News

Cap-and-Spayed: Real SimpleMessage Emerges from 2010 Elections: If You Voted for Cap-and-Raid in aDistrict Where Folks Were Actually Awake, You Lost. Politico (11/3) reports, “Democrats who voted for the controversialHouse climate bill were slaughtered at the ballot box, including Rep. RickBoucher, the 14-term Virginian who helped broker some of the key dealsinstrumental to its June 2009 passage. In the Senate, several reliable green advocatesalso went down to opponents who derided tough new environmental policies.There’s no hiding the House Democrats’ bloodbath, with more than two dozenmembers who voted for the Pelosi-led climate bill losing their seats, and morelikely to fall as the final tallies come in. The outcome sends a strong signalto moderate lawmakers as they consider any risky votes in future Congress’ onenergy and environmental issues. "It’s going to be cap and tax forevermore, and I don’t think any of these guys are ever going to touch itagain," said Linda Stuntz, an industry attorney who held a top EnergyDepartment spot during the George W. Bush administration. "I think anyonewho thinks there’s vitality left is kidding themselves." "I don’t thinkthere’s any question about it, cap and trade was the issue in thecampaign," Andy Wright, a former Boucher chief of staff, told POLITICO."If Rick had voted no, he wouldn’t have had a serious contest."

God Bless ‘Em: EnvirosStill Completely Clueless About What Went Down Last Night; Still PredictingCongress Will Pass Mandates In Support of Expensive Energy. E&E News(11/3, subs. req’d) reports, “Environmental groups refused to speculate lastnight on what the election results mean until the polls closed and races weredecided. But they would say that there are some areas where progress can bemade through incremental legislation and at the state level — a change oftactic that was already in the making before the House switched hands. TonyMassaro, senior vice president for political affairs and public education forthe League of Conservation Voters, said LCV is going to push for new renewableelectricity standards, increased appliance and building efficiencies, andincreased automobile efficiencies. "Those are the kind of things we aregoing to push through the next Congress regardless of what the makeup lookslike," he said. Whatever the makeup of the new Republican-led Congress,REP President Rob Sisson said the party cannot afford to abandon theenvironment, and he conceded that his group must do more to give voice toRepublican environmentalists around the country. In the next two years, Sissonsaid his organization plans to build a grass-roots effort of environmentallyfriendly Republicans so that the issue is not ceded to the Democrats.

Meanwhile, These SolarLobbyists Ain’t No Dummies – Work Quick to Congratulate GOP on Win,Remind the Press They’ve Got Plenty of Cash to Grease Them Too.The Hill (11/2) reports, “With big GOP gains looming on election night,the solar-energy industry’s main trade group put out the word that they’reeager to work with both parties. In a prepared statement Tuesday evening, SolarEnergy Industries Association CEO Rhone Resch noted that, “No matter who winsTuesday’s midterm elections, we stand ready to work with them to continueadvancing solar energy.” His statement steers clear of calling forcontroversial policies like climate legislation or a nationwiderenewable-electricity standard. And it notes that key industry tax credits werecreated during a GOP Congress and later extended under President George W.Bush’s watch. Solar-industry officials from around the country will be in D.C.next week for a summit to hammer out the industry’s policy goals for the comingyear, a SEIA spokesman said. “SEIA looks forward to working with the newCongress and leaders from both parties, just as we have for the past 36 years.We also hope that the 111th Congress closes on a positive, bipartisan noteduring the lame duck session by passing policies that have helped drive solar’sdynamic growth this year,” Resch said.

LA Times FinallyAcknowledges “Pure Spin” Peddled by Backers of A.B. 32 – Was Never CA vs.TX; Was Always Greens vs. Greeners. LA Times (11/3) reports, “The fight over Proposition 23, the ballotinitiative to suspend California’s global warming law, "will definitely bea David versus Goliath battle," Steve Maviglio, spokesman for theopponents told a reporter in September. "Our slingshot versus their oilyclub." From the get-go, that’s how environmentalists characterized theirstruggle against Prop. 23 which, based on early returns, appears to beresoundingly defeated. But it was pure spin. As they say in the movie, "Followthe money." Two Texas-based oil refiners, along with California businesstrade associations and anti-tax activists thought they could halt the nation’smost ambitious effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. But they were able toraise only $10.6 million. Most of California’s biggest companies, includingChevron, Pacific Gas & Electric and Sempra Energy, stayed neutral oractively opposed the initiative. Celebrities such as Edward James Olmos,Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Redford and "Avatar’s" James Cameron urgeda "no" vote. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stumped across the stateattacking the "self-serving greed" of Valero Energy Corp. and TesoroCorp., the two San Antonio-based refiners that were the principal funders.

Sante Fe Surprise: N.M.Enviro Board Knows It Has 2 Months to Install Cap-and-Raid Program Before NewAdmin Comes In – And Boy, Are They Moving Fast. ClimateWire(11/3) reports, “New Mexico regulators approved a state plan yesterday toestablish a cap-and-trade program to cut greenhouse gases. The 4-3 decision bythe New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) authorizes New Mexico’sparticipation in the Western Climate Initiative, making it the second stateready to join the carbon market created by a group of U.S. states and Canadianprovinces. Opponents immediately vowed to appeal the decision. DeborahSeligman, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said hergroup and others that sued the EIB this year challenging its jurisdiction willdecide on a course of action within the next two weeks. "There were a lotof missteps on the part of the Environment Department or the EIB that areappealable," she said. She indicated that legal action might focus onwhose air the state could control or on the lack of a standard for greenhousegas air concentrations. Sandra Ely, environment and energy policy coordinatorfor the Environment Department, said the state would immediately beginimplementing the plan. "We’ll move forward on this until we’re told notto," she said.

Remember That Cap-and-RaidProgram Known as “RGGI” Back East? May Go the Way of the Dodo Owing to theResults of the Election Last Night. ClimateWire(11/3, subs. req’d) reports, “The fate of state cap-and-trade programs,renewable energy programs and coal plant permits rests with the incoming groupof governors. They also will play a major role in determining which lawmakershead to Congress as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process in the wakeof the 2010 census. That could determine who casts votes for climate and energylegislation in coming years, if global warming returns to the top of thecongressional agenda. Governors can influence the review process by choosingappointees to attend negotiations, among other things. Additionally,Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut hold the majority of the initiative’scarbon allowances, so what happens with the rest of New England holds lesssignificance, said Stacy VanDeveer, a professor at the University of NewHampshire. "If Maine were to try and pull out of the program, it wouldn’tmatter as much, because it’s small in comparison to the other threestates," he said. Maine’s Republican candidate for governor, Paul LePage,did not outline his position on RGGI, but did sign a "no climate tax"pledge from Americans for Prosperity.

EPA Pushes Back New OzoneRules to Give Some Relief to Beleaguered Supporters in Congress – ButToday’s Nov. 3, and the Game Is Back On.NY Times/Greenwire (11/2) reports, “Though the Obama administration wasinitially expected to issue stricter smog standards this summer, U.S. EPA nowsays it may not be ready to release a final rule until New Year’s Eve. EPA iscurrently reconsidering the George W. Bush-era changes to the National AmbientAir Quality Standards for ground-level ozone, which is the main component insmog. A final decision is now scheduled to come by Dec. 31, the agency told afederal court yesterday. "Completing this rulemaking has taken longer thananticipated," the filing says. "EPA expects that this process will takean additional two months." It is the second time EPA has taken anextension on the smog standard. This summer, as the August deadline neared, theagency told the court it was planning to issue a final rule "on or aboutthe end of October." Some close observers suggested that the agency wouldwait until after the election to avoid a political backlash. The revisionprocess has prompted a war of words between businesses, which would need tospend billions of dollars on new pollution controls, and advocacy groups, whichare urging EPA to issue rules that protect the public from respiratory problemsand heart disease.

Working WITH MarcellusProducers in PA (Imagine That!), DEP Launches New Site with Information onEvery Single Thing You’d Ever Want to Know About Wells, Water, Etc.Scranton Times-Tribune (11/3) reports, “Those interested ingetting public information about a well in their neighborhood, for example,used to need internal information, such as a permit number, she said.Violations often were not associated with the well or permit number or aspecific well. The gas exploration industry is pleased with the site as well.It helps insulate them from accusations that they are keeping information fromthe public, industry leaders said. Violations also are more detailed. Once,violations were often maintained under broad categories that gave few or nodetails about the violation. The public had to request an in-person file reviewto see the violation reports. The new site makes available violationspreadsheets that include inspectors’ notes, which often include details aboutthe type and severity of the violation. Kathryn Klaber of the Marcellus ShaleCoalition, an industry trade group, said her group supported the legislationthat led to the higher-level reporting. She said the data, particularly theproduction data, is also a valuable planning tool for the industry. Beyondthat, she said the transparency also may increase the level of trust betweenthe public and the industry.

Bifurcation Station: GreensAlready in Spin Cycle Pre-Butting Election Results Tonight – InsistVoters Aren’t “Thinking About” Cap-and-Raid, Just the Economy (!)ClimateWire(11/1, subs. req’d) reports, “President Obama was still trying to motivate hisbase on the eve of elections. He has campaigned hard to turn out the vote forweeks. Yesterday, he gave campaign-themed interviews to radio stations inFlorida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all battleground states whereDemocrats could lose seats. Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, onthe other hand, is using anti-climate messaging to drive her own base to thepolls in Delaware. O’Donnell, who beat cap-and-trade supporter Rep. Mike Castlein a Republican primary, is warning voters that Democrat Chris Coons couldsupport a similar carbon plan this fall. Still, the midterm elections areunlikely to pivot on climate issues. The stubborn economy and unemployment holdpriority with voters. Joshua Freed, director of the Clean Energy Initiative atThird Way, a think tank for centrist Democrats, cautions about reading too muchinto the nation’s attitude on climate change through the election results."They’re voting on the economy," he says of voters. "People arenot flocking to the polls thinking about the president’s energy policy one wayor another."

In Retirement, Veritas:Outgoing House Dem Who Voted for Cap-and-Raid Says Bill “Didn’t AccomplishMuch, Was Enormously Complicated and Expensive.” John Fund reports (11/2) for the Wall Street Journal, “When President Obama was elected in 2008,Mr. Baird was again optimistic that Democrats could bring real reform. Butfierce Republican partisanship and the White House decision not to focus on jobcreation as its "number one, two and three" priority dashed thathope. "Obama decided we weren’t going to have a highway transportationbill because it might have required a gas tax increase," he recalls. Afterpassing a misdirected stimulus bill, Mr. Obama made the fatal error of pushingforward with other priorities: cap and trade, financial services reform, ObamaCare.Each became compromised quickly. "You don’t get real reform by panderingto every special interest. With cap and trade we wound up with a bill thatdidn’t accomplish much, was enormously complicated and expensive." Mr.Baird is especially upset that "good solid members will lose this fallbecause they took a tough vote for a cap-and-trade bill that never made itthrough the Senate." He has told environmental groups that they lost sightof the goal of reducing carbon emissions by focusing on the minutia of regulationto achieve it.

What Might a GOP Wave Meanfor the House Resources Cmte? Well, Might Mean that Rahall Doesn’t Have to BeJohn Lawrence’s Errand Boy Any Longer.Politico (11/2) reports, “Republicans and energy lobbyists say thatshould change should the GOP take control. “The Republicans have got to decidewhether that committee should continue to be a parks and recreation committeeor whether they should get their s—- together and be a powerhouse,” saidan energy lobbyist close to the panel. West Virginia Democrat Nick Rahall, thepanel’s chairman since 2007, has won kudos from the environmental community forhis efforts to shepherd a host of wilderness bills through the committee and tooverhaul federal onshore oil and gas and geothermal stream leasing systems. Buthe’s come under fire from the right for being too subservient to theenvironmental community and House leadership – namely Speaker NancyPelosi. Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, in line to chair the Parks, Forests andPublic Lands Subcommittee, said Rahall is a decent person, but he always gotthe feeling that the chairman “had limitations placed on him coming from thespeaker’s office.” Pelosi’s chief of staff, John Lawrence, was staff directorof the Natural Resources Committee under former Chairman George Miller(D-Calif.) and a former Republican committee aide suggested that he may bepulling the strings of the committee from Pelosi’s office.

Bode In Motion: AWEA ChiefFuming Mad that Big Wind’s Association with Chinese Manufacturers AttractingAttention Outside Washington Beltway.Wall Street Journal (11/2) reports, “At least a dozen adsportray stimulus spending on wind power or renewable energy as an example ofwaste. Another dozen or more allege the stimulus sent jobs overseas to China.None explicitly calls for ending the tax breaks for the wind-power industryonce they expire this year, but the wind association fears the criticism willmake them harder to renew. The Republican campaign committee claims it hasidentified 11 U.S. wind farms that used stimulus grants to buy wind turbines,with 695 of the 982 total coming from overseas suppliers. The Republican groupis calling for more stringent Buy American provisions throughout the stimuluspackage. General Electric Co., the largest wind turbine maker in the U.S., with40% of installed capacity, said orders dropped by 30%, or $600 million, in thethird quarter. The company, which has roughly $5 billion in wind turbinerevenue each year, wants to expand by selling more units in China and the U.K.GE’s chief wind turbine rival globally, Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Denmark,said Tuesday it could cut 3,000 jobs at three plants in Denmark and one inSweden to stay competitive.

Fig Leaf Is Gone: Facingthe Re-Elect Fight of His Life, Rep. Hinchey Panders to Most Radical Elementsof the Anti-Marcellus Set in NY – Gets Huge Influx of Cash from TheirPAC. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (11/1) reports, “Hinchey has been a criticof fracking — a drilling technique where a water, sand and chemical mix isblasted underground to break shale and release gas — and has authored federallegislation that would require greater chemical disclosure for gas companies.Phillips, meanwhile, has offered praise for the industry and pointed to thepotential economic benefits it could bring to the state. An article in the NewYork Times on Friday said the vote "could become the first publicreferendum on shale-gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing." Drilling inthe Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches across the Southern Tier andmost of Pennsylvania, has been on hold in New York since 2008 as the statefinalizes its permitting guidelines. "I believe we can do it safely,"Phillips said at a GOP rally in Vestal on Saturday. "I think it’s justcritical for our area here when it comes to jobs and we can move forward withsafe environmental standards. I intend to be an advocate, and I think the statecan handle it." Addressing the media Monday before the film, Hinchey saidhe would not support gas drilling until any toxic chemicals used in the processare eliminated, though companies have said the chemical mix used is crucialduring the fracking process. "We need to make sure that this dishonest,irresponsible drilling does not take place in New York," Hinchey said."This drilling for natural gas is dangerous and completely dishonest.

Here’s One for You: NYIsn’t Interested in Revenue that Marcellus Could Provide – Even ThoughIt’s So BROKE It Had to Scrap Its Superfund Program This Week. Albany Times-Union (11/1) reports, “Iwanowicz, who was namedto the top spot Thursday after Gov. David Paterson fired Commissioner PeteGrannis Oct. 21 over a leaked DEC memo on the dire impact of planned layoffs,also faced another major environmental downsizing during his first day on thejob. He offered few details on Paterson’s decision last week to eliminate thestate’s 30-year involvement with the federal Superfund pollution cleanupprogram. New York state is home to the nation’s largest Superfund project, thedredging of toxic PCBs from a 40-mile stretch of the Hudson River that startedin 2009 and is expected to run for years to come. He could not say how muchmoney Paterson hopes to save by pulling the state from Superfund, which is runby the Environmental Protection Agency. There are currently 114 federalSuperfund cleanup sites in the state. General Electric Co., which dischargedPCBs into the Hudson from its plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, is payingfor the Hudson cleanup, which is overseen by EPA and DEC. Dave King, EPAproject administrator for the Hudson River cleanup, said no one from DEC talkedwith him about Superfund. "We hope to have some kind of workingrelationship with DEC on this project," he said

Here’s What Happens WhenYou Let Companies Look for Energy Offshore: They Find It. Just Like XOM DidThis Week Off the Coast of Nigeria.Houston Chronicle (11/1) reports, “Exxon Mobil Corp.’sNigerian unit said it made a “rich gas condensate” discovery off the southeastcoast of the West African nation. The Pegi discovery in the company’s OilMining License 104, 75 kilometers offshore, forms part of exploration effortsaimed at expanding output capacity and meeting growing domestic demand forfuel, the subsidiary said in an e-mailed statement today. Condensate is alow-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids. President Goodluck Jonathan inAugust announced a plan to end the state power monopoly and allow privatecompanies to build gas-fired, coal-fueled and hydroelectric plants to end thecountry’s power shortages. Nigeria has natural gas reserves of 185 trillioncubic feet, the world’s eighth-largest, according to the U.S. EnergyInformation Administration. Exxon Mobil holds a 40 percent stake in a jointproject it operates for state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Theventure produces 700,000 barrels a day of oil, condensate and natural gasliquids, according to the statement.

Don’t Call It a Comeback:Or Maybe That’s Exactly What You Should Call It; Defamed by Enviros, Media,World Coal Consumption Hits 40 Year High. Bloomberg News (10/30) reports, “Chris Cline foresaw thatthe dwindling Appalachian supply, coupled with what he expected would be rulesto force all power plants to add scrubbers to remove pollutants, would makeIllinois coal attractive. If plants had to clean the coal anyway, Clinereasoned, why not use inexpensive Illinois stock? He was right. Three yearslater, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required power plants to addscrubbers to cut emissions. As a result of that and other market forces, thevalue of Illinois deposits quintupled during the next five years, helping Clineraise $1.2 billion to build the mines that he’s now parlaying into a fortune.In an age obsessed with global warming and green energy, coal – a combustiblerock that has generated heat for humanity for 5,000 years – is staging adefiant comeback. Condemned by environmentalists who say that digging it marsthe land and that cleaning it is impossible, coal supplied 29.4 percent of theplanet’s man-made energy last year – the highest level since 1970. Cline sayshe may reach top speed in eight years, when his sons Christopher, 16, and Alex,15, will be old enough to join the firm. He says he has no plans to sell,especially if Foresight becomes a public company that trains his boys. "There’s a good possibility they’ll be the fourth generation," Clinesays. "I’m hoping they will."

Valero’s Calif. RefineryAmong Cleanest and Most Efficient in U.S. – And Guess What? AB 32 StillWould Zap $170M from It a Year in New Compliance Costs. LA Times (10/31) reports, "Scrubbers can reduce nitrogen oxides,sulfur oxides and particulates," he said. "But there is no scrubberfor greenhouse gas." As for improving the refinery’s energy efficiency,"We replaced an aging boiler two years ago," Faichney said."We’ve put insulation in every application where it’s necessary to retainheat. Any increase in energy efficiency would be very small." In fightingAB 32, Valero officials had suggested in the past that the cost of complyingwith the law could total $170 million a year for its two California refineries,in Wilmington and Benicia. But in the conference call with analysts, Valeroacknowledged that the annual cost might be closer to $80 million. "Wedon’t have the rules or regulations or how it’s all going to work," Klessesaid. Those estimates don’t take into account California regulators’ pledge tointroduce new rules slowly in the early years, and give breaks to firms thatface out-of-state competition from unregulated competitors, such as Asian oilrefiners. But whatever the cost, Klesse said, "it will all be passedthrough to the consumer. The companies aren’t going to able to absorb this orthey’re going to go out of business."

Say It Ain’t So, Mo: Fmr.Hinchey Supporters Say Rep.’s “Endangering the Planet” By Continuing to OpposeResponsible Development of Marcellus Shale.E&E News (10/29, subs. req’d) reports, “Hinchey isperceived as the anti-drilling, anti-fracturing candidate in the race, whilePhillips’ role is the booster for drillers and fracturing. But the candidatesthemselves seek to add nuance. Phillips wants to move forward"aggressively" but only after state regulators say it is safe.Hinchey has said he wants to "make sure that this frack drilling does notoccur in New York" but clarifies that such a moratorium could be liftedafter a comprehensive study of drilling’s effects on health and theenvironment. Hinchey is a lead co-sponsor of the FRAC Act. Locally, he has alsosigned on to a drive to get Gov. David Paterson (D) to delay drilling in NewYork and start over on a state study and has leaned on the federal representativeon a regional board to slow drilling until a separate study is done. Hisapproach has angered Barbara Hirshfield, who considers herself a dedicatedenvironmentalist but sees Hinchey’s resistance to gas production aswrong-headed. She sees more use of natural gas as crucial to reining in climatechange. "Mr. Hinchey is not going to get my vote, which makes mesad," Hirshfield said, "I’ve been in lockstep with him for manyyears. But I think he’s endangering the planet."

On Day After Halloween, aQuick Look Back at Some of the Most Ghoulish (and Ridiculous) Predictions fromEhrlich, Holdren, Et. Al on Climate, Carbon, Humanity. Robert Bradley, Jr. writes (11/1) on MasterResource.org, “If I were a gambler, I would take evenmoney that England will not exist in the year 2000.” – Paul Ehrlich, quoted inJulian Simon, The Ultimate Resource 2, (Princeton: Princeton University Press,1996), p. 35. In the name of science, Paul Ehrlich, John Holdren, and JamesHansen (et al.) have made doom-and-gloom predictions about business-as-usual inan attempt to shock humanity into immediate legislative action and lifestylechanges. It did not work. The elapsed predictions have failed to come to pass.Little wonder that new installments of climate alarmism, such as JulietEilperin’s ”25% of Wild Mammal Species Face Extinction: Global AssessmentPaints ‘Bleak Picture,’ Scientists Say, and Figure of Those at Risk Could BeHigher” in the Washington Post (October 7), don’t register with voters. Worsening their predicament, theperpetrators will not renounce their specious predictions. They remain thesmartest guys in the room–versus all of us commoners, we the hundreds ofmillions of market-failure-ites. Here are the Big Three: 1) the dean of modernalarmism, Paul Ehrlich; 2) Al Gore’s influential climate scientist JamesHansen; and 3) Obama’s “dream ‘green’ team” member John Holdren.

Beats 3^rd PeriodFrench: Gas Producers in PA Team Up with Local Schools to Give Kids Up CloseLook at How Natural Gas Is Harvested from Shale.WPXIPittsburgh (10/29) reports, “Experts are predicting the Marcelus Shale industrywill be around in western Pennsylvania for at least the next 50 years andthousands of people will be needed to work here. On Friday, educators met atWaynesburg University to figure out how to give students the education theyneed to get those jobs. “We are talking to the superintendents of schools andcounselors about an energy education looks like," said Barbara Kirby ofWaynesburg University. To educate the educators, a mobile energy classroompulled up at the university. Inside the trailer, videos played, showing everyaspect of the Marcellus Shale process. Channel 11 talked to a senior engineerfrom Range Resources who is already working with local schools, trying to setup a Marcellus Shale curriculum. "We will have them come in and look overthe shoulder of a petroleum engineer and an environmental engineer,” saidMichael Forgione of Range Resources.

Meanwhile, One State Overin Ohio – They’re Gonna Party This Week Like It’s 1860: Year of the FirstEver Natural Gas Well in the Buckeye State.WKBN Ohio (10/28) reports, “The first natural gas well was drilledin Ohio 150 years ago. To celebrate that milestone, the industry has startedthe Ohio Energy Proud campaign to highlight its importance in the state. Itemploys 75,000 people and supplies billions of cubic feet of natural gas tolocal residents. "In Ohio last year, statewide, we produced over 88billion cubic feet of natural gas, and the great thing about that is almost 100percent of that stays right here in our own backyard," said Rhonda Reda,Ohio Oil and Natural Gas Education. Mahoning County produced more than 7.3billion cubic feet of natural gas, Reda said. Because seven out of 10 homes inthe county use natural gas, this provides a lot of local energy benefits, sheadded. There are more than 2,000 gas producing wells in Mahoning County.

EPA Decisions NotDetermined by Politics, Right? Except This One: Politico Reports Agency WillNot Release New Smog Rule ‘Til After Election – Avoid Handing GOP“Fodder.” Politico’s MorningEnvironmentalist (11/1)reports, “EPA is unlikely to issue controversial smog standards prior to theelection tomorrow. The agency planned to release the federal ozone limit on oraround the end of October, but may be holding off in order to avoid givingRepublicans last-minute campaign fodder. EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan saidthe agency is working hard to finalize the standard. "We will announce thefinal rule as soon as it is ready – this is an important and complex rulemakingand we’re working to ensure we get it right," he said. W. Lafayette (Ind.)Journal & Courier (10/6) reports, “Transportation officialsare raising a red flag over what proposed stricter standards for ground-level ozonewill mean for Tippecanoe County. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ispoised to adopt new health-based air-quality standards by the end of the month."I would be surprised if we keep our ‘attainment status’ under the newstandards," said John Thomas, assistant director of transportation forTippecanoe County Area Plan Commission. If the counties are designated"nonattainment" areas, they will be subjected to tougher review forbusiness development and road projects as state and federal officials work toreduce emissions.

Big Wind “Has SlowestQuarter in Three Years” – But At Least It Knows Exactly What It Needs toTurn the Beat Around: More Taxpayer Loot. E&E News(10/29, subs. req’d) reports, “The U.S. wind industry just had its slowestquarter in three years, and it is using the weak period to ask for moreincentives favoring renewables. The industry added 395 megawatts ofwind-powered electric generating capacity from July through September of thisyear, the slowest growth since 2007. Total installations this year stood at1,634, down 72 percent from last year and the lowest level since 2006, theAmerican Wind Energy Association said today in a market report. The trade groupblames the decline on a lack of long-term energy policies, such as a renewableelectricity standard that would require utilities to source a certainpercentage of their electricity from renewable sources. "We’re increasingour dependence on fossil fuels, impacting our national security, instead ofdiversifying our portfolio to include more renewables," said AWEA CEODenise Bode in a statement. "U.S. wind energy can again lead the world,but if federal policymakers do not act quickly to provide investment certaintythrough a renewable electricity standard and longer-term tax policy like ourenergy-generation competitors enjoy, the U.S. wind industry will stallout." The group says U.S. installation rates are half those of Europe anda third of the rate in China. "This is a global race, and we need a levelplaying field with fossil fuels to stay competitive," Bode said.

Flashback:Prof. Calzada Sounded Alarm on Out of Control “Green” Subsidies in Spain TwoYears Ago. Today: Spain Set to Rein in Solar Subsidies, Unsustainable. Bloomberg(10/28) reports, Spain may limit the hours during which photovoltaic-powerplants may earn subsidies as part of a plan to rein in electricity costs forconsumers, according to a government official involved in talks with theowners. It’s too early to say how much the cut might cost companies thatgenerate the solar power using photovoltaic panels, said Antonio Hernandez,general director of energy policy at the Madrid-based Industry Ministry. Hesaid the ministry aims to reach an agreement during the next few weeks ofnegotiations. “We want to prevent electricity becoming more expensive as thesun shines more,” Hernandez said in a telephone interview this week. “One ofthe possibilities is that the number of hours that subsidies can be earned wouldhave limits.” Plant operators and trade groups have held talks with ministryofficials for months and threatened to sue the government for as much as 1billion euros ($1.4 billion) should it cut the subsidies. The aid, which isadded to consumer bills, is guaranteed for 25 years under a 2007 law, plantoperator T- Solar Global SA Chief Executive Officer Juan Laso has said.”

LeadingAnti-Affordable Energy Organization Comes Out in Support of HydraulicFracturing; Wonder Who Cut the Check.Washington Examiner (10/26) reports, “InJanuary, the documentary Gasland won a special jury prize at theSundance Film Festival. The documentary attacked the process of “fracking,”which involves pumping a solution that is 99 percent sand and water, plus a fewtrace chemicals, underground at high pressure. This creates fractures in therock formations that allow oil and gas to flow to collection points. The filmclaimed that the process pollutes groundwater with devastating consequences.Multiple EPA studies have shown fracking is safe and effective, but thepropaganda effort got the attention of congress. In March, Rep. Henry Waxman,D-Calif., held hearings on whether the practice should be federally regulatedrather than regulated at the state level. After issuing subpoenas to eightenergy companies, Waxman dropped the probe. Now fracking is being defended by avery unlikely source — the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the biggestand most active environmental non-profits in the country. Appearing on theEnergy and Environment program “On Point” EDF Senior Policy Advisor was utterlydismissive of the concerns about fracking…” Click HERE for E&ETV interview.”

GetThis: Obama Admin. Wants More Electric Cars, Pin Wheels and Sun Catchers, But OpposesMining for Rare Earths in the USA – An Essential to All-Things“Renewable.” Solution? Send Clinton to China, Ask for More Exports. Wall Street Journal (10/28) reports, “U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she will press China this week toclarify its policy on the exports of rare-earth minerals amid fears Beijingcould use them as a political weapon. Mrs. Clinton, en route to Asia for a keyregional summit, stressed following a meeting with her Japanese counterpart inHawaii that recent Chinese restrictions on sales of the important commercialinputs must serve as a "wake-up call" for the U.S. and its allies todiversify their sourcing. China is estimated to supply about 97% of the globaldemand for these metals, which are essential for the production of computersand other electronic products. "Because of the importance of theserare-earth minerals, I think both the minister and I are aware that ourcountries and others will have to look for additional sources of supply,” Mrs.Clinton said at a joint press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister SeijiMaehara. Tensions between China and Japan have increased in recent months,fueled by a dispute over islands jointly claimed by the two Asian nations. InJuly, Beijing announced a drastic curtailment of its export quotas for theseminerals, as well as a crackdown on smuggling, which began to be felt insubsequent months. China says the limits reflect its growing environmentalawareness, are perfectly legal and won’t be used as a policy tool. In BeijingWednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it wouldn’t use its dominance inrare-earth minerals as a "bargaining tool" with competing nations.”

Can’tSay I Blame Him. Louisiana’s Lt. Gov. Switches from D to R Over Obama’sHandling of Gulf Spill, Moratorium. New Orleans Times-Picayune (10/27) reports, “BATON ROUGE — Lt. Gov.Scott Angelle said Tuesday that he has changed his party affiliation fromDemocrat to Republican because of his dissatisfaction with President BarackObama and the administration’s recent actions on oil drilling in the Gulf ofMexico. Angelle, who has served as Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Department of NaturalResources secretary and chief liaison to the Legislature, said he grewdisenchanted with the Democratic Party’s philosophy of dealing with energymatters, especially the moratorium on drilling that followed the Deepwater Horizonexplosion that claimed 11 lives and spilled millions of gallons of oil into theGulf and sensitive coastal estuaries.He said the scientificstudies and investigations into deepwater exploration have indicated themoratorium should have been lifted weeks before it was. Instead, thousand ofworkers have been left jobless because of the Obama administration’s actions."I felt it was not handled in the right way," said Angelle, who hastestified before investigatory panels and Congress on the accident and itseffects. "Going through the process of the moratorium, I knew I had to dothis," he said. "It was an accumulation of things I was hearing aboutthe oil and gas industry (from the Democrats in Washington, D.C.). Our statecan only prosper with a strong oil and gas industry."

CarbonCriminalization Hot Topic in Alaska Senate Race; One Candidate Outright OpposesCap-and-Trade/Carbon Tax. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (10/28) reports, “Thedebate over “cap and trade” legislation to curb fossil fuel emissions has beenheating up Alaska’s U.S. Senate campaign. The Alaska Republican Party and thecampaign for Republican nominee Joe Miller have hit GOP write-in candidate LisaMurkowski and Democrat Scott McAdams hard on the cap and trade issue, saying inads that their support for the legislation will result in higher taxes, energyprices and unemployment. Murkowski and McAdams say that is an unfair characterizationof their positions on the issue. Polluters are issued permits for each ton ofcarbon they emit under a cap and trade system, and companies that reduce theiroutput are able to sell permits they don’t need. Critics say the system amountsto a tax on the use of fossil fuels. The basis for cap and trade legislation isgrounded in the belief, shared by most scientists, that fossil fuel emissionsare contributing to climate change. Assessing penalties for burning fossilfuels will spur producers and consumers to find cleaner alternatives,supporters of the concept say. Miller is the most critical of any form of“carbon tax” or cap and trade bill. Miller strongly opposes any suchlegislation, which he believes is unconstitutional. He said the penalties tiedto cap and trade — specifically in a version passed by the House thisyear — will be a devastating drag on the nation’s economy. As a fix for“something that may not even exist,” he says on his campaign website, the costis too steep.”

White House Readying Plans to Implement Energy RationingScheme Through Executive Order; Taxpayer Handouts for “new sidewalks, trolleysand street cars.” Politico(10/27) reports, “The White House doesn’t regret simultaneously pushing healthcare and climate change legislation, despite the ultimate failure to pass capand trade, President Barack Obama’s domestic policy adviser said Wednesday.Barnes said the White House believes the country can still tackle climatechange without Congress passing legislation that caps greenhouse gas emissions,noting the push for executive agencies to curb emissions, coupled with effortsat the state and local government levels. "The president feels that it’scritical that we move forward, and whether or not it’s through legislation,which would set a big comprehensive framework for companies, for the privatesector, for investors and for the rest of the world to see, and obviouslythat’s a priority and that’s why we tried to move it in the first two years,that there’s still other ways that we can advance this energy agenda,"Barnes said during an event hosted by The Atlantic Magazine. We’ve beenabsolutely thinking about this at every level,” Barnes said, citing theEnvironmental Protection Agency and Energy Department programs, as well asfederal grants to help local governments build more sidewalks, light rail linesand street trolleys.”

By Hook orBy Crook, Obama Administration Hell-Bent on Bankrupting Coal Industry;Increasing Consumer Energy Prices.Wall Street Journal (10/27) editorializes, “Anyone who caresabout the U.S. economy is breathing easier now that cap and tax appears to beon the political garbage barge, but don’t be so sure. The White House is stillpursuing its carbon agenda through regulation, albeit with almost no publicattention, and a new study shows the damage that is already being done.Yesterday the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a highlyregarded federal energy advisory body, released an exhaustive "specialassessment" of this covert program. NERC estimates that the EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s pending electric utility regulations will subtract between46 and 76 gigawatts of generating capacity from the U.S. grid by 2015. To putthose numbers in perspective, the worst-case scenario would amount to a reductionof about 7.2% of national power generation, and almost all of it will hitcoal-fired plants, the workhorse that supplies a little over half of U.S.electricity. In a recent research note, Credit Suisse estimates that compliancewill cost as much as $150 billion in capital investment by the end of thedecade. All of this will flow through to rising electricity prices, which isthe same as a tax increase on businesses and consumers. NERC also warns of"deteriorating resource adequacy" and of the logistical reality thatreplacing or upgrading so much capacity so fast may lead to brownouts andshortages. The danger is greatest throughout the Midwest in states like Ohio,Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where the costs will also be concentrated.”

You’ve BeenSpiked! Nicky Joe Taken to the Woodshed Over His Support for CarbonCriminalization, Anti-Affordable Energy Agenda.AssociatedPress (10/26) reports, “U.S.Rep. Nick Rahall and Republican challenger Elliott "Spike" Maynardpummeled each other during a bare-knuckle debate Tuesday night over everythingfrom mudslinging TV ads to coal mining. Maynard fired back, angrily labelingRahall a steadfast supporter of President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Obama failed to carry West Virginia in 2008 and is disliked by many forpolicies aimed at curbing surface coal mining in Appalachia. "You’refriends at the EPA just shut down, vetoed another permit," Maynard toldRahall, referring to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Go talk tothose 300 coal miners, ask ’em if that’s gloom and doom.” Maynard said Rahallhas voted with Pelosi 98 percent of the time in Congress. "The generals inthe war on coal today are Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and the folks at theEPA," Maynard said. "The want to abolish surface mining." Thecandidates are vying in West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District and thecontest has attracted money and national attention — Tuesday’s debate wastelevised on C-SPAN. Republicans see the seat as vulnerable in what hastraditionally been a staunchly Democratic district.”

Who SaidCap-and-Trade Wasn’t a Campaign Issue? Was it CAP or Third Way? Talk to RickBoucher, Seems to be Only Issue in SW Va. House Race.Martinsville Bulletin (10/27) reports, “Ninth District U.S. Rep.Rick Boucher’s position on cap-and-trade emissions legislation shows he hasbeen in Washington too long, says one of his opponents in the Nov. 2 election. “Weneed new ideas and new energy, a more conservative profile,” said Del. MorganGriffith, R-Salem, a 17-year veteran of the state legislature who ischallenging Boucher, a 28-year congressman, and independent Jeremiah Heaton ofAbingdon. “I think … 28 years on any job” may be too long, Griffith, 52, saidin a recent interview. “If you don’t have the energy levels to continue to talkabout the issues, (and are) complacent to go along, it’s time to go. Thelegislative process is high energy. You’ve got to talk to people. … Sometimesyou have to stand up and fight.” The cap-and-trade clean emissions legislation,which was approved by the House of Representatives and then stalled in theSenate, is the key issue in the 9th District campaign, Griffith said. Boucher,D-Abingdon, has said that in 2007, the Supreme Court declared that greenhousegases are pollutants, which meant they had to be regulated by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA). The coal industry and coal-fired utilities asked himto write laws to protect it and he agreed, he said. The resulting legislationwill eliminate 56,000 jobs and cost the average household a couple of hundreddollars or more a year in higher electric bills, Griffith said.”

Or Talk to Mr. Ellsworth in Indiana, Seems Like Affordable Energy andCarbon Criminalization are Front and Center in This Race Too.New York Times (10/26)reports, “But Coats’ race against Rep. Brad Ellsworth, a once-rising Democraticstar whom most polls show trailing by at least 16 points, is equally anomalouswhen it comes to environmental policy. With coal and ethanol remaining centraldrivers of the state economy, and both candidates vying to blast broad climatechange legislation more loudly, energy-minded Indianans could see littledifference between a likely Sen. Coats and a long-shot Sen. Ellsworth."This is a conservative state that burns a lot of coal and eats a lot ofcorn," said Vince Griffin, vice president of energy policy at the IndianaChamber of Commerce, in an interview, noting that most of the state’s lawmakers"would look at this in a similar way." Indeed, the energy prioritieshighlighted by both candidates read like veritable mirror images. Coats’ plancalls for doubling the number of U.S. nuclear reactors within 20 years whilepromoting efficiency and maintaining coastal drilling despite the"tragic" Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Ellsworth, meanwhile, calls for"a comprehensive approach that includes domestic drilling, encouragesconstruction of nuclear power plants" and also invests more in efficiency.Despite their closeness on substance, Coats and Ellsworth have spent plenty oftime on the trail vying over whose style is best suited to Indiana. TheDemocratic nominee, initially seen as his party’s best hope to hold onto theseat vacated by retiring Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), has rapped Coats for lobbyingon behalf of a hedge fund executive who backed cap-and-trade climate measures.”

It WasOnly a Matter of Time; Interior Dept. Dep. Sec. Confirms “Big” Changes on theWay to Further Restrict Offshore Energy Exploration.The Hill (10/26) reports, “Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayesemphasized Tuesday that the department has much more work to do to revampoffshore oil-and-gasdrilling following the Gulf ofMexico spill.“We are in a constant reform cycle, big time,” he told a forumhosted by The Atlantic. “We’re going to have more rules coming out.” InteriorSecretary Ken Salazar late last month announced post-Gulf spill safetyrequirements that prescribe regulations 
regarding the design, cementing and casing ofwells and the use of 
drillingfluids. The rules would also require that blowout preventers — the lastline of defense before a well ruptures and also the mechanism that failed toprevent the BP spill — have to be independently certified. The Bureau ofOcean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement is also reorganizing. Thebureau’s leasing andenvironmental review oversightwill be split in two by the end of the year, Hayes said. The revenue collectionwork of the bureau alreadyhas been splitoff.“I’m confident we are in a muchbetter place than we were” before theApril 20explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig, Hayes said. “There was a shared lackof appreciation” for the risks involved in offshore drilling, he said. “Thathas evaporated.”

GOTV, Philly Style. Rendell Holds Anti-Marcellus Rally in Phila. withRadical Enviros, Signs EO Banning New Leasing of State Lands. FYI, He BecomesIrrelevant in 6 days. New York Times (10/26)reports, “Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania signed an executive order onTuesday effectively banning further natural gas development on state forestlands. Mr. Rendel, a Democrat, said the moratorium was needed in part toprevent the unchecked industrialization of public lands in a state that hasseen a boom in natural gas development unparalleled there. Much ofPennsylvania, along with large swaths of New York and West Virginia, sits atopthe Marcellus Shale, a potentially vast natural gas resource that has onlyrecently proved accessible through the use of advanced but environmentallycontentious drilling techniques. Most gas development in Pennsylvania iscarried out on private lands, but state regulators have permitted drilling onstate forest land since at least 1947. The Department of Conservation andNatural Resources has held 74 lease sales since then, including this year’s. Roughly660,000 of the state’s 2.2 million acres of public forest land have beenleased, according to department data. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, anindustry group, estimates that there are about 160 Marcellus Shale wells onstate lands and about 2,300 on private lands in Pennsylvania.”

Houston Chronon China’s Energy Strategy, “The Chinese get it. We hope the [Obama] administration does, too.” Houston Chronicle (10/26)editorializes, “It’s an accident of the calendar that word of China’s purchaseof an interest in 600,000 acres of oil and gas leases in South Texas camewithin days of the Obama administration’s announcement that the moratorium ondeep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would be ending. We take the word ofthose in the oil and gas industry who say lifting of the ban is mostly symbolicbecause it hasn’t been followed up by approvals for new deep-water wells. Thatis what matters most now, both in deep-water and shallow-water sections of theGulf, where the permitting process also has been sclerotic. It still needs tobe stepped up. This country relies on offshore Gulf resources to supply 30percent of our national demand. Which brings us, perhaps improbably, to therecent Chinese entry into a lively oil and gas play in Texas shale. China’sstate-owned offshore oil and gas company has purchased a one-third interest inacreage between San Antonio and Laredo that could one day yield 400,000 to500,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent. The lease is controlled by ChesapeakeEnergy. China’s aggressive move into Texas builds on that country’s strategy tocontrol ever more natural resources globally. Some say it’s also a convenientway for Beijing to liquidate some of its share of U.S. debt paper. We’ll leavethat speculation to others more knowledgeable. What we do know is that thisgambit sends a signal the Obama administration must not miss: Even as theChinese make much-lauded strides in the renewable energy area, they clearlygrasp the importance of oil and gas in powering the world economy for years tocome. The administration should take a lesson. The Chinese get it. We hope theadministration does, too.

World’sLargest Solar Facility Coming to California; Cost to Taxpayers? Glad you asked,$900 Million to German Company.Wall Street Journal (10/26) reports, “A proposal to build theworld’s biggest solar-thermal power plant in the Southern California desert gotthe go-ahead Monday from the Obama administration, which used the announcementto bolster its message that renewable energy creates jobs. The $6 billionproject is being developed by Solar Trust of America, a joint venture betweenGermany’s Solar Millennium AG and privately held Ferrostaal AG on 7,025 acresof federally owned land near Blythe, Calif. The approval clears the way for thedevelopers to seek federal grants and loan guarantees. The project is the sixthsolar-energy installation approved for public lands. The Interior Departmentsaid in total the projects could generate as much as 2,800 megawatts ofelectricity, enough to power two million homes. California regulators haveapproved or plan to approve a total of nine solar-thermal power plants for thestate. The federal approval allows Solar Trust to start construction on theplant this year and take advantage of government incentives that would reducethe cost of the project. In order to receive cash grants in exchange for unusedtax credits, a popular but expiring program, companies must break ground onprojects or spend 5% of construction costs by year end. The estimated cost ofthe first two units of the Blythe plant is $3 billion. The company could beeligible for a $900 million cash grant for the first two units from the U.S.Energy Department and the U.S. Treasury Department in lieu of a tax credit.”

Speakingof Foreign Investment, China on Pace to Invest $30 Billion in Brazil this YearAlone; 2/3 of Which Going Toward Offshore Oil Exploration.AFP(10/25) reports, “Chinese investment in Brazil is expected to reach 30 billiondollars this year, according to observers — a sum aimed at securing access tothe Latin American nation’s oil and other resources. "Up to the end oflast year, the amount of Chinese investment in Brazil was tiny, less than 400million dollars. Over the first half of 2010, it’s gone over 20 billion dollars– and it should hit 30 billion dollars this year," Charles Tang, head ofthe Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sao Paulo, told AFP.Two-thirds of the total coming into Brazil this year will be invested in theoil sector, to which China has privileged access after extending a10-billion-dollar credit line to Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras, and afterChina’s Sinopec bought the Brazilian subsidiary of Spain’s Repsol for sevenbillion dollars. "China is investing everywhere in the world to ensure itgets the strategic resources it needs. And Brazil, obviously, isimportant," Tang said. In return, Brazil gets "capital for its growthand job-creation," he explained. "China needs the mineral resources,oil and land that Brazil has in abundance," Tang added before predictingthat the relationship between the two BRIC economies "has only justbegun." In 2009, China became Brazil’s top trading partner, overtaking theUnited States. Bilateral exchanges topped 36 billion dollars last year. This year,they will amount to even more, based on Brazilian central bank figures showingtrade reached 35 billion dollars in just the first eight months of this year.

PoorDenise. Big Wind All Wound Up Over Campaign Ads Targeting Taxpayer Handouts toForeign Wind Companies; Writes Letter Asking That Ads be Taken Down. Greenwire/NYT(10/25) reports, “The wind industry’s biggest trade group in a letter had askednational campaign committees to cease running ads that the industry argues makefalse statements about the program. The spots, appearing in several states,make inaccurate criticisms about the stimulus law’s section 1603 program, saidDenise Bode, president and CEO of American Wind Energy Association. The effortgives grants in place of tax credits that businesses otherwise would get foralternative energy projects. "Statements that the 1603 program sent jobsto China when all projects receiving tax credits under the program were builtin the U.S. is clearly false," Bode said. "This program is a greatexample of ‘insourcing’ jobs to the United States by leveraging both foreignand domestic investment. It is the opposite of outsourcing." The stimulusbill program has stirred controversy. The political ads target the fact thatmany of the companies that received grants are subsidiaries of foreigncorporations. While the wind farms and other renewable projects were built inthe United States, many used parts that had been made abroad. A study by theLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that as many as 40 percent of thewind farms built in the first year of the program installed turbines and otherequipment manufactured overseas. In addition, a Greenwire investigation foundthat 64 percent of the 50 largest projects — representing $2.7 billion –started construction before the stimulus bill became law.”

Sorry,Markey. Outgoing Chairman of Global Warming Committee Looks for One LastHearing with Oil CEO Before He Moves Offices; Not Gonna Happen According toBP’s Dudley. The Hill (10/25) reports, “New BP CEO Robert Dudley has declined totestify — again — before a 
key Houseenergy subcommittee, citing other commitments. “As I am sure you can imagine, I have an enormous amount ofwork to do
 transitioninginto this role and am very focused on ensuring the right decisions are made forthe future of the company and the safety of ourworkforce,”Dudley wrote Rep. Edward Markey(D-Mass.), chairman of the HouseEnergy andCommerce Energy and Environment subpanel, in a Friday letter. “Therefore, Iregret that I must decline your invitation at this time, but I look forward tosharing our progress with you on these important changes once they have been further developed andimplemented.”Markey asked Dudley in an Oct. 1 letter to appear before the subcommittee inNovember or December, offering possible dates in those two months. Dudleyalready had turned down an initial request to testify before Markey’s panelbefore he officially assumed the role as head of BP this month. Markey quicklyslammed Dudley’s second refusal to appear. “The American people deserve answersfrom BP, but when it comes to appearing before Congress, one thing BP certainlydoes not stand for is ‘being present,’ " Markey said. “If BP is trulycommitted to repairing their image and standing with the American people and governmentofficials, Mr. Dudley can start by appearing before Congress.”

More Foreign Investment, In NotSo Friendly Places. Iran Set to Announce $5Billion Deal to Develop Offshore GasField. Reuters (10/25) reports, “Iranwill soon sign a $5 billion contract with a foreign company to develop itsoffshore Farzad-B gas field, the Oil Ministry’s website SHANA said on Monday.The report did not name the company, but India’s state-run Oil and Natural GasCorpration Limited (ONGC.BO: Quote) (ONGC) heads a consortium which hasexclusive exploration rights for the offshore Farsi block of which the Farzad-Bgas field is part. "Currently negotiation for the investment anddevelopment of this oil field in the Persian Gulf is at its final stage,"Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, head of the Offshore Oil Co of Iran, was quoted assaying by SHANA. Zirakchianzadeh said an initial agreement on developing thegas field on a buyback basis had already been signed with the foreign companywhich has already secured all the necessary permits. The announcement comesafter many Western energy companies have turned away from Iran due to sanctionsimposed to pressure Tehran over its nuclear programme. Iran has often said ithas no shortage of willing international partners outside Europe and the UnitedStates which have imposed the toughest sanctions.”

We’ve Been Talking About aLame-Duck Energy Deal for Months; Chesser Takes to Pages of the WashTimes, LaysOut in Detail Why Such a Plan Must Fail.Paul Chesser (10/25) writes for the Washington Times, “The word on the Web-o-sphere is that alame-duck Congress could enact a wind- and solar-subsidizing renewableelectricity mandate between November and January. That’s in addition to thebillions of dollars in taxpayer "stimulus" that were dedicated to thecreation of an alternative energy economy, which the Obama administrationtouted as a creator of "green" jobs. But like every otherbig-spending initiative in which Washington tries to centrally plan theeconomy, a renewables mandate will fail, just like the stimulus. The experiencein Pennsylvania is instructive. When President Obama took office in January2009, the state’s unemployment rate was 7 percent – up 2.3 percentage pointsfrom a year earlier. Today it stands at more than 9 percent. So similar to whatPresident Obama has prescribed with the stimulus, the failure hasn’t been thepolicy; it’s been that the government hasn’t intervened enough! And fitting anenvironmentalist economist’s logic perfectly, PennFuture cites New Jersey (a22.5 percent renewable energy mandate by 2021; 9.6 percent unemployment) andCalifornia (a 33 percent renewable energy mandate by 2020; 12.4 percentunemployment) as examples to be followed. What other pains do alternativeenergy mandates inflict? According to Pennsylvania’s Public UtilitiesCommission, the annual cost of ownership for solar energy per kilowatt-hour isover 700 percent more than the cost of coal, and wind energy is almost 23percent more expensive than coal. Meanwhile, state government provides morethan $20 million annually for grants to alternative energy projects, and in2008, Gov. Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat, signed into law another mandate foran additional $650 million to be given to "green" schemes.”

OutsourcingEnergy Production; That’s the Latest Policy Out of Obama Administration,Opponents of Responsible Offshore Energy Exploration.OneNewsNow (10/22/10) reports, “The Obama administration may have liftedthe moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but it may not doenough to retain jobs and keep prices down. Several nations are stepping upefforts to become self-sufficient when it comes to oil and gasoline, includingCuba. Dan Kish, an energy policy expert with the Institute for Energy Research(IER), explains what is now at stake. "It’s not just Cuba — it’s Brazil,it’s the United Kingdom, it’s Norway, it’s Venezuela, it’s Africa," heexclaims. "Every place in the world except for the United States seems tobe looking for more and more oil — and they are reaching out and asking peopleto come in and invest money and create jobs in their economy because theyrealize how strong it is. "And yet the United States sits on huge suppliesof oil, and our government seems to be pushing investment to those foreignshores." The IER senior vice president for policy says "it’s almostlike outsourcing all of our energy to other places, even though we have it athome." "[This approach] puts us at national security peril, transferswealth to the rest of the world — and meanwhile [it] drives up costs forAmericans," states Kish.”

Meanwhile,Fringe Environmental Group Takes Interior Dept. to Court, Seeks to ReinstateOffshore Moratorium. Anyone Tell ‘Em a Ban Already Exists?The Hill (10/24/10) reports, “The Center for Biological Diversity filedlitigation against the Interior Department Friday that seeks re-instatement ofthe federal deepwater drilling ban, alleging Interior lifted the moratoriumthis month without enough ecological study. The green group’s lawsuit claimsthat damage from the BP oil spill laid bare the need for a fuller analysis. “Wecan no longer afford to have our government simply taking the oil industry atits word when it comes to ensuring the safety of people and the environment.Offshore drilling is a dangerous business, and [Interior Secretary Ken]Salazar’s Interior Department needs to take that threat seriously,” said MiyokoSakashita, the Center’s oceans director, in a statement. The lawsuit adds toattacks on Interior’s oil-and-gas drilling policy from the left and the right.Industry groups say Interior is acting too slowly to grant permits. But theCenter’s lawsuit contends Interior violated the National Environmental PolicyAct by failing to craft a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement.”

About That$7 Billion TransCanada Pipeline Project and the Thousands of Good Paying Jobsit will Create; Four Labor Chiefs Pen Letter to Sec. Clinton, Urge FinalApproval. The Hill(10/22/10) reports, Organized labor is asking Secretary of State HillaryClinton to quickly wrap up an environmental review of a controversialTransCanada pipeline in the midst of a firestorm over whether she is poised toapprove the project ahead of a likely legal challenge. The heads of theInternational Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Laborers’ International Union andtwo other multi-national labor groups are pressing Clinton to finish the reviewpromptly so that work could start on the pipeline carrying crude oil fromAlberta oil sands to Texas. "Each week that goes by in the State Department’spermitting process of the Keystone XL, a process that has gone on for more thantwo years, is lost ground for thousands of workers who are sitting on thesidelines of our ailing economy," the four union chiefs wrote ClintonFriday. The unions — which also include the United Association ofPlumbers and
 Pipefittersand the International Union of Operating Engineers — are 
long-time backersof the $7 billion project. Further, they say blocking the pipeline underminesthe goal “to
 develop abalanced policy to address our nation’s energy and
 environmentalneeds and challenges.” A State Department spokesman this week said theenvironmental review 
is expected towrap up by the end of the year and there was no 
timeline for announcing a decision on theproject.”

Newspaper Gets it Right on AB 32 BallotInitiative, “For sake of jobs, delay A.B. 32.”SanBernardino County Sun (10/24/10)editorializes, “If the polls are right, California voters are having troubledeciding how to vote on Proposition 23. We believe it, because this measuredivided our editorial board more evenly than any other in the Nov. 2 election.Our board’s own close balloting resulted in our decision to support Proposition23. This measure’s appeal is that it could save a million jobs, according toproponents, and they probably are right. It also would save millions of dollarsin energy costs, with little environmental harm and with almost no effect onglobal warming. Proposition 23 would block Assembly Bill 32, which isCalifornia’s global-warming law, until unemployment falls to 5.5percent for afull year. (Since unemployment has been that low for that long only three timesin the last 40 years, the suspension of A.B. 32 could last a long time.) Californiaalready has a reputation as the worst state in the Union for businessfriendliness, and A.B. 32 will make it worse because it will drive up costs.Most members of our editorial board think there’s no way our state’sunemployment rate will get close to 5.5percent again until state governmentgreatly reduces the regulations – environmental and otherwise – it places onbusinesses. Only then will businesses open or relocate here in substantialnumbers. On balance, the green jobs that A.B. 32 would encourage won’t make upfor the traditional jobs lost if it goes into effect, our board decided.”

Looking for Job Creation? Bradford County, PA, Hotbed of MarcellusDevelopment and Home to 60,000 Residents Adds 2,500 Shale Related Jobs in OneYear (!)The Daily Item (10/24/10)reports, “There will be jobs — that was one of the promises of theMarcellus Shale drilling project in northcentral Pennsylvania. The direct workforce to drill one well calls for about 410 people working in 150 variouspositions, according to the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center’sNeeds Assessment from June 2009. In August, the unemployment rate was 7.2percent in Bradford County — home of Towanda, which some consider to beground zero for the gas drilling — according to the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics. "I’m asked that all the time: Why do we still see so manyOklahoma and Texas and West Virginia license plates?" said Frank Thompson,deputy director of the Northern Tier Regional Planning and DevelopmentCommission in Towanda. The natural gas industry has been upstate now for about18 months, and so much is changing so fast, from roads to business to the costof living there. Bradford County’s unemployment rate actually has improved overa year. In August 2009, it was almost 9 percent; that’s a 1.7 percent drop,according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tioga County, also a MarcellusShale drilling area, has 8.4 percent unemployment, an improvement from 9percent the year before. "There are 2,500 more employed people,"Thompson said. "And for a county of about 60,000, it’s just staggering. Iwas floored, and it had to happen three or four straight months before Ibelieved that kind of thing could happen here."

New Truck Tax. EPA/DOT Regulations on Tractor Trailers Sure to IncreaseCost of Transporting Goods by 18-Wheelers; Turns Out, That’s 70 Percent ofEverything.Boston Globe (10/24/10)reports, “The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Departmentare moving ahead with a proposal for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, beginningwith those sold in the 2014 model year and into the 2018 model year. The planis expected to call for about a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissionsand fuel consumption for long-haul trucks, said people familiar with the plan.They spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to speakpublicly before the official announcement, expected today. Overall, theproposal is expected to seek reductions of 10 to 20 percent in fuel consumptionand emissions, depending on vehicle size. Large tractor-trailers tend to bedriven up to 150,000 miles a year, making them candidates for improved mileage.The rules would cover big-rig tractor-trailers, “vocational trucks’’ such asgarbage trucks and transit and school buses, and work trucks such as heavy-dutyversions of the Ford F-Series, Dodge Ram, and Chevrolet Silverado. The WhiteHouse has pushed for tougher fuel standards as a way of reducing dependence onoil and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which are linked to global warming. Newcars, pickup trucks, and SUVs would need to reach 35.5 miles per gallon by2016, and the government is developing plans that could push the standards to47 to 62 miles per gallon by 2025.”

Must Read Bonus Clip: NationalGeographic Takes In-Depth, Well-Balanced Look at Shale Gas Revolution.

Who Really Killed theElectric Car? Its Battery Pack – the One Featured on the Nissan LeafCosts $16,000 – With Very Little Hope of Price Coming Down.Wall Street Journal (10/19) reports, “The push to get electriccars on the road is backed by governments and auto makers around the world, butthey face a big hurdle: the stubbornly high cost of the giant battery packs,which can account for more than half the cost of an electric vehicle. Both theindustry and government are betting that a quick takeoff in electric-car saleswill drive down the battery prices. But a number of scientists and automotiveengineers believe cost reductions will be hard to come by. Unlike with tires ortoasters, battery packs aren’t likely to enjoy traditional economies of scaleas their makers ramp up production, the scientists and engineers say. Theseexperts say increased production of batteries means the price of the key metalsused in their manufacture will remain steady—or maybe even rise—atleast in the short term. They also say the price of the electronic parts usedin battery packs as well as the enclosures that house the batteries aren’tlikely to decline appreciably. Current industry estimates say the battery packin the all-electric Nissan Leaf compact car coming out in December costs NissanMotor Co. about $15,600. That cost will make it difficult for the Leaf, whichis priced at $33,000, to turn a profit. And it also may make the Leaf a toughsell, since even with federal tax breaks of $7,500, the car will cost about twicethe $13,520 starting price of the similar-size Nissan Versa hatchback.

By the Numbers: 18 Billion Gallons of Water Flows ThroughPA’s Susquehanna Watershed Each Day – How Much Do Marcellus ProducersNeed? 2 Million Gallons.Williamsport Sun-Gazette (10/17) reports, “According to theSusquehanna River Basin Commission, the gas industry is removing about 2million gallons of water per day from the watershed, though it is permitted toremove 25 to 30 million gallons. That is a drop in the bucket compared to theamount of water flowing out of the watershed at any given moment, he said."We have a decent idea that on average, there’s about 18 million gallons perminute that flow from the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake Bay," Richenderfersaid. "That equates to 26 billion gallons per day." Richenderfer saidthe bay is the river’s sole discharge point, though water also leaves thewatershed through other means, such as evaporation and consumption. Gasindustry usage ranks fourth behind the water supply, power generation andrecreation industries, according to the commission. The water-supply sector -the largest water-consuming sector in the basin – is permitted to remove about325 million gallons of water per day from the basin. The number-two and -threewater-consuming sectors – power generation and recreation – are permitted touse 150 million and 50 million gallons per day, respectively. Gas explorationcompanies seek withdrawal permits from multiple sources to ensure they haveplenty to use in case one or more sources become unavailable, Richenderfersaid.

Interior Design: WesternEnergy Alliance Sues Interior, Salazar for Withholding $100 Million Worth ofLeases from the Folks Who Bid On, Paid For Them.E&E News(10/18, subs. req’d) reports, “Oil and gas companies sued the InteriorDepartment today for failing to issue Western minerals leases long after theleases have been paid for. In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court inWyoming, the Western Energy Alliance and several oil and gas companies allegethat Interior is violating mineral laws by failing to issue leases within 60days of selling them. The alliance is asking Interior to issue 118 pendingleases in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and other Western states. Energy developerspaid Interior more than $4.5 million for the leases between 2005 and 2008, saidKathleen Sgamma, the alliance’s director of government affairs. The 118 leasesrepresent a "sliver" of the total number that Interior is holdingpast the 60-day limit, Sgamma said, putting the total worth of the withheldleases at more than $100 million. Politico’s MorningEnvironmentalist (10/19)reports, “WEA’s Jon Haubert says the group plans a second suit challengingBLM’s new categorical exclusion policy. "The lawsuit is aimed at what weconsider to be an unlawful rewrite of the specific, limited categoricalexclusions mandated by Congress for situations where the environmental impactis low and/or existing documentation has already been conducted in accordancewith NEPA," Haubert said.

Boiler Makers: EPA Not Usedto Getting Push-Back from House, Senate Dems on Outrageous Stuff It Proposes– But Then Came the Boiler Rule, and All Hell Broke Loose. Politico (10/19) reports, “It is clear to us that, if not significantlyrevised, this proposal will cause the permanent loss of a large number of[well-paying] jobs, well beyond the job losses contemplated in EPA’s economicanalyses,” the trade groups said in comments filed with the agency in August. Many boilers would shut down under the new rules, they said, either becausethey wouldn’t be able to achieve the strict standards or because the costswould be too high. Some of the EPA’s friends in Congress have joined stalwartEPA foes like Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) in attacking the rules. Largebipartisan groups in both the House and the Senate have penned letters to EPAAdministrator Lisa Jackson in recent months that echo industries’ concerns,warning of dire economic consequences and urging the agency to set standardsthat are more favorable to businesses. More than 100 House members —including 45 Democrats — urged the EPA in August to consider flexibleapproaches “that could prevent severe job losses and billions of dollars inunnecessary regulatory costs.” Seventeen Senate Democrats last month joined 24Republicans in sending a separate letter that detailed the same concerns usingsimilar language.

In a Week in Which Prof.Calzada Is Once Again in the USA, Dispatch from Spain Details Just How AwfulGreen Hand-Outs Have Been for Spanish Economy.Bloomberg (10/19) reports, “Spain stands as a lesson to other aspiringgreen-energy nations, including China and the U.S., by showing how difficult itis to build an alternative energy industry even with billions of euros insubsidies, says Ramon de la Sota, a private investor in Spanish photovoltaicpanels and a former General Electric Co. executive. “The government totallyovershot with the tariff,” de la Sota says. “Now they have a huge bill to pay– but where’s the technology, where’s the know-how, where’s the value?” U.S.President Barack Obama highlighted solar energy as part of his plan to creategreen jobs this month with a decision to install photovoltaic panels on theroof of the White House. In 2007, the Spanish parliament approved Zapatero’splan to introduce a feed-in solar tariff — called that because it fixed theprice at which producers can sell their power to the grid — for photovoltaic plantsat 10 times the wholesale rate. Spain’s number crunchers failed to anticipatethe spiraling cost of an open-ended incentive, says Charles Yonts, a renewable-energy analyst at CLSA Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Spain is the poster child of howthings can go badly awry,” he says. “Far too much money was being paid out.”

We Love This Strategy: NRDCReleases Push-Poll Designed to Give Allies in Congress the Nerve to Stand Upand Defend (!) Vote on Cap-and-Raid.ClimateWire (10/18, subs. req’d) reports, “A majorenvironmental group is encouraging vulnerable House Democrats to stand by theircontroversial vote last year on climate legislation amid heavy campaignattacks. The group points to a series of new polls that show there would bestrong support for renewable energy platforms put forward by hypotheticalcandidates. The Natural Resources Defense Council surveyed likely voters in 23congressional districts where Democratic incumbents are locked in tight racesthat might determine control of Congress next year. The polling revealedmajority support for clean energy messages, versus Republican attacks on"energy taxes," in 21 of the battleground districts. The outcome wastoo close to call in two races. "The repetition of opposition messagescombined with money that’s been spent on this issue and the Senate’s failure toact has really fed into a story line that somehow support for clean energylegislation has become a tough sell," said Heather Taylor-Miesle, directorof the NRDC Action Fund. "If anything, what it tells me is if I keep mymouth shut and I get elected, people will actually support the policy as longas we just ultimately come back to it and call it something different, and tryto explain it to them in a better and different way," Leiserowitz said.

Scream IV: Actor DavidArquette Joins James Cameron, Usual Suspects, to Funnel Tens of Millions ofDollars Into Opposition to Proposition 23. Politico’s MorningEnvironmentalist (10/19)reports, “Actor David Arquette joins Academy Award-nominated director MatthewCooke in Sacramento today to unveil a new video critical of the Californiaballot initiative that would effectively kill the state’s main climate law.Arquette stars in "You Can’t Bully California," which will beavailable on social networking sites, YouTube and other No on 23 campaignsites. Video will be up at 5 p.m. EDT. Opponents of Prop 23 are clobberingtheir rivals when it comes to fundraising. Team No has surged over the lastweek to $27 million compared to $9 million for the yes camp. Several bigspenders over the last week for the no side include: the National WildlifeFederation ($3 million), "Avatar" director James Cameron ($1 million),former Intel CEO Gordon Moore ($1 million), venture capitalist Vinod Khosla($1.04 million), Climateworks Foundation ($900,000), Rockefeller Family Fund($300,000), PG&E ($250,000) and Google co-founder Sergey Brin ($200,000). The biggest checks over the last week for Team Yes came from Texas-based CVREnergy ($150,000) and $5,000 apiece from a southern California tomato farmer(The Morning Star Co.) and Ingomar Packing Co. of Los Banos.

Must Read: U.S.-Based TidesFoundation, Funders of NRDC, Sierra, Et. Al, Sending Tens of Millions ofDollars Across the Border to Fight Development of Canadian Energy.Financial Post (10/14) reports, “Like most protests, theone against oil tankers has all the look and feel of a Canadian grassrootsmovement. The campaign against Alberta’s oil sands also seems to rise out ofthe people, but the interesting thing is that there are very few roots underthat grass. Money comes in from a small core of U.S. charitable groups. One ofthose groups — the U.S. Tides Foundation of California and its Canadiancounterpart have paid millions to at least 36 campaign organizations. All themoney, at least US$6-million, comes from a single, foreign charity. The TidesU.S. campaign against Alberta oil is a campaign against one of Canada’s mostimportant industries. It’s fair for Canadians to inquire about who’s fundingthis campaign and why. The trouble is, nobody knows. But Tides U.S. is notalone. U.S. tax returns and public records show that Tides U.S. and charitiesbased in California and New York have granted US$15-million since 2003specifically for campaigns against Alberta oil and against oil tanker trafficand pipelines through British Columbia. The purposes for these grants areclearly outlined in the filings. For example, Tides U.S. received US$700,000 in2009 from the Oak Foundation of San Francisco “to raise the visibility of thetar sands issue and slow the expansion of tar sands production by stopping newinfrastructure development.”

Only Two Minor Issues withElectric Cars, Reports WSJ: 1) They Won’t Reduce Emissions and 2) No One KnowsHow to “Recycle” the Rare Earth Lithium Batteries; Other Than That, They’reAwesome.Wall Street Journal (10/18) reports, “Today, though, manybuyers of electric cars will be charging up on power created by burning coal."For modern coal-fired power plants, if you drive a mile on electricity itis practically the same as having driven it with a Prius," said EladioKnipping, a researcher with the EPRI. Another potentially troubling issue withthe coming generation of electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles iswhether their lithium-ion battery packs will be recycled. As it stands, fewrecycling companies will even take laptop and cellphone batteries, let alonethe exponentially larger battery packs used in electric cars. Everything inthe packs can be recycled, but it’s just not economically worthwhile to do so,experts say. Realizing they could face an environmental backlash if batterypacks start ending up in landfills, car companies including General Motors Co.and Nissan Motor Co. are studying ways to give old car batteries a second lifeonce a car is scrapped or the batteries reach the end of their ability to becharged fully. GM has partnered with Swiss company ABB and Nissan with SumitomoCorp. of Japan, both of which are looking at ways to use the old batteries asbackup storage in the electrical grid.

Isn’t EDF Supposed to Bethe “Moderate” One? New Ad from Environmental Defense Fund Shows Little Girl ina Hospital Bed – All ‘Cuz Kit Bond Opposed EPA Carbon Criminalization. Politico’s Morning Environmentalist (10/18) reports,“The Environmental Defense Fund will begin running a new TV spot today blastingSen. Kit Bond for his efforts to block U.S. EPA from writing new air pollutionrules. The ads will run throughout the week in major media markets in theretiring senator’s home state of Missouri. The 30-second video makes nomention of global warming or greenhouse gases, but instead focuses on thepotential health impacts of air pollution, complete with video of a young girlin a hospital bed. Watch the not-so-subtle ad here. Bond is on the greens’ naughty list as aresult of his unsuccessful bid last month to attach an amendment to the defensebill that would have undercut EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions and hisopposition to tighter standards on mercury pollution from boilers. "WhileSenator Bond’s efforts did not succeed, it is clear that this is the beginningof a sustained assault on the air pollution rules that protect the health ofall Americans," EDF’s Tony Kreindler e-mails Morning Energy. A WARNINGSHOT – "While Senator Bond is retiring, we intend this ad to be [a]message to any Member of Congress – Democrat or Republican – who might considerfollowing his lead in the weeks and months ahead," Kreindler said.

Installed Solar in US WillEqual Power Capacity of One Nuclear Reactor By End of 2010 – But It WillGo No Further, Says NYT, Because Applications for Free Gov’t Money Are “TooLengthy.”NY Times (10/17) reports, “The U.S. solar energy industry is having itsbest year ever, yet financing remains scarce for the billion-dollar projectsneeded for it to gain ground on global leaders like Germany. For the U.S. solarsector to move up from rooftop add-on technology to the scale of fossil fuelpower plants, the country needs to build large plants covering hundreds ofacres. Each can cost as much as $1 billion, a huge sum for the nascent industryto finance, even with U.S. government incentives. U.S. solar sales are ontrack to reach about one gigwatt this year, equivalent to one nuclear reactor.Globally, solar installations are expected to reach 14 gigawatts this year. Atleast half of that will come in Germany, where developers have rushed to buildprojects before financial incentives are cut. The U.S. government has twoprograms to help the industry: a cash grant that pays 30 percent of projectcosts for plants under construction by Dec. 31, and a loan guarantee programthat covers as much as 80 percent of project costs. Applicants to the loanguarantee program have complained that the process is too lengthy and murky,leading to just a handful of projects’ winning approval. “We and everyone else”need a loan guarantee, said Solar Trust’s chief executive, Uwe T. Schmidt. “Weand everyone else need a cash grant.”

Supporters of California’sJob-Killing Climate Law Outspending Opponents By 2 to 1 Margin – Promiseto Dump Even More Dough into the Referendum These Last Two Weeks. The Hill (10/17) reports, “California has become the primarybattleground for environmental activists this election cycle thanks to a ballotinitiative that would stymie a first-in-the-nation cap on greenhouse gasemissions. The Proposition 23 measure would suspend California’s global warminglaw — which calls for a reduction in emissions back to 1990 levels by2020 — unless the state’s unemployment rate drops below 5.5 percent.Currently, the state’s unemployment rate is 12.4 percent, the third highest inthe nation. Protecting California’s global warming law has become a top priorityfor environmental activists who are still smarting over the defeat ofcomprehensive energy legislation in Congress this year. If the law survives theballot challenge, it could become a model for other states to emulate.Opponents of the ballot measure have outraised supporters about 2-1 and raisedmore than $16 million, including $5 million from billionaire asset manager TomSteyer, co-chair of the “No on Prop 23” Campaign. The League of ConservationVoters and its sister organization, LCV Education Fund, have committed $1.2million so far to defeat Prop 23, the group announced Thursday — morethan they are spending on any candidate races this year.

Perspective: Calif. Leadsthe Nation in Wacky Enviro Mandates – And How’s That Done For Them? StateHas the Third Highest Unemployment Rate in U.S. Wall Street Journal (10/18) editorializes, “California’sclimate change law (known as AB 32) mandates a 30% cut in carbon emissions fromcars, trucks, utilities, agriculture and other businesses by 2020, with a webof new taxes and regulations that take effect in 2012. Governor ArnoldSchwarzenegger sees AB 32 as his crowning achievement and is assailingsupporters of Proposition 23 as "black oil hearts [who are] spendingmillions and millions of dollars" to promote their own "self-servinggreed." In reality, dozens of industries support the initiative, andArnold never mentions that much of the money to defeat Proposition 23 alsocomes from energy companies. Alternative energy investors realize that withoutnew taxes on carbon energy and mandates for "renewables" like windand solar, so-called clean energy sources can’t compete. Environmentalistscounter that "green jobs" will save the day, as if a millionCalifornians will make windmills and solar panels. California already leads thenation in regulations and subsidies to boost alternative energy, and it stillhas the third highest jobless rate in the nation. Voters are also told the lawwould reduce the state’s carbon footprint and save the planet from globalwarming. Except it can’t and it won’t. No single state—even one the sizeof California—can reduce global emissions by unilaterally taxing and regulating.

“Brute Force”: RecognizingHis Time Might Be Limited in White House, Obama and Advisors Said to BeConsidering “Unilateral” Approach to Making American Energy More Expensive. Washington Post (10/17) reports, “The president could alsochoose to use – or threaten to use – his executive powers to get some of whathe wants done without seeking congressional approval. Last year, he backed EPAAdministrator Lisa P. Jackson’s decision to enact tough new regulations oncarbon emissions unless Congress takes action. Similarly, President George W.Bush, faced with opposition from Democrats in Congress, made significantchanges to federal environmental rules to make it easier for the oil and gasindustry to explore on federal lands. Obama’s lack of a specific plan for thesecond half of his term contrasts with the blueprint he drew up as he preparedto take office in 2009. He and his advisers carefully plotted what theyintended to do and in what order they intended to do it. Health care was thecenterpiece, of course, but Obama even instructed aides to begin making listsof possible nominees for the Supreme Court. “The biggest difference is going tobe that we had a unique situation as we took office that required us to doextraordinary things that were not particularly popular," said RobertGibbs, the White House press secretary.

Moses Was Right: U.S.-BasedEnergy Companies Get Set to Tap Massive Natural Gas Reserve Off the Coast ofIsrael – Enough In One Field to Supply Nation for 100 Years. Wall Street Journal (10/18) reports, “Oil companies in Israel,led by Texas-based Noble Energy Inc. this week are expected to start drillingone of the world’s most promising natural-gas prospects of recent years,according to executives. Seismic surveys show the Leviathan prospect, located135 kilometers, or about 84 miles, off Israel’s northern coast, may hold 16trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to supply all of Israel’s gas needsfor 100 years. Leviathan follows the 2009 discovery of Tamar, an offshore gasfield containing 8 trillion cubic feet, which was the largest gas find in theworld in 2009 and the largest ever for Israel. For most of Israel’s history,energy prospectors searched in vain for oil, lamenting the country’s lack ofenergy resources in a region awash in oil. International energy companiesavoided Israel for fear of angering Arab and Muslim states with vast energyresources. Israel’s luck started to turn with a modest offshore gas find in2000. The discovery of Tamar nine years later that triggered the current boom. "Wecan say that Israel’s natural-gas needs will be covered for more than 20 yearsto come by Tamar," said Delek’s Mr. Tadmor. "It’s a dramatic changefrom a macroeconomic and political perspective.