News

Sage Advice from John Stossel at IER Energy Forum: Want Folks to Support Energy Development in America? Remind Them That Access = Affordability. Oil & Gas Investor (6/4) reports, “Stossel says that explaining that more Louisiana Gulf Coast residents are employed by the energy industry than the fishing industry will fall upon unpiqued ears. Instead, he says, emphasize that U.S. energy production contributes to Americans’ access to cheap energy. Oil is produced from thousands of feet below Earth’s surface, and at times under thousands of feet of water too; brought to the surface and put into thousands of miles of pipe or into ships; refined into gasoline; transported to fueling stations in trucks; and the price is less than $3 a gallon, with some 70 cents of that going to the government.“It still costs less than the bottle of water they sell at the gas station,” Stossel notes. “Maybe we take these miracles for granted.” After purchasing goods for a month with a plastic card, a statement arrives that accounts for each purchase, to the penny, he notes. Yet, “the government can’t even count votes.”

Previously Content to Abort on Carbon Criminalization, Gulf Spill Has Some Lawmakers Thinking They Can Sneak It Through – See IER Debate CAP on That Below. Wall Street Journal (6/7) editorializes, “Democrats have also co-opted other should-be opponents, and not only in the oil industry. Corporate cap-and-tax enthusiasts include Duke Energy and most of the other utilities, as well as Honeywell, DuPont and other large corporations on the Business Roundtable. General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt captured this mentality best, as he so often does. "National policy—including an effective price on carbon and a strong, nationwide clean energy standard—is needed to drive increased investment, which in turn creates new technologies and jobs," he wrote in endorsing Kerry-Lieberman. Like the medical-industrial complex, these businesses will soon come to rue their concessions for a seat at the table and some momentary corporate welfare. But everyone else should understand the stakes. Democrats know this is their last opportunity to control another huge chunk of the economy. Click here to see IER’s Dan Kish debate CAP’s Danny Weiss this past weekend on the prospects for cap-and-raid (starts at 6:35).

Kish: “When Your First Response [to the Gulf Spill] is to Send in the Lawyers, You Have to Question What They’re Really After.” Audrey Hudson reports (6/7) in Human Events , “Atty. Gen. Eric Holder launched his inquiry into criminal charges against BP, but the ongoing spill is far from being under control and officials are still trying to determine what caused the catastrophe. “This is not the time to be focusing on a criminal investigation, and I have to believe that is part of the effort of the Obama Administration to look like they are doing something,” said Jack Coleman, a senior attorney and advisor at the Interior Department from 1989 through 2003 under both Presidents Bush and President Clinton. Dan Kish, senior vice president of policy at the Institute for Energy Research, a free-market think tank, said the administration seems more focused on headlines than action. “The President’s biggest problem is that he has decided this is a political issue and his response has been political and therefore not focused on what should happen, which is finding out what went wrong, correcting it, and getting back to the business of producing oil this country needs,” Kish said. “Honestly, when your first response is to send in the lawyers, you have to question what they are really after, is it the truth, or headlines?” Kish said.

Fourth-Largest City in U.S. (That’d Be Houston) Starting to Wake Up to the Reality that Significant Swaths of Its Economy Could Be Lost Thanks to WH Moratorium. Houston Chronicle (6/6) reports, “Oil and gas companies worry that future exploration and production in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a business that has been the driving force behind the city’s vast energy economy for more than a decade, could be jeopardized by fallout from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. A six-month government ban on deep-water drilling already has caused disruptions, forcing oil and gas firms to idle equipment and thousands of workers and scurry to redeploy them elsewhere. But even if the ban ends in November as scheduled, and it may not, Houston could feel the effects of the interruption long after. In addition, uncertainty around the ban — and new rules that inevitably will follow — is making it difficult for oil companies to plan and budget for the future, and to reassure antsy investors.

No Jokes About RFK, Jr. – Okay? Dude Has a Responsible Job Now – Albeit with an Irresponsible Group Bent on Destroying Natural Gas Jobs Wherever They Exist. Scranton Times-Tribune (6/6) reports, “A natural gas industry group responded Friday to environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s visit to Dimock Twp. on Thursday, saying Mr. Kennedy and the group of environmentalists who traveled to the rural township received only a one-sided view of the gas development there. Members of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Riverkeeper and Catskills Mountainkeeper traveled to Dimock to speak with residents about disruptions to their lives and water caused by natural gas drilling. Chris Tucker, a spokesman for Energy In Depth, said the environmentalists from New York could not have received a "full appreciation of the process" during a one-day visit to the community and likely did not seek one. He called the Natural Resources Defense Council "an organization that has fought natural gas development everywhere under any means." "My sense is that none of the people in that room knew where Dimock was on a map two hours before they got there, " he said. "I’m glad they were able to parachute in for the day, but I wonder if they were able to talk to anyone whose jobs were created by the development of the natural gas."

Maybe We Shouldn’t Be Surprised that Nuns Are Protesting Natural Gas in PA; After All, They’ve Taken a Vow of Poverty – Why Shouldn’t Everyone Have to Take It Too? Philadelphia Inquirer (6/6) reports, “The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, a Roman Catholic order based in Delaware County, invested more than $2,000 of its retirement fund last year in Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of the nation’s largest natural gas operators. The nuns were not bullish on gas exploration. On the contrary. "As investors and concerned citizens, we believe that it is critical that we engage companies and hold them accountable for all aspects of their operations," said Sister Nora M. Nash, director of corporate responsibility for the activist order based in Aston. "There’s a tremendous amount of misinformation out there," said Rodney L. Waller, a senior vice president of Range Resources Corp., a Texas company targeted with a shareholder resolution sponsored by the New York State Common Retirement Fund. Unlike some companies that reacted defensively to the resolutions – Sister Nora said she received only a terse formal letter from Chesapeake – Waller said he telephoned the sponsors immediately. "We talk to shareholders all the time," said Waller, whose company is one of the biggest operators in Pennsylvania. "If your objective is to be better informed, we have no problem with that."

Greenpeace Says that 8.5 Million Jobs Could Be Created If We Produced 95% of World’s Electricity from Pinwheels, Sun Catchers – 8 Million in the Cave-Cleaning Service Sector. Economic Times (6/7) reports, “Climate pressure group Greenpeace said on Monday that switching to renewable energy sources could create 8.5 million jobs by 2030 if governments turn their backs on "dirty and dangerous" fossil fuels. "Investing in people, rather than dirty and dangerous fossil fuels not only boosts global economic development but stems catastrophic climate change," Greenpeace said in a new report unveiled in Berlin. Greenpeace said that the global market for renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power could be worth more than 600 billion dollars by 2030, a six-fold increase from now. The forecasts are based on a scenario of carbon dioxide emissions being cut by more than 80 per cent by 2050 from 1990 levels, and 95 per cent of the world’s electricity needs being produced by renewables compared with around 18 per cent at present. It "shows how to eliminate unpredictable fossil fuel costs, destructive mining and oil exploration and with it catastrophes such as the current BP Gulf oil spill" in the Gulf of Mexico, Teske said.

Time to Stand: Murkowski Resolution May Go Down in Flames This Week, Who Knows for Sure; But At Least We’ll Know Where These Clowns Stand. The Hill (6/6) reports, “The Senate this week will return to a pivotal, long-simmering debate over the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. The debate will center on a Thursday vote on a disapproval resolution by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would block the EPA from enforcing emission rules under the Clean Air Act. Murkowski objects to the EPA’s authority and believes that Congress should set such standards instead of the executive branch. Although the resolution is not expected to pass, Murkowski is bringing the resolution forward under the Congressional Review Act, which prevents any filibusters and only requires 51 votes for passage. Murkowski’s measure has 41 formal co-sponsors, including Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) told The Hill that Murkowski’s resolution is "a distraction."

Kubrick Would’ve BeenPerfect for This: EPA’s Lisa Jackson Asks Avatar Director James Cameronto Advise Her on How to Stop Leak in the Gulf – No Joke. Associated Press(6/2) reports, “Top kill" didn’t stop the Gulf oil spill. How aboutsomething "titanic"? Federal officials are hoping film director JamesCameron can help them come up with ideas on how to stop the disastrousoil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The "Avatar" and "Titanic" directorwas among a group of scientists and other experts who met Tuesday withofficials from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federalagencies for a brainstorming session on stopping the massive oil leak.The Canadian-born Cameron is considered an expert on underwater filmingand remote vehicle technologies. More than 20 scientists, engineers andtechnical experts attended the meeting, which also includedrepresentatives of the Energy Department, Coast Guard and NationalOceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Other organizationsrepresented at the gathering included the Woods Hole OceanographicInstitute; Oceanographic Institute at Harbor Branch, Florida AtlanticUniversity; University of California at Santa Barbara; Nuytco ResearchLimited; World Wildlife Fund; and the University of California atBerkeley.

Back-of-the-PhonebookLawyers from All over the Country Rush Down to Gulf Coast to FileLawsuits – Some Even Suing from Areas Where No Oil Can Be Found. Wall Street Journal(6/2) reports, “Just as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has surpassedthe scope of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, it appears the torrent ofrelated litigation has, too. Lawyers here are busy trying to increasethe size and scope of the lawsuits they have filed on behalf of peoplewho contend they were harmed in some way by the disaster spreadingalong the Gulf of Mexico coast. The opening of criminal and civilinvestigations by the government, announced Tuesday, will likely fuelefforts by plaintiffs’ attorneys. Hoping to reel in more clients,attorneys have snapped up domain names such as bigoilspills.comand put up billboards along highways saying "Oil spill hurt yourbusiness?" and advertising their services. Some attorneys have sentrepresentatives to Key West, Fla., to sign up clients even though oilhas yet to wash ashore there—and may never. Others are casting a widernet for defendants, including the Republic of the Marshall Islands,under whose flag the rig is registered. Last week they held a symposiumto trade tips on how to most effectively sue big oil companies, basedin part on their experience with Exxon after its Alaska spill. Aspokesman for BP declined to comment.

Remember When NRELTeamed Up with Big Wind to Attack Whistle-Blowing Professor from Spainon Green Jobs? Well, NREL’s Back – Shilling for Denise Bode Once Again.NY Times(6/2) reports, “Wind energy has plenty going for it: it is clean,unlimited in supply and the most economical source of renewable power.Its clearest drawback is unreliability: sometimes the wind just doesnot blow. But that intermittency – long considered a major shortcoming– may have little impact on the potential for wind to power much of theelectric grid in the western United States, according to a new study bythe Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab. The study,released in late May, found that the power grid for five western states– Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming – could operate onas much as 30 percent wind and 5 percent solar without the constructionof extensive new infrastructure. “If key changes can be made tostandard operating procedures, our research shows that large amounts ofwind and solar can be incorporated onto the grid without a lot ofbackup generation,” Dr. Debra Lew, project manager for the study, saidin a statement. The authors of the N.R.E.L. study tackled thissupposition head on and found it largely baseless. It concluded that inthe West, the broad distribution of wind turbines and solar generationwould essentially smooth out the supply of renewable power.

Enviros Incensed overCourt Ruling that Those Who Actually Make Things in This World CannotBe Sued Simply for Doing So — At Least Under “Public Nuisance”Statutes. Greenwire(6/1, subs. req’d) reports, “After an unusual about-face prompted by alate recusal, a federal appeals court has scrapped a ruling that saidthe nation’s largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions could besued for the damage caused by global warming. The Comer case is one ofseveral pioneering climate change cases based on claims of publicnuisance, a centuries-old mainstay of common law that allows people tosue their neighbors for nuisances such as foul smells, loud noises orovergrown trees. A three-judge panel ruled last year that theplaintiffs could proceed, but that ruling is now out of play unless theplaintiffs appeal to the Supreme Court. After reviewing briefs from theplaintiffs and defendants, the remaining eight judges ruled last Fridayafternoon that they lacked a quorum, meaning they could not review orreinstate the panel’s decision. "This court, lacking a quorum,certainly has no authority to disregard or to rewrite the establishedrules of this court," said Friday’s order, which was signed by five ofthe eight remaining judges. "There is no rule that gives this courtauthority to reinstate the panel opinion, which has been vacated."

NRDC Front GroupAnnounces $3 Million Ad Buy Touting “All of the Above” Approach toEnergy Security – “All” Except for Oil, Gas, Coal, Nuclear and Hydro. E&E News(6/1, subs. req’d) reports, “A “Republican” environmental organizationand a left-leaning think tank today joined forces to launch one of thebiggest advertising campaigns to date on behalf of the climate andenergy bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman(I-Conn.).The $3 million effort from Republicans for EnvironmentalProtection and the Truman National Security Project will target 16states — and key lawmakers — through a combination of televisionadvertising, online advertising, direct mail efforts and other voteroutreach activities. The groups will go on the air this week with theirfirst ad, which calls on Congress to stop fighting about the specificsof the energy bill and embrace an "all of the above" approach. The adthen lists divisive policy issues and closes: "Let’s do it all. We needclean, American power now." The ad appears to mesh the approaches usedby both parties, embracing both the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill andthe "all of the above" message that has been particularly popular withHouse Republicans.

Here’s a Question: IsNY Prepared to Shell Out Billions in “Takings” Compensation to LocalLandowners to Whom It Continues to Deny Property Rights? Mike Slezak writes (6/2) in the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin,“I am opposed to Bill S.7592/A.10490. This bill is a redundancy ofprevious studies performed by the Environmental Protection Agency thatconcluded hydraulic fracturing is safe and does not present a threat togroundwater sources. This bill originated in Queens and Suffolkcounties. Is there Marcellus to be drilled there? What really irks meand many other landowners is people trying to tell me what I can andcannot do with my land. If I want to cut down every tree on my propertyfor whatever reason, I can. And if I want to allow drilling for naturalgas on my land, I should be allowed. As a landowner, I own the mineralrights contained within my property’s boundaries, the same as thetrees. It seems that my mineral rights are being taken away from me.Most landowners have their own water wells, so don’t you think we havethought about the possible effects drilling may have? I know I have,and I say let’s drill.

Funny Thing AboutSolar Panels – They’ve Got Tons of Cadmium in ‘Em; Apparently That’sToxic, Which Is Putting Solar-Backers in Europe in a Real Tough Spot. Bloomberg(6/2) reports, “The solar-power industry may win exemption fromEuropean Union changes to rules governing the use of hazardoussubstances in electrical goods, offering a reprieve to panel makerssuch as First Solar Inc., lawmakers said. The rule changes, to be putto a parliamentary committee vote in Brussels today, propose giving theEU more scope to restrict substances such as cadmium in electricalgoods. Panels made by U.S.-based First Solar, the world’s largest makerof thin-film solar power modules, are based on cadmium tellurite. Mostlawmakers in parliament’s 64-seat environment group are now seeking acompromise, increasing the EU’s powers to restrict dangerous materialswhile excluding renewable energy products, according to German EUlawmaker Karl-Heinz Florenz. The European People’s Party, whichcontrols 23 votes, has the support of the Greens and a majority ofSocial Democrats for the move, he said. “In all probability, we’ll gainbacking for an exemption,” Florenz, a member of Chancellor AngelaMerkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said in a phone interview. Thecompromise would exempt cadmium tellurite used in any large, fixedrenewable energy facility, subject to a review in 2014, he said.

Envy with Green:Graham May Have Made the Right Political Choice in Backing Out of KGL,But Lindsey Makes It Clear His Heart Is Still Invested in CriminalizingCarbon. Greenwire(5/28, subs. req’d) reports, “A key Senate Republican voice on climatelegislation is floating yet another alternative way to price carbonemissions by focusing just on power plants. Sen. Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.) said yesterday that the electric utility industry is most inneed of a market signal for pricing greenhouse gases, while other majorindustries could be left out of a new U.S. carbon market, especially ifit means finding enough votes to pass a bill in the Senate. "We do needto price carbon to make nuclear power and wind and solar and somealternative technologies economically viable," Graham said. "On thetransportation side, maybe you can reduce emissions without a cap. Idon’t know. But you need to put a price on carbon in the powerproduction area at a minimum to jump-start these other technologies." "We thought this through 20 times, saying, ‘How can we do thisdifferently?’" Kerry said at a forum hosted by the Christian ScienceMonitor. “Every time you take one piece away, you make it moreexpensive for the other pieces to do it alone. And if you take certainpieces away, there’s no money to be able to help people transition andcushion for it."

Beautiful Disaster:Green Jobs Boondoggle in Spain Seen by Outsiders as Key Factor inNation’s 20% Unemployment Rate – Political Leadership Still in Denial. Associated Press(5/28) reports, “Fitch Ratings cut Spain’s credit rating Friday, sayingits government’s efforts to reduce debt would weigh down economic growth. The ratingsagency dealt a blow to state efforts to shore up confidence in itsfinances by cutting the country’s rating one notch from AAA to AA plus.Earlier Friday, the government defiantly ruled out calling earlyelections and instead promised more austerity, forecast lower economicgrowth and higher unemployment and acknowledged having almost noparliamentary support for spending cuts designed to combat Spain’sshare of the European debt crisis. "The people gave us their trust togovern for four years. That time is not up," Deputy Prime MinisterMaria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega told a news conference after aCabinet meeting. Europe’s top job-creator only two years ago, Spain nowhas the region’s highest unemployment rate, at just over 20 percent,and is the slowest of the major economies to emerge from the globalrecession.

Justice Delayed:Effort to Use Endangered Species Act as a Means of Denying Millions ofCalifornians Access to Water Soundly (Finally) Rejected in FederalCourt. E&E News(5/28, subs. req’d) reports, “U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger lateyesterday delivered another win for farmers and water districts lookingto export more water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento Bay Delta, rulingthat federal agencies "completely abdicated" their responsibility toprotect economic interests in California alongside endangered deltasmelt. Wanger, ruling from the U.S. Eastern District of California inFresno, signaled his intention to provide San Joaquin Valley farmersand water districts relief from water pumping restrictions orderedunder the Endangered Species Act for the smelt. The decision mirrors asimilar ruling on salmon issued earlier this month that led to thelifting of pumping limits this week. "Judicial deference is not owed toarbitrary, capricious and scientifically unreasonable agency action," Wanger wrote. "FWS and Reclamation … must take the hard look underNEPA at the severe consequences visited upon [California’s agriculturalindustry] and the residents and communities impacted by the watersupply limitations."

EPA’s Jekyl-and-HydeApproach to Approving Use of Dispersants Expected to Be Called Out ThisWeek By Group of Independent Scientists – Who Know They’re Safe. Wall Street Journal(6/1) reports, “A federally convened group of scientists is set torecommend that BP PLC and the government continue spraying chemicalsinto the Gulf of Mexico to help prevent leaking oil from washingashore, even though the scientists have serious concerns about thepotential long-term damage to sea life. The group’s report, due thisweek, comes after BP’s latest efforts to plug the leaking Deepwater Horizon oil wellfailed. If further interim measures to cap the well don’t work, largeadditional amounts of the chemicals, known as "dispersants," could besprayed into the Gulf until relief wells can be completed and thegusher capped, which could take until late summer. Research shipssponsored by the Obama administration and universities have recentlyfound what scientists believe is evidence that clouds of tiny oildroplets are collecting deep underwater. Tests are under way todetermine whether the droplets are oil—and, if so, whether they werecaused by the dispersants. Scientists suspect those droplets could harmfish, birds and sea mammals in coming months and years.

Sec. SalazarTestifies Under Oath that MMS Director Left “On Her Own Terms, and OfHer Own Volition” – New Reporting Suggests He May Have Told Congress aLie. E&E News(5/28, subs. req’d) reports, “The now-ex MMS director was in her officeearly yesterday, preparing to testify before an congressional panelabout the agency’s role in handling BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, asshe had several times in recent weeks. Yesterday was different,according to sources. Someone from Secretary Salazar’s office calledand said the secretary did not want her to attend the House hearing.Following a harsh NYT profile that highlighted her low profile in thecrisis, that might have seemed like a bad omen. But Birnbaum, theformer veteran congressional staffer, was worried more about stiffing acommittee chairman than what this meant for her job. She called Rep.Jim Moran (D-Va.), chairman of the Interior Subcommittee, to tell himshe would not be appearing. Moran called Salazar, who then walked outof his sixth-floor hallway with Deputy Secretary David Hayes. They wentone floor down and four hallways over to Birnbaum’s office in 5400corridor of Main Interior and asked her to resign.

So What If Only About14 People Live in North Dakota? The Folks Who Regulate Energy Up ThereKnow What They’re Doing; Other States Should Take a Lesson. NorthCentralPa.composts (5/29) the latest dispatch from the Marcellus Shale Coalition:“Quick: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when the subject ofNorth Dakota comes up? Well, assuming it ever does, there’s that famousCoen brothers film of the mid-90s, its status as home and birthplace ofYankee-legend Roger Maris, and of course, the majesty and mystique ofthe American treasure known as Mt. Rushmore (oops, wrong state). Butthose notwithstanding, you know what else North Dakota is known forthese days? Energy. Lots and lots of energy. In fact, thanks to thestate’s prolific Bakken Shale formation, North Dakota surged pastOklahoma and Louisiana this year to become the nation’s fourth-biggestproducer of petroleum. So how did a state with a total populationroughly equivalent to Bucks County, PA pull this thing off? Well, forstarters, it helps to be situated above a shale formation thatgeologists believe holds more than four billion barrels of recoverableoil. But as folks in Pennsylvania have started to figure out, it takesmore than the right geology to convert American energy resources intojobs, revenue and opportunity for those who need them. It takes acommitment by policymakers 10,000-feet above the formation to put theright kind of legislative and regulatory framework in place.

Day in the Life of anIPCC Kleptocrat: Wake Up, Fly to Switzerland, Talk with OtherKleptocrats About All the Fun You’re Gonna Have in Cancun in December,Repeat. The Irish Times(6/1) reports, “A fresh round of UN climate change talks got under wayin Bonn yesterday in an effort to pick up the pieces after lastDecember’s summit in Copenhagen and pave the way for firmer action.“The Copenhagen meeting may have postponed an outcome for at least ayear, but it did not postpone the impacts of climate change,” said theUN’s top climate official, Yvo de Boer, who is stepping down on July1st to become “global adviser” to KPMG consultants. “The deadline toagree an effective international response to climate change atCopenhagen was set because governments, when launching negotiations inBali in 2007, recognised the scientific warning on climate for what itwas: a siren call to act now, or face the worst.” The two-week round oftalks in Bonn, with 182 governments represented, is aimed at settingthe agenda for “cop 16” – the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFramework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the Mexican resortof Cancún in December.

Kerry-LiebermanLikened to Mr. Potato Head – Cosmetic Features Can Be Rearranged, Butthe Concept Remains Wholly Intact (“Risk” and “Operation” Come to MindToo). Wall Street Journal(5/18) editorializes, “Despite the most creative rhetoric this side ofObamaCare, voters have figured out that "cap and trade" involvesartificial carbon rationing and vast new energy taxes. So the main goalof John Kerry and Joe Lieberman has been attempting to disguise thesetruths in the climate bill they released to much fanfare last week. Thebill was nine months in gestation once it became clear that the versionthe House passed last summer—which one of five Democrats opposed—wasdoomed in the Senate. Yet no one should mistake Kerry-Lieberman for anew approach. Jim Lucier, an investment analyst at Capital AlphaPartners, calls it the Mr. Potato Head bill. The cosmetic features canbe rearranged, but it’s still a Mr. Potato Head. This is still cap andtax—except with new and larger subsidies, outright corporate bribes,and the rest of the political palm-greasing that Democrats hope canstill lead to a Rose Garden ceremony this year. The bill sets a 2020target for reducing CO2 emissions by 17% from 2005 levels, and 83% by2050, the same as the House. Of course, please don’t say this hasanything to do with global warming. "We don’t want to mix messageshere," Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said on Earth Day. "I’m allfor protecting the Earth, but this is about energy independence."

Scrantonicity: PA’sJunior Senator Finds Himself Eyebrow Deep in Complicated Stuff Again;This Time? Wants Senate Vote on His Ridiculous “Tailoring” Amendment. E&E News(5/18) reports, “Two Senate Democrats are considering an alternative toSenate efforts to stymie the Obama administration’s climate regulations. With two bills to block or limit U.S. EPA’sclimate rules pending, Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.)are discussing a measure that would seek to exempt small stationarysources from greenhouse gas regulations while allowing the agency toregulate larger emitters, according to a Senate aide familiar with theproposal. "I think it would be very helpful for folks who represent astate like mine as well as others to have an alternative available,"Casey said yesterday. Casey declined to say what such a measure couldentail. "I don’t want to characterize it, because a quickcharacterization would not do justice to what the nature of theamendment will be if we have to use it," he said. The proposal is "very similar" to EPA’s "tailoring" rule forgreenhouse gases, the aide said. EPA last week finalized a rule thatseeks to phase in permitting requirements beginning with the largeststationary sources.

“Kings of the World”:Federal Agency Charged with Overseeing Offshore Minerals Flatly Refusesto Comply with Request to Send Representative to Senate for Hearing. The Hill(5/17) reports, “The federal agency that regulates offshore oildrilling declined to send a witness to the Senate Homeland Security andGovernmental Affairs Committee’s hearing Monday on the federal responseto the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Committee Chairman JoeLieberman (I-Conn.) said. The committee had requested the appearance ofa top official from the Interior Department’s Minerals ManagementService. Lieberman’s panel is probing the adequacy of BP’s federallyapproved oil drilling and spill response plans. “I regret that the MMSleadership has chosen not to appear before our committee today becausethey really need to be asked the same questions I am going to askHomeland Security, the Coast Guard and BP,” Lieberman said Mondayafternoon as the hearing commenced. Lieberman opened the hearing withan attack on federal oversight of offshore drilling. He faulted MMS forapproving inadequate BP plans. “Did our government, through MMS,require an oil spill response plan adequate to the widest range ofpossible dangers, including the failure of a blowout preventer?,”Lieberman said, referring to a failure of device that is supposed tocut off damaged wells. “It sure appears that they did not.”

Fmr. Illinois Rep.Pops the Balloon of Complacency on LCFS – Just Because It’s Not inKerry-Lieberman Doesn’t Mean It Won’t Be on Your Doorstep By Christmas. Fmr. U.S. Rep. Thomas Corcoran (R-Ill.) writes (5/18) for the Daily Caller,“While they may not know it yet, the decision to leave the LCFS on thecutting room floor is a rare spot of good news for a broke and brokenAmerican public. After all, ever since the governor of Californiasigned an executive order in 2007 setting his state down the LCFS path,those of us who have seen this movie before began to brace for theinevitable national standard from Washington—part of theless-than-implicit pact we have with the world’s eighth largest economyto bail it out anytime it bites off a mandate too big for it to chew.But given a second glance at the legislative movement taking placethroughout the country, perhaps we’ve been duped. True, it’s unlikelythat an LCFS will be resurrected as part of the Kerry-Lieberman bill.But that doesn’t mean it’s prepared to stay in the grave forever. Rightnow, in more than 20 states across the country, efforts are under wayto copy the California model and paste it into statute—with or withoutthe consent of the legislature. And while you may think you’d be safeif you happen to live in one of the remaining 30 states, it’s time tothink again.

Group thatSpecializes in Telling Investors Not to Invest In Profitable EnergyProjects Affixes Its Target on Canada’s Oil Sands; So We Just Bought 10More Shares This AM. ClimateWire(5/18, subs. req’d) reports, “A supporter of Albertan oil development,Michael Whatley of the Consumer Energy Alliance, disputed thesuggestion that demand from the United States would drop for oil sandsfuels amid climate regulations in the United States. Even if oil pricessurge above $120 a barrel, there is not an immediate replacement forthe Canadian fuel, he said. "If we take a major part of our consumptionoff the table, where are we going to get it from?" he said. "It’s notgoing to come from Mexico." Canada currently is the United States’largest importer of crude oil. The Ceres report provides a strongerargument against the adoption of low-carbon fuel standards than it doesagainst cutting oil sands development, Whatley said. Wind and solarpower fueling the electric grid for widespread use of alternativevehicles could take decades, he said. Companies already have reducedthe carbon footprint per barrel of tar sands oil by more than 30percent since 1990, and are researching ways to cut it even more, hesaid. At an event at the Canadian Embassy in May, a representative fromthe U.S. State Department said that an oil supply from a stable,democratic ally enhances "global security today and into the future".In the meantime, many proposals for low-carbon fuel standards in U.Sstates are "stalled," one source said. Wisconsin, for example, strippedthe idea out of a bill that failed in its legislature this year.

Opposition Continuesto Build in AK Over Plan by Folks Who Have Never Been to the State toLock Up Millions of Acres – Let’s Just Call It “Wilderness”! — onNorth Slope. Paul Jenkins writes (5/15) in the Anchorage Daily News,“Here’s a lousy idea: Let’s lock up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s1.5 million-acre coastal plain as a wilderness so the evil oil industrycan never search for the estimated 11 billion barrels of recoverableoil believed pooled there. After all, the Energy InformationAdministration says this nation only imports 9.7 million barrels ofcrude oil a day, up more than a half-million barrels daily over thesame period last year. About 5.9 million barrels come from our goodfriends at OPEC. With all that, who really needs to find and producenew oil? That’s easy. We do. At a Tuesday night hearing in Anchorage,39 people spoke against a wilderness designation, 26 in favor. There isgrowing opposition to the idea across Alaska, where ANWR developmentgenerally is supported — and where there already are more than 58million acres of designated wilderness and more than 190 millionprotected acres. Gov. Sean Parnell and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and MarkBegich already are on record against such a designation for the coastalplain. ANWR’s coastal plain is just a tiny dot on Alaska’s topographical face, butit stirs strong emotions. It is either our best shot at another oiljackpot or a pristine, sensitive American Serengeti.

How Dead IsCap-and-Raid? So Dead, That Even the Furthest-to-the-Left Candidate forU.S. Senate in KY Can’t Tell People Fast Enough that He Opposes It. Lt. Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Don Mongiardo writes (5/16) in the Lexington Herald-Leader,“The fundamental question for Democratic Primary voters is: Who’s onyour side? As attorney general, Jack Conway collected over $70,000 incampaign cash from utility companies while his office negotiatedmillions in rate hikes. Conway has pocketed $106,000 from Wall Streetinsiders, including Goldman Sachs. I have stood up for Kentuckyratepayers and challenged Conway on his unethical conduct and proposedthe toughest Wall Street reforms of any candidate. Since expressingsupport for Henry Waxman’s cap-and-trade bill last year, nationalDemocrats have pumped over $500,000 into Conway’s campaign coffers. In contrast, I strongly oppose cap and trade. It will devastate Kentucky’s economy and increase electric rates.If you’re looking for another lawyer-politician who’s more comfortableschmoozing with Washington lobbyists than Kentucky factory workers,Jack’s your guy. But if you’re looking for a small-town doctor who willhold Wall Street accountable, get spending under control and championthe cause of Kentucky’s working families, your hunt is over.

Energy “Dilettantes”Lead Procession Toward the Cliff in the U.S. Senate – Conn. PaperWonders Aloud How 2 Dudes from New England Got Tasked With This Job. Waterbury (Conn.) American-Republican(5/18) editorializes, “Sen. Kerry was joined by global-warmingdilettante Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., in introducing Cap-and-Tax II.Thankfully, no Republicans, not even mushy-middleman Lindsey Graham,R-S.C., joined the party. So there’s hope wiser men and women in theSenate will block this abomination, at least until voters in Novemberbuild a more permanent firewall against Democratic folly andoverreaching. Sen. Kerry is precisely wrong in his assertion Americaneeds a new energy policy because of the Deepwater Horizon oil-rigdisaster. What it needs is intelligent, ethical, watchful regulation ofoil exploration. Americans have known for at least two years that theMinerals Management Service, the arm of the Interior Departmentresponsible for enforcing such regulations, was corrupt. Sen. Kerryknows perfectly well the Deepwater Horizon disaster is rare if notunprecedented, and that thousands of other oil rigs have operatedwithout incident in U.S. waters for decades. The accident did not setup a clamor for new policy; it revealed a need for more carefulregulation and, perhaps, an investment by oil companies and governmentinto strategies for preventing leaks.