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From Small Mom and Pop Shop inHouston, to Fast Growing Washington Powerhouse, IER Quickly Becoming a Force inWashington Energy Policy Circles.Human Events (8/8) reports, "For an organization that opposescap-and-trade legislation and bans on offshore drilling, promoting free-marketenergy principles comes naturally. Praised by Rush Limbaugh as the "energyequivalent" of the Heritage Foundation, the Institute for Energy Research seeksto educate the public, legislators, academia and the media on free-marketsolutions to the world’s energy challenges. IER was founded in 1989 by RobertL. Bradley Jr. in Houston. Leading a small group of volunteers at first,Bradley worked nights and weekends to grow IER into an effective educationalorganization. In establishing itself as a respected research institute, IERbegan distributing quarterly reports to a small but growing list of donors inthe early 1990s and eventually expanded its publishing capabilities to includehighly publicized studies. Despite having an impressive media presence, IER’sability to influence lawmakers was limited due to the organization’s distancefrom Washington, D.C. This all changed in 2007 when IER opened its Washingtonoffice, transforming itself into a formidable energy think tank offeringresearch and analysis on global energy markets. Recently, IER has been involvedin a number of campaigns to influence public policy. The organization was thefirst to call for the removal of President George W. Bush’s ban on offshoreenergy exploration. In 2008, IER experts conducted analysis on theWarner-Lieberman Climate Security Act, creating an online map that projectedthe legislation’s potential cost to each state. Most recently, IER staffcreated a website where homeowners can go to calculate how much they will haveto pay for the Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill."

With Unemployment Nearing 10Percent, There’s Hope in Appalachia; It’s Called the Marcellus Shale, and He’sHiring. West Virginia Public Broadcasting (8/9) reports, "Marcellus Shaledrilling is still in its infancy in West Virginia, but the industry is alreadycontributing millions of dollars to the state’s economy. It may be awhilebefore the gas industry’s economic impact rivals that of coal in West Virginia.Mike Shaver, clad in a hard hat and muddy boots, surveys a gas drilling rig ona site in Upshur County. As a crew drills towards the Marcellus Shale, a pipepumps water and dirt out of the hole in the earth and into a huge pit of muddy,rock-filled water. Shaver looks at the water, trying to determine how muchfarther the drill has to go before reaching shale gas. Shaver is the owner ofMountain V Oil and Gas, based in Bridgeport. His company started drilling inthe Marcellus Shale two years ago. He says the Marcellus hasn’t changed hisbusiness-he’s still drilling for gas, after all-but now things are done on abigger scale. He drills fewer wells to get the same amount of gas, but they’redeeper and more expensive to drill. "Instead of drilling 60-100 conventionalwells, we’re looking at only drilling 15 Marcellus wells due to the cost," hesaid. "The production on the Marcellus has proven to be worth changing ourbusiness model. Basically, the way we’re looking at it, it takes 10conventional wells to equal the production of one Marcellus well, based on ourresults in Upshur County." When gas drillers began tapping the West VirginiaMarcellus Shale in 2002, only two wells were drilled. In 2008, that number hadskyrocketed to 299, according to a report sponsored by the federal government.Though gas has been drilled in the state for years, with the Marcellus Shalethe industry is booming."

CanAnyone Name One Industry (Other than Ethanol) that Receives Guaranteed MarketShare? Well, That’s What an RES will Accomplish, and Senate Dems are Lining up BehindLame-Duck Strategy to Make it Happen.  E&E News (subreq’d, 8/5) reports, "Fivemore senators have signed onto a growing push — which now includes more thanhalf the chamber’s Democrats — to convince their party’s leaders to include arenewable electricity standard in an energy bill that could come to the floorin September. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stripped language dealingwith an RES from his pared-down energy package that was slated to come to thefloor this week, saying it did not have enough support. But plans to debate thebill were scuttled, as Democratic leaders were unable to garner 60 votes.Yesterday, Reid indicated he was considering bringing a larger energy packageafter recess. That news likely will please the 32 Democrats who signed onto a letter yesterday urging him to includean RES in an energy package. "We write today to express our support forincluding a national renewable electricity standard (RES) in any energy legislationthat is brought to the floor this summer and want to work with you to ensurethat the strongest possible RES passes in the Senate," the letter says.The group, led by Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Tom Udall of New Mexicoand Mark Udall of Colorado, also urges Reid to "ensure that the strongestpossible RES passes in the Senate."

Recognizing That They GotTheir Clocks Cleaned by the American People in the Cap-and-Trade Debate, EnviroMovement Going on Defense to Protect EPA Endangerment. Politico(8/8) reports, "When it comes to global warming, the environmental lobby isgoing on defense. Stung by the failure to secure a Senate vote on climate and energylegislation and wary of a possible GOP-led Congress, leaders of some of thecountry’s most influential green groups are moving cash and staff away from capand trade. Environment America, the Sierra Club and the Union of ConcernedScientists, with more than 2.5 million members combined, now consider it theirtop job to defend the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to writeclimate rules against attacks in the courts and on Capitol Hill. "The era ofthe big bill I think is over," said an environmentalist whose group has not yetcome out publicly on the issue. The groups also are hoping to defend and expandon state and regional climate laws and compacts, including a carbon market forpower plants operating in the Northeast and emerging systems in the West. Andthey will work at the state public utility commission level to make carbondioxide emissions a crux in reviewing permits for new and existing coal-firedpower plants. The Sierra Club is spending $18 million and has 100 people acrossthe country working on challenges to coal-fired electricity, said MichaelBrune, the group’s executive director. He hopes to increase the budget to $25million next year."

Meanwhile, Top "Energy" Advisor Over at the White Housegoes on Meet the Press, says President is Open to Lame-Duck Strategy onNational Energy Tax.The Hill (8/8) reports, "White House Energy Adviser CarolBrowner said Sunday that while the Obama administration is "deeplydisappointed" that an energy bill was unable to make its way throughCongress, the president has not given up hope that it can get done this year.In an exclusive interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Browner wasasked whether the president has conceded defeat on energy legislation."Not yet," Browner said. "The Congress is coming back and wewill continue to see if we can get legislation. We passed it in the House andwe will continue to work in the Senate." Asked if Democrats couldpotentially get it done in a lame-duck session, Browner responded,"Potentially."

With Obama Moratorium Entering Third Month, DeepwaterRig Workers on Standby – Waiting on WH to give Green Light. The Times-Picayune (8/6) reports, "Despiteuncertainty about when the federal moratorium on deepwater oil exploration inthe Gulf of Mexico may be lifted, drilling companies say they are readying toreturn to work, maintaining their full complement of rig workers at full payand making improvements in their rigs to meet new federal safety standardsrequired by the Interior Department. "Most of the discussions we’ve hadabout the readiness to resume work during this period of suspension has beenaround … maintaining crews and the capability of equipment to go back to workas quickly as possible," Steven Newman, president and CEO of Transocean,the largest offshore drilling contractor in the world and in the Gulf, saidThursday. "So setting aside the process we are going through to complywith NTL-05 (Notice to Lessee), the rigs are ready to go back to work and thecustomers are similarly in a position where they have kept all their capabilityintact as well. So I would think it would be a relatively timely resumption ofactivity." Newman spoke Thursday in a conference call the day afterTransocean, which has 14 rigs in the Gulf, released its second quarter earnings.His status report was consistent with that made in a July 20 conference call byDavid Williams, chairman, president and CEO of Noble Corp., the second biggestdrilling contractor in the deepwater Gulf, with seven rigs, including onerecently purchased from Frontier Drilling."

TopEnviro Regulator in Okla. Sets the Record Straight on HF: "Never Seen AnythingApproaching this Unfounded and Growing National Hysteria." Bob Anthony, chairman of the OklahomaCorporation Commission, writes (8/6) in theOklahoman, "In more than 20 years as a corporation commissioner, I’ve neverseen anything that approaches this current unfounded and growing nationalhysteria. Simply put, hydraulic fracturing (HF) is an essential oil and gasproduction technique used for reservoir stimulation. Ironically, given theopposition in the name of the environment, HF is also used for environmentallyfriendly applications such as geologic storage of carbon, developing waterwells and "green" geothermal energy and even cleaning up Superfundsites. Opponents portray hydraulic fracturing as some horrible practice thatendangers our water supplies, polluting them with cancer-causing chemicals. Infact, 99 percent of the materials injected are water and sand. Other HFingredients are no stronger than chemicals found around the house. Furthermore,the fracturing process takes place thousands of feet below treatable (meaningpotentially drinkable) groundwater, with layers of rock in between. We’ve usedHF for some 60 years in Oklahoma, and we have no confirmed cases where it isresponsible for drinking water contamination – nor do any of the other naturalgas-producing states. Maintaining regulation of oil and gas at the state levelis essential. Doing the job properly requires knowledge of the unique geologyand hydrology of formations.

Meanwhile,Top Enviro Regulator in PA Lambasts New York Senate for Ridiculous VoteTargeting HF – "Perhaps They Should Stop Buying Our Gas."  Wilkes-Barre(Pa.) Citizens Voice (8/6) reports, "When the New York State Senate passeda nine-month moratorium on a crucial natural gas drilling technique lateTuesday, legislators there held up Pennsylvania, state regulators and a smallSusquehanna County community as models for how not to drill for gas in theMarcellus Shale. The senators’ criticism raised the ire of PennsylvaniaEnvironmental Protection Secretary John Hanger, who defended the state’senvironmental regulations on Thursday and criticized New York for riding themoral "high horse while consuming Pennsylvania gas." "If theyare so ashamed of what’s gone on here perhaps they should stop buyingPennsylvania gas," Hanger said. "I think because the state ofPennsylvania was so thirsty to get this development opportunity they did nothave enough infrastructure in place, making sure they were inspecting the wellsproperly, making sure that landowners were protected," Thompson, D-Buffalo,said Tuesday night. [Hanger] described two years of work the department hasdedicated to strengthening Pennsylvania’s drilling standards and enforcement,including doubling the size of its gas enforcement staff while "New Yorkhas added nobody."

Ratepayersin North Dakota Shocked to See Their Utility Bills Jump 50% in a Quarter – AllBecause of Addition of Wind, PUC Commish Says. AssociatedPress (8/6) reports, "Otter Tail Power Co.’s North Dakota customers willsee higher electric bills as the utility adds more wind power to its energysources, state regulators say. Beginning Sept. 1, a separate charge assessed toratepayers to pay for Otter Tail wind energy projects will increase the monthlybill by almost $1.40 for a residential customer who uses 750 kilowatt-hours ofelectricity, state Public Service Commission filings say. For that customer,the wind energy charge would rise from $2.76 monthly to $4.13, an increase ofalmost 50 percent. The "renewable energy rider" is listed separatelyon customers’ bills. Commissioner Tony Clark said the charge is intended toallow Otter Tail Power to begin recouping development costs for wind projects.But it does have its drawbacks, Clark said. "It makes wind perhaps look alittle boutique, or that we’re treating it a little different," he said."It’s certainly not intended to be that way." Fergus Falls,Minn.-based Otter Tail Power has about 57,000 North Dakota electric customers.It serves the cities of Wahpeton, Devils Lake and Jamestown, as well as anumber of rural communities. About 18 percent of the utility’s electricitycomes from wind turbines

BipartisanGroup of Senators Ask EPA’s Lisa Jackson to Be Reasonable – Just This Once – onCapricious New Air Rules Targeting Places Where Real People Work. TheHill (8/5) reports, "A bipartisan group of Midwestern and Gulf Coastsenators are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to rethink the agency’srethinking of national smog limits. EPA normally reviews national air qualitystandards every five years or more, but the agency "has proposed tosignificantly tighten the standards that were adopted less than two years ago,with no new data prompting EPA’s reconsideration," seven senators wrote EPAAdministrator Lisa Jackson in a letter dated Thursday. "We believe thatchanging the rules at this time will have a significant negative impact on ourstates’ workers and families and will compound the hardship that many are nowfacing in these difficult economic times," according to the senators led bySens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).  Others on the letter are DemocraticSens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.), and Republican Sens.Richard Lugar (Ind.), Kit Bond (Mo.) and David Vitter (La.). They say that "manystates" only recently are becoming compliant with EPA’s 1997 ground-level ozonelimits. "Attaining that standard required costly mandates on businesses, whichgreatly restricted the ability of local communities to grow their economies,"the senators wrote. States are still trying to meet a tougher 2008 EPArequirement, they argue, while EPA is looking to toughen that even more. "Thisis unacceptable," the senators wrote.

Bewarethe Herd: Not Many Folks Interested in Suing BP for Texas City Back Before theSpill – Now? 3,400 People Literally Come Out of the Woodwork. HoustonChronicle (8/5) reports, "On Wednesday, more than 3,400 people lined thehallways and sidewalks around the Nessler Center to sign on to a $10 billionclass-action lawsuit filed Tuesday in Galveston federal court by Friendswoodattorney Anthony Buzbee. The lawsuit alleges the release of 500,000 pounds ofchemicals – including 17,000 pounds of benzene – has jeopardized the health andproperty values of people who live and work in the area. At the nearby Collegeof the Mainland, a separate town hall meeting drew a crowd of 600. "I’venever seen anything like this," Buzbee said, looking at the lines waitingto enter a large room at the civic center where lawyers helped people fill outpaperwork. "I can’t believe this is mass hysteria and that everybody hereis a faker," Buzbee said. Word of the lawsuits spread this week, propelledin part by rumors that BP was cutting checks to head off the benzene claimsfrom the $20 billion fund established to pay claims related to the oil spill.BP spokesman Michael Marr said those rumors are untrue. On Wednesday afternoon,a family used a convenience store copy machine to make dozens of copies oflegal contracts. A clerk said the machine had been in constant use by would-beplaintiffs.

MustRead: Pipeline Company Works with Enviro Group to Protect Sage Grouse – Cool,Right? Not According to Local Commissioners: "You Went to Bed with the WorstThere Is." Elko(Nev.) Daily Free Press (8/5) reports, "A settlement between environmentalgroups and El Paso Corp. over the Ruby Pipeline Project has caused "worry,concern and anger," the president of El Paso Western Pipeline Group toldElko County Commissioners Wednesday. About 30 people attended the commissionmeeting and heard about two-and-a-half hours of discussion about the RubyPipeline Project and, particularly, El Paso Corp.’s agreement with WesternWatersheds Project and the Oregon Natural Desert Association. El Paso Corp.didn’t expect "the firestorm that has erupted over this deal," saidJim Cleary, president of El Paso Western Pipeline Group. "You guys wentinto bed with the worst there is," Commissioner John Ellison told El PasoCorp. representatives, referring to the company’s $20 million agreementfinalized last month with the two groups. Money will go into the Sage GrouseHabitat Conservation Fund over a 10-year period and will be used for habitatprotection. In exchange, the environmental groups will drop litigation opposingthe pipeline project.

MustScoff: VP of Crayola Announces New Solar Installation at Plant – Because "MyBet in the Future Is Expensive Energy" – What About the PRESENT?! LehighValley Express-Times (8/5) reports, "Even as Crayola LLC finished puttingits 15-acre solar farm online Thursday, the crayon maker was already planningon doubling the size of the array in the next two years, a company officialsaid.  Peter Ruggiero, executivevice president of Crayola’s global operations, said the company wants to expandthe solar system behind their township factory to 30 acres, which is themaximum allowed by the state. Using solar energy behooves Crayola because it is an environmentallysound business practice and will save the company money in the long run,Ruggiero said.  "My bet is thefuture is expensive energy," Ruggiero said. Township supervisors Thursdaynight unanimously approved a five-acre expansion of the solar farm. The rest ofthe planned expansion will be implemented in future phases.  "It’s a wonderful endeavor for ourbusinesses to become more environmentally conscious," said SupervisorsChairman Erik Chuss. "The board is very supportive of these efforts andwould love to see more of them in the township.

MacArthur,Rockefeller, Park & Tides Foundations None Too Happy with Their EnviroFoot-Soldiers in Wake of Cap-and-Raid Collapse – "We Got Our Ass Kicked,"Admits One Group. Politico(8/5) reports, "They didn’t deliver a single Republican," an administrationofficial told POLITICO just hours after Reid pulled the plug on the climatebill. "They spent like $100 million, and they weren’t able to get a singleRepublican convert on the bill." How much money was spent is difficult to pin down. NRDC, the Sierra Cluband Clean Energy Works declined to open up their books to show how much theyspent on the climate campaign. EDF had spent $20 million on climate legislationsince October 2008. Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection pledged in 2006to spend $300 million, but it’s unclear how much it ended up using. Enragedenvironmentalists flooded the White House with phone calls after the quotationappeared in publication. Publicly, they decried the finger-pointing and insistedthey aren’t alone in deserving fault, saying President Barack Obama failed touse his bully pulpit and moderate Senate Republicans weren’t allowed by theirleaders to fully negotiate. "My sense is we did fail," said Kevin Knobloch,president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "I think there’s nosugarcoating it." "We really got our ass kicked in August during the townhalls," EDF spokesman Tony Kreindler said. Durbin insisted that environmentalgroups also still garner plenty of sway in the Senate. "A lot of us payattention," he said.

Meanwhile,Gov’t Report that Shows 75% of Spilled Oil No Longer in the Gulf Infuriates theGreens – In Their World, What’s Good for America is Bad for Fundraising. Politico (8/5)reports, "Speaking before the AFL-CIO Wednesday, President Barack Obama calledthe developments "welcome news." But green groups – irked by the administration’sinitial low-balling of the rate of oil billowing into the Gulf – were skepticalof the claim that three-quarters of the crude has been evaporated, dissolved,dispersed, skimmed or burned. They say the report actually accounts for only 25percent of the oil discharged into the sea since April 29, and as much as halfof the spill still lingers in Gulf waters in various concentrations. "My mainproblem is that this overstates what they know," said John Hocevar ofGreenpeace. "There really isn’t very much data to support this. It’s somewherebetween a wild guess, wishful thinking and spin to make these claims at thispoint." Wednesday’s report has some environmental groups feeling wary. Someeven look at the government’s own data and are drawing different conclusions.According to David Pettit, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources DefenseCouncil, the administration is using the report to suggest that "the worst isover." The truth, Pettit says, is that about a quarter of the oil has dispersed- meaning it still exists, but in microscopic particles in the ocean – and another26 percent of the oil is still unaccounted for.

AStory You’ll Never Read in Print: Sen. Reid Tried to Gut the Oil SpillLiability Trust Fund Earlier This Year – To Pay for the Damn HomeSTAR Program?! E&E News (8/5, subs.req’d) reports, "Reid proposed in his energy and spill bill to increase the feeto 49 cents per barrel. The additional tax would raise more than $18 billionover 10 years, which Reid would use to offset the $5 billion energy efficiency"Home Star" program, oil spill mitigation research and alternativevehicle incentives in the bill. Democrats attempted to use the oil spillliability trust fund to help offset billions of dollars in tax creditextensions earlier this year. It ultimately failed to pass the Senate,partially because of Republicans objecting to the use of the oil spill trustfund as an offset. A spokesman for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said whileissues with the offset provision of Reid’s legislation got lost among thedebate on the liability cap, they are still on the list of problems Republicanshad with the bill. "If you want to argue about the oil spill liabilityfund, that might be worth a discussion, but that money should be lock-boxed todeal with oil spills," spokesman Robert Dillon said. The fund should notbe used to pay for other programs that have nothing to do with oil spills andthat should be dealt with in an energy bill, Dillon added. But if the oil spillliability trust fund is eliminated or its funds are taken off the table innegotiations for the spill bill likely to be taken up in September, Democratshave no obvious pool of money to pay for any other energy measures they wouldlike to approve.

NYSenate Resolution Demands Year-Long Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing – Wonder IfThese Clowns Know that HF’s Been Used Up There for 50 Years, on 14,000Different Wells. Bloomberg(8/4) reports, "New York moved closer to a temporary state ban on drilling fornatural gas from shale. The state Senate approved a measure late yesterday thatwould prohibit new drilling permits until May 15 in the New York portion of theMarcellus Shale formation pending further environmental studies. The moratoriumpassed 49-9. The Assembly has yet to take up the measure. Bloomberg(8/3) reports,  "The measure wouldsuspend drilling until May 15 in New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shaleformation for further study, said Kate Sinding, senior attorney with the NewYork- based Natural Resources Defense Council. The drilling moratorium may comeup during a special session weighing legislation to close a $9.2 billion gap inthe state’s $135.6 billion budget. "We have strong indications from Senateleaders they will bring the moratorium bill to the floor for a vote, hopefullytoday," Sinding said in an interview. "There’s no way that they’re not feelingthe pressure from all of the public opposition." "Fundamentally this is thesame process we’ve used up there for generations," Chris Tucker, a spokesmanfor Energy In Depth, a Washington-based industry group, said in a statement. "Theselegislators are badly informed, and apparently unmoved by the idea ofconverting these resources into tens of thousands of jobs in a state wherenearly a million folks are currently unemployed."

Dukeand Xcel Love them Some NRDC in DC – But Find Themselves on Other End of Roomin Court Case Over Whether Their Emissions Are "Nuisances" Under the Law. E&E News (8/4,subs. req’d) reports, "American Electric Power Co. Inc., Duke Energy Corp., SouthernCo. and Xcel Energy Inc. filed a petition Monday asking for review of thedecision. Climate change is the type of political question that must beanswered by Congress, they say, and if EPA is moving forward with regulationsunder the Clean Air Act, courts have no reason to step in. "Theramifications of this holding, if it is allowed to stand, are staggering,"the petition says. "Virtually every entity and industry in the world isresponsible for some emissions of carbon dioxide and is thus a potentialdefendant in climate change nuisance actions under the theory of thiscase." Nuisance claims are a long-standing fixture of common law, used forcenturies to settle disputes with neighbors over annoyances such as overgrowntrees and foul smells. In the absence of congressional action on climatechange, environmental groups argue, nuisance cases will allow affected peopleto recoup their losses from those whose emissions are responsible. In theirpetition, the four utilities said the potential for nuisance-based lawsuitswould add another element of uncertainty as EPA crafts climate regulations andCongress mulls over legislation. Because each of the companies is subject tonew EPA rules on greenhouse gases from stationary sources, they say, thefederal government is already starting to outline their responsibility forglobal warming.

Speakingof Xcel, Largest Investor-Owned Wind Provider, Don’t Ya Know: Turns Out TheyDon’t Have Enough Juice to Service N.M. and Texas Right Now. Clovis (N.M.)News-Journal (8/4) reports, "Unexpected problems had Xcel Energy declaringan energy alert Wednesday in its Texas and New Mexico service territory, urgingcustomers to cut back their use of electricity. Wes Reeves, a spokesman forXcel, said the recent heat is only part of the reason for high energy demand. "Itis, but we also have some maintenance on power generators we didn’t expect tohave to do this week," Reeves said. "We’re not able to bring all of ourgenerators to bear. We could be really close to dipping into our reserves. "Xcel Energy declares an energy alert only when a reduction in electricity useis urgently needed to maintain the electricity system and service to customers.The company suggests: Turn off air conditioning or increase your thermostatsetting to 85 degrees, slowly lowering the setting after 7 p.m. to a morecomfortable setting. This does not apply to customers who depend on airconditioning for health reasons. Put off household chores that involveelectrical appliances until after 7 p.m. (dishwashers, washing machines,clothes dryers, vacuum cleaners, etc.) If energy demand exhausts Xcel’s abilityto produce, Reeves said there will be outages of roughly 30 minutes to an hourat a pre-selected group of locations. The outage would take place too quickly,Reeves said, for the company to alert individuals.

Shakeand Bake: Not Every Day You See NRDC Quoted in a Story on NASCAR, But News of aRacetrack Installing Sun Catchers on the Infield Gets a Nice Adda-Boy fromGreens. AssociatedPress (8/4) reports, "Racing relies on tens of thousands of litres of fueleach year to power cars, but when Pocono Raceway flipped the switch on its10-hectare solar farm last week for the Pennsylvania 500, a NASCAR track becamethe world’s largest solar-powered sports facility. "Hopefully we can bethe catalyst for something big in American sports," said track presidentBrandon Igdalsky. "We can show this is the right way to do it, and is agood thing to do." Sports teams have been pursuing more environmentalinitiatives in recent years as "going green" becomes a marketingcatch phrase – and a way to save on utility bills. "Sports have atremendous opportunity to create both action on the ground with environmentalfootprint changes … and a real opportunity to help educate people onrenewable energy options," said Darby Hoover, a San Francisco-based seniorresource specialist with the National Resources Defence Council. Theenvironmental group advises Major League Baseball, the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLS.While NRDC does not advise NASCAR, Hoover praised Pocono’s solar installation"as a way where fans can see genuine effort by the league." Shecommended sports leagues in general for efforts in promotingenvironmentally-friendly messages.

Send this Clip to Every Energy Reporter and Producer You Know. MichaelBromwich, Head of the "New" MMS said this Yesterday about the Obama Moratorium:"I have seen enough to know that people are hurting." E&E News (sub’s req., 8/3)reports, "The man in charge of overseeing the Obama administration’s deepwaterdrilling moratorium says it could be lifted well before its expiration inNovember. "We might be able to cut short the moratorium before November 30if that’s what the facts support," said Michael Bromwich, director of theBureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Thefact-gathering process to see if that is possible, Bromwich said, beginstomorrow at Tulane University in New Orleans with the first in a series offorums about offshore drilling. Bromwich said he will report back on thoseforums to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to see if they can "develop alevel of comfort" that would allow them to end the moratorium in a"principled way." Bromwich is in charge of overhauling the agencylong known as the Minerals Management Service in the wake of the DeepwaterHorizon oil spill that has fouled the Gulf of Mexico. One factor that couldspeed lifting of the moratorium is BP PLC’s capping of its blown-out well atthe site last month. "All available spill response was soaked up byresponse to the Deepwater Horizon," Bromwich said. "That’s no longerthe case." And he said that the administration does have to consider theeconomic consequences of the moratorium. "These decisions are not beingmade in a vacuum," Bromwich said. "Ihave seen enough to know that people are hurting."

Meanwhile,Dozens of Energy Industry Employees Fly to DC to Rally Against ObamaMoratorium, as Wash. Post and BP Team Up for Hit Piece on Pro-Energy JobsCampaign/AEA. Washington Post (8/4) reports, "Daysafter the Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank in the Gulf of Mexico, a conservativenonprofit group called the Institute for Energy Research asked BP to contribute$100,000 for a media campaign it was launching in defense of the oil industry.Although BP took a pass, the group’s advocacy arm went ahead with a campaign –only instead of defending BP, it vilified the company as a "safetyoutlier" in an otherwise safe industry. The campaign’s Web site featuresdozens of images of the burning rig, oil-smeared birds and other environmentaldevastation from the spill. "BP is a victim of its own carelessness,"the group’s president, Thomas Pyle, wrote as part of the campaign’s kickoff inearly July. "The rest of us should not be." To backers of BP who werefamiliar with the discussions and spoke on the condition of anonymity, itseemed an awful lot like a shakedown. The initial proposal contained nocriticism of the British oil giant or its handling of the spill. A BP spokesmandeclined to comment. But Pyle, previously an oil-industry lobbyist and an aideto former congressman and Texas Republican Tom DeLay, said the anti-BP messagewas part of a separate campaign and was not intended as retaliation. "Alot of people were trying to lump the industry together as one cohesiveunit," Pyle said in an interview. "Our point was to not judge thewhole industry by one incident and one actor."

Senate Dems See Writing on the Wall with "Spill Bill;" Hope that GreenGroups Call Off the Dogs so They Can Hold a Few Seats in November. Politico (8/3) reports, "SenateDemocrats on Tuesday punted their oil spill response bill to next month, butthe extra time doesn’t guarantee the measure will pass – far from it. The delayvirtually ensures that strategists from both parties will use the congressionalrecess to hone their plans, talking points and poison-pill amendments for anyfloor debate, all with an eye toward the midterm elections. Majority LeaderHarry Reid’s decision to pull the plug on offshore drilling is the latest blowto Democratic efforts to move energy legislation, beginning with the deaths ofa sweeping climate change bill and then a scaled-down renewable energy bill. Itinitially appeared that the slender offshore drilling package was a must-passbill with political momentum, but it became evident over the past week that theNevada Democrat lacked the votes within his own caucus to force the issue asthe Republicans held firm against it. Some Democrats and environmentalists saidthey are optimistic the extra time will allow them to revisit the broaderrenewable energy provisions they had to jettison earlier, in hopes of foldingthem into the drilling bill."

Repeal AB32 Campaign in California Scores Huge Victory in Court, JudgeForces Sec. of State to Rewrite Ballot Description to Accurately ReflectInitiative.E&E News (sub’s req., 8/3) reports, "Interest groups behinda ballot measure that would suspend California’s climate change law scored alegal victory today when a court ordered Secretary of State Debra Bowen torevise how the referendum will appear before voters this fall. SacramentoCounty Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley ruled that a title and summaryattached to the ballot measure by Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) was misleadingbecause it used the word "polluters" to describe those subject togreenhouse gas emissions regulations under the state’s climate law, A.B. 32.Brown, as required by law, had drafted a title to the November referendum thatwas meant to quickly highlight and summarize its intent. But those behindProposition 23 said his title was biased and might sway voters to reject it.The wording Brown chose said the measure "Suspends Air Pollution ControlLaws Requiring Major Polluters to Report and Reduce Greenhouse Gas EmissionsThat Cause Global Warming Until Unemployment Drops Below Specified Level forFull Year." The judge struck "Polluters" and replaced it with"Sources of Emissions." He also ordered a rewrite of the summary forProp 23 that would replace the word "abandon" with"suspend" in describing the effects of the ballot measure on A.B. 32.Prop 23, if approved, would suspend A.B. 32 until unemployment in Californiadrops to 5.5 percent or lower for a full year."

Markey’s Not Going to Like This: Gov. Report Finds Most Oil From SpillPoses Little Additional Risk to Environment. New York Times (8/4) reports, "Thegovernment is expected to announce on Wednesday that three-quarters of the oilfrom the Deepwater Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, beencaptured or otherwise eliminated – and that much of the rest is so diluted thatit does not seem to pose much additional risk of harm. A government reportfinds that about 26 percent of the oil released from BP’s runaway well is stillin the water or onshore in a form that could, in principle, cause new problems.But most is light sheen at the ocean surface or in a dispersed form below thesurface, and federal scientists believe that it is breaking down rapidly inboth places. On Tuesday, BP began pumping drilling mud into the well in anattempt to seal it for good. Since the flow of oil was stopped with a cap onJuly 15, people on the Gulf Coast have been wondering if another shoe was goingto drop – a huge underwater glob of oil emerging to damage more shorelines, forinstance. Assuming that the government’s calculations stand scrutiny, thatlooks increasingly unlikely. "There’s absolutely no evidence that there’s any significantconcentration of oil that’s out there that we haven’t accounted for," said JaneLubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, thelead agency in producing the new report."

Sorry, Markey, No More Live Video of Oil Spilling into the Gulf. After100 Days, Looks Like BP Finally Successful in Killing Run-Away Well.Houston Chronicle (8/4) reports, "BPclaimed a key victory Wednesday in its effort to plug its blown-out oil well inthe Gulf of Mexico while the government said the vast majority of oil from theworst offshore spill in U.S. history was already gone. Declaring it amilestone, BP PLC said mud that was forced down the well was holding back theflow of crude and it was in a "static condition." Also, White Houseenergy adviser Carol Browner said on morning TV talk shows that a newassessment found that about 75 percent of the oil has either been captured,burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf. "It was captured. Itwas skimmed. It was burned. It was contained. Mother Nature did her part,"Browner told NBC’s "Today" show. In the Gulf, workers stopped pumpingmud in after about eight hours of their "static kill" procedure andwere monitoring the well to ensure it remained stable, BP said. "It’s amilestone," BP PLC spokeswoman Sheila Williams said. "It’s a steptoward the killing of the well." The next step would be deciding whetherto cement the well, Williams said."

Hey New York, You See the Job Creation and Economic Development TakingPlace in Pennsylvania? It’s Because of the Marcellus – and You Could Get a Cutof the Action with Commonsense Policy.Bloomberg (8/3) reports, "Companiesled by Chesapeake Energy Corp. would be banned temporarily from drilling fornatural gas in shale in New York under state legislation proposed because ofdisputes over environmental risks. The measure would suspend drilling until May15 in New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shale formation for further study,said Kate Sinding, senior attorney with the New York- based Natural ResourcesDefense Council. The drilling moratorium may come up during a special sessionweighing legislation to close a $9.2 billion gap in the state’s $135.6 billionbudget. To get gas from shale, companies use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,in which water, sand and chemicals are injected deep underground to break uprock and allow gas to flow. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planninga study to determine whether fracking fluids have contaminated drinking water. "Fundamentallythis is the same process we’ve used up there for generations," Chris Tucker, aspokesman for Energy In Depth, a Washington-based industry group, said in astatement. "These legislators are badly informed, and apparently unmoved by theidea of converting these resources into tens of thousands of jobs in a statewhere nearly a million folks are currently unemployed."

NRDCCo-Opts San Fran Chamber of "Commerce" in Bid to Generate News Stories on "Dissension"in Chamber Ranks on Carbon Criminalization – Nice Try. MotherJones (8/2) writes, "A new split over climate policy is brewing within theranks of the US Chamber of Commerce as a breakaway group of local chambers isgetting ready to publicly split with the business lobby’s hardline stanceagainst climate legislation. The new climate coalition, known as the Chambersfor Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE), will press Congress to take strongeraction on climate and energy issues. It has already signed up about a dozenchambers and will officially launch later this year. Local Chamber president Win Hallett writesto members, "This week, I learned that several state and local chambers ofcommerce have been approached by a group calling itself "Chambers forInnovation & Clean Energy". Your chamber may have been asked to join. Thegroup is being pitched as an organic movement led by the San Francisco Chamberof Commerce, with the express purpose of "putting a price on carbon" and "limitingcarbon and greenhouse gases". Ironically, their indirect purpose appears to beundermining the U.S. Chamber’s and the business community’s leadership on thisvital issue. Some very simple research reveals that this group is not anorganic movement; rather, this group was established by the Natural ResourcesDefense Council (NRDC), an environmental activist organization.

GoodThing Markey Knows No Shame: Or Else He Would Be Plenty Embarrassed By How EPAShellacked Him on Dispersant Science.TheHill (8/3) reports, "BP’s use of the dispersant Corexit 9500A with federalapproval is a politically charged issue. Environmentalists and some lawmakersallege officials allowed massive applications despite unknown risks to marinelife and cleanup workers. But Paul Anastas, who heads EPA’s Office of Researchand Development, said the decision to allow dispersant use was sound given thedangers posed by the oil that spewed uncontrolled for months from BP’s rupturedwell. He called the oil "enemy No. 1," and said that test results show thedispersant use "seems to be a wise decision and the oil itself is the hazardthat we are concerned about." Anastas spoke on a conference call with reportersabout newly released testing data. EPA said peer-reviewed tests using eightdispersants on two aquatic species – the mysid shrimp and a fish called theinland silverside – showed various oil-dispersant mixes were generally no moretoxic than oil alone, and Corexit mixed with oil is no worse than mixtures ofother dispersants and oil. "For all eight dispersants in both test species, thedispersants alone were less toxic than the dispersant-oil mixture," states anEPA summary of the results. EPA found Corexit is "is no more or less toxic thanthe other available alternatives."

ClotureVote on Reid’s Spill Bill Expected to Go Down in Flames Tomorrow – But That’sOK, Says Kerry; We Can Still Grill Up that Lame Duck. E&E News (8/3, subs.req’d) reports, "Several key Democrats expressed concern over language in theDemocrats’ bill (S. 3663), which would need at least 60 supporters attomorrow’s cloture vote in order to move forward. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)yesterday said she would not vote for the Democrats’ proposal. "Not in thecondition that it’s in, no," she said. Likewise, Sen. Mark Begich(D-Alaska) said he would not vote for the Democratic bill as is. Both senatorswould like to see some form of revenue-sharing language in the bill. Begichsaid he would prefer the version of revenue sharing included in the Republicanbill. The two senators also are concerned about language that would eliminateoil companies’ liability caps in the case of a spill. "I wish thatsomebody would focus on helping the Gulf Coast instead of their focus ondestroying an industry and not caring about the consequences of unlimitedcaps," Landrieu said. The pair is working on compromise language that willlikely address the liability issue. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and others arealso helping craft the compromise, Begich said.

Landrieu,Begich, Precious Few Others in the Senate Dem Caucus Try to Find Third Way onSpill Bill – But Reid Not Interested in Solutions At this Stage. TheHill (8/3) reports, "Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) said Monday that it wouldaddress setting aside revenue from oil and gas production in federal waters forstates with production off their coasts. It also seeks to end a stalemate overhow much to increase the current $75 million liability limit oil companies facefor offshore spills, and could alter the Obama administration’s temporary banon deepwater drilling. Begich met Monday with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) andothers and staff worked over the weekend as well, he said. But time hasprobably run out, at least for now. "I don’t think we’re making much progress,unfortunately, so I don’t think the bill’s going to go anywhere," Sen MaryLandrieu (D-La.) said of a separate oil spill and energy strategy SenateDemocratic leaders have proposed. "But maybe when we come back, cooler headswill prevail." Landrieu said she is working with Begich and "the few reasonablepeople in my caucus on this issue. They’re not many of them." This includes "business-minded"Democrats like Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), she said.

Meanwhile,Back on the Gulf Coast, Folks Continue to Lose Their Jobs – And Papers Continueto Report on AEA Study Explaining Just How Bad It Will Get. Bastrop(La.) Daily Enterprise (8/3) reports, "A recently released study by LSUeconomist Dr. Joseph Mason concludes the Obama administration’s six-monthmoratorium on deepwater oil drilling will have grave economic consequences forLouisiana and the nation. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion onApril 20, the White House issued a moratorium on exploratory drilling on May30. Enforcement of the initial moratorium was blocked by a federal judge in NewOrleans on June 22, citing a lack of basis for the regulation. The Obamaadministration issued a second moratorium on July 12 which re-asserts thepolicies and timeframe of the May 30 moratorium — to be in effect until Nov.30 — and also includes all floating facilities. "The Economic Cost of aMoratorium on Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration to the Gulf Region" by Dr.Joseph Mason, a professor of finance and endowed chair of banking in LSU’s E.J.Ourso College of Business, was released in July. The study was sponsored bySave U.S. Energy Jobs, a project of the American Energy Alliance, and exploreshow the moratorium on offshore drilling will affect the economies of the Gulfstates — Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi — as well as the nation.

BobCasey Takes a Little Nibble from NRDC Cheese on Hydraulic Fracturing, thenDevours the Entire Wheel – Agrees to Prostrate Himself to EPA on Endangerment. E&E News (8/3, subs.req’d) reports, "Two Senate Democrats may attempt to bolster U.S. EPA’sauthority to regulate greenhouse gases if West Virginia Democrat JayRockefeller tries to hamstring the agency’s climate rules. Sens. Tom Carper(D-Del.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) for several months have been consideringoffering a countermeasure to Senate efforts to stymie EPA climate regulations.Their provision would exempt small sources from EPA climate rules whileallowing the agency to regulate the largest polluters. Carper yesterday saidtalks about the proposal so far have remained at the staff level but that couldchange now that Rockefeller is seeking a vote this year on a bill to limitEPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. "I’m not sure whatSenator Rockefeller is going to do, but if he’s intent on pressing for a vote,Bob Casey and I may have to finally have that conversation," Carper said.Rockefeller told reporters yesterday that there is a "100 percent"chance that he will seek a vote on the legislation this year. He has sixDemocratic co-sponsors for his bill, which would prevent EPA from regulatinggreenhouse gases from industrial facilities for two years.

Sen.Brownback Has a Shiny National Debt Clock on His Official Website – So Why DoesHe Support a Federal Mandate Ordering Utilities to Buy Expensive, UnreliableWind? Tom Stacy writes (8/1) on MasterResource.org,"US Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) displays a national debt clock on his homepage and is a proclaimed conservative. Yet he supports wasteful governmentspending on deployment of impotent technologies like wind energy. I believe Samand his kind are the root cause of a failure for industrial windpower opponentsto gain the upper hand in Washington D.C. I further believe that in Brownback’scase, his faulty platform correlates to his committee membership, which showshis allegiance to the agriculture lobby, which represent the secondaryfinancial beneficiaries of wind energy deployment. It would be more fiscallyconservative and environmentally benign to simply hand the agri-community theequivalent taxpayer money Carte-Blanche which they stand to receive from windenergy leases. But I do not advocate this over the best course of action:removing special government favors and mandates for windfarms. While it isunfathomable to me that Sam Brownback can display a national debt clock on hisweb site while simultaneously calling for a national renewable energy standard(RES),  I cannot change Senator’sposition on wind energy in light of his allegiance to agriculture on my own.

Senateor Bust: Melancon Amendment to CLEAR Act Wouldn’t Do a Thing to End Obama Banin the Gulf, Notwithstanding His Press Release – Which Is Why 215 DemocratsVoted For It. Energy Guardian (8/2, subs.req’d) reports, "The Democratic-led House surprised a lot of people followingthe offshore oil debate Friday when it voted to ease the Obama administration’sban on deepwater drilling. But one needs to look no further than the text ofthe amendment to understand why 215 Democrats and only five Republicans votedfor it. "Nothing herein affects the [Interior] Secretary’s authority to suspendoffshore drilling permitting and drilling operations based on the threat ofsignificance, irreparable or immediate harm or damage to life, property, or themarine, coastal or human environment," the bill says. Interior Secretary KenSalazar continues to argue that a "pause" on offshore drilling is necessarybecause the BP oil spill has strained the federal government’s resources anddeepwater rigs pose a threat because the cause of the spill is unknown. Ineffect, it appears that the moratorium can and will likely stay in place eventhough the House passed legislation to lift it. And that is exactly whatsparked an intrastate squabble that played out on the House floor Fridaybetween Louisiana Reps. Steve Scalise, a Republican, and Charlie Melancon, aDemocrat who authored the amendment. "There were a few sections that got addedin that allows the secretary to have statutory authority, that he doesn’t havenow, to issue more moratoriums even if this current one is stopped," Scalisesaid.

Geta Room: Lois Capps Seeks Out Melancon Ahead of Amendment Vote to Give Him a BigHug on the House Floor – Thanks, Charlie, for the Political Cover.  E&E News (8/2, subs.req’d), reports, "I’m concerned about the breadth of the bill," Rep.Zack Space, a moderate Democrat from Ohio, said before Friday’s vote. "Ithink we all agree we need to do something to prevent mistakes like theDeepwater Horizon from happening again, but not at the expense of compromisingour energy policy altogether." Space voted against the measure. HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders were able to drumup enough support from other moderate Democrats to achieve the narrow victory.Pelosi, who often serves as her own chief whip on key votes, stalked the Housefloor Friday afternoon with tally sheet in hand, approaching Blue Dog andcentrist Democrats, many of whom later voted in support of the measure.Democratic leaders also attempted to sway support with an amendment that wouldlift the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling moratorium. That measurefrom Reps. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) and Travis Childers (D-Miss.) would end thedrilling ban for companies that are able to show they are meeting strictersafety requirements. In the minutes before the final vote, Melancon stoodtalking with Pelosi when Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), a primary opponent ofoffshore drilling, threw her arm aroundMelancon’s shoulder and gave him a hug. Melancon hugged her back. Roll callvote available here.

America’sGot More Shale Gas than the Entire World Can Use in 150 Years – and ThoseEstimates Will Continue to Grow, Says Colorado School of Mines. Robert Samuelson writes (8/2) in the WashingtonPost, "How much shale gas exists is unknown, but estimates are huge. ThePotential Gas Committee is a group of geologists who regularly estimate futureU.S. gas supplies. In 2000, the group’s estimate equaled about 54 years ofpresent annual consumption; by 2008, it was almost 90 years. "This isn’tthe end," says Colorado School of Mines geologist John Curtis. Globally,one study estimated the recoverable supply at 16,200 trillion cubic feet, morethan 150 times today’s annual world gas use. Some standard drilling techniques,applied imaginatively, liberated shale gas. The first was "fracturing":injecting liquids into reservoirs to create openings that allow the gas to flowup the drill pipe. For years, Mitchell’s engineers experimented with different"fracing fluids." All were expensive, and the resulting gas flowsweren’t profitable. In 1997, engineers tried a less costly mix of sand andwater. The economics of shale gas improved dramatically, says Dan Steward, aformer geologist for Mitchell. Devon Energy, which bought Mitchell’s company in2002, improved the economics further by emphasizing "horizontaldrilling." In conventional wells, the drill goes straight down andcollects gas or oil near the well bore. With horizontal drilling, the pipe isturned sideways when it hits the reservoir and collects gas or oil for hundredsor thousands of feet. Gas flows increase. Fewer wells are needed. Costs drop.

ClotureVote on Senate Anti-Energy Gotcha Bill Slated for Wednesday Evening – No OneBelieves It’ll Pass, Which Suits Unserious Senate Leadership Just Fine. DowJones (7/30) reports, "The most contentious part of the legislationinvolves eliminating the cap on economic damages paid to residents and businessesharmed by oil spills. Democrats want to discard liability caps, currently setat $75 million, in order to avoid putting taxpayers on the hook for damagesthat go beyond the costs of cleanup. On Thursday, the White House called liability limits an "implicitsubsidy" for the oil and gas industry, and said it "stronglysupports" repealing the limit on economic damages claims. Independent oiland gas producers fear being put out of business. Insurers have indicated theywill not offer offshore-drilling insurance without a cap on damage claims. Theresult would be to leave offshore drilling to state-owned and giant corporateoil companies, which can self-insure against damages. "While trying topunish ‘Big Oil,’ Congress is actually harming small, independent companies whoproduce the majority of America’s natural gas and oil," said BarryRussell, the president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, ina statement. "Members of Congress who vote for this bill will have a lotto explain when they leave Washington this weekend for the congressional Augustrecess."

Meanwhile,EPA’s Pell-Mell Rush to Regulate Every Backyard Bar-b-que in America Has Somein the Enviro Crowd Scared that the Public Will Turn Against Them. Politico (8/2)reports, "The EPA took its first big step in the spring when it unveiled newclimate-themed standards for motor vehicles, the byproduct of several years oflegal wrangling and closed-door negotiations with industry, states andenvironmentalists. More rules will come in January for power plants and othermajor stationary sources. And the EPA is also trying to limit the reach of itsfuture rules on smaller industrial sources by issuing a so-called tailoringrule that sets minimum emission thresholds before any standards would kick in.The legality of the tailoring rule is under scrutiny in court, butconservatives want to drive home their point that the agency – unless orderedotherwise – is obligated under the law to start setting new restrictions onchurches, schools and, maybe someday, lawn mowers. "I don’t know if itsbackyard barbeque grills or hitting small business," said Robert Stavins, aHarvard University economist who has been working on climate rules for severaldecades. "But there will be some regulation that looks silly that just becomesa poster child for the right. And it could lead to less, rather than more,national enthusiasm on climate policy. And people on the right recognize that."

Useof Dispersants Is a Big Reason Why There’s No More Oil Sheen on the Surface inthe Gulf – Which Is Absolutely Infuriating Ed Markey, Who’s Feeling CheatedRight Now. USAToday (8/1) reports, "BP inched closer to cementing the busted oil well asretired Adm. Thad Allen rejected assertions Sunday that federal officialsallowed the energy giant too much leeway to use chemical dispersants in the Gulfof Mexico. Allen told reporters during a conference call that federalregulators did not ignore environmental guidelines. He says some commanders onthe scene had authority to allow more dispersants when needed. "I’msatisfied we only use them when they are needed," Allen said. Documentsreleased by a congressional subcommittee found that Coast Guard officialsallowed BP to use hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical dispersants inthe Gulf despite a federal directive to use them rarely. On May 26, theEnvironmental Protection Agency ordered BP not to use the chemicals to break upsurface oil except in rare cases, but the Coast Guard routinely grantedexemptions, the documents show, according to CNN. The dispersants contributedto "a toxic stew of chemicals, oil and gas, with impacts that are not wellunderstood," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Subcommitteeon Energy and Environment, wrote in a letter sent late Friday to Allen, wholeads the U.S. response to the oil spill.

Centerfor Biological Diversity – Setting a New Bar for Litigiousness – Sues to Stop$3 Billion Pipeline Project Slated to Deliver Clean-Burning Natural Gas toOregon.  E&E News (7/30, subs.req’d) reports, "Environmentalists sued today to stop construction of aproposed $3 billion natural gas pipeline that would stretch from Wyoming toOregon. The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit in the U.S. Court ofAppeals for the 9th Circuit in an attempt to block El Paso Corp.’s RubyPipeline, which would transport gas from the Rocky Mountains to Oregon andCalifornia through 675 miles of mountainous terrain. El Paso has secured mostof the major permits necessary to break ground but is still waiting for the finalgo-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Once operational, ElPaso says the pipe could deliver 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas to a hub insouthern Oregon that feeds into the California market. But the center in itssuit argued that federal permits from the Bureau of Land Management and anendangered species analysis from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are flawed.Noah Greenwald, director of endangered species programs at the center, said thepipeline would jeopardize a number of endangered fish, including the Lahontancutthroat trout, Warner Creek sucker, Lost River sucker and Colorado pikeminnow."Instead of creating an entirely new path of destruction, an existingpipeline route should have been utilized," Greenwald said from his officein Portland, Ore.

West Wing Avoiding this New Poll: 82 Percent of Registered Voters OPPOSENew Energy Taxes. The Hill(7/29) reports, "Most Americans believe taxes on the oil industry would bepassed along to consumers at the gas pump, an industry-backed poll foundThursday. Eighty-two percent of registered voters believed increased taxes onthe oil industry would be passed along to consumers in the form of high pricesat the pump, according to a poll commissioned by the American Energy Alliance.The poll also said 81 percent agree new taxes on oil companies woulddisadvantage American companies over foreign-owned oil companies such as BP,while 76 percent said they believe a tax on American oil companies would hurtU.S. companies that are trying to compete against foreign government-ownedcompanies. The poll was conducted by Voter/Consumer Research on behalf of AEA,the advocacy arm of the conservative Institute for Energy Research, whichreceives donations from oil companies, among other funding source. The surveycomes as lawmakers mull an energy bill to respond to the Gulf of Mexico oilspill and to support increased alternative energy. AEA is hoping to mobilizethe public against new taxes for the oil industry and for the companies beingallowed to continue offshore drilling."

Family Feud Part II: 30 House Dems that Represent Energy ProducingDistricts Band Together to Oppose (Un) CLEAR Act. Real Question is: Will TheyStand Their Ground. The Hill(7/29) reports, "House Democratic leaders are facing resistance fromconservative and centrist members in the party over several provisions in oilspill response legislation that’s headed for a vote Friday, including theremoval of liability caps on offshore oil and gas producers. A group of about30 oil-patch Democrats share the concerns of their Senate counterparts thatremoving the liability cap for future spills would price smaller independentcompanies out of the offshore drilling business. "That’s a big one," said Rep.Gene Green (D-Texas), an ally of the industry. Green told House Speaker NancyPelosi (D-Calif.) Thursday that he was planning to vote against the bill overthe liability language and a provision setting federal authority overwastewater from wells that states currently regulate. "I know a number ofmembers that have said the same thing to her," he said in the Capitol Thursday.Some lawmakers have proposed fixing the problem by creating a spill fund thatall oil companies would pay into, akin to the shared cost plan the nuclearindustry uses to address potential accidents. Another idea, Green said, hasbeen to double or triple the existing $75 million liability cap for producers,but make it unlimited if a company is found to be grossly negligent."

Judgment Day. Do They or Don’t They Have the Votes to Pass MostOverreaching Piece of Anti-Energy Legislation in Recent Memory? We’ll Find out Today.E&E News (7/30, subs req’d), "Democrats may be holding their breath today whenthe House votes on a sweeping offshore drilling reform package. As they rush topass the legislation before leaving for a monthlong recess, Democrats may nothave enough support if oil-state and Blue Dog Democrats opposed to certainmeasures — like controversial language that would eliminate the $75 millionliability cap for companies involved in a spill — align with Republicans, whoare generally opposed to the bill. Still, Natural Resources Chairman NickRahall (D-W.Va.) thinks there are plenty of backers for his measure, H.R. 3534."I feel we do, yes," Rahall said yesterday when asked if Democratshad enough supporters to pass it. The legislation would formally codify areorganization at the beleaguered federal agency tasked with overseeingoffshore oil and gas drilling, give the presidential commission investigatingthe BP oil spill subpoena power, impose new ethics standards on federalregulators and beef up offshore drilling standards. It also would create arestoration program to coordinate efforts to rehabilitate the Gulf of Mexico,create a new industry-funded endowment to protect oceans and boost the Land andWater Conservation Fund, among other provisions."

The Economic Analysis That will Haunt Supporters of the Obama Offshore Moratorium in the Midterms Featured in theWSJ Today. Dr. Joesph Mason writes in the Wall Street Journal, "With each passing day, the Obama administration’s moratoriumon energy exploration in the Gulf of Mexico costs the coastal region more jobsand increases the risk that those jobs will never come back. Now theadministration and some members of Congress want to revise the tax code in waysthat could irreparably harm the U.S. energy sector and threaten the industry’snine million jobs. Research I’ve recently published indicates that under theadministration’s six-month moratorium, set to last until Nov. 30, the GulfCoast region will lose more than 8,000 jobs, nearly $500 million in wages, over$2.1 billion in economic activity, and nearly $100 million in state and localtax revenue. Taking into account the effects outside of the Gulf Coast, themoratorium will cost the United States 12,000 jobs and nearly $3 billion,including almost $200 million in federal tax revenues. If the moratorium lastssix to 12 months longer, as many pundits expect, some 36,000 jobs could be lostacross the country. Under the worst case scenario-a permanent moratorium on alloil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico-nationwide economic losseswould exceed $95 billion and more than 400,000 jobs.This is bad enough. But earlier this week, both the House and Senate proposednew energy bills that will cost $25 billion and $15 billion, respectively-andthe government wants the energy sector to pay the tab. The administration andits congressional allies are considering two changes to the tax code that wouldput U.S. energy companies at a competitive disadvantage to foreign-owned behemothslike BP, China’s Sinopec and Hugo Chávez’s Citgo. These constraints on theenergy sector would handcuff domestic energy development, reduce futureresources, and kill even more jobs."

Rep. Nunes and Co. Out with New "Energy Roadmap" Today; Real Questionis, Will Affordable Energy Advocates Line up in Support. We Sure Hope so, ForWhat It’s Worth.Kim Strassel (7/30) writes inthe Wall Street Journal, "Out of the most tedious congressional debate sometimescomes a little ray of policy sunshine. The GOP got a glimmer this week. Ascongressional Democrats plotted how to make their "oil-spill"legislation a political liability for Republicans, and as Republicans flappedover how to avoid that fate, one GOP member excused himself from the circus.California Rep. Devin Nunes instead unveiled his "Energy Roadmap," acompanion bill to Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan for tax and spending reform.Mr. Nunes wants to get his party thinking about a modern, principled energypolicy. Lord knows the GOP could use the help. Republicans have spent the pastdecade staying largely true to their belief in cheap fossil fuels, but the riseof the climate debate and "green energy" flummoxed them. Unwilling tobe seen as against "clean" energy, they embraced green subsidies.Some excused it as the political price of continued drilling; others just likedthe pork. Mr. Nunes’s interest is how to answer these concerns in a morefree-market way. The Californian’s road map is the product of years of work,most recently with Mr. Ryan and a handful of Republicans with energy expertise-Illinois’sJohn Shimkus, Utah’s Rob Bishop, and Idaho’s Mike Simpson. It’s a bill designedto produce energy, not restrict it. It returns government to the role of energyfacilitator, not energy boss. It costs nothing and contains no freebies. Itinstead offers a competitive twist to government support of renewable energy."

Shocker. Remember ThoseClimatgate Emails that Falsified Temperature Data to Further a PoliticalAgenda? EPA Dismissed them Yesterday, "No Reason to Reconsider the Science ofGlobal Warming."Politico (7/29) reports, "TheEnvironmental Protection Agency Thursday rejected an effort to keep it fromregulating greenhouse gas emissions, saying that e-mails released in last fall’s"Climategate" scandal gave it no reason to reconsider the science of globalwarming. In a sternly written opinion, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said shedidn’t agree with requests from the GOP attorneys general from Texas andVirginia, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other conservative groups thatquestioned the underlying science linking humans to global warming and alsowarned of the potential economic burdens from new climate rules. EPA lastDecember concluded that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health andwelfare, a decision clearing the way this spring for climate-based regulationsfor new cars and trucks. Next year, the agency is expected to write standardsfor power plants and other major industrial sources of heat-trapping gases. Intheir petitions, EPA’s opponents had highlighted stolen e-mails from prominentclimate scientists that they allege showed collusion to hide contraryinformation debunking global warming. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott hadalso warned that the EPA rules would lead to "unprecedented bureaucraticlicensing and regulatory burdens on farmers, ranchers, small businesses,hospitals and even schools."

As Anti-AffordableEnergy Advocates Ramp up Their Propaganda Campaign, Those That Actually Produce Energy Head to The Hill andSpell Out Consequences if  CongressImposes New Taxes on Domestic Oil and Nat Gas Production. Houston Chronicle (7/29) reports, "Evenbefore crude began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, the oil industry was wagingan uphill fight against $36.5 billion in proposed taxes and new regulations ondrilling techniques. But now the collision of election-year politics and theoil spill is fueling dozens of proposals to clamp down on drilling – and hasinspired the industry to ramp up its defense game in the nation’s capital.Industry leaders say they are trying to cut through emotions stirred by imagesof oil-soaked birds and tar balls on Gulf Coast beaches by asking lawmakers fora deliberative response to the disaster. So far, the oil spill has providedfodder to longtime offshore drilling foes and is being used to leverage aflurry of spill-inspired bills and other unrelated energy measures in Congress."There’s this sense of blood in the water," said Lee Fuller, vicepresident of government relations for the Independent Petroleum Association ofAmerica. "The way the politics of this thing is playing out, the oil spilllegislation is being used as a mechanism to try to broadly address a lot ofother energy-related issues."Environmentalists argue that the oil spillhas provided a dramatic and costly illustration of the dangers of offshoredrilling and the need to step up regulation. The House is set to vote today on sweepinglegislation that would stiffen well design standards, impose new oil and gastaxes and get rid of the liability limits that cap what energy companies mustpay after similar incidents."

Must See TV:Click this LINK at 10AM today to Watch LSU Prof. Joe Mason Discussthe Economic Impact of Obama Offshore Moratorium. "As the Senate weighs its options for offshoredrilling reform, how is the current moratorium on offshore drilling affectingoil companies and jobs numbers? During today’s OnPoint, Joseph Mason, aprofessor of banking at Louisiana State University, discusses a new study,commissioned by the American Energy Alliance, on the economic effects of thedrilling moratorium. He explains why he believes the government is dragging itsfeet in investigating the circumstances of the Gulf spill and gives his take onthe various policy options being discussed in Congress. Today’s OnPoint will air at 10 a.m. EDT."

You Know that60 Year Old Process (Hydraulic Fracturing) we use to Extract Oil and NaturalGas? She’s Center Stage in Senate Energy Debate. Wall StreetJournal (7/28)Reports, "A U.S. Senate energy bill drew opposition fromnatural-gas companies on Wednesday after the surprise addition of a measurethat would force companies to disclose the chemicals used at each well beingdrilled in huge gas fields located across the U.S. The opposition, from thegroups Energy In Depth and America’s Natural Gas Alliance, poses a new hurdlefor the energy bill just days before it is due for a vote on the Senate floor.It also suggests the difficulties facing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D,Nev.), who had also sought to benefit natural gas by including incentives fornatural-gas powered vehicles. The battle over drilling-fluid disclosure pitsenvironmentalists and some local activists against a production technique thathas allowed access to vast new natural gas supplies. Environmentalists fearthat the chemicals used in the drilling procedure, known as hydraulicfracturing, will contaminate drinking water. Companies say no evidence existsthat the practice is unsafe. Companies also say that while the chemicals aren’tpublicly disclosed because they are commercially sensitive, the information isshared with local regulators. "The entire universe of additives used inthe fracturing process is known to regulators and the public," Lee Fuller,the executive director of Energy In Depth, a group that represents oil and gasproducers, said in a prepared statement."

Does Josh FoxWork at Politico or Just Ghost Write for Their "Energy" Reporter? DispatchFiled on Senate HF Language About as Accurate as GasLand Itself. Politico (7/29) reports, "Thefight over the Senate offshore drilling "spill bill" shifted Wednesday from theGulf of Mexico to the mountains of western Pennsylvania, as Republicans slammedthe last-minute inclusion of language to regulate a controversial technique toextract onshore natural gas. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) addedthe language Tuesday requiring natural gas drillers to disclose the chemicalsthey pump into the ground as part of the hydraulic fracturing, orhydrofracking, process. Republicans are wary of the addition, which comes onPage 404 of the 409-page spill response bill that Reid wants the Senate to takeup before the recess. But now there is fear that the process could pollutelocal water supplies. That phenomenon came under the spotlight earlier thissummer with the documentary film "Gaslands," in which people living nearhydrofracking projects showed their tap water running dark and murky andsometimes even igniting on fire. Fracking is exempt from many of the federalregulations that govern other forms of energy extraction under the 1974 SafeDrinking Water Act, including a requirement that companies disclose whatchemicals they inject into the ground. (That’s thanks to a provision insertedin a 2005 energy law by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, known as the "Halliburtonloophole" – Halliburton is one of the nation’s leading providers ofhydrofracking services.)"

Cape Wind "Baitand Switch." Offshore Wind Power to Cost at Least 25% (!) More ThanConventional Generation. Good Luck New England. David G. Tuerck and Jonathan Haughton write(7/28) in the Boston Globe, "For years CapeWind Associates, which plans to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound,told us that it could supply renewable energy to the New England market andsave ratepayers $25 million a year. Considering the cost of installing andoperating the system (about $2 billion in present-value terms), it was alwaysunlikely that Cape Wind could deliver on this promise. Yet, it seemed possiblethat by adding significantly to power supplies, Cape Wind could bring about atleast a temporary decrease in the price of power. Now we learn, however, thatratepayers will pay more for their electricity if Cape Wind builds and goesonline. Recently, National Grid entered into an agreement to buy power fromCape Wind for almost 21 cents per kilowatt hour. It costs National Grid about 9cents per kWh to get the same power from conventional sources. Under the state’sRenewable Portfolio Standard program, the electric companies charge ratepayersan additional 6 cents per kWh for that portion of their service (currently 5percent) that the power companies are supposed to obtain from renewablesources. Hence, power that previously cost 15 cents will now cost 21 cents.National Grid’s biggest customers are protesting this price increase."

Louisiana Congressman’s Fight to Keep Jobs in his District, UnitedStates Being Ignored by Speaker Pelosi and Anti-Energy Members of Congress.The Hill (7/28) reports, "Rep.Bill Cassidy (R-La.) signaled Wednesday that he will seek a House vote tooverturn the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil-and-gasdrilling that began in late May. Democrats are unlikely to allow a vote on hisamendment when their Gulf of Mexico oil spill response bill comes to the floorFriday. But Cassidy’s effort nonetheless shows that opponents of the drillingfreeze will use the House debate as a forum to attack what they call aneconomically harmful and unnecessary ban. In addition to scuttling the existingban, Cassidy’s amendment "would also guard against any future moratoria bystating that ‘No Federal official may establish any general moratorium on orsuspension of offshore oil and gas operations that is substantially similar tothe moratorium, the decision memorandum, or any suspension referred to insubsection,’ " his office said. The ban is under attack from many Republicansand Gulf Coast lawmakers from both parties. But administration officials saythe pause is needed while new offshore safety requirements are implemented andinvestigations into the BP spill continue."

Expensive, Unreliable and Intermittent Energy Advocates Not Happy AboutRES being Left on Cutting Room Floor; We Call This a Win for the Consumer. E&E News(7/29, subs. req’d) reports, "Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid yesterday rebuffed fellow Democrats and renewable industrygroups who insist there are 60 votes to pass a renewable electricity standardas part of the energy and oil spill package coming to the floor next week."I support it, I’ve always voted for it, but right now, we can’t count to60," the Nevada Democrat said yesterday in response to their claims. Reiddid not include language in his scaled-back energy legislation introduced thisweek to require utilities to generate a minimum percentage of their electricityfrom sources like wind, solar and geothermal, saying it did not have enoughsupport to clear the Senate. But many Democrats and renewable energy groupshave blasted the move, saying there are enough votes for a modest renewableelectricity standard. Among them is Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who says thereare about 62 senators who would support a 15 percent standard.The renewableenergy industry is also disputing Reid’s arithmetic. "We have 60 votes foran RES amendment and will continue to push for its consideration in thisbill," said American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode in astatement before the bill’s formal introduction."

Coal Country Targets Anti-Affordable Energy Members of Congress,Chairman of the House Anti-Natural Resource Production Committee in Mid-Terms.E&E News(7/28,subs. req’d) reports, "Several major coal companies plan to spend big to defeatcandidates they consider "anti-coal," now that corporate campaign spendingrules were relaxed by the Supreme Court last year. Companies and labor unionscan now set up politically active nonprofit organizations that do not havespending limits nor have to publicly report their financial activities. Thismeans nonprofits can launch well-funded advertising campaigns to support orattack candidates, as long as they do not coordinate with the politiciansdirectly. "With the recent Supreme Court ruling, we are in a position tobe able to take corporate positions that were not previously available inallowing our voices to be heard," wrote Roger Nicholson, senior vicepresident and general counsel at International Coal Group of West Virginia, inan undated letter he sent to other coal companies. "We’re requesting your considerationas to whether your company would be willing to meet to discuss a significantcommitment to such an effort." Nicholson listed three Democrats whom theindustry would like to see defeated by pro-coal Republicans this November: U.S.Senate Democratic nominee Jack Conway, who is running against Republican RandPaul for Kentucky’s open Senate seat; U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.), who isrunning against Republican Garland "Andy" Barr; and U.S. Rep. NickRahall (D-W.Va.), who is running against Republican Elliott "Spike"Maynard."

MotherNature, Fickle Mistress: Oil in the Gulf Biodegrading "Far More Rapidly ThanAnyone Expected" – And Far Too Soon for Enviros’ Fundraising Efforts. NY Times(7/28) reports, "The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolvingfar more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises trickynew questions about how fast the government should scale back its response tothe Deepwater Horizon disaster. The immense patches of surface oil that covered thousands of squaremiles of the gulf after the April 20 oil rig explosion are largely gone, thoughsightings of tar balls and emulsified oil continue here and there.  Reporters flying over the area Sundayspotted only a few patches of sheen and an occasional streak of thicker oil,and radar images taken since then suggest that these few remaining patches arequickly breaking down in the warm surface waters of the gulf.  John Amos, president of SkyTruth, anenvironmental advocacy group that sharply criticized the early, low estimatesof the size of the BP leak, noted that no oil had gushed from the well fornearly two weeks.  "Oil has afinite life span at the surface," Mr. Amos said Tuesday, after examining freshradar images of the slick. "At this point, that oil slick is really starting todissipate pretty rapidly."

WHWant to Ram Through Cap-and-Raid in Lame Duck Session – "Premised on SenatorsBeing Liberated from the Tethers of the American People," Says Johanns. E&E News (7/28,subs. req’d) reports, "Cap-and-trade provisions that likely cannot pass theSenate directly this year could be added to a narrower energy package during aHouse and Senate conference, a White House spokesman suggested yesterday. WhiteHouse press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters he "certainly wouldn’trule it out" that a House-Senate conference committee would reconcilediffering versions of energy legislation by adding climate provisions left outof a narrow package the Senate is expected to take up this week. Gibbs said hedoes not think a climate bill is dead for the year, despite the decision bySenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to drop greenhouse gas emissionlimits from the scaled-back oil spill response and energy bill unveiledyesterday. "The plan to do cap and trade in a lame duck is premised onsenators and House members being free and liberated from the tethers of theAmerican people," Johanns said yesterday on the Senate floor. "That’sextraordinary, and it’s deeply troubling." Gibbs said yesterday that aHouse and Senate energy conference could take place before a lame-duck session."We could do it in September," he said.

Unableto Move Anti-Frac Bill Through Normal Means, DeGette, Casey Get Harry Reid toAttach Their Language to Dems’ Last-Train-Out-of-Warsaw Energy Bill. E&E News (7/28,subs. req’d) reports, "The Senate language released late last night contains anew provision that would require oil and gas drilling companies using acontroversial production technique to disclose information about the chemicalsused in the process. The hydraulic fracturing provision was not included in thedraft summary of the legislation that Democrats released yesterday afternoon.The language is a scaled-down version of legislation pushed by Sen. Bob Casey(D-Pa.) in the Senate (S. 1215) and by Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) andMaurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) in the House (H.R. 2766) that would regulatefracturing under U.S. EPA. Casey has said he wanted to see fracturing languageincluded in the Senate energy bill and had promised to offer it up as anamendment if it is not included. Hydraulic fracturing is a decades-oldproduction technique that blasts water, chemicals and sand into wellbores tobreak apart compact rock and release trapped hydrocarbons. The technique hasdrawn intense scrutiny from environmentalists and some Democrats about itspotential to contaminate water supplies, but industry maintains the techniqueis safe. The House oil spill legislation does not include the frackinglanguage.

…Whichis Some Funny Timing, Considering PA DEP Once Again Went Out of Its WayYesterday to Debunk Casey’s Mistaken Premise on HF and Water Contamination. KDKA(Pittsburgh, 7/27) reports, "Some people say the drilling for Marcellus Shalehas polluted their groundwater and contaminated their water wells. Bill Eakin,from the village of Rea in Avella, is one of them. He says he and his wife weresickened by their water, after drilling started. They blame Atlas Energy. In astatement, Atlas told KDKA’s Andy Sheehan their tests of the village’s waterwells came up negative: "The results did not indicate contamination due tonatural gas exploration and production activities." On Tuesday, the stateDepartment of Environmental Protection said its independent testing showed thesame thing. "That’s exactly right," Helen Humphreys, a spokespersonfor the DEP, said. "The test results came back with results that are consistentwith water in southwestern Pennsylvania." The DEP says it also has beenunable to verify any contamination cases in the state caused by drilling, eventhough much of the public believes otherwise. "It is counter to a perception and it’s unfortunate,"Humphreys said. "We really need to be sure that people are seeing thedata that we’re seeing."

Notto Gild the Lilly, But: Marcellus Shale Exploration in PA Generated $1.7Billion Last Year for Landowners ALONE; 44,000 Jobs Created While They Were AtIt. MSC president Katie Klaberwrites (7/28) in the Centre(Pa.) Daily Times, "Last year alone, Marcellus producers paid almost $1.7billion to private landowners across the commonwealth. And in the next year anda half, our work is projected to generate more than $1.8 billion in state andlocal tax revenues. We’re also proud of the jobs our industry continues tocreate. According to a recent Penn State study, almost 44,000 jobs in thecommonwealth have been created as a result of Marcellus development. Penn Statealso predicts that in the next decade this work has the potential to create212,000 jobs statewide. Have you heard of the "Marcellus Multiplier"? It’s nota featured flavor at Penn State’s Creamery, although maybe it should be. PennState academics determined that for every $1 invested into Marcellusdevelopment, $1.90 of total economic output is generated across the economy.The entire supply chain that supports our industry – small businesses,manufacturers, local suppliers, contractors – have come to know this economicimpact as the "Marcellus Multiplier." And while tremendous strides by almost every metric have been made,there’s much more to do.

IPAAChief: What Does an Independent Energy Company Look Like? We Might Have a HardTime Remembering in a Couple Years If Folks In Washington Get Their Way. IPAA chairman Bruce Vincent writes (7/28) in theWashingtonTimes, "What does an American oil or natural gas company look like? Itseems like a simple question. But to many policymakers in Washington, thoseresponsible for delivering stable supplies of homegrown oil and gas essentialto keep our economy fueled and energy prices stable for struggling families areall "big oil." This common perception in Washington, and elsewhere,is wildly detached from the facts. America’s independent oil and natural gasproducers drill 90 percent of the nation’s wells. These companies employ, onaverage, just 12 workers. These are important facts. And while some independentproducers are publicly traded companies, many are good old-fashioned family-runand -owned small businesses. … The president’s moratorium on offshore energydevelopment, for starters, is not only creating enormous amounts of uncertaintyfor our producers, but also driving rigs out of U.S. waters to otherenergy-producing nations overseas and compounding the economic fallout alongthe Gulf Coast. Leaders in the Gulf region – who understand better than anyonein Washington how critical the oil and natural gas industry is to our nationand their region’s economy – are continuing their fight for responsibleoffshore energy production and the thousands of jobs our industry supports.

Cancelled:Obama Admin Doubles-Down on Bad Bet Founded on Belief that American People WillEventually Support His Offshore Bans – Cancels 2 More Lease Sales Today. E&E News (7/27,subs. req’d) reports, "The Obama administration today formally cancelled twolease sales that were once part of President Obama’s plan for "the largestexpansion of our nation’s available offshore oil and gas supplies in threedecades." But in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf ofMexico, the administration filed notices for the Federal Register that statethe Interior Department needs time to do environmental reviews, scientificanalysis and gather public input. "Cancellation," the notices say,"will allow time to develop and implement measures to improve the safetyof oil and gas development in Federal waters, provide greater environmentalprotection, and substantially reduce the risk of catastrophic events." Oneof the lease sales was off Virginia and the other was in the western Gulf inwaters as deep as 10,975 feet. Obama had announced the decision on May 27 whenhe suspended the 33 deepwater exploratory wells then being drilled in the Gulfof Mexico. Publication in the Federal Register will make it official.

FedsSays Mayor Bloomberg’s Plan to Impose New Hybrid Mandate on Cabbies in NYCViolates the Law – Since Only Feds Can Tinker with Fuel Economy – CA, You Listening? NYTimes (7/27) reports, "The Bloomberg administration’s years-long attempt toforce the city’s cab owners to switch from gas guzzlers to hybrid vehicles wasrejected by a federal appeals court Tuesday morning. The Court of Appeals forthe Second Circuit upheld a judge’s 2009 ruling, in a suit brought by taxifleet owners, that the city’s rules amounted to an effort to mandate fueleconomy and emissions standards, something that only the federal government isallowed to do. If the city wants to appeal further, the next stop is the UnitedStates Supreme Court. A Law Department spokeswoman said officials were "reviewingour options." The city’s effort to force the changeover from the ubiquitousFord Crown Victorias, which get 12 to 14 miles a gallon, to hybrids and othercleaner cars that get much better mileage dates to 2007, when the city issued arule that all cabs put into service beginning October 2009 achieve at least 30city miles per gallon. After a federal judge blocked that rule, the city rolledout another, in March 2009, based on financial incentives. That rule allowedfleet owners to raise their lease rates to drivers by $3 per shift for hybridsand other clean cars, but forced them to drop their rates $12 per shift for CrownVictorias, creating a $15-per-shift difference between gas cars and hybrids.