vehiclesin model years 2001 through 2006 in order to conduct more federal testing. TheEnergy Department "has informed EPA that lab testing of E15 in model year2001-2006 vehicles will now be completed by the end of December. EPA will makeits decision shortly after receiving that data," according to an EPAstatement to E2. The EnergyDepartment was initially expected to complete testing by this month on whetherE15 — a fuel blend comprised of 85 percent gasoline and 15 percentethanol — was safe for vehicles in model years 2001 through 2006. EPA inOctober announced that E15 was safe to use in engines in model year 2007 andnewer cars, light trucks and sport-utility vehicles. That decision —strongly supported by ethanol advocates — has been challenged in court byfood, farm and oil industry groups, charging that the decision violated theClean Air Act. Additional groups — including petroleum refiners —may challenge that decision as well. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis said thereason for the delay in EPA’s decision is because of the need to continuetesting “one particular car that hadn’t been properly maintained and serviced.”

Return to Sender: FourYears Ago, Richard Branson Offered $25 Million to Anyone with a Cool Way toHandle CO2; Needless to Say, That Check Won’t Be Written.NY Times (11/21) reports, “An initiative from Richard Branson, theshaggy-haired billionaire owner of Virgin Atlantic airlines, was emblematic. InFebruary 2007, he offered a cash prize of $25 million to anyone who could comeup within just a few years with a process that would suck large amounts ofgreenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. Flanked by Al Gore, the former U.S.vice president and the author of the book “An Inconvenient Truth,” Mr. Bransonlikened his offer to an 18th century competition for a method of estimatinglongitude accurately that eventually saved thousands of lives at seas. “Mancreated the problem, therefore man should solve the problem,” said Mr. Branson,who was referring to global warming. His initiative to help ensure thestability of the climate was “the largest ever science and technology prize tobe offered in history,” Mr. Branson said. Nearly four years later, Mr.Branson’s plans to award that prize, known as the Virgin Earth Challenge, areeffectively on hold. One problem is that some of the most promising ideasamong the approximately 2,500 applications submitted for the award proposedprojects raising tricky environmental and social issues.