News

Soundthe Alarm: AEA Study Laying Out Consequences of Obama Energy Tax Hikes (154KJobs Lost!) Generates Headlines from La Jolla to Leo Carillo, and Up to Pismo.GrandRapid (Mich.) Press (9/13) reports, "President Obama’s proposed energy taxchanges could cost up to 154,000 jobs, according to a new study released today.The report, "Regional and National Economic Impact of Repealing theSection 199 Tax Deduction and Dual-capacity Tax Credit for Oil and GasProducers," comes from economist Joseph R. Mason at LSU. His report wassponsored by Save U.S. Energy Jobs – a project of the American Energy Alliance,a nonprofit organization that engages in public policy advocacy and debateconcerning energy and environmental policies. The AEA is the advocacy arm ofthe Institute for Energy Research (IER), a research group that advocates for"freely-functioning energy markets." According to Mason’s report,Obama’s proposed changes, which would end certain deductions and exemptions forU.S. gas and oil companies, would raise the cost of doing business in the U.S.and result in 154,000 lost jobs by the end of 2011. "Though politiciansthink they are selectively targeting ‘Big Oil’ with these energy tax proposals,they would actually devastate thousands of small American businesses nationwideas well as the workers who depend on them," Mason writes.

ShallowThinking: Interior Continues to Play Hide-the-Permit Shell-Game with EnergyOperators in Shallow Gulf – Leading to Lost Jobs, Squandered Revenue. TheHill (9/13) reports, "Oil-and-gas companies that drill in shallow Gulf ofMexico waters on Monday said they’re at an "impasse" with the InteriorDepartment over permitting policies they allege are bringing the industry to astandstill. The Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition met Monday morning inLouisiana with Michael Bromwich, who directs Interior’s Bureau of Ocean EnergyManagement, but the meeting failed to produce reassurances about speeding uppermits the group is seeking. "With 15 of the total of 46 available shallowwater rigs now idle without permits, and only five permits for new wells issuedsince April, we are clearly at an impasse with the regulators. While we shareDirector Bromwich’s commitment to safety, BOEM must recognize that it cannot continueto shove a square peg into a round hole by treating all offshore drillingoperations the same, disregarding history and geological facts," said Jim Noe,the group’s executive director who is also a top executive with Houston-basedHercules Offshore Inc.

EPAForum on HF was Supposed to Draw 8,000 Protestors, NRDC Told Us – Instead,About 300 Showed Up; And Most Didn’t Even Stay for Lunch. Reuters(9/13) reports, "More than 1,600 officials and citizens were due to testifyover two days at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stakeholder meeting inBinghamton, in upstate New York. Critics and supporters of drilling turned outto voice their opinions as part of the EPA’s two-year study on possible impactsof high-volume horizontal gas drilling on drinking water. Across the road, acrowd held signs reading "Yes to science, No to Paranoia" anddescribed themselves as the "true environmentalists." "We’re notgoing to let some gas company come in and ruin our property," said MarthaKirby, who owns 122 acres in Chenango Forks, New York, that she hopes to leaseto a gas company. "The folks that keep asking for studies, there willnever be enough studies for them," said Travis Windle, a spokesman for theindustry group the Marcellus Shale Coalition. He said deep water oil drillingand shale gas drilling had nothing in common. Asked if he worried the publicwas turning against drilling, he said: "A well-educated landowner is ourstrongest ally." By some estimates, the Marcellus shale holds enough gasto meet U.S. demand for at least a decade. Environmental groups were initiallysupportive of gas drilling, describing it as a domestic "bridge fuel"to renewable sources and away from foreign oil and coal.

LittleHelp from Her Friends: Head of Interstate Gov’t Agency with Quasi-Authorityover Marcellus Activities Attends Fundraiser for Anti-Shale Group. E&E News (9/13,subs. req’d) reports, "It seemed like an innocent request. In the spring, CarolCollier, executive director of the little-known but powerful Delaware RiverBasin Commission (DRBC), accepted an environmental group’s invitation to serveon a panel about natural gas drilling. She saw it as a way to explain what heragency was doing on gas drilling. But to supporters of drilling, it looked liketaking sides, because the panel was part of a fundraiser for an environmentalgroup fighting Marcellus Shale drilling. "They are raising money to bringa lawsuit against you," Marian Schweighofer, head of a pro-drillinglandowners’ group, warned her in an e-mail. She also blasted an urgent bulletinto her organization’s 1,500 members. Collier at first defended her attendance,then backed out, acknowledging to her critics that it presented a"perception problem." "I was not aware [at first] it was reallya fundraiser," Collier said in an interview. It was a taste of thehigh-stakes, high-dollar battle playing out in front of DRBC about the breadthand scope of Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania and New York.

Mutiny:Two Senate Dems Tell Reporters They’ll Support Effort in Approps Committee toMake Clear that EPA Has No Authority to Unilaterally Dismantle US Economy. E&E News (9/14,subs. req’d) reports, "Two Senate Democrats yesterday said they may support anamendment to block U.S. EPA climate rules, increasing the odds of its successwhen the Senate Appropriations Committee votes Thursday on EPA’s budget. Thepotential supporters of an appropriations rider are Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), both of whom are co-sponsors of a bill from Sen. JayRockefeller (D-W.Va.) that would freeze EPA’s ability to regulate emissionsfrom stationary sources for two years. "I’d like to see what amendmentsare offered, and I’ll make a judgment about that," Dorgan said. "I dothink that it makes sense to have some time here to have Congress make theultimate decision rather than EPA." Chris Gallegos, a spokesman forAppropriations Committee ranking member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), yesterday saidhe expects to see amendments related to greenhouse gas regulations and offshoredrilling. It remains to be seen who would propose the measures and how broadtheir scope would be.

ThatWas Quick: One Week After Enviro Group Clean Energy Works Says It’s Closing UpShop, Influx of Tides Cash Allows It to Keep Churning Out the Garbage. Greenwire (9/13, subs.req’d) reports, "A coalition thwarted in its effort to secure climatelegislation will launch a campaign this week aimed at protecting what it seesas a last line of defense: U.S. EPA’s ability to regulate carbon pollution.Clean Energy Works, an alliance of about 80 environmental, labor, religious,veteran and other groups, plans a host of strategies including television ads,petitions and town hall meetings. "If we’re going to do this in ameaningful way at the federal level, it’s got to happen through EPA," saidSteve Cochran, vice president of Environmental Defense Fund’s climate and airprogram and a member of Clean Energy Works. "There’s no other way to dealwith greenhouse gases at the federal level." The group insists that it’snot disappearing. Politico last week reported that the group planned to shutdown. "They won’t talk about climate change, it will just be ‘pollutioncontrol,’" said Ken Green, resident scholar with American EnterpriseInstitute think tank in an e-mail. "They’ll move to state and local levelsand claim that greenhouse gases are pollutants that need regulating under statelaw, local law, laws affecting waterways, laws affecting species, laws affectingzoning, etc."

ActivistsWant WH to Install Carter-Era Solar Panels on Roof – And Can’t for the Life ofThem Understand Why Obama Political Advisors Don’t Want Anything to Do with It. E&E News (9/14,subs. req’d) reports, "But last week, White House officials essentially shotdown the idea, telling 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben that they woulddeliberate about future possibilities and releasing a vague statement onObama’s commitment to renewable energy. "It’s one thing after the midtermsto compare yourself to Bill Clinton, the comeback kid," said StuartRothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, a nonpartisan tip sheet."It’s another thing to compare yourself to someone who was, as president,a failure." Other theories exist as to why the White House is so touchyabout solar panels. Some say the panels would not be effective enough tojustify installing them; others blame it on bureaucracy. The New York Times’Andrew Revkin hypothesized that putting solar panels on the roof would come upagainst difficult security hurdles in a post-9/11 world. McKibben said WhiteHouse officials "wouldn’t give us a reason" for their apprehension."They said only that the WH had ‘a deliberate process’ for deciding, butwhile it may be deliberate it’s also a little obscure since they wouldn’t tellus what it was," he said in an e-mail. As for the touchy Carterconnection, McKibben maintained that while "legend has him as ineffective… clearly in this case he was fairly able" when it came to promotingsolar power.

MatchMade In … : Duke Energy, Long-Sufferer of WH Stockholm Syndrome, AnnouncesPlans to Team Up with Communist China on Solar and Wind. Bloomberg(9/13) reports, "Duke Energy Corp., owner of utilities in the U.S. Southeastand Midwest, may cooperate with Chinese companies on power projects outside ofthe Asian country, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Rogers said. TheCharlotte, North Carolina-based company seeks joint investment in wind power,solar energy and utilities in the U.S., as well as hydro power in SouthAmerica, Rogers said at the World Economic Forum Summer Davos meetings inTianjin, China. "Our focus is really on partnering and going out together as aChinese-American consortium to develop opportunities outside of China," Rogerssaid, without identifying the possible companies. "I say to our partners, let’spartner, we’ll conquer the world. We bring capital, we bring expertise, webring scaling." Duke gets 90 percent of its revenue from the U.S. and about 9percent from South American countries including Peru, Ecuador and Argentina.

Collateral Damage: New AEA StudySheds Light on Real Targets of Obama "BigOil" Tax Hike: 154,000 US Jobs Lost, $68 Billion in Lost Wages. AEA announces (9/13) new study on SaveUSenergyjobs.org,"LSU professor and renowned economist Dr. Joseph R. Mason estimates thatPresident Obama’s proposed energy tax changes would trigger grave economicconsequences. In the newly released "Regional and National Economic Impact ofRepealing the Section 199 Tax Deduction and Dual-capacity Tax Credit for Oiland Gas Producers," Dr. Mason finds the resulting fallout over the next tenyears would include: Initial losses of over 154,000 jobs by the end of 2011,not only in the energy sector but across the whole economy;  More than $341 billion in lost U.S.economic output; and  In excess of$68 billion in lost wages nationwide. "As we’ve seen in its 2011 budget and newly unveiled ‘stimulus’ plans,the Obama administration aims to single out U.S. oil and gas firms and raisethe cost of energy for consumers by eliminating crucial tax credits to whichall taxpayers are entitled," Dr. Mason said. The discriminatory energy taxincreases proposed by the administration will destroy American jobs and raisethe price of energy for consumers," president and CEO of the American EnergyAlliance Tom Pyle said. "President Obama’s proposed changes – which would applysolely to oil and gas companies – have little to do with the debate over offshoredrilling safety or even energy policy in general. This tax grab merelyrepresents punitive policies that are now finding a place in the sun in thepost-BP oil spill crisis political environment."

Bayou Bengal: Sen. LandrieuContinues to Hold WH to Account for Devastation Wrought by Offshore Ban – WillHold Hearing This Week Demanding Admin Defend Its Policy. E&E News (9/13,subs. req’d) reports, "Gulf Coast senators will continue their efforts to chipaway at the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling moratorium Thursday.Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has calleda hearing of the committee to receive a report from the administration aboutthe effect the moratorium has had on small businesses. She demanded theeconomic impact data in July after administration officials failed to have itfor a previous hearing. Landrieu said Christina Romer, chairwoman of thePresident’s Council of Economic Advisers, told her outside the hearing that theadministration did not have such data but could assemble it by mid-September.The moratorium has been unpopular among political leaders on the Gulf Coast,because oil production is a significant part of the local economy. Thecommittee includes two of Landrieu’s fellow Gulf Coast lawmakers, Sens. DavidVitter (R-La.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Vitter and Landrieu shared centerstage at the July hearing and an August field hearing in Lafayette, La. In bothinstances they heard from a string of witnesses who said the moratorium wasseverely damaging Louisiana’s petroleum-dependent economy. Several smallbusiness owners testified that the effects of the moratorium were tricklingdown to them.

Bombshell: Federal Gov’t ShelledOut $216,625 in Taxpayer Dollars for "No-Bid" Contract to Defenders of Wildlife to Do a Study It Had No Capability to Do. AssociatedPress (9/13) reports, "The federal government hired a New Orleans man for$18,000 to appraise whether news stories about its actions in the Gulf oilspill were positive or negative for the Obama administration, which was keenlysensitive to comparisons between its response and former President George W.Bush’s much-maligned reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The government also spent$10,000 for just over three minutes of video showing a routine offshore riginspection for news organizations but couldn’t say whether any ran the footage.And it awarded a $216,625 no-bid contract for a survey of seabirds to anenvironmental group that has criticized what it calls the "extremeanti-conservation record" of Sarah Palin, a possible 2012 rival toPresident Barack Obama. The contracts were among hundreds reviewed by TheAssociated Press as the government begins to provide an early glimpse atfederal spending since the Gulf disaster in April. While most of the contractsdon’t raise alarms, some could provide ammunition for critics of governmentwaste. The group, Defenders of Wildlife, received a $216,625 noncompetitivecontract from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a seabird survey in the BPspill area. Both Defenders of Wildlife and its political arm, the DefendersAction Fund, have criticized Palin, a former Alaska governor, for supportinguse of low-flying airplanes to hunt wolves and other wildlife in winter.

Mutiny: Even DemocraticGovernors Starting to Join the Fray in Fighting Back Against Usurpation of EPAand Carbon Criminalization – Wyoming the Latest to Say No. Greenwire (9/10, subs.req’d) reports, "EPA is planning to take over permitting programs for statesthat can’t or won’t comply with the Obama administration’s climate rules bynext year, but some officials are arguing that the agency has not given themenough time to align with the federal program and that it is premature to forcestates to comply with regulations that are being challenged in court. DemocraticWyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal yesterday became the latest state official tocriticize EPA’s plans to bring states into alignment. Freudenthal said hisstate will not have the authority to implement the agency’s "tailoringrule" for greenhouse gases — which would require some large facilities tolimit their greenhouse gas emissions — by EPA’s Jan. 2 deadline. Wyoming wouldfirst need to amend state law, which could not occur before the 2011legislative session, he said. "I have serious concerns about EPA’simplementation timelines," Freudenthal wrote in comments to EPA."Given that there are dozens of petitions concerning not only theTailoring Rule but also the foundation for that rule, there is a highlikelihood that any permitting strategy imposed on the states at this junctureis premature." Dozens of groups including states, industries and advocacygroups have asked a federal appeals court to review EPA’s tailoring rule,endangerment finding and other climate policies in cases that are pending.

This Is Rich: Cal-Berkeley "Scholars"Say Efforts to Delay Job-Killing AB 32 from Taking Effect Would Be Bad forEconomy – Since It Might Lead to "Legal Confusion" (!) ClimateWire (9/10,subs. req’d) Suspension of California’s climate law would lead to regulatoryuncertainty and likely cause a domino effect in other states looking to limitgreenhouse gas emissions, argues a new analysis from prominent faculty membersat the University of California, Berkeley. The study on what effect Proposition23 — which will ask California voters this fall to delay the climate law –might have on the state’s legal system and economy was conducted by UCBerkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. The conclusion wasessentially this: Don’t vote for Prop 23. "Since most significant climatepolicy efforts in California are linked to [the climate law], its suspensioncould lead to legal and regulatory confusion," said UC Berkeley lawprofessor and co-author of the analysis Daniel Farber, who believes thereferendum would freeze climate regulations indefinitely because it is tied tounemployment dropping to 5.5 percent for a full year. Also on board theanalysis were Daniel Kammen, a UC Berkeley professor of energy and formeradviser to President Obama (who this week was appointed to lead the WorldBank’s clean energy strategy), and Michael Hanemann, an environmental economistand professor at the college. Both said suspending the climate law, A.B. 32, isbad idea.

This Is Even Better: SeparateReport Says AB 32 Will Help Mitigate Price Shocks at Pump – Since It WillEnsure Gas Prices Remain High All theTime. LATimes (9/13) reports, "California’s 2006 global warming law would save thestate’s consumers as much as $670 per household in 2020, in the event of aglobal surge in the price of crude oil, according to a report released Mondayby economists for alternative energy advocacy groups. The U.S. economy hasexperienced five price shocks over the past three decades in which crude oilprices rose an average of 179% in one year. The study is aimed at countering aNovember ballot initiative, Proposition 23, which would delay implementation ofthe global warming law. Its analysis is based on projections for 2020, andconservatively assumes only a doubling of crude oil and natural gas prices. The55-page report was authored by economists from three organizations: Energy IndependenceNow, the Center for Resource Solutions and the Environmental Defense Fund.Proponents of Prop 23, however, say the global warming law, which promotessolar, wind and alternative fuels to replace oil, gas and coal, will increasethe price of energy. They project up to a 60% rise in electricity rates, up to57% higher natural gas rates, and a $3.7 billion annual increase in the cost ofgasoline and diesel fuel.

Bode’s In Motion: AWEA BurningThru Every Dollar It’s Got This Week to Put Full-Court Press on Lawmakers -Demand They Pass Expensive Energy Mandates Before They Leave. Govs. Chet Culver and Don Carcieri write (9/13)in Politico,"We are the leaders of the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition, a bipartisan grouprepresenting citizens across the nation. We convened to address some of America’smost pressing needs – job creation, secure energy supplies and cost-effectivecarbon emissions reductions. Governors from California and Oregon to Minnesotaand Maine agree that among the best ways to address these issues is to harnessthe economic and environmental benefits of domestic renewable electricityproduction. The way to do that is by passing a strong RES – to ensure rapidgrowth of the nation’s wind and other renewable electricity sources. We aretoday sending a letter to Senate leadership, urging the prompt adoption of astrong national RES. A strong RES must be the cornerstone of our nation’s newclean energy economy. It won’t mean just wind farms in Iowa or off the coast ofRhode Island – though it would expand job opportunities in both our states. TheRES remains the most economically efficient way to create opportunity all overthe country and throughout the supply-chain in energy manufacturing; newproject construction and associated transmission, and continuing operation andmaintenance of these facilities. We all agree that creating jobs must be a national priority.

Alaska Gov.Takes Salazar to Court Over Offshore Moratorium; Get This, Salazar Flack DeniesSuch a Moratorium Exists (!) TheAP(9/9) reports, "The state claimed Thursday that the Interior Departmentillegally halted offshore drilling in Arctic waters, even though the departmentsaid there’s no such moratorium in place. Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said InteriorSecretary Ken Salazar illegally imposed a moratorium because he failed toconsult with state officials, did not consider the economic effects and did notissue a written decision explaining the basis for the action. Such requirementsare specified under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Aspokeswoman for the Interior Department, Kendra Barkoff, said there is nomoratorium on offshore drilling in Alaska and therefore no basis to sue.Salazar last week had referred to a moratorium on Arctic drilling but laterclarified his remarks to say there was not. At the heart of Alaska’s argumentis Salazar’s decision this summer to withhold approval for Shell Oil to drillexploratory wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Parnell said Alaska’s economicgrowth potential was at risk by Salazar’s decision. Shell Alaska spokesmanCurtis Smith said in an e-mail that the company believes Alaska is justified insuing. "Our progress in Alaska has been severely compromised by unforeseenevents that are not related to our specific program in the Alaskaoffshore," he said. "Our inability to drill is not only costly toShell, but also to a state that is working hard to create jobs and find new oilsupplies for the Trans Alaska Pipeline by promoting responsible offshoredevelopment."

You Read ThatIndependent Report BP Issued Yesterday? Well, Not so "Independent"Today. Turns Out Report Had to Clear the Legal Department Before it was Issued. WallStreet Journal (9/10) reports, "BP PLC, which billed its DeepwaterHorizon inquiry as an independent look at the disaster, said its lawyers wereallowed to "review" the long-awaited report before it was published.A BP spokesman said its lawyers provided "legal advice and counsel to the[investigative] team," but wouldn’t elaborate on what exactly thatentailed. He also declined to characterize the nature of the review, and whatchanges, if any, the lawyers made to BP’s 193-page report on the April accidentthat triggered the worst U.S. offshore oil spill. But he said the BP lawyers"were walled off from the rest of the company." The spokesman alsosaid some "internal and external" lawyers for BP worked withinvestigators "in order to interact with lawyers for other companies toobtain evidence for the investigation," and to "assist in thepreservation of evidence for litigation and ongoing investigations." Thedisclosure raises questions about the extent of the independence of BP’sreport, which was released Wednesday and assigned much of the blame for theaccident to BP’s contractors, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co. The U.K. oilgiant has said its four-month investigation on the causes of the accident,which killed 11 workers, was carried out without interference from seniormanagement. Transocean, Halliburton and others quickly blasted the report fornot being tough enough on BP itself, with some legal analysts suggesting thereport served as a preview of BP’s future legal strategy. As operator of theDeepwater Horizon rig, BP faces many lawsuits over the accident."

Cry Me a River.Steel Workers File Complainant Against China for "unfairly subsidizing itsclean energy industry," We Ask, What About the US Subsidies? They NotUnfair? NewYork Times (9/10) reports, "A broad trade case filed on Thursday by anAmerican labor union, accusing China of unfairly subsidizing its clean energyindustry, pressed a hot-button jobs issue in the United States during aCongressional election season. But even if the Obama administration agrees topursue the case, it could prove hard to resolve, as both countries considertheir industries crucial to energy security and future economic growth. Thefiling, by the 850,000-member United Steelworkers union, accuses China ofviolating the World Trade Organization’s free-trade rules by subsidizingexports of clean energy equipment like solar panels and wind turbines. Throughits policies, fair or otherwise, China has helped turn its makers of thatequipment into the global leaders, while manufacturers in the United States andEurope have struggled financially, cut jobs and in some cases moved operationsto China. President Obama has cited clean energy manufacture as a priority oneconomic and environmental grounds, and in a speech this week, he called for "ahomegrown clean energy industry." Mr. Obama has shown a willingness to confrontChina before, imposing steep tariffs a year ago on Chinese tire imports – adecision that China is itself challenging before a W.T.O. panel in Geneva,which is expected to give an initial ruling this month."

Anti-Energy,Anti-Fracing Administration Kicks it up a Notch Today With EPA Calling onService Companies to "Voluntarily" Disclose HF Additives. PittsburghPost-Gazette (9/10) reports, "As part of an ongoing scientific studyof the environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency has asked nine companies to disclose thechemical components of fluid used in the gas drilling technology also known as"fracking." The voluntary requests were issued by the EPA Thursday toBJ Services, Complete Production Services, Halliburton, Key Energy Services,Patterson-UTI, PRC Inc., Schlumberger, Superior Well Services and Weatherford.The information gathered will be used in the two-year federal study that beganin March to determine the impacts of fracking fluid chemicals on drinking watersupplies and also standard operating procedures at drill sites. Hydraulicfracturing uses large amounts of water — between 1 million and 4 milliongallons per well — mixed with sand and chemicals, some of them toxic — andpumps the mixture under pressure more than a mile underground to crack layersof shale rock and release the natural gas it contains. The Marcellus Shaleformation underlies about three-fourths of Pennsylvania and portions of NewYork, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. The Pennsylvania Departmentof Environmental Protection website on Marcellus Shale activities lists 84chemicals used by well drilling companies in the state."

Pelosi Meetswith Canadian Energy Ministers to Talk Oil Sands; Chances are She ExperiencedThis Reliable Energy Source First Hand on Her Flight Home. EE News (subs req’d, 9/9)reports, "Environmental groups today pleaded their case with House SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after her meeting last night with Canadian officials todiscuss the nation’s controversial oil sands. Pelosi and Rep. Ed Markey(D-Mass.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence andGlobal Warming, are in Ottawa this week, meeting with Canadian leaders as wellas environmental and business groups to discuss energy and environmentalissues, including the oil sands. "As the main customer of tar sands oil,the U.S. has a leadership role to play where our governments at home arefailing," said Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental DefenceCanada, after meeting with Pelosi. "We took the time to clarify theserious environmental problems that exist right now in the tar sands and therisks posed by expansion." Pelosi and Markey met last night with premiersof three Canadian provinces as well as federal environmental officials. AlbertaPremier Ed Stelmach called the meeting "an open and candiddiscussion" that "acknowledged that the development of oil sands hadits challenges." But he stressed that Alberta is taking steps to"balance energy security with environmental responsibility and economicgrowth." Stelmach told Canada’s CBC News that his goal was to "appealto her sense of reason, to communicate very clearly that we continue to befocused on environmental improvement in developing the oil sands."

Fracing 101: PennState Researcher Takes to the Pages of Pa. Newspaper to Explain the Process ofHydraulic-Fracturing. David Yoxtheimer  (9/9) writes in the LockHaven Express, "This week’s article provides an overview of hydraulicfracturing technology (commonly known as hydrofracing or fracing), thetechnology used in drilling within the Marcellus Shale, and addresses some ofthe challenges and concerns about fracing technology. Hydrofracing is a processwhere water, pressure and additives/chemicals are used to create small cracksin the Marcellus Shale. These small cracks are more than a mile under thesurface of the earth but are what enable natural gas to be released from thevery hard and dense Marcellus Shale. Although the technology has evolved overtime, the key concepts of hydraulic fracturing have been around for more than60 years and used on more than a million wells in the United States to produceoil and natural gas from deep geologic reservoirs. North America has abundantnatural gas resources. However, natural gas is often "trapped" withintight rock formations that cannot be produced without the use fracturingtechnology. As the United States looks to increase its domestic fossil fuel andrenewable energy portfolio, natural gas extraction has become a key part ofthat portfolio. Advances in directional drilling and hydraulic fracturingtechnology have unlocked unconventional shales, like the Marcellus, and theavailability of natural gas in North America. That being said, development ofnatural gas is not without its critics as many environmental groups andlandowners are raising concerns about the potential for water resource impactsfrom the hydrofracing process."

How Bad is thePolitical Environment for Democrats? So Bad that Affordable Energy Advocate andW. Va. Gov. in Tough Fight for Once Safe Senate Seat. EE News (subs req’d, 9/9) reports,"Democrat Joe Manchin’s bid for the open West Virginia Senate seat — onceconsidered a sure thing — is now very much in doubt, according to a new poll.In a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted yesterday, 50 percent of respondentssaid they would vote for Manchin, West Virginia’s sitting governor. But 45percent said they support Manchin’s Republican opponent, business mogul JohnRaese. The poll has a 4.5-point margin of error. Following the poll, Rasmussenchanged its classification of the race from leaning toward Manchin to a tossup.Rasmussen two weeks ago had rated the race as "solidly Democratic"after Manchin cruised to the Democratic nomination. Manchin led Raese by a 51percent to 35 percent margin in a Rasmussen poll conducted in July, shortlyafter the state Legislature approved a special election for the seat thatopened after Sen. Robert Byrd (D) died in June. The seat is currently held bySen. Carte Goodwin (D), a Manchin appointee who is stepping down at the end ofthis term. Manchin is running on his record as governor, promising he willbring fiscal discipline and moderate pragmatism to Washington, D.C."

TheWorm Turns: US Agency Loaned Mexican Gov’t More than $1 Billion Last Year toHelp State-Run Company Develop Energy Offshore – And More in the Offing ThisYear. CNS News (9/8) reports, "TheU.S. Export-Import Bank, an independent federal agency, loaned more than $1billion to the Mexican state oil company PEMEX in 2009 to support the company’soil drilling in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The bank has another $1 billion inloans in the pipeline for 2010, unless Congress objects. On May 27, after theBritish Petroleum oil spill, President Obama imposed a moratorium on U.S.deepwater drilling in the Gulf, effecting 33 deepwater drilling rigs in theregion. PEMEX was the Export-Import Bank’s largest borrower in 2009 and hasborrowed $8.3 billion from the U.S. federal government since 1998. Under the2009 loan agreements, PEMEX agreed to contract with American firms and purchaseequipment from American manufacturers in exchange for the money. One loan,worth $600 million, went to finance the development of 18 oil and natural gasfields in the Bay of Campeche in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Campeche is thearea where the majority of Mexico’s oil and gas production takes place and islocated just north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Another loan, worth $300 million,went to fund the building of oil production facilities in Mexico’s Cantarelloffshore oil field, which provides a large portion of Mexico’s oil production,according to EIA.

Dim:Federal Mandate Forcing Folks to Buy More Expensive Lightbulbs an Inconveniencefor Most – and an Outright Job Killer for 200 Workers in Virginia. WashingtonPost (9/8) reports, "The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescentlight bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sadexit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas AlvaEdison’s innovations in the 1870s. The remaining 200 workers at the plant herewill lose their jobs. "Now what’re we going to do?" said TobySavolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, makingbulbs now deemed wasteful. What made the plant here vulnerable is, in part, a2007 energy conservation measure passed by Congress that set standardsessentially banning ordinary incandescents by 2014. The law will force millionsof American households to switch to more efficient, expensive bulbs.Everybody’s jumping on the green bandwagon," said Pat Doyle, 54, who hasworked at the plant for 26 years. But "we’ve been sold out. First sold outby the government. Then sold out by GE. " Doyle was speaking after a shiftlast month surrounded by several co-workers around a picnic table near thepunch clock. Many of the workers have been at the plant for decades, and mostappeared to be in their 40s and 50s. Several worried aloud about findinganother job. "When you’re 50 years old, no one wants you," Savolainensaid. It was meant half in jest, but some of the men nod grimly.

SixMos. Ago, Clean Energy Works Had 45 Staff in DC and 200 Paid Organizers in theStates; Today? They’re Shuttering the Place – Sending Folks Back to Sierra,NRDC. Politico(9/8) reports, "Climate advocates stung by defeat in the Senate are folding oneof their big umbrella lobbying groups. Clean Energy Works, a coalition of 80environmental, religious, veteran and labor groups, will phase out itsoperations this fall as Democratic congressional leaders abandon plans for asweeping bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions. At its peak, the coalition had200 field organizers in key states and more than 45 staffers based out of a "warroom" in downtown Washington. It is led by Paul Tewes, who ran President BarackObama’s 2008 campaign operations in Iowa and other battleground states. "If youcame over from LCV, you’re going back to LCV," Di Martino said, referring tothe League of Conservation Voters. "If you’re a consultant like me, you’llhopefully go on to other like-minded campaigns." Despite the ultimate failureto enact a climate bill, Di Martino and others tied to the coalition said theydid their job well on the communications front. The commitment to collaborationsecured impressive and tangible results: hundreds of disciplined message eventsacross the country and thousands of earned media clips."

SeeIf You Can Follow This One: Green Pork Subsidies in US are Outrageously High,But Not as High as In Communist China – So Labor Folks Are Mad. Bloomberg(9/9) reports, "The United Steelworkers union said it will file a tradecomplaint with the U.S. government against renewable-energy products fromChina, urging an investigation of subsidies and preferences given by thatnation. The case "reveals five major areas of protectionist and predatorypractices utilized by the Chinese to develop their green sector at the expenseof production and job creation here in the U.S.," the American union said in astatement, indicating specifics will be provided later today.  The complaint that China is doing toomuch to help its companies expand their clean-energy sales contrasts with internationalefforts to encourage renewable energy and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions inorder to curb global warming. Nations including the U.S. and China plan to meetin Cancun, Mexico, at the end of November to renew climate-change talks.Legislation to limit carbon emissions and set requirements for the use ofrenewable energy have stalled in the U.S. Senate. The union’s filing will bemade to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. The Obama administration willhave 45 days to decide if it will investigate the petition under U.S. law.

NortheastPA, the Region that Helped USA Win Two World Wars Thanks to Abundance ofAnthracite Coal, Found to Have Massive Reserves of Marcellus Natural Gas. Wilkes-BarreCitizens Voice (9/9) reports, "Eight of the 10 wells that produced thelargest volume of gas last year are in Susquehanna County, including the topwell – Chesapeake Appalachia LLC’s Clapper 2H well in Auburn Township – whichproduced 2.8 billion cubic feet of gas over 270 days. Of the top 20 producingwells, all but one are in Susquehanna, Bradford or Tioga counties. RaymondDeacon, an analyst with Pritchard Capital Partners LLC, sorted the wells’production depending on how long they were online in order to measure theirperformance. "It seemed like in every case, all the counties in thenortheast really stood out as being among the strongest in terms ofproduction," he said. "It shows the northeast looks much moreprolific in terms of how much you’re getting out of the wells." The actualnumbers last year surpassed the company’s expectations, even though"expectations were quite high," Engelder said. Matt Pitzarella, aspokesman for Range Resources, which reported a total production of about 35billion cubic feet of natural gas and 402,000 barrels of natural gas liquidslast year, said the report indicates what the industry believed, "which isthat it is a very large natural gas discovery and could be one of the largestanywhere when it’s all said and done. It’s just going to take time."Pitzarella added that the "very promising" production numbers in thereport represent the earliest stages of the shale development, and it willstill take several years for each well to break even.

RogerMaris Smiles: North Dakota, Previously a State with a Population of 12 andDeclining Oil Production, Turns the Beat Around Thanks to HF and Bakken Shale. IPAA/EID’s Lee Fuller writes in the Bismarck(N.D.) Tribune (9/9), "In an Aug. 30 letter, Roberta Nelson perpetuates ahost of unfounded claims related to the use of hydraulic fracturing, atechnology that’s played a key role in helping North Dakota leverage theopportunity of the Bakken into jobs and opportunity for everyone in the state.Unfortunately, to hear Nelson tell the story, hydraulic fracturing is "exempt"from a whole host of federal laws, which she then turns around and blames onthe former vice president. Civics 101 aside, here are the actual facts:Fracturing has been used safely in the United States for more than 60 years,and has never in that time been directly regulated by the EPA. For decades,that responsibility has remained with states, which continue to compile aremarkable record of oversight and enforcement. How good? In 60 years, not asingle case of groundwater contamination has been credibly tied to hydraulicfracturing. Don’t believe us? Just ask the EPA – it confirmed as much to theU.S. Senate earlier this year. Fortunately, support for the Bakken and thecritical energy technologies that make its development possible is somethingyou’ll find from parties in North Dakota.

OnlyYou Can Prevent Forest Conspirers: National Park Service Announces Plan toSpend Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to Advocate on Behalf of CarbonCriminalization. EnergyGuardian (9/9, subs. req’d) reports, "The National Park Service is enactinga sweeping climate change strategy aimed at reducing its greenhouse gasemissions, protecting natural landmarks from the impact of global warming andusing its unique role as the country’s nature educator to better familiarizeAmericans with emerging threats and solutions. NPS Director Jarvis unveiled thenew policy Wednesday and named a longtime climate scientist, Dr. Leigh Welling,to oversee the agency’s Climate Change Response Program. "Global climate changethreatens the integrity of our national parks. It challenges the NPS mission toleave park resources unimpaired for future generations unlike any threat in ourhistory," the agency’s new plan states. "We will reduce the National ParkService carbon footprint (the amount of greenhouse gases emitted through NPSactivities) through energy-efficient and sustainable practices and integratethese practices into planning and operations," the plan added. "Finally,through clear. directed communication, the NPS will raise employees’ and thepublic’s awareness of the implications of climate change and inspire them totake steps to address this challenge."

FormerMMS Set to Make Tons of New Hires, Spend Billions More to Ramp Up Regulationson OCS – One Problem: No One’s Actually Producing Out There Right Now. E&E News (9/8,subs. req’d) reports, "The agency today released a blueprint report to"reinforce and expand" reforms at the Bureau of Ocean EnergyManagement, Regulation and Enforcement, the former Minerals Management Service.The report recommends that the agency increase the number of offshore inspectors,conduct more surprise inspections, and stiffen fines and penalties forcompanies that violate federal rules, among other suggestions. "The report… is honest; it doesn’t sugarcoat challenges we know are there,"Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said. "It provides a blueprint for solvingthem, and it shows that we are on precisely the right track with our reformagenda." Salazar said the agency will request some $100 million inadditional funds in an amended 2011 budget request to hire new inspectors,strengthen training programs and implement other recommended reforms. ButSalazar and BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich stressed that today’s report doesnot signal the end of the administration’s moratorium on deepwater drilling. Adecision whether to lift or prolong that ban won’t come until BOEMRE issues aninterim final rule on offshore drilling safety later this fall, they said.

Obama’s PiggyBank: As Economy Continues to Struggle, White House Looks Increase Taxes on Oiland Gas Industry to Fund Second Stimulus Package. TheHill (9.6) reports, "President Obama Monday called for an upfrontinvestment of $50 billion to improve roads, railways and runways as part of alarger six-year strategy to update the nation’s aging infrastructure. Obamaannounced the strategy at the Milwaukee Laborfest in Wisconsin hosted by theAFL-CIO and Milwaukee Area Labor Council and was joined by Labor SecretaryHilda Solis and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The president wantsCongress to approve this first-year $50 billion "as soon as possible" and payfor it by scaling back oil and gas industry tax incentives, a senioradministration official said. "Over the next six years, we are going to rebuild150,000 miles of our roads – enough to circle the world six times," Obama said,according to remarks prepared for delivery the White House released ahead ofhis speech Monday afternoon. "We’re going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles ofour railways – enough to stretch coast-to-coast. "We’re going to restore150 miles of runways and advance a next generation air-traffic control systemto reduce travel time and delays for American travelers – something I thinkfolks across the political spectrum could agree on."

Shrimp and OilFestival Marks 75th Anniversary in Morgan City, La, "We Still Need Both…That’s what makes our community. That’s our lifeblood." LATimes (9.6) reports, "After the BP oil spill, the organizers of one ofAmerica’s more unusual civic celebrations began fielding the phone calls, theones that invariably asked: Are you really going to have it this year? Inresponse, they erected a big billboard on U.S. 90 as it winds west from NewOrleans through the heart of Cajun country. "YES," the sign said."We Are Having 75th Annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival." MorganCity’s civic leaders never doubted they would green-light their paean tocrustaceans and crude, even though one of the featured industries has beenthreatening, of late, to wipe the other one out. "We still needboth," said Lee Darce, assistant director and vendor chairwoman of thefestival, as she drove a golf cart on this muggy September Sunday among busybooths hawking boiled shrimp, shrimp on a stick, bacon-wrapped shrimp andshrimp etouffee. "That’s what makes our community. That’s ourlifeblood." Mayor Tim Matte is aware that the festival can seem pretty weirdto outsiders. "But we’ve always thought it’s unusual that they think it’sunusual," he said. "As far as the workers are concerned, there’salways been a kinship of working over the water." Matte and others say theoil spill, instead of smothering this year’s festivities, has infused them witha new intensity: a yearning for catharsis after a soul-crushing summer, a hopefor a return to a lost harmony between the two industries, and a celebration ofa culture that is resilient enough to withstand the worst. "There’s aspirit here that we’re going to overcome this," said Adams, carrying hisking’s crown on the city docks Sunday morning."

Seeing theAttention Waxman and Markey Received During BP Oil Spill, Nick Joe Rahall Quickto Call for Hearings/Investigation into Mariner Rig Fire; Won’t be Outdone ThisTime Around. Politico (9.3)reports, "The House is beginning to ratchet up its investigatory power inthe wake of the second offshore drilling accident this year. House NaturalResources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) on Friday sent InteriorSecretary Ken Salazar a letter requesting a slew of documents, saying he is "alarmed"by the disaster aboard the Mariner Energy rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Thisfollows on the heels of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s request thatMariner brief committee members. Those against offshore drilling likely will beemboldened by this disaster. The fire didn’t happen in deep water but, rather,in just 350 feet of water, a fact Rahall highlighted in his letter to Salazar.Rahall seems to be readying for a full-blown investigation, asking forunredacted copies of several records, including well activity reports, requeststhat Mariner made to modify its drilling plans and the rig’s inspectionreports. He also is asking for e-mails between Mariner employees and thegovernment – federal malfeasance has been a particular interest of committeesinvestigating oil drilling disasters."

Big Wind Goeson Defense. Study out Earlier This Year Sheds Light on Carbon Footprint of WindEnergy; Bode and Co. Go on PR Blitz to Discredit Study. TheOklahoman (9.5) reports, "The Obama administration’s emphasis on cleanenergy and the fight in Congress over energy legislation is creating sometension among certain sectors, including the natural gas and wind powerindustries. The American Wind Energy Association has been fighting to counter arecent column in The Wall Street Journal that challenged a key selling point ofwind – that it reduces carbon emissions. The industry also is defending itsfederal subsidies, arguing that they are actually less than those received byoil and gas companies. "We’ve been under attack by the fossil fuelindustry for the last six months," Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind EnergyAssociation, told reporters in July. Now, her organization is claiming that anoil and gas company trade group and think tanks financed in part with energymoney are spreading misinformation to discredit wind as a renewable energysource. The Western Energy Alliance, formerly the Independent PetroleumAssociation of Mountain States, released a report earlier this year that concludedrenewable electricity mandates had actually caused pollution increases in Texasand Colorado because coal and natural gas plants operated less efficiently toaccommodate the variability in wind sources. The study was cited in The WallStreet Journal column, written by Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at theManhattan Institute, and that column was then cited by the Heritage Foundation,a conservative think tank in Washington. Bryce questioned whether wind energy’scontribution to reducing emissions would ever be significant and argued thatthe emphasis should be on natural gas."

LouisianaOfficials Hit the Road to Talk Water Management, Hydraulic Fracturing in anEffort to Educate, Get the Facts Out on Shale Gas Development. ShreveportTimes (9.7) reports, "As predicted several years ago, water has becomea critical limiting factor as the natural gas industry expands from one shaleplay to the next, according to Gary Hanson, director of the Red River WatershedManagement Institute at LSU-Shreveport. Hydraulic fracturing is required in all of the gas shale plays and it iscrucial that industry continues to work with northwest Louisiana communitiesand voluntarily use predominantly surface water or the Red River AlluvialAquifer instead of the limited Carrizo-Wilcox groundwater for fracing. "Byaddressing our water concerns in a proactive manner and allowing development toproceed in a responsible way, we are a model to other areas of the countrywhere unfortunately, fear, instead of facts, is driving resistance to shale gasdevelopment," Hanson said. As a result of Louisiana’s success, Hanson hasbeen invited to several water and energy venues in the Southwest and on theEast Coast to share the story and lessons learned. In one of the sessions setnext month in Pennsylvania, Hanson will be joined by Lt. Gov. Scott Angelle,state conservation Commissioner Jim Welsh and Mike Mathis of Chesapeake Energy.Recent water policies, including the newly adopted surface water use law, arebeing driven by the Haynesville activity. However, DNR’s approach shows"institutions that are typically considered rigid and inflexible can infact become flexible and adaptive with the right leadership," Hansonadded. "In an unprecedented manner, but typical of his hands-on managementstyle, Scott Angelle (interim lieutenant governor) has chaired numerous andlengthy Ground Water Commission meetings throughout the state. This has givenLouisiana residents, statewide, the opportunity to attend and have their waterconcerns heard."

OffshoreDevelopment Continues in China; Chevron Purchases Stake in South China SeaProject. WallStreet Journal (9.7) reports, "Chevron Corp. has acquired operatinginterests in three exploration blocks in the South China Sea, and China’sgovernment has given approval for BP PLC to take a stake in part of thedeep-water acreage despite its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a statement by CnoocLtd. said Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not released. Theacquisitions from Devon Energy Corp. underscore how western energy giants areseeking to stake out new positions in the South China Sea, after largelyabandoning the area decades ago when shallower wells turned up dry. They alsoshow that BP’s involvement in the worst U.S. oil spill in history isn’tstopping governments from allowing the U.K. major to participate in newoffshore drilling, or rival producers from selecting it as a partner indeep-water projects. Chevron has taken a 59.18% interest in block 42/05 fromDevon Energy, and BP will hold the remaining interest. Water depths in theblock-located around 250 kilometers south of Hong Kong-range from 198 meters tomore than 1,980 meters across an area spanning nearly 7,000 square kilometers.San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron has also acquired 100% interests in nearbyblocks 53/30 and 64/18 in separate deals with Devon."

Harry Reid’sClean Energy Summit Kicks off Today; Wonder if He’ll Address Nevada’s 14.2Percent Unemployment Rate.  LasVegas Review-Journal (9.7) reports, "The National Clean Energy Summitlooks like it’s running a little low on wattage. Tuesday will bring the thirdannual installment of the summit, a creation of Senate Majority Leader HarryReid, D-Nev. And when the curtain rises on the event at the University ofNevada, Las Vegas, it will show considerably less star power than 2009’sversion, which featured former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President AlGore, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, amongothers. This year’s summit boasts an array of prominent policymakers andbusiness leaders, to be sure, but no participants beyond Reid himself andnatural-gas magnate T. Boone Pickens carry household names or holdCabinet-level positions in the Obama administration. Attendees includingventure capitalist John Doerr, former White House Chief of Staff John Podestaand Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee all serve in important positions,but you won’t see them collecting Oscars or appearing on the cover of theNational Enquirer (wait — that could be a good thing). The summit will alsolaunch a parade of economic and fiscal studies. Consider the Center forAmerican Progress Action Fund, an event organizer that will use the summit torelease the results of a study evaluating states on policies that promoteenergy efficiency (Nevada’s set to earn high marks, the group’s researcherssaid Tuesday). But some clean-energy watchers say other factors have forcedchanges in the summit’s guest list. Start with the economy. Nevada inparticular continues to suffer a deep recession, and the rest of the nationisn’t exactly enjoying a roaring recovery. That makes clean energy, with itshigher costs and federal subsidies, politically unpopular these days, said JackSpencer, a research fellow in nuclear energy policy for the HeritageFoundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C."

Shameless.Nike/WVU Football Introduce Uniform to Honor 29 Miners That Passed on April 5;Greenies Pressure Nike to Change Design on Bases That Uniform "Promotes"Mountain Top Mining. The AP(9.2) reports, "After angry environmentalists objected to a Nikepromotional ad for a new West Virginia University football uniform, theathletic apparel giant said Thursday it will modify a graphic depicting amountaintop removal mine. Nike issued a statement through the university,repeating what the school had said earlier in the day: The new black and whitePro Combat uniform was designed to honor the heritage of coal mining and 29 menkilled in the April explosion at Upper Big Branch mine. "We are modifyingthe graphic of the player on our website to address concerns," thestatement said. The Oregon-based company did not return repeated messages fromThe Associated Press. The Mountaineers will wear the coal-themed uniform foronly one game this season, the Nov. 26 Backyard Brawl at Pittsburgh. Nike paidfor the new gear. The problem environmental activists had with the ad was notthe color of the gear – off-white that appears coated in coal dust – or thenumber 29 on the coal-black helmets. It’s the depiction of a mountaintopremoval mine behind the image of a player, complete with flat, treelessmountaintop, the sound of an explosion and the image of falling rock." Click HEREfor Nike/WVU Promotional Video.

One Week, TwoFederal Judges Rebuke Obama Admin. Anti-Energy Agenda. This Time, Court Rules77 Leases in Utah Were Revoked Without Merit, Slazar "exceeded hisstatutory authority." Oiland Gas Journal (9.2) reports, "US Interior Sec. Ken Salazar exceededhis authority when he order 77 federal oil and gas leases in Utah withdrawn inearly 2009, a federal court judge ruled on Sept. 1 in Salt Lake City. But USDistrict Judge Dee Benson also ruled that plaintiffs waited too long tochallenge Salazar’s action. Commissioners from three eastern Utah counties andthree area independent producers who brought the suit indicated that the judge’sdecision keeps an unacceptable precedent from being established. Salazarordered the leases canceled early in 2009, soon after he became Interiorsecretary, after the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued atemporary restraining order on Dec. 22, 2008, preventing the US Bureau of LandManagement from issuing them. The tracts were among 116 parcels sold at aregularly scheduled lease sale on Dec. 19. The Southern Utah WildernessAlliance had sued 2 days earlier to block their being offered. "In this case,the secretary exceeded his statutory authority by withdrawing leases afterdetermining which parcels were to be leased and after holding a competitivelease during which the BLM named the plaintiffs high responsible bidders," saidBenson. "Ultimately, though, the plaintiffs’ claims are time-barred," hecontinued. "Faced with a strict statute of limitations, the plaintiffs failedto file their suit within 90 days of the secretary’s final decision."

Anti-EnergyAdvocates/POLITICO/Waxman Licking Their Chops After Rig Catches Firein Gulf, We’re Just Glad Everyone’s Safe. The AP(9.3) reports, "Stark differences exist between the oil platform fire inthe Gulf of Mexico and the blast that led to the massive BP spill. Mostnotably, no one was killed and no crude was gushing into the water, but thedistinctions don’t end there. Even though the Mariner Energy-owned platformthat erupted in flames Thursday was just 200 miles west of the site of thespill, everything from the structures to the operations to the safety deviceswere different. Yet, when word spread of the latest mishap, Gulf Coastresidents could only think of the three-month BP spill that began after thedrilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers. "It’sunbelievable," said Sophie Esch, 28, a graduate student at Tulane who isfrom Berlin, Germany. "They should finally stop drilling in the Gulf. Theyshould shut down all the drilling out there and not give permission to do anymore. They’ve shown that it’s just unsafe." Mariner Energy officials saidthere were seven active production wells on its platform, and they were shutdown shortly before the fire broke out. The Coast Guard said they wouldcontinue to monitor the platform to make sure no leaks. Houston-based MarinerEnergy said it did not know what caused the fire. The platform was still intactand a small portion appears burned, Cassidy said. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindalsaid the company told him the fire began in 100 barrels of light oil condensate."

Are Weather andClimate One in the Same? According to the UN, No, Except When it Suits TheirArgument. TheHill (9.2) reports, "Environmental ministers meeting in Geneva todaywere told a series of weather disasters point to the need for action on climatechange. The ministers are attending a session at the United Nations focused onfinancing a shift to green technologies in poorer countries. More than 40countries are attending the meetings. Christiana Figueres, the U.N.’s climate chief, said a string of weathercalamities point to the need for swift action, according to AFP.  Figueres mentioned the devastatingfloods in Pakistan and fires in Russia, which she said were a wakeup call forthe need for a new global climate-change agreement. "Science will show whetherand how those events are related to climate change caused by humanity’sgreenhouse-gas emissions, but the point is clear: We cannot afford to faceescalating disasters of that kind," she said, according to AFP. The talks inGeneva run until Friday and are focused on how to provide financing for poorercountries to shift from fossil fuels."

Double-Dip.Congressman Submits Earmark Request for "Non-Profit" to DevelopOffshore Wind Technology. Weeks Later, Same Congressman Signs Letter in Supportof Same Project for Energy Dept. Funding. PittsburghTribune-Review (9.3) reports, "Rep. Joe Sestak said Thursday he made amistake by failing to connect two requests from the same person, one of whichcould have led to a $350,000 earmark going to a for-profit company in violationof House rules. The requester, Drew Devitt, applied for the earmark in Marchfor his nonprofit Thomas Paine Foundation, to develop a type of wind turbinethat could be located miles offshore. A month later, he asked Sestak,D-Delaware County, to write a letter to the Department of Energy supporting thesame project. This time, the letter identified Devitt’s for-profit company, NewWay Energy, as well as his nonprofit. "On April 12, I signed and sent theletter forward," along with about 4,500 similar letters he signed thatmonth, Sestak said. "In that, I made an error: that I failed to put twoand two together." Devitt issued a statement saying he was up-front withSestak’s staff when he made the request. "I am an inventor, writer,entrepreneur, and employer of people who actually make things," Devittsaid. "I believe that the U.S. government has unwisely spent its funds onthe purchase of foreign wind turbines that have not been placed in zones thatwould be the most effective at generating energy. My efforts have been topromote what I believe is a better plan for wind energy."

Who Said Chinais Going Green? Remember that 75 Mile Traffic Jam in China Last Week, Turns out10,000 of Those Trucks Were Carrying Coal (!?!). WashingtonExaminer (9.3) reports, "Did you hear about that epic 75-mile longtraffic jam they had in China earlier this week? Yes, you read that right, itwas a traffic jam that stretched for 75 miles. Here in the nation’s capital,people are amazed when I-95 heading south of town or the Beltway around thecity develop jams that go for 10 miles. But incredible as a 75-mile traffic jamis in and of itself, there was something else of importance worth noting in theChinese traffic choker – it was mainly caused by trucks hauling coal. Accordingto China Daily, "more than 10,000 trucks mainly carrying coal are stuck ina 120 km (75 mile) traffic jam in the north Chinese region of Inner Mongolia,in the latest dramatic snarl-up on the country’s roads." Imagine that,10,000 trucks hauling coal. There is a reason for that, however. China’smassive manufacturing economy runs on coal, a fact that somehow gets lost inPresident Obama’s frequent exhortations to Americans that we must go greenbecause China allegedly is doing it faster than we are."

Fearthe Feld: Obama Request for Courts to Toss Out Challenge to Its Always Illegal,and Now Increasingly Unpopular, Offshore Ban Denied by Judge Feldman. WallStreet Journal (9/1) reports, "The federal judge who struck down the Obamaadministration’s initial six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling onWednesday dealt the government another blow. U.S. District Court Judge MartinFeldman denied the government’s request to throw out a suit challenging thedrilling halt that had been filed by offshore oil service companies. JusticeDepartment lawyers had argued the lawsuit was moot because the InteriorDepartment imposed a new, temporary drilling ban on July 12, replacing a May 28order that Judge Feldman had struck down in June. But Judge Feldman ruled thatInterior Secretary Ken Salazar’s second moratorium order "is substantiallythe same as the first one" and "applies to the exact same rigs, tothe exact same deepwater drilling, for the exact same time period," thejudge said in his ruling. Judge Feldman also noted that in crafting the secondmoratorium, Salazar appeared to have relied heavily on documents and data thathe had at the time of the first moratorium order.  "Nearly every statement in the July 12 decisionmemorandum is anticipated by documents in the May 28 record, or by documentsthat were otherwise available to the Secretary before May 28," the judgesaid.

Rallyfor Jobs Event in Houston Turns Out Lots of Very Loud Folks In Support ofResponsible Offshore Development – Think Anyone in DC Was Listening? HoustonChronicle (9/1) reports, "The emcee for the event was Minerva Perez, theco-host of Latina Voices on PBS. The lead-off speakers included Sherman LewisIII, the owner of a local chain of gas stations who is African American;Carroll G. Robinson, head of the Houston Citizens Chamber of Commerce; andBrandy Jones, founder of the social networking website Energy People Connect.Lewis got the biggest cheer when he talked about killing any cap-and-trade billthat tries to put a price on carbon emissions.  Jones lamented the volatility of the energy job market thatmakes "a geologist in their mid-30s … more scarce than a unicorn."The keynote, however, goes to former Shell USA CEO John Hofmeister. His talk,which started around 12:15 p.m. was being broadcast to rallies in CorpusChristi and Port Arthur. "Mr. President, Democrat to Democrat, I’m givingyou some straight talk," Hofmeister boomed. "When you flew to FortBliss, where’d that jet fuel come from? The Gulf of Mexico. When you haverecord snow fall in Washington, D.C. like you did in the winter of 2010, wheredid the natural gas come to keep people warm? The Gulf of Mexico. So why are weshutting down the Gulf of Mexico? You’ve cut your nose of to spite your face,Mr. President."

YouKnow the NYT Talking Point: Offshore Ban Hasn’t Resulted in Exodus of Rigs;Time to Update It: 1 More Left Last Week, and Another Is Set to Leave NextWeek. Reuters(9/1) reports, "Transocean Ltd has moved one of its deepwater rigs out of theGulf of Mexico, as the Obama administration’s deepwater drilling moratoriumhampers U.S. offshore oil and gas operations. Transocean’s Marianas rig is itsfirst to move from the Gulf since the suspension began and departed last week,bound for Nigeria, a company spokesman confirmed on Wednesday. The rig, undercontract with Italy’s ENI, was set to drill the Triton field. Oil companies andGulf state lawmakers have warned that the Interior Department’s halt onexploratory deepwater drilling will push idled rigs to foreign waters and costthe region thousands of jobs. The department imposed the six-month ban after anexplosion sank Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig, ruptured an undersea welland spilled 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. Transocean, the world’slargest drilling rig contractor, had more than a dozen deepwater rigs operatingin the Gulf when the drilling ban was put in place.

UseIt or Lose It, Anyone? Dilettante Solar "Developers" Snatch Up Prime Solar RealEstate in the Desert, But Refuse to Do Anything with It – Turns Out Solar’sExpensive! AssociatedPress (9/1) reports, "Nowhere is this more evident than in Nevada, where aGoldman Sachs & Co. subsidiary with no solar background has claims with theBLM on nearly half the land for which applications have been filed, but no firmplan for any of the sites. The Obama administration says it is expediting themost promising projects, with some approvals expected as soon as September."Clearly we spent a lot of time and effort on oil and gas, but thosepriorities have changed," Ray Brady, BLM’s head of energy policy inWashington, told the AP. BLM’s solar leasing system ended up allowingdevelopers to lay claim to prime sites – many located in the deserts that spanCalifornia, Nevada and Arizona. All developers had to do was fill out anapplication, pay a fee and file development plans. But many were so vague thatit was difficult for BLM to separate the serious projects from the speculativeones. In the Southern California desert near Palm Springs, for example, SanDiego-based LightSource Renewables filed an application in August 2008 for2,500 acres, BLM records show. The small, two-person development firm knewenough to recognize the land’s worth – it was close to transmission lines – buthad no previous experience with such projects. Co-founder Paul Whitworth saidit is now focusing on getting private land, and is not pursuing plans for itsBLM site. The agency, however, still considers the application active, meaningother interested firms cannot access it.

We’reNot Saying All Enviros Are as Nuts as the Guy Who Stormed Discovery Channel HQwith a Gun Yesterday Demanding Action on Climate – But They Read the SameBooks. WashingtonPost (9/1) reports, "Animals and bugs were good, Lee wrote. But war wasbad, along with global warming, pollution and international trade. As forcivilization?  The environmentalmilitant who was killed Wednesday at the end of a tense hostage standoff atDiscovery Communications headquarters in downtown Silver Spring, termed it"filth." Lee, who once listed a Silver Spring homeless center as hisaddress but who had inherited property in Hawaii that he sold for $90,000, heldextreme views about the environment. According to writings on the Internet, hebelieved that humanity had polluted the planet and that human reproduction wasthe worst pollutant. "Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutivecreatures around and are wrecking what’s left of the planet with their falsemorals and breeding culture," he wrote in an 11-point Internet communiquethat authorities said was similar to demands he made Wednesday. "Savingthe Planet means . . . decreasing the Human population. That means stopping thehuman race from breeding any more disgusting human babies!" "Theplanet does not need humans." What a coincidence: The WoodrowWilson Center in DC is holding a briefing today on "scarcity and populationcontrol."

ChetEdwards Generally a Guy Who Understands Difference Between Good, Bad andIrrelevant on Energy – Which Makes His Full-Throated Support for DOE Bizarre. DallasMorning News (9/1) reports, "Rep. Chet Edwards  dinged Republican challenger Bill Flores today forsuggesting earlier this year that the Department of Energy be eliminated."Maybe Mr. Flores doesn’t understand what the Department of Energy does,but that is a very dangerous misunderstanding," said Edwards, D-Waco, in acall with reporters. "This proposal would have serious consequences, bothhere in Texas and across our nation." The criticism derives from commentsthat Flores made at a radio candidates’ forum in March, where he suggestedcutting funds for the department. Edwards said the proposal would negativelyimpact research projects at Texas A&M and jobs for the expansion of theComanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant. The Department of Energy also plays animportant role in protecting against nuclear terrorism and working for energyindependence, he said. " The Flores campaign brushed aside the criticismas a "desperate attack." "Since the Energy Department wascreated in 1977 to end our dependence on foreign oil, it has failed to meet itsprimary objective even though it costs taxpayers about $30 billion eachyear," he added.

Facebook,Google, YouTube – You Know What They All Have in Common? They Use Electrons,and Those Come from Reliable Coal – Enviros Hate That. UKGuardian (9/1) reports, "Facebook is coming under pressure from its usersto switch to renewable energy. In one of the web’s fastest-growingenvironmental campaigns, Greenpeace international says at least 500,000 peoplehave now protested at the organisation’s intention to run its giant new datacentre mainly on electricity produced by burning coal power. Facebook will notsay how much electricity it uses to stream video, store information and connectits 500m users but industry estimates suggest that at their present rate ofgrowth all the data centres and telecommunication networks in the world willconsume about 1,963bn kilowatt hours of electricity by 2020. That is more thantriple their current consumption and more electricity than is used by France,Germany, Canada and Brazil combined. The company has said it will source itselectricity from Pacific Power. It uses coal power for 67% of its electricity,and produces less than 12% of its electricity from renewable sources. Thecompany has said it plans to generate more electricity from renewables infuture but has given no detailed information.

Thank You, Sen.Murkowski for Your Service to the Last Frontier and the Nation. AnchorageDaily News (8.31) reports, "Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday nightconceded the Republican primary election to Joe Miller, the tea party backedchallenger who maintained his Election Day lead after thousands of additionalabsentee and other ballots were counted through the day. Miller said Murkowskicalled him early this evening to say she was conceding. "I thanked her forthe hard-fought contest and wished her the best and asked for unity,"Miller said in a telephone interview from his hometown of Fairbanks. Millersaid he thinks Murkowski will end up supporting him in the general election."I’m going to give her some time and we’re going to talk more about itlater," he said. Miller said he’s going to meet with close friends andfamily Tuesday night. "Then we’ll probably head back to the office and dosome more campaign work a little bit later tonight," Miller said onTuesday. Miller will now face Democrat Scott McAdams, the mayor of Sitka, inthe November general election."

Hey NYT, Lookingfor Good-Paying, Family Sustaining Jobs? Look no Further Than Pennsylvania, andThank the Marcellus Shale and Hydraulic Fracturing; or Does That Not Count? NYTimes (8.31) reports, "With the country focused on job growth and withunemployment continuing to hover above 9 percent, comparatively littleattention has been paid to the quality of the jobs being created and what thatmight say about the opportunities available to workers when the recessionfinally settles. There are reasons for concern, however, even in the earlystages of a tentative recovery that now appears to be barely wheezing along.For years, long before the recession began, job growth had become increasinglypolarized in this country. High-paid occupations that require significantamounts of education and training grew rapidly alongside low-wage, service-typejobs that do not, according to David Autor, a labor economist at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology. The growth of these low-wage jobs beganin the 1980s, accelerated in the 1990s and began to really take off in the2000s. Losing out in the shuffle, Dr. Autor said, were jobs that he describedas "middle-skill, middle-wage" – entry-level white-collar positions, likeoffice and administrative support work, and certain blue-collar jobs, likeassembly line workers and machine operators."

Lame DuckStrategy Takes Hold. Days Before Senate Returns from Recess, and After Big Windand Solar Spent Millions Lobbying, Expensive, Intermittent Energy Mandate Backin the Picture. TheHill (8.31) reports, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) saidTuesday a nationwide renewable-electricity standard, or RES, is "absolutely" inthe mix as he tries to salvage energy legislation this year – possibly in alame-duck session. Before the August recess, Reid said he doubted an RES -which would require utilities to provide escalating amounts of power fromsources like wind and solar energy – could win 60 votes. It was left on thecutting-room floor when Reid unveiled a modest energy bill in late July. ButReid told reporters on a conference call Tuesday the energy bill is still awork in progress and cited two Republicans who have expressed interest in anRES. He did not name them. "I am going to tie them down a little more closely,"Reid said. He spoke on a conference call to promote a Sept. 7 energy conferencethat he is co-hosting at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Reid alsosuggested passing energy legislation could be more likely during a lame-ducksession. He noted the Senate would resume work after the recess but added, "Maybe,after the elections, we can get some more Republicans to work with us."

More Hot Air.Mass. High Court Sides With Cape Wind Developers; Still have to Answer ThisFundamental Question: Who’s Going to Buy the Electricity? The AP(8.31) reports, Developers of a proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm were clearedto move forward Tuesday when Massachusetts’ high court rejected a claim thatthe project sidestepped local opposition to win a key permit. Cape Windproject, a 130-turbine proposal that would be the nation’s first offshore windfarm, was given permission last year by a state board to build powertransmission lines through state waters. The Supreme Judicial Court backed thatdecision in a 4-2 ruling. Cape Wind had gone to the state after a local board,the Cape Cod Commission, rejected in 2007 its request to build about 18 milesof undersea and underground transmission cables to connect to the regionalelectric power grid. The local board said Cape Wind hadn’t provided sufficientinformation. Opponents argued the state exceeded its powers and was trumped bythe local ruling, but the court disagreed. It said that that interpretationwould mean the state Energy Facilities Siting Board’s authority appliedeverywhere but Cape Cod. Next week, the Massachusetts Department of PublicUtilities will begin considering whether Cape Wind’s pending 15-year deal withNational Grid is a good deal for ratepayers. Under the deal, the utility would buy half of Cape Wind’s power,starting at 18.7 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s about twice what the utilitypays for power from conventional sources, but Cape Wind backers say thatgiven the volatility of fossil fuel costs, the price will be a good deal overthe life of the contract."

Add Japan tothe List. Countries Around the World see Value in Marcellus Shale; Wonder WhenBoth Ends of Pennsylvania. Ave. will Take Note. Bloomberg(9.1) reports, "Sumitomo Corp., Japan’s third- largest trading company,agreed to pay Rex Energy Corp. about $140 million for a 30 percent stake in agas venture in the Marcellus Shale region in the U.S. Sumitomo plans to investabout $1.2 billion in the project during the next ten years, it said today in astatement on the company’s website. Sumitomo’s Summit Discovery Resources IILLC unit will pay about $88.4 million in cash for the stake and a further $52million toward drilling costs, Rex Energy said in a statement yesterday.Japanese trading companies including Mitsubishi Corp. are increasinginvestments in extracting methane trapped in shale rock thousands of feet belowthe earth’s surface to tap demand for the cleaner-burning fuel. The latest dealis Sumitomo’s second purchase of shale gas assets in the U.S. after it paid $25million for a 12.5 percent stake in a venture in the Barnett Shale region ofTexas from Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. The Marcellus Shale project involvesdrilling more than 1,100 wells in an area located in Butler County,Pennsylvania, in the next decade. Gas output is expected to peak at 46 billioncubic feet a year, Sumitomo said in the statement."

Blame it onBush. AP Dispatch on Solar Points Finger at Bush Admin. For Lack ofDevelopment; Could it be that Suncatchers are Expensive, Unreliable and Use aTon or Water? The AP(9.1) reports, "Not a light bulb’s worth of solar electricity has beenproduced on the millions of acres of public desert set aside for it. Not oneproject to build glimmering solar farms has even broken ground. Instead, fiveyears after federal land managers opened up stretches of the Southwest todevelopers, vast tracts still sit idle. An Associated Press examination of U.S.Bureau of Land Management records and interviews with agency officials showsthat the BLM operated a first-come, first-served leasing system that quicklyoverwhelmed its small staff and enabled companies, regardless of solar industryexperience, to squat on land without any real plans to develop it. At a timewhen the nation drills ever deeper for oil off its shores even as it tries todiversify its energy supply, the federal government has, so far, failed to usethe land it already has – some of the world’s best for solar – to producerenewable electricity. "Clearly we spent a lot of time and effort on oiland gas, but those priorities have changed," Ray Brady, BLM’s head ofenergy policy in Washington, told the AP. The Bush administration, however,kept BLM’s focus on oil. BLM’s database of solar applications shows manylanguished for years while the agency approved more than 73,000 oil and gasleases in the last five years. BLM has yet to give final approval to one solarlease. BLM’s solar leasing system ended up allowing developers to lay claim toprime sites – many located in the deserts that span California, Nevada andArizona. All developers had to do was fill out an application, pay a fee andfile development plans."

George Sorosand Co. Hard at Work Supporting/Funding Anti-Energy Movement in America; StoryYet to be Picked up by MSM. EdLasky writes (9.1) at TheAmerican Thinker, "The sinister, omnipresent moneybags of the Americanleft, George Soros, knows that distraction and misdirection make for a gooddefense. So do his many lackeys and sympathizers in the American media. JaneMayer’s 10,000-word article in the New Yorker, titled "Covert Operations:the billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama," has beenwidely cited in other liberal media. Mayer just let the claim that Soros has nomonetary interest when he gives money stand unchallenged — and that wasshameful. Where was the famed New Yorker fact-checking department? Did they getlaid off? What planet do Mayer and Rich live on? Soros obviously has hisfinancial interests in mind when he gives, and he knows how to use his billionsto make more billions by tapping his friends in high places in the DemocraticParty.Soros’s pet think-tank, the Center for American Progress, constantlypushes green schemes. Democratic politicians are on board, as well. This groupincludes Barack Obama who, runs after one electric battery, solar power plant,and windmill after another (when he is not on the links or listening to livemusic at the club he created in the East Room of the White House). How generoushave Obama and the Democrats been to the green schemers? The grand champion ofbudget-busting departments has been the "Energy Efficiency and RenewableProgram," which received $1.7 billion in 2008 and $16.8 billion in 2009, a1,014% increase in just one year. Media reports over the past year or so havetied numerous Democratic donors to these "ventures." They have beenrichly rewarded with taxpayer dollars."

TrustUs, You Won’t Feel a Thing: EPA Chief Characterizes UpcomingCommand-and-Control Carbon Criminalization Rules over Entire US Economy as "ModestIn Scope." TheHill (8/30) reports, "EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said over the weekendthat upcoming climate regulations are modest in scope, comments that come amidCapitol Hill efforts to scuttle the rules, EPA is set to begin regulatinggreenhouse gases from power plants and other large emissions sources in 2011,but vows to phase in the requirements slowly and shield small businesses. "They[the rules] will be modest, each and every one, because business needs time tounderstand the regulations that are coming at them. There won’t be any hugeshocks to the system," Jackson told National Public Radio in an interviewbroadcast Sunday. Some Capitol Hill lawmakers hope to derail EPA’s ability toregulate greenhouse gas emissions; regulations also face court challenges. Criticsof the regulations allege they will harm the economy, while defenders call thefears overblown and say the rules are needed to help slow global warming. Sen.Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) has said that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) haspromised him a vote this year on his bill to block EPA rules governingstationary emissions sources for two years. Opponents have also eyedappropriations bills for riders to scuttle EPA’s authority. Jackson also saidshe remains hopeful Congress will return to climate.

Haley’sComment: Mississippi Gov. Gets Another Top Interior Official to Go On theRecord Predicting Premature End to Obama’s Failed Offshore Ban. AssociatedPress (8/30) reports, "Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Mississippi Gov. HaleyBarbour used the Southern Governors’ Association convention in suburbanBirmingham to press the funding issue with two officials of the Obamaadministration: senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and assistant secretary ofInterior Wilma Lewis. The convention offered Barbour an opportunity to air hisfrustration with the administration’s moratorium on deepwater drilling,particularly after President Obama did not discuss it Sunday in his visit toNew Orleans. Lewis said people must remember that 11 workers lost their livesin the April accident. She said a six-month pause to Nov. 30 was needed to makesafety changes and make sure a future spill can be contained. But she said somerigs that are deemed to be safer than others might be allowed to return to workbefore Nov. 30. Barbour said the moratorium had worsened the spill’s economicimpact on the Gulf states and caused oil companies to increase their interestin drilling in areas far beyond the Gulf. "I don’t know how to describe itother than pouring salt in a wound," he said. Barbour and Riley alsocomplained about a lack of information about the administration’s recovery planfor the region, headed by former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus.

ThatShould Do It: New BOEMRE Chief Thinks He’s Found the Cure to All that AiledFormer MMS: Prevent BOEMRE Inspectors from Eating Lunch with Industry. The HoustonChronicle (8/31) reports, "The Obama administration on Monday imposed anunprecedented conflict-of-interest policy on federal drilling regulators in abid to put greater distance between inspectors and the offshore platforms andrigs they police. The rule is aimed at strengthening oversight of the offshoredrilling industry following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and reports thatofficials at the former Minerals Management Service – now the Bureau of OceanEnergy Management, Regulation and Enforcement – sometimes were too cozy withenergy companies. Bureau Director Michael Bromwich announced the new policy,which takes effect immediately, in an e-mail to employees late Monday. Bureauemployees now must tell supervisors about any potential conflict of interestand submit formal requests not to be assigned inspections or other officialduties when those conflicts arise. The employees also must ask to step downwhen their inspections or official duties involve a company employing a familymember or close personal friend. And for at least two years, they cannot perform inspections or otherwork involving former employers in the industry. Lawmakers in the House andSenate have advanced proposals for a similar two-year timeout.

Who’sDown for a Rally? Lots of Pro-Energy Folks All Across Texas This Week, and AllAcross Ohio, Illinois, N.M, and Colo. over the Next Few Weeks. HoustonBusiness Journal (8/30) reports, "A group led by the American PetroleumInstitute is simultaneously holding a "Rally for Jobs" in three Texas cities,including Houston, on Sept. 1. The rallies, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., will takeplace in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Port Arthur atthe Port Arthur Civic Center and the American Bank Center Convention Center inCorpus Christi. The rallies will focus on the energy industry’s impact on thestate’s economic development. The oil and natural gas industry supports morethan 1.7 million jobs in Texas and accounts for almost 25 percent of the state’seconomy, according to API. "The focus of the rallies will be jobs and theeconomy," said Jack Gerard, API president and chief executive, in a statement. "U.S.unemployment is high, and Americans have growing concerns over the economicrecovery." The Texas rallies will be the first in a series to take place inOhio, Illinois, New Mexico and Colorado during the congressional recess period,according to the organizers.

InvestigatorsRecommend a Bit Less Political Cheerleading in the Future from UN’s IPCC Panel -No Need to Cut the Hackery Out Completely, But Moderation would be Prudent. LondonTelegraph (8/31) reports, "A group of leading scientists from around theworld said on Monday that the leaders of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change had left themselves open to the accusation that they had"gone beyond IPCC’s remit". In March the Amsterdam-based InterAcademyCouncil (IAC) was called in after a number of errors were found in the IPCC’slandmark 2007 Fourth Assessment Report into man-made climate change. On Mondaythe IAC announced its recommendations on how to strengthen the IPCC, saying it"needs fundamental reform" to convince an ever more skeptical publicthat its science was solid. The report also recommended that a "rigorousconflict-of-interest policy" should be drawn up for senior IPCC leadershipand authors of its reports. In the future no individual should chair the IPCCfor more than one six-year term, it stated.  Additionally, "formal qualifications for the chair andall other Bureau members need to be developed", the IAC said. The IAC alsosaid the IPCC should tighten up on its use of so-called "grayliterature" – that which has not been peer-reviewed. Prof Shapiro said:"IPCC has guidelines for the use of such sources, but these guidelines arevague and have not always been followed."

SoYou Have an Extra $35,000 Sitting Around and a Hankering for a 100-HP ElectricCar that Dies After 100 Miles of Sputtering Along? Nissan’s Got You Covered. VentureBeat magazine (8/30) reports, "Word on the street is that Nissan will starttaking orders tomorrow for the hotly anticipated Leaf, the world’s firstmass-produced electric vehicle priced low enough for the general consumer. Theautomaker has been accepting reservations for a refundable fee of $99, andalready has 18,000 pre-orders, according to John Schilling, Nissan spokesman -with a goal of reaching 20,000 by December. More than half of the reservationsare from people in the five states where the Leaf will have its initialrollout. The rollout will be staggered. The first vehicles will go to driversin Arizona, Tennessee, California, Washington and Oregon, then in January toTexas and Hawaii. The car maker expects the Leaf to be available everywhere inthe U.S. by the end of 2011. Officially, Nissan declined to comment on the dateorders will start, saying only that it "will happen soon," but it’s beingreported that a Washington dealership has posted on Mynissanleaf.com that tomorrow’sthe big day. Nissan says it can take the car 100 miles in a single charge.

RememberWhen Germans Made Cars? Now They Make Ridiculous Promises about How Much Windand Solar They’ll Use 40 Years from Now – Achtung! Dow Jones(8/30) reports, "Most of Germany’s energy demand can be met through renewablesources by 2050 but this is dependent on agreeing ambitious, multi-billion euroexpenditure, according to the conclusions of a government-commissioned reportinto the country’s future energy policy. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgenand Economics Minister Rainer Bruederle, who jointly presented the findings ofthe report in Berlin Monday, said all of the several scenarios the report hasdrawn up project that Germany can meet its climate protection targets if itincreases the use of renewable energies, improves energy efficiency andmodernizes its energy infrastructure. To achieve the goals, however, massiveinvestments by both private and public sectors will be required.  Germany plans to reduce greenhouse gasemissions 40% by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.Roettgen and Bruederle also said the study argues for the longer use of nuclearenergy to assist in reaching these goals. "The appraisal shows thatextending the lifespan will lower CO2 gas emissions," said Bruederle.