News

Mutiny: Senior Senate Dem.Demands  Majority Leader "Set Aside"Legislation to Ration Public and Private Use of Carbon-Based Energy. TheHill (6/18) reports, "Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) on Thursday said theSenate should abandon efforts – at least for now – to pass a sweeping climatechange bill and also urged adoption of his plan that would block some EPAgreenhouse gas regulations for two years. "The Senate should be focusing on theimmediate issues before us – to suspend EPA action on greenhouse gas emissions,push clean coal technologies, and tackle the Gulf oil spill," he said in a preparedstatement Thursday afternoon. "We need to set aside controversial and morefar-reaching climate proposals and work right now on energy legislation thatprotects our economy, protects West Virginia and improves our environment,"added Rockefeller, an ally of the his home state’s coal industry. Rockefeller’soffice circulated the comment Thursday afternoon, following a meeting of theSenate Democratic caucus on energy legislation.  It notes that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans toallow a vote this year on Rockefeller’s bill that would delay EPA regulation ofcarbon emissions from power plants and other stationary sources for two years.

Kish: Policymakers Who Lamentthat America’s National Energy Policy Is a Failure Are Right – But They’re theCause of that Failure, Notwithstanding Their Silly Affectation.  ICISNews (6/17, subs. req’d) reports, "Dan Kish, senior vice president forpolicy at the Institute for Energy Research (IER), an energy industry thinktank, contends that US energy policy has been nothing less than "death by athousand cuts" for US domestic energy production. Kish, who worked on CapitolHill for 25 years in both the House and Senate natural resources committees,charges that federal policymakers have consistently fired regulatory bulletsinto US energy interests, then reloaded and fired again, year after year. "Youalways hear members of Congress complaining about our failed energy policy, andthey’re right," he said, "but for reasons other than what they think." "Of thisnation’s offshore territory, 97% of it is not leased, and 94% of federalonshore lands remain unleased" for energy development, he points out. Thefederal government owns about one-third of all US territory, he noted, withmuch of that in the resource-rich US West, and almost all of it closed todevelopment. "If you take the US offshore OCS areas plus the federally ownedonshore lands and combined them, that territory is larger than all of the USdry land mass, including Alaska," Kish said. "If it were a country by itself,if would be the third largest in the world behind Russia and Canada."

Previously Silent on theCalamity Facing Offshore Workers Along the Gulf Coast, NY Times Reverses Course- Begins to Tell the Stories of the Folks Affected by Obama Ban. NY Times(6/17) reports, "In addition to the fishermen and hoteliers whose livelihoodshave been devastated by BP’s hemorrhaging undersea oil well, another group ofGulf Coast residents is beginning to suffer: the tens of thousands of workerslike Ronald Brown who run the equipment or serve in support roles on deepwateroil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Brown, known as Rusty to his friends, is a "shakerhand."In the rugged vernacular of offshore drilling, that means he monitors the mudflowing back from the drill hole thousands of feet below.  He works aboard the Ocean Monarch,which was idled along with 32 other oil rigs when the Obama administrationordered a six-month moratorium on all deepwater drilling after the April 20Deepwater Horizon disaster. The rig’s owner is now seeking customers in otherparts of the world. If the rig moves, Mr. Brown and his fellow motormen,roughnecks and roustabouts will be left behind, jobless, with few alternativesthat would pay anything close to the $3,500 to $4,000 a month typical for suchjobs.

Mutiny x 2: Arkansas DemocratRejects the Notion of Carbon Criminalization Passing the Senate Out-of-Hand – "MaybeSomething a Little Less Ambitious."ArkansasNews Bureau (6/16) reports, "The Senate is unlikely to pass comprehensivelegislation addressing climate change in the next couple of years, though aless ambitious bill may be achievable, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., saidtoday. "I think that the president would like to see a comprehensive energybill and climate change bill come through the Senate. My view is there’s notenough votes to get that done this year, and quite frankly I’m not sure therewill be next year," Pryor said in a conference call with reporters. "If thepresident tries to push an energy package with climate change provisions in it,I think it’s a really hard sell," Pryor said today. "I don’t think you’ll getany Republicans at all, or certainly not many. … My guess is, if it has climatechange in it, it will not go anywhere in the Senate." The Associated Presstoday quoted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as saying SenateRepublicans are unanimously opposed to a sweeping Senate climate bill by JohnKerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

Pogo Sticks for Everyone: NewStudy on Low-Carbon Fuel Standards Finds National Mandate Would Cost 4.5Million Jobs – Send Gas Prices Past $7. HoustonChronicle (6/17) reports, "Low carbon fuel standards like those beingrolled out in California and planned in some Northeastern States could lead tosteep spikes in fuel prices and the loss of millions of U.S. jobs by 2025,according to a report being released today with funding from the ConsumerEnergy Alliance. Just as tighter fuel economy standards are meant to spurchanges in vehicle design and urban planning policies meant to change consumerbehavior, the LCFS is supposed to hurry up the development of new fueltechnologies, according to the study (authored by Charles RiverAssociates).  But the LCFS willdrive major changes "because the targets are beyond reach with foreseeablefuel technology," the study says. Some of the effects of the fuelstandards, according to the study, include: A 90 to 170 percent jump in fuelcosts by 2025; A nationwide net loss of 2.3 million to 4.5 million jobs by2025, including the addition of "green jobs" that would be created bythe fuel standard; A reduction in annual household purchasing power of $1,400to $2,400 relative to 2010 income levels by 2025; A 2 to 3 percent reduction ingross domestic product by 2025.

Anti-Natural Gas PropagandaPiece Getting Lots of Love from the Avant-Garde Film Press – But MainstreamPapers Starting to Wonder Whether Anything In It Is Actually True. AssociatedPress (6/18) reports, "Gasland has won critical acclaim, but the industryhas challenged its veracity. A 4,000-word rebuttal by a coalition of gas andoil producers asserts that Fox botched the facts, misstating the drillingprocess and the regulations that govern it, and spotlighting citizens whoseclaims have already been investigated and debunked."The object of the filmis to shock, and not to enlighten," said Chris Tucker, spokesman for theEnergy in Depth coalition. "If that’s the kind of project you’re trying todo, you’re not going to let a few silly facts get in the way."Wilkes-Barre TimesLeader (6/18) reports, "On the same day as a special screening of the filmin Montrose earlier this month, Energy in Depth released an alert on itswebsite entitled "Debunking Gasland," pulling out numerous quotes from themovie and disputing them. Energy In Depth claimed that Fox was "misstating thelaw" when he said that a 2005 energy bill exempted the oil and gas industryfrom the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, andthe Superfund law. The industry is regulated under every single one of thoselaws, said Energy In Depth spokesman Chris Tucker.

Here’s the Problem withCantwell/Collins Cap-and-Raid Bill: It Doesn’t Matter Where You Send the Loot;For It to "Work" – You Need to Loot. Sens.Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Collins (Maine) write (6/19) in the WashingtonPost, "Our concept is simple: Instead of cap-and-trade, our approach is"cap-and-dividend," with the dividends going where they belong: intothe pockets of hardworking Americans. The legislation would set up a mechanismfor selling "carbon shares" to the few thousand fossil fuel producersand importers through monthly auctions. Seventy-five percent of the auctionrevenue would be returned to every citizen and legal resident of the UnitedStates through equally divided rebate checks — averaging $1,100 for a familyof four each year. The remaining 25 percent would finance clean-energy researchand development; help reduce emissions in agriculture, forestry andmanufacturing; and provide transition assistance for workers and communities incarbon-intensive regions. The legislation aims to reduce greenhouse gasemissions 20 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.

EPA Informs Farm Lobby that Its Decisionon Whether Cars "Can Handle" an Increase in Ethanol Blend Wall Will Have toWait ‘Til the Fall – Engine Blocks the World Over Rejoice. AssociatedPress (6/18) reports, "The Environmental Protection Agency says it willwait until this fall to decide whether U.S. car engines can handle higherconcentrations of ethanol in gasoline. The agency had been expected to decideby this month whether to increase the maximum blend from 10 to 15 percent. TheEPA said Thursday that initial tests "look good" and should becompleted by the end of September. A decision will come after the EnergyDepartment completes the testing of the higher blend on vehicles built after2007. The ethanol industry has maintained that there is sufficient evidence toshow that a 15 percent ethanol blend in motor fuel will not harm theperformance of car engines. But the refining industry, small enginemanufacturers and some environmental groups have argued against an increase.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the announcement is good news forethanol producers and that the EPA is taking "a significant stepforward" by discussing their timeline.

Deepwater-Gate: TechnicalExperts Whose Views Were Misrepresented by Salazar Call Obama Ban on CurrentOffshore Exploration "Craziness." WallStreet Journal (6/17) editorializes, "The experts were certainly under theimpression they were reviewing a comprehensive document, as some of therecommendations would take six months or even a year to implement. And thereport they agreed to did address moratoria: It recommended a six-month ban onnew deepwater permits. Yet Benton Baugh, president of Radoil, said that in atleast two separate hour-and-a-half phone calls among Interior and the experts,there was no discussion of a moratorium on existing drilling. "Because ifanybody had [made that suggestion], we’d have said ‘that’s craziness.’" "This was a political call; this wasnot a technical call," says Mr. Arnold. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar hassince testified that the call was his. But Robert Bea, from the University ofCalifornia at Berkeley, who also reviewed the report, told us Interior had senthim a letter that "stated clearly that [the moratorium] had been insertedat the request of the White House." As for Ms. Browner’s claim that no onewas "misrepresented," Mr. Brett disputes that. Several reviewers saidthey had, in fact, received "apology" notes from the InteriorDepartment acknowledging the misrepresentation. "We did not mean to implythat you also agreed with the decision to impose a moratorium on all newdeepwater drilling," read one. All of this matters because it offers proof the moratorium was driven bypolitics, not safety.

Cracks in the Façade: SalazarTells Out-of-Work Residents of the Gulf Coast that Offshore Ban "Might" BeLifted Early – But Doesn’t Have the Juice to Guarantee It. NewOrleans Times-Picayune (6/16) reports, "Interior Secretary Ken Salazarrejected calls Wednesday from Gulf Coast officials for the immediate lifting ofa six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling, although he said it’s possible itcould be shortened. "We will not allow wells to be drilled unless we canbe assured of safety," Salazar said after a meeting with about 20 Gulf Coastcongressional members. He repeated the message in a meeting later with Sen.Mary Landrieu, D-La., and state and local officials from Louisiana, led byinterim Lt. Gov. Scott Angelle. Salazar, following up on President BarackObama’s statement Tuesday night that the commission investigating the DeepwaterHorizon accident might issue its findings on improving drilling safety soonerthan six months, said it is "possible" the moratorium could endsooner. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., said the deepwater drilling moratorium"is a huge job-killer that may ultimately do more damage to our economythan the oil spill itself, and the Obama administration needs to end itnow."

Sen. Kerry Tells Press that "EverySingle Study" Shows Mass Subsidization of "Green Jobs" Is an Economic Winner -But Spain (and DK, et. al) are "Anomalies." CEI’s Chris Horner writes (6/17) for the DailyCaller, "One should hold deeply mitigated expectations for a senator who,as lead author of a cap-and-trade bill, admits he doesn’t know whatcap-and-trade means. But Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is tempting me to thinkthat, if he is merely uninformed, it must be willfully so. Or else he’s got anuncomfortable relationship with the truth and, it would seem particularly giventhe absence of specifics or examples, is making stuff up. Kerry Picket reportsthe following stunner,in the face of Spain’s disaster: Senator Kerry told reporters that "every study"shows that the subsidizing of alternative energy creates jobs, tellingreporters on Tuesday, "We just told you that every study that has been madesays that this creates hundreds of thousands of jobs a year," he said. However,according to a 2009 study from King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, Spain,the subsidizing of renewable energy was a complete disaster. In fact, the studysaid that for every new job depending on energy price supports, at least 2.2jobs in other industries will disappear. I asked Senator Kerry about Spain’sown failed experience in the area of subsidizing alternative energy: "You havesome anomalies in some countries where they began slowly. They didn’t have theright incentives, they over-subsidized a couple of different things- we’velearned something from some of those mistakes, but I’m confident that the waywe’re approaching this is really private sector determined." (Audiofile available)

Potemkin "Religious" Group -Funded Exclusively By the Godless – Comes Up with Six-Figure Ad Buy BlastingLindsey Graham for Backing Out on Cap-and-Raid. Politico(6/16) reports, "Sen. Lindsey Graham is under fire from a religious advocacygroup that once hailed his work on climate change but now is running ads oncable TV in the Washington market that question his reversal.  The American Values Network started airingcommercials Wednesday on MSNBC, CNN and Fox that contrast the South CarolinaRepublican’s past remarks in support of a major global warming bill with newsheadlines announcing that he no longer supports the legislation. "Now he’sbacking what he himself called a ‘half-assed energy bill,’" a narrator says inthe ads, citing perhaps Graham’s most widely quoted statement from earlier thisyear, in which he challenged the push by moderate Democrats to focus on energylegislation and skirt a vote on limits for greenhouse gases. Eric Sapp,executive director of the American Values Network, said his organization madethe "six-figure" ad buy to highlight Graham’s steady retreat over the past twomonths from closed-door talks with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman(I-Conn.).

These Are the Days of Our Lives:As Rest of the Nation Trips Over Itself to Figure Out Best Way to TakeAdvantage of Shale Gas, New York Continues to Wait for Godot. Peter Applebome writes (6/16) in the New YorkTimes, "Gas drilling isn’t new in New York. There are 13,000 active wellsin the state; the industry says the first gas well was drilled at Fredonia in1821. What’s new is the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontaldrilling in the rich gas deposit known as the Marcellus Shale, which runsroughly 600 miles – including in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio,Pennsylvania and New York. "It’s an awful idea," said Scott Kurkoski, a lawyer forthe Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, which represents 37 landownersgroups whose members own 800,000 acres. He said the failure to develop gas wasan economic hardship to landowners and to the state. Proponents of drilling saythat while New York has dithered, drilling in Pennsylvania has created 44,000jobs and has had a $1.8 billion economic impact. He added: "If there was alegitimate, rational reason to study this further, it would be one thing, butthis has already been studied to death. The calls for a delay are coming frompeople who don’t want to see it happen in New York."

Backers of NortheastCap-and-Raid System Cite Precipitous Drop in Emissions as Proof that RGGI IsWorking – Except: New Study Shows the Drop Had NOTHING TO DO with RGGI. E&E News (6/16,subs. req’d) reports, "Prices for RGGI allowances for the current commitmentperiod fell below $2 per short ton of carbon dioxide equivalent at the latestauction held on June 9 to $1.88 and are nearing the $1.86 price floorestablished under the cap-and-trade scheme. That is down from a record clearingprice of $3.51 per short ton netted at an auction held in March 2009.Allowances for the next RGGI commitment period are already trading at the floorprice. ENE says record low natural gas prices are behind the fall. Low gasprices and pressure to reduce greenhouse gas pollution have seen firmsswitching from coal-fired generation to gas in a big way. The sharp drop injust the first two years of RGGI’s existence, though driven by economicdecline, proves that quick gains in emissions reductions at minimal costs toratepayers are possible, ENE analysts say. Low natural gas prices helped pushfuel oil generation down 38 percent lower in 2009 than the prior year, whilecoal generation decreased 24 percent. "It appears that 2009 emissionslevels were caused more by relative fuel prices than by the RGGI capitself."

EU Finally Waking Up to the Factthat All the Suncatchers They Want to Install Require "Rare Earth" Metals ToWhich They Don’t Have Access – Hoping China Will Send Some Over. NYTimes (6/17) reports, "The European Union is facing shortages of 14critical raw materials needed for mobile phones and emerging technologies likesolar panels and synthetic fuels, according to a study by the EuropeanCommission to be released on Thursday. The commission is ringing the alarm bellon raw materials as China again plans to tighten its control over its rareearth minerals by allowing just a handful of state companies to oversee themining of the scarce elements that are vital to some of the world’s greenesttechnologies. To tackle the problem, the commission proposed that the EuropeanUnion improve its recycling policies, develop products that require fewer rawmaterials and encourage research on finding substitutes. But the commissionattributed the shortages to trade, taxation and investment policies in emergingeconomies that were aimed at reserving their resource bases for their exclusiveuse. "We need fair play on external markets," the European Union’s commissionerfor enterprise, Antonio Tajani, said in a draft statement that he plans todeliver on Thursday at a conference in Spain.

EPA Did Its Best to Hide It, Butin Agency’s Report on Kerry-Lieberman, an Interesting Nugget: Bill Will OnlyReduce Fossil Fuel Usage by FOUR PERCENT over Next 20 YEARS. LATimes (6/16) reports, "Major changes in energy policy – and attendantpolicies on climate change – are hard to bring to fruition because they requiresupport from Congress and a broad array of contending interest groups. So far,even modest steps toward energy independence have proved unacceptable. Case inpoint: EPA said Tuesday that additional fossil fuel costs imposed by anObama-blessed energy proposal being discussed in the Senate would cut petroleumconsumption only 4% over the next 20 years. Environmentalists want thepresident to use the oil spill as a bully pulpit to push harder on renewableenergy sources, such as wind and solar power, while avoiding fossil fuels.Conservatives have advocated more efforts at extracting fossil fuels. "TheUnited States has over a trillion barrels of oil shale out West. Billions ofbarrels of untapped oil in Alaska. And more coal and natural gas than we knowwhat to do with," said PatrickCreighton, a spokesman for the free-market Institute for Energy Research."An effective energy policy would treat these homegrown, job-creatingenergy resources as an asset, not a liability," he said.

Speaking of that EPA Report: TheRest of It Is a Heap of Garbage – But Even Cooked Research Shows Annual Cost toMiddle-Class Families of $150 – Not Peanuts. E&E News(6/15, subs. req’d) reports, "Sponsors of a Senate climate and energy bill hopea U.S. EPA analysis showing a modest increase on household energy costs willcreate a wave of new momentum for their legislation. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.)and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released EPA’s analysis of their cap-and-trade billtoday, which states the measure would cost households between $80 and $150annually over the next 40 years. The analysis also shows that households’energy bills will decrease through 2030 under the bill. Critics of theKerry-Lieberman bill, meanwhile, accused EPA of underestimating the costs ofcap-and-trade legislation."The American people overwhelmingly oppose anincrease in the gas tax — yet, it’s included in this legislation," said Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute forEnergy Research. "We can argue about how high the costs of thislegislation will be, but no one denies that the consumer will end up with lessmoney in their pockets after this legislation is signed into law."Cap-and-trade legislation faces a difficult battle getting 60 votes in theSenate, where many moderate lawmakers have indicated opposition.

Obama Uses Primetime Address toLink Spill in the Gulf with Need to Pass Carbon Criminalization Bill – But AtLeast One Key Democrat Isn’t Buying It. UnitedPress International (6/15) reports, "A key Democrat on the U.S. Senateenergy committee said backers lack the votes to get climate-change rules intothe energy bill. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., a senior member of the SenateEnergy and Natural Resources Committee, noted adding the rules would require 60votes. "I doubt very much whether those 60 votes exist right now," hesaid on C-SPAN’s "Washington Journal," The Hill reported. TheWashington publication noted President Barack Obama and Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid, D-Nev., are preparing to squeeze an energy bill into a busy summerschedule on Capitol Hill. Obama has e-mailed supporters to try to expand their ranks.Reid has told committee heads to prepare for work on an energy bill. A loss ofDorgan’s support would mean Democrats would be at least two votes short ofmoving ahead with climate-change regulations.

Obama Announces Replacement forBirnbaum over at MMS – Some Fellow Named Michael Bromwich, Who Has ZEROExperience in Energy. CNN(6/15) reports, "President Barack Obama on Tuesday appointed Michael Bromwich,a former Justice Department watchdog in the Clinton administration, as the newhead of a reorganized federal effort to regulate offshore oil drilling."He has a mandate to implement far-reaching change and will have theresources to accomplish that change," the statement said. InteriorSecretary Ken Salazar previously announced plans to split MMS into three newdivisions — the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety andEnvironmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. Bromwich,a lawyer who specializes in internal investigations and regulatory matters, wasthe Justice Department inspector general from 1994-1999 under President BillClinton. The job entailed investigating alleged corruption and misconduct inthe department. A graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School and Harvard’sJohn F. Kennedy School of Government, Bromwich was a federal prosecutor in NewYork and served as an associate for the independent counsel office in theIran-Contra case.

Even the Greens Scratchin’ TheirHead Over Obama’s Mystery MMS Pick – But Taking Comfort in the Fact He "MaxedOut" for Obama in 2008. E&E News (6/16, subs.req’d) reports, "Bromwich’s scarce experience in the field does raise eyebrowswith some Interior veterans."It is interesting that the president wouldselect someone who does not appear to have any natural resource or energyexperience to both reform and lead this organization during a time ofchallenge," said David Bernhardt, solicitor at the Interior Departmentduring the George W. Bush administration and now a lawyer in the Washingtonoffice of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. "However, he will actually findmany talented and dedicated public servants within Interior who will want tohelp him succeed, and who are radically different from the way they aredescribed in the talking points of politicians." "I don’t know himpersonally. I have not even heard of him," said Bill Snape, senior counselwith the Center for Biological Diversity. "Bromwich looks solid, though hedoes come out of a corporate law culture himself." Bromwich is not acomplete stranger to politics. He "maxed out" on politicalcontributions to President Obama’s 2008 campaign, giving $4,600, the limit underthe law. He gave $2,000 in 2004 to then-Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry(D-Mass.).

Obama Calculation on MoratoriumProbably Didn’t Account for Constant Bird-Dogging from Gulf Coast Lawmakers -Scalise, Vitter, Landrieu Leading the Charge. Politico (6/15)reports, "House Republicans on Tuesday accused President Barack Obama of usingthe oil spill crisis as an excuse to push a new energy policy and an unpopularcap and trade proposal. Republican lawmakers also ripped the moratorium ondeepwater drilling.  "This jobkilling ban on drilling is causing more problems right now than the oil [spill]long term because it’s threatening over 40,000 jobs," said Rep. SteveScalise (R-La.). "It’s starting to already have reverberating, cripplingeffects to our economy and it doesn’t do anything to cap the well and toactually address the problems of the oil coming onto our shore."  Scalise, who visited Grand Isle, La.last week, said he heard from local leaders that they’re "spending moretime battling the federal government and BP than they are battling theoil." He said he’s heard that workers on the ground have waited as long asfive days to get answers from federal agencies.  "There’s no excuse for that," he said.

Labor Dept. Announces Plan toSpend Millions on New "Green Jobs" Programs – Only a Week After Admitting(Again) It Didn’t Know What a Green Job Was. E&E News(6/15, subs. req’d) reports, "The Labor Department awarded $9 million in grantstoday to train military veterans for "green" jobs, such as installingsolar panels and weatherizing homes. The competitive grants, provided throughthe Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program, are separate from a $500 millionAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act initiative the Labor Department isspearheading to position workers in the energy efficiency and renewable energyindustries. Twenty-two governments, nonprofits and work force investment boardsin 19 states and the District of Columbia will can begin tapping into the fundon July 1, an agency spokesman said. The organizations will use the money toprovide about 4,000 veterans job skills assessments, counseling, training,placement assistance and follow-up services. The grant recipients are: theColorado Department of Labor and Employment ($500,000); Goodwill Industries ofHouston Inc. ($500,000); Veterans Outreach Center Inc., Rochester, N.Y.($270,000); Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($500,000); Community Solutions forClackamas County, Ore. ($500,000); East Central University, Ada, Okla.($500,000); American G.I. Forum National Veterans Outreach Program Inc., SanAntonio, Texas ($500,000); Pima County, Ariz. ($500,000); Pennsylvania Departmentof Labor and Industry ($500,000);

Unearthed Report from FederalMine Safety Administration Seems to Indicate that Agency Gave Massey SomePretty Bad Advice on Methane. Reuters(6/15) reports, "Massey Energy Corp, owner of the coal mine where 29 men diedin a blast in April, said on Tuesday that mine safety regulators knew of cracksin the mine floor years earlier and made contradictory recommendations onpreventing deadly methane gas leaks. The company cited a July 15, 2004, reportby the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regarding twoprevious methane outbursts at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia."Importantly, the report contained recommendations inconsistent withMSHA’s recent handling of ventilation at UBB," Massey said in a pressrelease. Massey said MSHA personnel internally discussed prior methaneoutbursts at UBB in July 2003 and February 2004 that occurred when cracks inthe mine floor allowed methane to escape into the mine. "MSHA personnelrecommended that a number of steps be considered to address the potential forfuture outbursts," the company said. The primary recommendation was forincreased airflow to dilute the methane at the coal face. "Contrary to therecommendation, MSHA in 2009 and 2010 mandated changes resulting in less air onthe UBB longwall (coal face)," Massey said.

TopBloomberg Reporter (And Head of White House Correspondents Assn) Set to Re-JoinNRDC Staff for Second Time in 4 Years.Politico (6/13) reports, "Bloomberg’sEd Chen is joining the Natural Resources Defense Council. Chen left the LosAngeles Times to join the NRDC in 2006, but then jumped back into the world ofjournalism in 2007 with a job at Bloomberg. In an email obtained by POLITICO’sMike Allen, Chen says: "My regret over leaving one of the world’s largest –and certainly the most ambitious — news organizations is offset by a sense ofurgency in resuming doing the Lord’s work, particularly after the BP oil spill.That debacle was a divine signal to redouble my efforts to help clean up theenvironment, help America kick its petroleum addiction, and help publicofficials find the wisdom and courage to do the right thing to combat climatechange before it’s too late. So, I’m returning to the Natural Resources DefenseCouncil." The ease with which reporters seem able to jump between reporting andadvocacy seems to be increasing and fewer people seem to be surprised orshocked within Beltway circles. Still, it is this ease and comfort that willlikely reinforce notions across the country that all journalists are bias andlargely towards Democratic-friendly organizations.

Speakingof NRDC: What Business Does Frances Beinecke Have Serving on A Technical PanelExamining Details of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion? CNN (6/14) reports, "A White House statementsaid Obama named Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources DefenseCouncil; Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center forEnvironmental Sciences; Terry Garcia, executive vice president for missionprograms for the National Geographic Society; Cherry Murray, dean of theHarvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; and Frances Ulmer,chancellor of the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Obama previously appointedformer U.S. Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, a Democrat, and former EnvironmentalProtection Agency administrator William Reilly as co-chairman of theseven-member commission. "These individuals bring tremendous expertise andexperience to the critical work of this commission," Obama said inMonday’s statement. "I am grateful they have agreed to serve as we work todetermine the causes of this catastrophe and implement the safety andenvironmental protections we need to prevent a similar disaster from happeningagain."

OutsourcingWorks: Far-to-the-Left DC Think Tank Has "More Influence on Spill Policy" withObama "Than the President’s In-House Advisors." Jonathan Weismanwrites (6/14) in the Wall Street Journal, "The liberal thinktank with close White House ties appears to have more influence on spill policythan the president’s in-house advisers. On May 4, for instance, the CAP’s energyand environment expert, Daniel Weiss, called on the president to name anindependent commission to look at the causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.On May 22, he did just that.  OnMay 21, CAP president, John Podesta, privately implored White House officialsto name someone to be the public point person for the spill response. A weeklater, the White House announced that Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen would holddaily briefings on the spill, wherever he would be on any given day.  On May 26, Weiss said the White Houseneeded to demand that BP immediately set up an escrow account with billions ofdollars from which claims for Gulf state residents would be paid out.  Monday’s headlines proclaimed thepresident’s latest get-tough stand: BP needs to set up a billion-dollar escrowaccount. What’s next, Mr. Podesta?

Kerry,Lieberman Set to Unveil EPA Analysis of Bill Today – Anyone Else Confused WhyEPA, Putatively an Independent Agency, Isn’t Releasing It Itself?E&E News (6/14, subs. req’d) reports, "The architects of aSenate climate and energy bill will release U.S. EPA’s long-anticipatedeconomic modeling results of their legislation tomorrow. Sens. John Kerry(D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are expected to unveil the analysis at anews conference tomorrow afternoon. "I hope they’ll say that our billwill, as other independent studies have done, will say that adoption of ourbill over time will create millions of good new jobs," Lieberman said lastweek, noting that a "modest" increase in energy prices is expected(E&ENews PM, June 9). EPA’s analysis of the bill was expected go to CapitolHill last week, but agency spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said the analysis wassent to Kerry and Lieberman today. Kerry and Lieberman are pushing to getpieces of their bill included in a broad Senate energy and climate bill thatSenate Democratic leaders hope to bring to the floor in July.

EnvirosCan’t Even Process All the Money Coming In Right Now – Decide to Spend Some ofIt  On Ads in Expensive DC Market Thanking Webb, Warner for Voting AgainstMurkowski.Washington Post (6/14) reports, "Virginia’stwo Democratic senators are getting some free praise on the airwaves. CleanEnergy Works, a coalition of liberal and environmentalist groups, has launchedan ad thanking James Webb and Mark Warner for their votes last week against abill that would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency fromregulating greenhouse gases. Webb and Warner joined 49 fellow Democrats, plusthe Senate’s two Independents, in voting against proceeding to Sen. LisaMurkowski’s (R-Alaska) "resolution of disapproval" curtailing theEPA’s authority. Explaining his vote, Webb said he would instead support acompromise measure by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) that would suspend theEPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases for two years, but not block italtogether. "I do not believe that Congress should cede its authority overan issue as important as climate change to unelected officials of the ExecutiveBranch," Webb said. Warner’s office said he voted against Murkowski’s bill"because he believes removing this EPA authority removes any impetus toadopt a comprehensive energy bill."

StevenChu May Not Be the Only Obama Cabinet Secretary Using the Tragedy in the Gulfto Advance a Favored Political Agenda – But He’s Probably the Worst At It.Bloomberg (6/14) reports, "U.S.Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Monday the oil spill disaster in the Gulf ofMexico underscores the need to develop wind power and a national energy plan. Alongtime advocate of wind power, Chu toured the University of Maine’s AdvancedStructures and Composites Center to learn more about its plans to design andtest floating deep-water wind turbine platforms. Maine officials hope to have awind farm in operation off the coast within six years. Chu said the oil spillwas "a tragedy" that served to highlight the imperative for anational energy plan. "It’s another reminder to step back and say, ‘We doneed a comprehensive energy strategy in the United States for the comingdecades,’" he said. Habib Dagher, the center director, said a greater pushfor renewable energy could be something good to come out of the calamity in theGulf. "It’s a major disaster and the sooner we can find other ways to powerthe country, the better off we’re going to be," Dagher said.

AnEffort We Can Get Behind: President Strikes Optimistic Tone Ahead of OvalOffice Speech Tonight – Says Gulf Coast is Open for Business, Local Seafood "IsDelicious."E&E News (6/15, subs. req’d) reports, "President Obamayesterday took on a newly optimistic tone about the ongoing BP PLC oil spill,vowing that the Gulf Coast would recover from the disaster that has sullied itswaters, fishing grounds and beaches. "I promise you this, that things aregoing to return to normal," Obama said after touring the Theodore, Ala.,staging facility. Obama is visiting Mississippi, Alabama and Florida this weekon his fourth visit to the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon exploded in lateApril, prompting the massive spill. He made separate plugs for the region’sseafood and tourism industries, urging travelers to spend their tourism dollarson the Gulf Coast and proclaiming Gulf of Mexico seafood safe to eat. "Letme be clear, seafood from the Gulf today is safe to eat," he said. "Ihad some of that seafood for lunch and it was delicious." He announced astrengthened effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration andthe Food and Drug Administration to ensure Gulf seafood safety. And Obamaseemed positive his administration could come to an agreement with BP aboutformation of a hefty fund designed to compensate people and businesses affectedby the spill.

Break Out the Flash Cards: AidesSay Markey "Has Been Prepping for Weeks" Ahead of Tomorrow’s Annual Show Trialwith Big Five Energy Executives.E&E News (6/14,subs. req’d) reports, "Rep. Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has summoned the topexecutives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips and Shell OilCo., as well as BP, to a hearing in his House Energy and EnvironmentSubcommittee tomorrow. While the other executives are unlikely to deliver theharsh rebuke that BP has received from lawmakers and elsewhere, they will beput on the spot to explain how their safety protocol and response plans differfrom BP’s, making it difficult for them to completely avoid leveling at leastimplicit criticism against BP, according to congressional aides. Markey hasbeen unrelenting in his criticism of BP’s handling of the oil spill, sayingthat the actions and comments from company executives show that "they areeither incompetent or they are lying." He has floated a number oflegislative proposals in response to the accident, ranging from efforts toincrease the financial liability of oil companies drilling offshore to thecreation of an industry-funded research and development fund for spill cleanupand leak containment. Markey — a key ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)and one of several Democratic leaders crafting a package of oil spill responselegislation — has been prepping for weeks for tomorrow’s hearing, according toaides.

Mutiny: In-Cycle Senate Dems,Sensing a Setting Sun on Cap-and-Raid, Rush to Fill the Hopper with as ManyBills As Their Staff Can Write Press Releases For. TheHill (6/14) reports, "No clear answers emerged from a meeting Reid heldwith several committee chairs and other Democratic leaders Thursday, while abroader Senate Democratic caucus meeting on energy awaits this coming Thursday.Ahead of that session, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) plans to outline proposalsMonday for curbing reliance on oil, and will speak on the matter at the Centerfor American Progress, a liberal think tank with deep ties to the White Houseand influential Democrats. Other members are preparing new energy plans too.Sources on and off Capitol Hill say Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is readyinglegislation on renewable electricity and biofuels. Across the aisle, Sen.Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) unveiled a plan last week aimed at curbing oil usethrough various vehicle efficiency and renewable energy provisions. Other ideasabound. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is pushing a plan backed by severalenvironmental groups that would levy new fees on offshore oil-and-gas leases tofund alternative energy programs.

Demands from Gulf Coast forObama to Lift Short-Sighted Deepwater Moratorium Clearly Making a Difference;Browner Tells Press the Ban Will Likely Be Shortened. E&E News (6/11,subs. req’d) reports, "The Obama administration hopes to shorten the six-monthban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a top presidential advisersaid today. Carol Browner, director of the White House Office of Energy andClimate Change Policy, said the independent commission President Obama hastasked with investigating the causes and effects of the ongoing BP PLC spill inthe Gulf may issue its final report sooner than its November deadline, leadingto an earlier end to the deepwater moratorium. "We certainly hopeso," Browner said on CNN’s "American Morning." "As soon aswe have those answers, clearly we want to make sure these people get back towork." The news will likely be welcomed by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), whoearlier today urged Obama to strike a balance between boosting the safety ofoffshore drilling and recognizing the importance of the offshore energyindustry to Louisiana’s economy.

And Just In Case Browner’sFibbing: Members of the House Line Up to Introduce New Legislation Demandingthe Job-Destroying Moratorium Be Lifted Now. TheHill (6/13) reports, "Freshman Texas Rep. Pete Olson plans to introduce abill to lift the Obama administration’s six-month moratorium on deepwaterdrilling, Texas TV station KPRC Local 2 reports.  Olson, a Republican, said the moratorium could cost the GulfCoast upward of 100,000 jobs if its 33 rigs remain idle.  "What that’s doing is turning thistragedy into an unmitigated disaster for our nation," Olson said."We’re going to lose thousands of jobs." Separately, Rep. CharlesBoustany (R-La.) wrote to President Barack Obama and Interior Secretary KenSalazar on Thursday to warn them that the moratorium could cause Louisiana tolose thousands of jobs. Boustany was one of 58 bipartisan House members whosigned a letter urging the administration to lift the earlier ban on shallow-wateroperations. "While recent decisions allow some shallow-water oil and gasproduction, the administration’s inconsistency furthers the uncertainty forthousands of Louisiana workers," Boustany wrote in an editorial publishedSunday by the Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La. "The knee-jerk reactionto stop all permitting demonstrates a lack of informed decision-making from thefederal authorities."

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: GreensSwimming in Cash in Wake of Offshore Tragedy, But Some Enviros Concerned thatNot Enough Attention Being Paid to … Rain Forests. Kate Galbraith writes (6/14) in the NYTimes, "As Rahm Emanuel says, a disaster is a terrible thing to waste,"said Zygmunt J.B. Plater, a law professor at Boston College, paraphrasing a2008 comment by the White House chief of staff about the then-burgeoning economiccrisis. Environmentalists, for their part, are hoping that the country will paymore attention to green issues after seeing the devastation in the gulf.  Another environmental group, AmericanRivers, is anticipating more attention to wetlands issues in general, eventhough oil was spilled into the sea, not rivers. "People are simply more tunedinto environmental issues right now, especially when it comes to clean water,"said Amy Souers Kober, a spokeswoman for the group. There is a flip side,however: other environmental causes could get starved of money and attention.For the past 50-plus days, the oil spill has dominated the headlines, the newsprograms and even the comedy shows across the United States. Other issues couldget overlooked. "Nobody’s talking right now about whales and rain forests," Mr.Plater said, "but what we are discovering is there is a huge economic backlashwhen environmental things go wrong."

Sestak Forced to Stake OutAggressively Anti-Marcellus Position to Beat Specter in Democratic Primary -But Now, In the General, He Finds Himself In a Pretty Tough Spot. PittsburghPost-Gazette (6/14) reports, "Sestak has endorsed legislation proposed byhis colleague, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., that would bring Marcellus Shale drillingunder the oversight of the Safe Drinking Water Act. He has echoed PresidentBarack Obama’s call for a strict moratorium on offshore drilling. The Democrathas also endorsed a proposal from Mr. Casey and New York Democratic Sen.Charles E. Schumer that is designed to increase federal oversight of gasdrilling. Asked about the measure last week, Mr. Toomey warned that overlappingbureaucracies pose threats of inefficiency and rising costs. He pointed withapproval to the regulatory steps taken by Pennsylvania’s environmentalofficials in response to a Clearfield County gas blowout last week. To justifythe new federal oversight, Mr. Toomey said, "the burden is on Mr. Sestak"and other supporters of the Casey-Schumer bill to demonstrate thatPennsylvania’s environmental officials are somehow derelict in their oversight.

Eagle Ford the New Marcellus:Companies See a Shale Formation with Gas and Oil, and a State that Knows aThing or Two About Going Large. Bloomberg(6/14) reports, "KKR & Co., the buyout firm run by Henry Kravis and GeorgeRoberts, may purchase about $400 million of Texas shale assets from HilcorpEnergy Co., two people with direct knowledge of the talks said. KKR andHilcorp, a closely held exploration and production company based in Houston,may partner to develop the formation known as Eagle Ford in the southern partof the state, which has unconventional gas deposits, according to one of thepeople who declined to be identified because the deal is private. KKR’spurchase of a stake may be announced as early as today, the person said. KKRspokeswoman Kristi Huller said she couldn’t comment. Calls to Hilcorp over theweekend weren’t returned. Unconventional gas is the industry term to describefuel trapped in shale formations, coal beds and impermeable sandstone rock.Marc Lipschultz, global head of KKR’s energy business, is looking for oil andgas investments as the firm exits a 1-year-old minority stake in East ResourcesInc. That developer, focusing on the Appalachian basin’s Marcellus Shale area,agreed last month to sell itself to Royal Dutch Shell Plc for $4.7 billion.

Deepwater-Gate: Salazar Forcedto Apologize for Misleading the Public on Whether Deepwater Moratorium  Was Supported by Panel of Experts,Engineers. FOXNews (6/11) reports, "The seven experts who advised President Obama on howto deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion areaccusing his administration of misrepresenting their views to make it appearthat they supported a six-month drilling moratorium — something they actuallyoppose. The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, sayInterior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after theysigned it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existingdrilling and new permits. Salazar’s report to Obama said a panel of sevenexperts "peer reviewed" his recommendations, which included asix-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigsand an immediate halt to drilling operations. "None of us actuallyreviewed the memorandum as it is in the report," oil expert Ken Arnoldtold Fox News. "What was in the report at the time it was reviewed wasquite a bit different in its impact to what there is now. So we wanted todistance ourselves from that recommendation." Salazar apologized to thoseexperts Thursday.

Cathy Zoi Strikes Again: $126Million of Your Money Given to Florida by Federal Government to Spur Green Jobs- Guess How Many Were Created? NOT ONE. NYTimes (6/10) reports, "Is it possible to botch stimulus spending onrenewable energy projects? Florida and the federal Department of Energy havefound a way, according to the Energy Department’s inspector general. TheAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorized $3.1 billion in grants forthe state energy programs, and the Energy Department allocated $126 million forFlorida, a vast increase over the average of the previous few years, which was$1.4 million. In a report released on Thursday, the inspector general said thatFlorida had given $8.3 million in rebates "related to solar energy projectsthat had been completed prior to the passage of the Recovery Act." Florida hadhad its own rebate program, which ran out of money in early 2008, and it had abacklog of people waiting to collect. But the work had already been completed,so no jobs were created by Florida’s use of the money in this fashion. Stillthe Energy Department approved the expenditure. At least that money was spentquickly. The state had set itself a deadline of pinpointing where all of themoney would be spent by the beginning of this year, the audit said, but missedits deadline, partly because it chose projects that turned out not to beeligible.

A Full Year After Dept. of LaborAdmitted It Had No Idea What a Green Job Even Was, Comments in Federal RegisterConfirm THEY STILL DON’T. ByronYork writes (6/11) in the WashingtonExaminer, "Buried deep inside a federal newsletter on March 16 wassomething called a "notice of solicitation of comments" from the Bureauof Labor Statistics at the Department of Labor. "BLS is responsible fordeveloping and implementing the collection of new data on green jobs,"said the note in the Federal Register. But the notice said there is "nowidely accepted standard definition of ‘green jobs.’" To help find thatdefinition, the Labor Department asked that readers send in suggestions. Thenotice came only after the department scoured studies from government,academia, and business in search of a definition. "The common thread throughthe studies and discussions is that green jobs are jobs related to preservingor restoring the environment," the notice said. Duh! Beyond that, aprecise definition has eluded Labor Department officials. On Capitol Hill, astaffer for Sen. Charles Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate FinanceCommittee, was poring through the Federal Register and spotted the note. Thenhe went to the Department of Labor Web site, where he found a number ofannouncements like these: ** U.S. Department of Labor Announces $100 Million inGreen Jobs Training through Recovery Act The Labor Department is shoving moneyout the door for "green jobs," yet at the same time is admitting itdoesn’t know what a "green job" is.

The Uniter: Communities Alongthe Gulf Coast Come Together to Support Families Who Lost Loved Ones, and ToPush Obama to Lift Offshore Ban. USAToday (6/11) reports, "The area’s entire economy is struggling in the wakeof the Gulf oil spill, and the trickle-down effect within the local economy hascost Merange’s T-shirt business $5,000 since the spill started. But the oilindustry still has her support, she says. "My husband works in oil.Everybody’s husband works in oil," says Merange, 38. "It’s thelifeblood of this town … (and) we’ve got to support it." The Gulfcommunities hit hardest by the spill are also the ones leading the charge forthe Obama administration to lift its six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling.President Obama says the ban is necessary for safety reasons until aninvestigation can be conducted into the USA’s worst-ever oil spill. Yet localofficials, including most Gulf state governors, say the ban is unnecessary andis magnifying the devastating economic effect of the Deepwater Horizondisaster. Charlotte Randolph, president of Louisiana’s Lafourche Parish, saidshe pleaded with Obama to reverse the moratorium when he visited the state lastweek. She told the state Legislature on Wednesday that Edison Chouest Offshore,which operates offshore equipment, could lay off 1,000 workers soon. MichelClaudet, president of nearby Terrebonne Parish, said that 60% of jobs in hisparish are related to the oil and gas industry.

Widows of Men Who Were Killed inthe Gulf Come Face-to-Face with President Obama, Implore Him to Lift theOffshore Ban – Reports Say He Politely, Cerebrally  Declined. FOXNews (6/10) reports, "Family members of the 11 victims killed in theDeepwater Horizon Oil Rig disaster came to the nation’s capitol Thursday tomeet with the president and lawmakers to make sure another catastrophe likethis one never happens again, but another concern for them was saving theirlivelihoods. One widow of the victims thought that President Obama wasreceptive to raising the moratorium on offshore drilling. "He (Obama)understood where we were coming from, and I believe that the drilling willcommence one day," said Courtney Kemp, wife of Roy Wyatt Kemp, said at apress conference on Capitol Hill. In the president’s conversations with thefamilies Thursday, according to the families, Obama defended his decision tohalt drilling, saying he wanted time to put more safety measures in place tomake sure something like the Deepwater Horizon explosion doesn’t happen again."Our loved ones were not lost for nothing. They were doing their job, andtheir job was to keep the flow of oil going for this country, so everyone inthis room and everyone watching this could go to their corner store and filltheir gas tank up. That was their job and they are very good at it, they arevery good at it," said Anderson through his tears.

In Aftermath of MurkowskiResolution Vote, Some Good News for Affordable Energy Proponents: All theSquishy Rs Voted the Right Way for Once. E&E News(6/11, subs. req’d) reports, "Scott Segal, an industry attorney at Bracewell& Giuliani, said the fact that the three moderate Republicans voted for theMurkowski measure signals that they won’t blindly support climate policies."What I think it shows is that any environmentalist who believes that SenatorsBrown, Snowe and Collins are going to vote for legislation merely because theenvironmental community says that it’s politically expedient are wrong,"Segal said. Clean Air Watch President Frank O’Donnell said the Republicans’vote on the climate bill is not necessarily a signal that they would oppose aclimate bill. "It’s going to depend on the specifics of thelegislation," he said. "Of those three, the only one that’s steppedout on this issue in a positive way is Collins." Kerry said he has beenordered to work with Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Energy andNatural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) over the coming weeks"to try to see what we can help do to work through some of the issuespeople have." Advocates face an uphill climb in pulling together thevotes.

Smart Senate Dems Take NoComfort in Win on Murkowski Vote – They Understand Well that the Job of Passinga Carbon Criminalization Bill Just Got Harder. Politico (6/10)reports, "Senate Democrats on Thursday stopped an attempt by Republicans torestrict the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbonemissions, but during a leadership meeting could not agree on how to proceedwith a comprehensive energy bill. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that no finaldecisions were made in the meeting. Reid said in a statement that there are "avariety of opinions within our caucus" and that he is committed to passing abill this year. "He wants to get something that will get 60 votes. I don’tthink that’s real easy," Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said after themeeting. Rockefeller – a coal-state senator who embodies the challenge Reidfaces in striking a balance on energy – noted that most of the 11 senators inthe strategy session thought there would not be enough votes for the billintroduced recently by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).Rockefeller said many senators in the closed meeting expressed "real worryabout cap and trade" – a provision in the bill that sets up a system ofemission trades opposed by many elements of the energy industry.

Shale Gas Exploration in AmericaSingle-Handedly Reshaping the Geopolitics of the Entire World – Just Ask Putinand Ahmadinejad. George Wittmanwrites (6/11) for the AmericanSpectator, "Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, has had to rethink itsentire future operational development and export revenue plan. It is not aloneamong the major gas suppliers such as Qatar and Algeria. (Iran is second onlyto Qatar in proven gas reserves, but it is not one of the top suppliers.) TheUnited States has returned as one of the world’s major gas producers throughthe unlocking of the technological mysteries of shale rock gasexploitation.  The key to thegrowth of natural gas availability has been the development of horizontaldrilling. This system allows deep vertical drilling literally to turn horizontallyto penetrate the layers of shale. A mixture is injected of water, chemicals,and small amounts of fine sand, fracturing ("fracking") the gas-ladenshale rock deposits. This action releases the gas that then pools and isrecovered.  In recent years theUnited States has ceased being a net gas importer and is now on the brink ofself-sufficiency, with the expectation of being export capable in ten years.Internationally the impact of domestic gas development through shaleexploitation has created the potential of serious alteration of strategiccircumstance.

Sensing an Opportunity, DeGetteand Markey Demand Companies Take Time from Clean-Up to Furnish Them withDetailed Lists of Materials Used in Response Effort. E&ENews/NY Times (6/11) reports, "House Democrats who have led the charge forgreater regulation of a natural gas production technique are taking theirchemical-disclosure rhetoric to the Gulf of Mexico. Markey called on BP to"release immediately the chemicals included in that drilling mud so therecan be complete, immediate, scientific analysis of what those chemicals are andwhat harm they are causing not only to ocean animals and fauna, but also humanbeings." He also promised to help pinpoint more details about thedispersants BP has used both on the surface and below the surface of the Gulfto break apart the slick. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), the driving forcebehind an effort to require drillers to disclose the ingredients of theirfracturing fluids, also expressed concern about dispersant use in a separateHouse Natural Resources subcommittee hearing. Industry experts say the muds BPused in the top kill attempt were safe. Bill Eustes, a petroleum engineeringprofessor at the Colorado School of Mines, said they were "environmentallybenign."

(Deep-) Watergate: Experts Askedto Review/Inform Salazar’s Offshore Report Say Deepwater Moratorium Rec WasAdded After the Fact – And They Oppose It. WallStreet Journal (6/10) editorializes, "In the wake of the oil spill,President Obama asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to produce a report on newdrilling safety recommendations. Then on May 27 Mr. Obama announced a six-monthdeep water drilling ban, justifying it on the basis of Mr. Salazar’s report, atop recommendation of which was the moratorium. To lend an air of technical authority,the report noted: "The recommendations contained in this report have beenpeer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy ofEngineering."  That would befalse, sir. In a scathing statement this week, the seven experts explained thatthe report draft they had reviewed did not include a six-month drillingmoratorium. That was added only after they signed off. "The Secretaryshould be free to recommend whatever he thinks is correct, but he should not befree to use our names to justify his political decisions," wrote the sevenin a letter to Gulf Coast politicians. One of the seven, University ofCalifornia at Berkeley engineering professor Bob Bea, further explained in anemail cited in the New Orleans Times-Picayune: "Moratorium was not apart" of the "report we consulted-advised-reviewed. Click here to read the cover letter, and here to get the meat.

You Know It’s Bad When: Even aProfessor from Cal-Berkeley is Among the Those Chiding the White House for Letting"Emotions" Get in the Way of "Facts."NewOrleans Times-Picayune (6/9) reports, "One of the panelists who signed theletter, University of California at Berkeley engineering professor Bob Bea,said in an e-mail message that a moratorium should be reserved for"unconventional, very hazardous operations" and shouldn’t apply tothe "majority of conventional offshore operations, (which) meetfundamental requirements for acceptable risks."  "Moratorium was not a part of the … report weconsulted-advised-reviewed," Bea wrote. "Word from DOI (InteriorDepartment) was it was a W(hite) H(ouse) request." The National Academy ofEngineering provided seven reviewers for Salazar’s safety report, and the academy’sKen Arnold, an oil and gas industry consultant, wrote a scathing cover letterTuesday that concludes: "The Secretary should be free to recommendwhatever he thinks is correct, but he should not be free to use our names tojustify his political decisions." "We didn’t mean to imply that theyalso agreed with the moratorium on deepwater drilling," the spokeswoman,Kendra Barkoff, said.

Louisiana Reps. Nearly Jump DownOff the Dais Upon Hearing of How the Moratorium Sausage Was Made As Part ofDeepwater-Gate. WallStreet Journal (6/9) reports, "The eight experts – all longtime petroleumengineers, some affiliated with major universities – are listed in a reportpublished by the Interior Department last month as having "peer reviewed"Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s recommendations on improving the safety ofdrilling on the outer continental shelf in the wake of the April 20 oil rigexplosion in the Gulf of Mexico. A Salazar spokeswoman acknowledged the experts"were not asked to review or comment on the proposed moratorium and that theypeer-reviewed the report on a technical basis." She added the moratorium wasbased on "the need for a comprehensive review of safety in deepwater operationsin light of the BP oil spill." Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) seized onthe engineers’ statement, calling it "further proof that [Obama] administrationpolicy is guided by emotion and politics, not facts." "Thousands of Louisianansare going to be out of work because the president wanted a get-tough headline,"he said.

King Kenneth Forced to ‘Fess Upin Wake of Deepwater-Gate: "It Was My Decision and the President’s Decision." E&E News (6/9,subs. req’d) reports, "We understand the need to undertake the limitedmoratorium and actions described in the draft report to assure the public thatsomething tangible is being done," the dissenting panelists wrote. "Ablanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce riskfurther and it will have a lasting impact on the nation’s economy which may begreater than that of the spill." Landrieu criticized Salazar for the moveat a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing today. "Thistemporary pause, if it lasts very much longer than a few months — not six,just a few months — it could potentially wreak economic havoc on this regionthat exceeds the havoc wreaked by the spill itself," Landrieu said.Landrieu said the moratorium is halting production on 33 deepwater rigs, whichhave 100 to 200 workers each, and also will affect four or five jobs thatdirectly support every one of those positions. Salazar said he appreciated andaccepted the recommendations from the experts but added, "It was not theirdecision on the moratorium, it was my decision and the president’sdecision."

Meanwhile, Over on the ChampionsTour, Senate Expected to Begin Debate on Murkowski Resolution at 9:30 AM; Out-of-CycleDems Starting to Talk Tough. E&E News (6/10,subs. req’d) reports, "Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.),co-sponsors of a separate effort to limit EPA’s regulatory authority, said theywould vote against the Alaska Republican’s resolution. Sen. Sherrod Brown(D-Ohio) and Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan alsosaid they would oppose the measure. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said earlier thisweek that he would vote "no."Conrad said he does not think that EPA’sscientific endangerment finding "should be lightly overturned."Headded that the measure "has no prospect of succeeding" because it isunlikely the House will consider it and because it faces an Obama veto.Moderate Democratic Sens. James Webb of Virginia, Byron Dorgan of North Dakotaand Mark Begich of Alaska all said they are likely to vote against theresolution today. Debate on the measure is expected to kick off today at 9:30a.m. The Senate will then debate on a motion to proceed for six hours. If themotion passes, the chamber will debate the resolution for another hour prior tothe final vote. No filibusters or amendments are allowed.

Rebel Yell: Fmr. Student BodyPresident of Ole Miss All Grown Up – And More Than Willing to School Menendezand Crew on Patent Illegality of Their Offshore Liability Bill. Platts(6/8) reports, "The NTL also states that the causes of the explosion on theDeepwater Horizon rig are still under investigation. "So, if that is thecase, what additional safety or environmental protection equipment isnecessary?" Coleman asked. "Where is the list of such necessaryequipment? Why is it necessary to require drilling to stop for six months towait on a report from a non-technical commission that is not expert in safetyand environmental equipment?" He also said it is "highly questionable," that a blanketsix-month moratorium is necessary because, as the NTL put it, "undercurrent conditions deepwater drilling poses an unacceptable threat of seriousharm or damage." "What current conditions are referenced here thatcauses deepwater drilling to pose an unacceptable threat?" he asked."What is an unacceptable threat? Is the fact that many thousands ofdeepwater wells have been drilled before having a sea-floor blowout anunacceptable threat?  "I donot believe that a court of competent jurisdiction would agree with theadministration’s judgment on those questions," Coleman said.

IEA Warns that Lost Output Owingto Obama’s Hasty Decision in Deepwater Gulf Could Cost American Consumers300,000 Barrels of Domestic Oil a Day.WallStreet Journal (6/10) reports, "The International Energy Agency on Thursdayraised its 2010 world oil-demand forecast but warned that up to 300,000 barrelsa day of future U.S. output may be at risk if a drilling moratorium isextended.  In its monthlyoil-market report, the Paris-based agency increased its forecast for global oildemand by 60,000 barrels a day to 86.4 million barrels a day in 2010.  The raised outlook contrasts withWednesday’s cut in Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’s forecast byabout 10,000 barrels a day. OPEC kept its demand view substantially lower thanthe IEA, at 85.37 million barrels a day. The IEA is generally among the moreoptimistic about oil demand this year compared with other industry forecasters.It said that "if North America’s strong preliminary estimates areconfirmed," oil demand in the Organization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment "could briefly buck the decline observed in the previous fouryears."

Richest Man in the World Says USGovernment Should Spent Three Times More In Taxpayer Money to Fund EnergyResearch He Deems Worthwhile. NYTimes (6/9) reports, "The United States is badly lagging in basic researchon new forms of energy, deepening the nation’s dependence on dirty fuels andcrippling its international competitiveness, a diverse group of businessexecutives warn in a study to be released Thursday.  The group, which includes Bill Gates, the co-founder ofMicrosoft; Jeffrey R. Immelt, chief executive of General Electric; and JohnDoerr, a top venture capitalist, urges the government to more than triplespending on energy research and development, to $16 billion a year. And itrecommends creation of a national energy board to guide investment decisionstoward radical advances in energy technology.  Mr. Gates said in an interview that drastic changes wereneeded in the way the United States produced and consumed energy to assure itssecurity and to begin to address climate change. He endorsed the administration’sgoal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, but said thatwas not possible with today’s technology or politics.

Ashley Judd Loves Her SomeKentucky Basketball, Loves Being Seen at Rupp Arena – Just Hates EverythingAbout the State’s Coal-Based Economy.TheHill (6/9) reports, "Actress Ashley Judd said the federal government issupporting "the rape of Appalachia" because it allows mountaintop removalmining.  Judd, in a speech at theNational Press Club Wednesday, criticized the controversial practice.  Mountaintop removal mining (MTR) is aform of surface mining that involves the use of explosives on the summit orsummit ridge of a mountain to expose underlying coal seams. It’s a common formof mining in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia. Judd, aKentucky native, called it "strip mining on steroids" and choked up as shetalked about its environmental damage in her home state. She called for an endto the practice and singled out other politicians for criticism and praise. Shewas critical of Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), saying "his policy stance about coalmining is destructive to the people of Appalachia." Judd has worked with theNatural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups to help endthe practice.

Rocky KOs Jackson: EternallyJunior Democratic Sen. from West Virginia Says He’ll Stand with HisConstituents and Vote For Murkowski Resolution. DowJones (6/8) reports, "Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.) on Tuesday brokeranks with Democratic party leaders and indicated that he would support aneffort by Senate Republicans to overturn new rules to curb greenhouse-gasemissions. The defection on the Obama administration’s cornerstoneenvironmental policy represents a blow to the White House, which on Tuesdaythreatened to veto any measure to overturn the first-ever EnvironmentalProtection Agency greenhouse-gas rules. The measure, a "disapprovalresolution," is being pushed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) and isscheduled for a Senate vote on Thursday. "I have long maintained that theCongress-not the unelected EPA-must decide major economic and energypolicy," said Mr. Rockefeller, who represents a coal state that could behit hard by greenhouse-gas regulations. "EPA regulation will have anenormous impact on the economic security of West Virginia and our energyfuture."

 WH Starting to Sweat Bullets onThis EPA Resolution – Decides to Fire Off Fairly Outlandish Statement LinkingGulf Spill to Supporters of Murkowski.E&E News (6/8,subs. req’d) reports, "The White House today threatened to veto a Senate effortto block federal climate rules as Democrats continue to link Thursday’s vote tothe ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill. "The measure would undo EPA’scarefully constructed approach to reducing pollution generated by the largestoil companies, oil refineries, and other large-scale polluters," thedocument adds. Murkowski and her supporters fired back. "There have been alot of statements of late about the intent of this legislation — somehow or otherthat this is now tied to Big Oil in view of what we’re seeing with the spill inthe Gulf," Murkowski said. "But ultimately, this resolution is aboutprotecting the economy and preventing agency overreach, it’s as simple asthat." "It was very clear there were not the votes in the Senate todo a cap-and-trade bill and that the whole process was going to die,"Bennett said. "Then we got the oil spill, and all of a sudden, somehowthere is some connection between the EPA and the oil spill."

Meanwhile, All the LCV, SierraClub Money in the World Couldn’t Help Greens Take Down Blanche Lincoln inArkansas. E&E News (6/9, subs.req’d) reports, "Lincoln captured 52 percent of the vote in a runoff electionagainst Democratic Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who attacked the incumbent from theleft and had the backing of national labor and environmental groups. The Leagueof Conservation Voters was one of those groups that went after Lincoln in theclosing days of the campaign, going on the air with an ad campaign that blastedLincoln for accepting large campaign contributions from oil companies andattempting to link her policy positions to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Otherliberal groups also charged that the incumbent was too closely linked tovarious corporate interests. Lincoln, however, made little effort to move toher left and instead built her campaign around a message that she was willingto buck Democratic leaders and was a strong advocate for Arkansas interests. Aspart of that message, Lincoln touted her opposition to cap-and-tradelegislation and that her chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee gaveher unique power to deliver for her home state. 

If You Happen to Be in AlbanyToday, Make Sure to Stop By and Lend Some Support to the 500 Folks Rallying forResponsible Natural Gas Development in New York. IthacaJournal (6/8) reports, "400 to 500 Southern Tier landowners are expected torally in Albany today, where they will ask legislators to stay out of the wayof DEC’s environmental review of hydraulic fracturing and halt allindustry-thwarting legislation that’s threatening to delay drilling evenlonger. The rally is being organized by the Joint Landowners Coalition, a groupof area landowners who have signed, or are hoping to sign, leases with naturalgas companies. At least 10 buses, each carrying up to 50 people, are expectedto head to the rally from Broome, Tioga, Chenango and Sullivan counties.Landowners will be joined by members of the pipefitters, laborers and teamstersunions who are interested in the jobs drilling could bring to the region.Although a blowout on a rig in Clearfield County, Pa., on Friday explosions ona Texas pipeline and a West Virginia drilling pad Monday, and another Texasexplosion on Tuesday have been cause for alarm, Fitzsimmons said human errorsmade on a few rigs out of thousands shouldn’t stand in the way of an industrythat has proven to be safe and could bring tens of thousands of jobs to theregion. "We just had a scaffolding accident at a construction site ….Are we going to stop building now?" Fitzsimmons said. "We can’t dothat. We have to see what these mistakes are, learn from them, and thenadjust." Clickhere to access a comprehensive rebuttal of the anti-natural gas propaganda filmGasLand. 

Most Senators May Have a LawDegree, But Only a Handful Appear to Understand the Legal Issues thatRetroactively Re-Writing Offshore Liability Laws Create. E&E News (6/9, subs.req’d) reports, "While Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) has proposed raising thelimit to $10 billion and other Democrats have called for unlimited liability,Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) has suggested eliminating the cap for the DeepwaterHorizon spill but leaving it at $75 million for future accidents. "Theyare the responsible party," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). "Theyare liable for the damages up to the extent of their very financial existence,and they are not too big to fail." But Sessions, the Judiciary Committee’sranking member, said he is skeptical about the constitutionality of imposing anew liability limit on all offshore drilling leases. Doing so could expose thegovernment to $10 billion in breach-of-contract claims from leaseholders, plusany claims for lost profits, oil industry consultant Jack Coleman told thecommittee yesterday. He cited the Mobil v. U.S. case, in which the SupremeCourt ruled that the Interior Department breached its contracts with oilcompanies by restricting drilling off the coast of North Carolina. "Thelessees had a right to rely on the law as it existed at the time that the leasewas issued, and therefore, the lessees recovered all their expenses," saidColeman, a former attorney at the Interior Department. 

Lotta Grumbling About theThousands of Jobs Being Lost along the Gulf Coast Thanks to Obama Moratorium -But At Least One Company’s Trying to Do Something About It. Bloomberg(6/8) reports, "Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. sued the U.S. InteriorDepartment to lift the six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf ofMexico triggered by the deadly explosion of a drilling rig and subsequent oilspill. Hornbeck, whose supply boats serve almost all 33 drilling rigs that wereoperating in the deepwater gulf, said one customer has already said it willcancel a contract as a result of the moratorium. President Barack Obamaannounced the ban May 27, after receiving a report by government officials incharge of exploration on the nation’s outer continental shelf, or OCS. TheDeepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by BP Plc, exploded April 20 off ofLouisiana, killing 11 workers. Since then, oil has been gushing from the wellinto the Gulf of Mexico. Hornbeck, based in Covington, Louisiana, hasn’t beenimplicated in the explosion or spill. "There is nothing in the report thatsuggests OCS drilling is more dangerous today than it was on the dayimmediately preceding the tragic incident involving the Deepwater Horizon,"Carl Rosenblum, an attorney for the company said in a complaint filed in NewOrleans federal court. Hornbeck is seeking an injunction stopping themoratorium. 

In First Appearance Since theSplit, Al Gore Tells Audience in Philippines, Where More than 1/4 of People Don’tHave Electricity, that Cap-and-Raid is a "Moral" Issue. ManilaTimes (6/9) reports, "Climate change is much more than just anenvironmental or political concern, according to Al Gore, who called it a moralissue that threatens humanity unless drastic action is taken within a decade.Gore, former United States vice president and Nobel laureate for hisdocumentary "An Inconvenient Truth," was in the country on Tuesdayfor a one-time appearance. The audience of about 4,000 people includedPresident Gloria Arroyo, newly arrived US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. and othermembers of the diplomatic corps in Manila, Henry Sy Sr. and his family, whosecompany, SM Prime, organized the event. "Climate change is not only a naturalor a technology issue," he said. "It is indeed a single, reckless and immoralact if one fails to take his part in addressing this problem." Climate changewas a moral issue, "because the decisions made by the current generation willhave such a profound effect on all future generations." He even quoted from theBible, saying, "Love thy neighbor." Gore, who was once congressman of Tennesseein America’s so-called Bible Belt, quoted from the Good Book several times,even though he noted that he was not proselytizing.

FacingSpecter of 40,000 Residents Out of Work Because of His Decision, Obama Moves toRe-Open Shallow Offshore – Too Bad 70% of the Oil Comes from Deepwater.  Wall Street Journal (6/8) reports, "TheObama administration, facing rising anger on the Gulf Coast over the loss ofjobs and income from a drilling moratorium, said Monday that it would move torelease new safety requirements that would allow the reopening of offshoreexploration in shallow waters. Gulf Coast residents, political leaders andindustry officials said delays in releasing the new rules, along with theadministration’s six-month halt on deepwater drilling threatened thousands ofjobs. The moratorium on offshore drilling is shaping up to be one of the mostcontentious elements of Mr. Obama’s response to the April 20 explosion thatsank the rig and touched off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.Industry trade groups say that each deepwater rig employs 180 to 280 workers,with each of those jobs supporting another four industry workers, for a totalpotential loss of more than 40,000 jobs. The moratorium "will result incrippling job losses and significant economic impacts for the Gulfregion," the National Ocean Industries Association said in a letterMonday. "I fully support offshore drilling and I always will," saidNatalie Roshto, of Liberty, Miss., whose husband, Shane, was among 11 peoplekilled in the blast. Clickhere to see IER’s Dan Kish debate the merits (and reality) of offshoreenergy exploration on FOX News this past Sunday.

Here’sthe Other Problem with the Obama Moratorium: No One with the Government SeemsAll that Interested in Releasing Any Details on How It Works, Who It Covers.The Hill (6/7) reports, "Agroup representing offshore energy companies is pressing the new chief of theMinerals Management Service to clarify drilling rules and allow development toproceed. The letter from the National Ocean Industries Association to actingMMS chief Bob Abbey calls for issuing "guidance" to offshore oil-and-gasdrillers "as soon as possible" outlining new safety measures needed forcompanies to receive approval of drilling permits and exploration plans. "Suchguidance should be timely, measurable and achievable," states the letter fromRandall Luthi, the group’s president. The Obama administration has placed newlimits on drilling as it explores safeguards needed in the wake of the BP oilspill. Drilling in waters less than 500 feet deep is allowed with newsafeguards, but the extent to which new shallow-water wells may proceed – andhow quickly – has become a source of confusion. The letter notes that MMS hasrecently pulled back some shallow-water permits, and alleges this "sends asignal" that a ban is in place on both shallow-water and deepwater wells.

LovedOnes of Men Lost Onboard the Deepwater Horizon Educate Members of Congress onImportance of Responsible Offshore Exploration.Wall Street Journal (6/7) reports, "Thewidows of two Deepwater Horizon crew members voiced their support forcontinuing to drill offshore at a congressional hearing Monday even as theysaid they want more safety enforcement. "I fully support offshore drillingand I always will," said Natalie Roshto, of Liberty, Miss., whose husbandShane was killed in the blast that unleashed one of the worst environmentaldisasters the region has seen. Mrs. Roshto added that offshore drilling provides a valuable commodityto the nation. Shutting down drilling "wouldn’t do these men anyjustice," she said. President Barack Obama has ordered a six-monthmoratorium on deepwater drilling so that it can be studied. Courtney Kemp, ofJonesville, La., whose husband Ron Wyatt Kemp also died in the explosion,called for oil companies to suffer "harsh punishment" if they breaksafety laws, but asked Congress to recognize "how important offshoredrilling is."  She added thatdrilling is "a way for families to make a living." U.S. Rep. SteveScalise, a Louisiana Republican, said that the ban would create an economicdisaster for the region, and that "you don’t hold an entire industryaccountable for the sins of one."

WeKnew Begich Would Show His True Colors Eventually – But We Never Thought HeWould to Stab His Alaska Colleague in the Back on Endangerment. E&E News (6/8, subs. req’d) reports, "Sen. Mark Begich(D-Alaska) probably won’t support his fellow Alaskan, Republican Sen. LisaMurkowski, in her bid to hamstring U.S. EPA climate rules, he said yesterday.Begich said he is "strongly considering" voting against Murkowski’sresolution to block EPA from issuing climate regulations because the EPA threatkeeps pressure on the Senate to pass a climate bill. "We need acomprehensive energy plan and if this keeps the fire under these guys to getsomething major done, I’m all for it," Begich said. The Senate is slated tovote Thursday on Murkowski’s resolution, which would essentially veto EPA’sfinding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The"endangerment" finding gives EPA the authority to issue rules to curbemissions under the Clean Air Act. Murkowski and her Senate supporters want toblock EPA before the agency formally begins to regulate greenhouse gases fromcars and industrial facilities next January. "The danger if Murkowski wereto become law is that there isn’t the immediate incentive to put a price oncarbon," said Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.).

Meanwhile,As One AK Senator Signals Support for EPA Carbon Police, Lisa Jackson JoinsMost Radical Enviro Groups in Smearing Other AK Senator as a Tool of Big Oil.E&E News (6/7, subs. req’d) reports, "The Obamaadministration’s top environmental official and advocacy groups are using theGulf of Mexico oil spill to boost opposition to a Republican-led effort toblock U.S. EPA climate rules. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson wrote in aHuffington Post op-ed today that in the wake of the spill, it is"surprising to learn" that the Senate will vote Thursday "onlegislation that will take us back to the same old failed policies and increaseAmerica’s oil dependence by billions of barrels." The Senate is slated tovote Thursday on a resolution from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that wouldundo EPA’s "endangerment" finding for greenhouse gases, a determinationthat paves the way for agency climate rules (E&E Daily, June 7)."Senator Lisa Murkowski, with strong support from big oil companies andtheir lobbyists, has proposed a resolution that would drastically weaken ournation’s historic effort to increase fuel savings, save consumers money and cutoil consumption from American cars and trucks," Jackson wrote.

Rememberthe Kerry-Lieberman Bill? The Senate Doesn’t Either – Moves to Shelve thatEffort in Favor of an "Energy"-Only Approach (Sans Actual Production) Before August.Politico (6/7) reports, "Thedemand for a totally new bill also puts an existing climate proposal introducedby Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in jeopardy, a signthat Democratic leaders are skeptical that Lieberman and Kerry have the votesfor their bill.  Sen. Chuck Schumer(D-N.Y.) said early Monday morning he believed the Kerry-Lieberman bill wouldbe offered as an amendment to an energy bill once it reaches the Senate floor,but Senate sources insist that no decisions have been made.  And Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the chairman ofthe Energy committee, is awaiting action on an energy bill he’s sponsored. Boththe Bingaman and Kerry-Lieberman proposals include provisions for off-shoredrilling, which will have to be re-evaluated in wake of the Gulf oil spill.Sen. Lindsey Graham-once a co-sponsor on the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill-lamentedMonday that the White House and congressional response to the oil spill crisisis taking the potential legislation further away from accomplishing its goalenergy independence. Reid has asked for his committee chairmen to submit theirproposals by July 4, and he’d like to have a vote before the August recess ifhe can find 60 votes.

ConfusedWhy AWEA’s Spending $1 Million a Quarter Lobbying on Grid Issues? Read ThisArticle; Understand the Lengths It Will Go to Ensure YOU Pay for Its Members’Transmission.E&E News (6/8, subs. req’d) reports, "Some of the largestutilities are battling renewable power companies, environmentalists andtransmission system developers on the issue. Their positions are miles — andpotentially billions of dollars — apart. Green groups want infrastructurecosts shared by essentially every electricity user who could access therenewable power. Utilities argue that only those customers that specificallyseek renewable power should foot the bill. Both sides have hired lobbyists withimportant political ties, launched websites detailing their positions and arelobbying lawmakers and their constituents. "You have to have a way to getthe power from where the resource is to generate it to where the demandis," said Karen Palmer, Darius Gaskins senior fellow at Resources for theFuture, who noted that wind farms often are in more remote areas. In addition,Palmer said, existing lines often lack capacity to carry more power. TheAmerican Wind Energy Association spent more than $1 million on influence effortsin the first quarter. Like the power companies, it lobbied on a number ofissues, but transmission upgrades were a top priority.

FormerIPCC Head Doesn’t See Pact on Carbon Criminalization over Next 10 Years – ButHe Does See Some Pretty Kick-Ass Destinations for Climate Conferences Coming Up. AFP(6/7) reports, "The world community may need another 10 years to agree oncarbon cuts deep enough to roll back global warming, the UN’s point man forclimate change warned on Monday. "I don’t see the process deliveringadequate mitigation targets in the next decade," Yvo de Boer, executivesecretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said in awebcast from Bonn. "Over the longer term, I think we will get this issueunder control. Having said that, I do believe that it’s a longer journey,"de Boer said. De Boer spoke on the sidelines of a 12-day round of negotiationsfor a post-2012 treaty to curb "greenhouse" gases blamed fordisrupting Earth’s climate system. The pact was supposed to have been sealed ata summit in Copenhagen last December, but the negotiations failed. De Boer,stepping down at the end of this month, said that Copenhagen had yielded someprogress. And developing countries also saw the need to "make a seriouscontribution" by reining in their own expected growth in carbon pollution,he added.