News

Savethe Possums: Enviros Play Dead in Weekend Feature in the Wash Post – Say They’reDown and Out, But Influx of Lots MoreCash Could Change All That. WashingtonPost (8/29) reports, "On Thursday, some of the country’s most respectedenvironmental groups – in the midst of their biggest political fight in twodecades – sent a group of activists to Milwaukee with a message. We’re losing.A year ago, these groups seemed to be at the peak of their influence, needingonly the Senate’s approval for a landmark climate-change bill. But they lostthat fight, done in by the sluggish economy and opposition from business andfossil-fuel interests. Now the groups are wondering how they can keep this lossfrom becoming a rout as their opponents press their advantage and try to undothe Obama administration’s climate efforts. At two events last week inWisconsin, environmental groups seemed to be trying two strategies: defianceand pleading for sympathy. Neither one drew enough people to fill a high schoolgym. "What was revealed by the last year or two was that the energyindustry hasn’t even had to break a sweat yet in beating this stuff off. Ourside did absolutely everything you’re supposed to do . . . but gotnowhere," said author Bill McKibben, who co-founded the climate-focusedgroup 350.org.

YouWon’t Believe This; Are You Sitting Down? Turns Out Folks in Europe Are Gamingthe Cap-and-Raid System – Making Lots of Money, with Zero EnvironmentalBenefit. NYTimes (8/29) reports, "The business works as follows: Factories producingrefrigerants install equipment to transform the waste gas so it has lesswarming potential and then apply to the United Nations for permission to sellcredits.  The factories sellcredits in proportion to the overall amount of gas destroyed to buyers thatinclude governments, banks, trading companies and utilities. Buyers can sellthe credits again on emissions trading markets or use them to meet their legalor voluntary obligations to cut emissions. Most of the demand for those creditsis in the European Union, where polluters have operated under a mandatory cap-and-tradesystem since 2005. Europe dominates a market for greenhouse gases worth $144billion worldwide in 2009.  Chinahas been among the biggest beneficiaries by generating offsets under a programknown as the Clean Development Mechanism that is overseen by the U.N. climateoffice in Bonn. Critics have warned for years that this form of offsettingwould encourage profiteering, with little or no value in efforts to curbclimate change. More recently, opponents of offsetting have likened the systemto the kind of financial engineering on Wall Street that helped precipitate therecent banking crisis.

LouisianaGov. Says Offshore Ban Is Hurting His State’s People and Economy – In WaysAnalysts in New York and Washington DC Have No Ability to Comprehend. TheHill (8/29) reports, "Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) on Sunday blastedPresident Obama’s failure to revisit his ban on offshore oil drilling.   "We don’t think the fact thatthey’re not doing their jobs in D.C. should cost thousands of Louisianans ourjobs," Jindal told reporters shortly after the president spoke at XavierUniversity in New Orleans. Obama’s speech on the fifth anniversary of HurricaneKatrina addressed the rebuilding of New Orleans and his commitment to clean upthe BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but did not mention his administration’sdecision to halt deepwater offshore exploration until Nov. 30. The White Houseis reportedly considering an early end to the ban but Jindal wants to see a "greatersense of urgency" from the president. "The experts all agree, we can end thismoratorium before six months," he said. "Let’s put our people back towork. "I don’t think they understood how the energy industry worked – I thinkthey really thought that the rigs could simply flip a switch," he said. "In thebeginning, the administration suggested people file BP claims with unemploymentclaims. We made it clear that people want to go back to work." Clickhere to see William O’Reilly’s interview on Platts Energy Weekyesterday – one in which he makes clear that he opposes Obama moratorium.

WhatAbout that Effect? Obama Says Economic Situation in Gulf a Lot Better thanExpected – Just Wait a Couple Weeks, Says API’s Radford – ‘Bout to Get a LotWorse. NewOrleans Times-Picayune (8/29) reports, "Only a few rigs have left the Gulfof Mexico because of the federal deepwater drilling moratorium, but thedirective could dampen long-term activity in the Gulf if it drags on, a seniorpolicy adviser at the American Petroleum Institute said last week.  "Large operators have a number ofleases in play, and they can ride out some level of inactivity," AndyRadford told a group of journalists convened in New Orleans by the PoynterInstitute, a Florida-based school and resource for journalists. "There isa willingness to ride it out," but companies are also waiting to see someindication that they will be allowed to resume deepwater drilling. "Ithink the next few months will be critical," Radford said.  The moratorium, which the Obamaadministration put in place in late May soon after the BP oil spill, suspendsexploratory drilling at 33 deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico for sixmonths, but it remains unclear just how long the moratorium could last.  A long moratorium eventually could curbinterest among energy companies in bidding for drilling tracts in the Gulf andcause a downward trend in offshore production.  "You won’t feel the (full) effects of it until down theroad," Radford said.

Facedwith Far Less Attention After Splashy Release of GasLand, Director Forced toRatchet Up the Bombast to Cling to the Spotlight – Credibility Be Damned. IPAA /EID’s Lee Fuller writes in the GlenwoodSprings (Colo.) Post Independent, "In an Aug. 26 story, Josh Fox – directorof the film Gasland – continues to perpetuate a host of blatantly false claimsabout American’s natural gas industry, particularly the use of hydraulicfracturing technology. Your readers should understand that hydraulic fracturinghas been safely used nationwide over 1.1 million times since it first came intocommercial use in 1949. It’s a technology that has never contaminatedgroundwater, a fact reinforced by top EPA officials as recently as this year.Colorado’s top oil and gas regulator, David Neslin, also confirms "there hasbeen no verified instance of harm to groundwater caused by hydraulic fracturingin Colorado." And while Fox claims that "a huge array of chemicals" are used inthe fracturing process, the truth is these fluids are composed almost entirelyof water and sand – with a small portion of additives (0.05 percent of the mix)used to kill bacteria and reduce friction. These additives can be commonlyfound in one’s kitchen cupboard and in every day food products, and a list ofthese are required by federal law to be available at every well site in thenation. The top environmental regulator in Pennsylvania has called Josh Fox a "propagandist,"saying the film is "fundamentally dishonest" and "a deliberately falsepresentation for dramatic effect." And a longtime New York Times editor calledthe film "one-sided," "flawed," and "in the Michael Moore mode." But you don’thave to take their word for it. Download our point-by-point rebuttal of thefilm at Energyindepth.org.

What’sthe President Focusing on Right Now in the Gulf? Shrimpers? Crabbers? TheClean-Up? Nope – He’s Trying to Convince Brian Williams This Isn’t His Katrina.NBC News(8/29) reports, "As BP struggled for weeks to cap the well that began gushingoil into the Gulf of Mexico in April, Obama came under similar pressure fromenvironmental activists who said the federal government should have stepped inearlier and taken greater control – leading, as Williams noted, to critics’characterization of the oil spill as "Obama’s Katrina."  "That is just not accurate," Obamasaid, pointing to the $20 billion fund BP set up under federal  supervision to compensate victims ofthe oil spill. Obama said failures in the aftermath of Katrina made it clearthat "the real protection for New Orleans and the coast are the wetlands,"lessons that he said provided important guidance in allowing his administrationto respond quickly in the days after the oil spill. "We’ve got a lot more workto do," he said. "But the fact is because of the sturdiness and swiftness ofthe response, there’s a lot less oil hitting these shores and these beaches thananybody would have anticipated given the volume that was coming out of the BPoil well."

Scienceof the Lambs: Extremists Who Took Orgo and Therefore Say They’re "Scientists"Angry that More Hasn’t Been Done Faster to Dismantle Modern Economy. E&E News (8/27,subs. req’d) reports, "Obama outlined a slew of intentions in a March 2009memo, writing that political officials "should not suppress or alterscientific or technological findings and conclusions." Research, he wrote,should be transparent and available to the public, while agencies should hirescientists solely for their expertise. The president also directed the WhiteHouse Office of Science and Technology Policy to create a set of guidelines toensure agencies met these goals. But Holdren wrote in June that Obama’s memoalready bound agencies to improving their policies regarding research andtransparency. "There should not be any doubt that these principles havebeen in effect — that is, binding on all Executive departments and agencies –from the date of issue of the Memorandum on March 9, 2009," he wrote.Advocacy groups are skeptical. "I’m sure there’s been improvement. Thequestion is how much and how widespread," said Grifo. "Is it enough?No. We’re still hearing from folks. … Decisions are being made that aren’twith the best science." The Union of Concerned Scientists has been closelyfollowing the issue for more than two years, keeping track of decisions and newsthat indicate whether federal agencies are beginning to give scientists moreclout. When EPA disclosed the ingredients of the oil dispersant used in theGulf, the nonprofit marked the move as a step forward. But the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration earned a "red light" on UCS’s websitewhen scientists criticized the agency for inaccurately measuring the spill’ssize.

EtTu, Grumet? Fmr. Obama Energy Advisor Drops Heavy Political Ordnance on WhiteHouse in Form of New Report Calling for Obama Offshore Ban to Be Lifted.Bloomberg(8/26) reports, "President Barack Obama’s moratorium on deep-water drilling isno longer needed because new rules reduce the risk of an uncontrolled spill,according to a report for a panel investigating BP Plc’s blowout. Rules issuedin June by the Interior Department "provide an adequate margin of safety toresponsibly allow the resumption of deep-water drilling," according to thereport today from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington-based researchgroup. The rules, if followed by BP, Apache Corp. and other drillers, andenforced by regulators, "will achieve a significant and beneficial reduction ofrisk." "It confirms what we’ve been saying in Louisiana, that a six-monthmoratorium is arbitrary and capricious," Louisiana Lieutenant Governor ScottAngelle, a Democrat, said today in an interview. The rules "have created anenvironment where a bipartisan, independent group says we can get back to work.We need to start issuing permits." Contributors to the report issued today alsoinclude Elgie Holstein, senior director for strategic planning at the NewYork-based Environmental Defense Fund. Grumet’s report can be found here.

EtTu, Bob Gates? Obama Defense Department Also Poking the Administration in theEye on Energy – This Time, Expressing Concerns on Wind Mills in the Mojave. NYTimes (8/26) reports, "The United States military has found a new menacehiding here in the vast emptiness of the Mojave Desert in California: windturbines. Moving turbine blades can be indistinguishable from airplanes on manyradar systems, and they can even cause blackout zones in which planes disappearfrom radar entirely. Clusters of wind turbines, which can reach as high as 400feet, look very similar to storm activity on weather radar, making it harderfor air traffic controllers to give accurate weather information topilots.  Although the military saysno serious incidents have yet occurred because of the interference, the windturbines pose an unacceptable risk to training, testing and national securityin certain regions, Dr. Dorothy Robyn, deputy under secretary of defense,recently told a House Armed Services subcommittee. Because of its concerns, theDefense Department has emerged as a formidable opponent of wind projects indirect conflict with another branch of the federal government, the EnergyDepartment, which is spending billions of dollars on wind projects as part ofPresident Obama’s broader effort to promote renewable energy.

SeeHow They Run: If You’re a Public Official in Appalachia with the Letter "D"After Your Name, "Obama" and "EPA" Aren’t Things You’re Associating YourselfWith Right Now. Greenwire/NYTimes (8/26) reports, "Democrats in Appalachia are running away from the Obamaadministration’s coal record like their political lives depend on it. They maybe right. After decades in Democrats’ hands, much of the mountain corridor hasdrifted toward Republicans in national elections. Energy issues have driven theswitch, particularly since 2000, when Al Gore came to West Virginia touting acarbon-free future and became the fourth Democratic presidential candidate tolose the state since the Great Depression. Along with the president’s push forlimits on greenhouse gas emissions, U.S. EPA in April singled out the sixstates for special restrictions on mountaintop removal coal mining. EPA alsostopped the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from issuing permits for 79 surfaceand mountaintop mines in the region, saying they would have violated the CleanWater Act. To date, six of those permits have been approved. "I thinkthere is a danger for Democrats that being seen as a Democrat means being seenas being a supporter of Obama’s EPA," said Phil Smith, a spokesman for theUnited Mine Workers of America. "There is a risk for Democratic candidatesto be tied to it, if they let themselves."

Deloitte:Shale Gas, Other Not-So-Unconventionals Primed for Enormous Expansion Over Next20 Years – Will Double Their Share of the Market, All Thanks to HF. Greenwire (8/26, subs.req’d) reports, "Unconventional natural gas sources will double their share ofthe U.S. market in the next 20 years, say analysts at Deloitte in a new report.Abundant supplies of gas from huge shale deposits in the United States and theexpanding international market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) should also keepprices depressed for years to come, the company says. At the same time,Deloitte’s survey of evolving trends in the industry shows shale gas productionis getting cheaper and more cost-effective, enticing the world’s largest oilcompanies to creep into a sector long dominated by smaller independent producers.Deloitte sees low pricing as the norm for some time but does not see it as aproblem for shale gas developers as companies have undertaken impressive costreductions. Gas at $3.38 per million Btu is the "break even point"for producers at the Eagle Ford shale formation in south Texas, the firm pointsout. The relative success of independent oil and gas producers, driven largelyby shale exploration, is now causing larger producers to enter the fray in anincreasingly big way.

DevonChief: Reid Tried to Pull a Fast One with Sweet-and-Sour Approach to NatGas inEnergy Bill – But Be Advised: Helluva Lot More Vinegar in There Than Molasses. Devon CEO Larry Nichols writes (8/27) in the Oklahoman,"The [Reid] bill would have had the Environmental Protection Agency requirenatural gas producers to identify chemicals added to water used to fractureshale natural gas formations. Environmental groups have been campaigning foryears to move hydraulic fracturing oversight from states to federaljurisdiction, where it would be subject to a host of new regulatory burdensthat could discourage exploration, slow production, reduce gas supplies, raiseenergy costs and erode high-paying jobs. The Reid bill would have been a firststep. Reid’s bill presented some difficult choices for Inhofe and Coburn. Bothsenators support the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. Natural gasis the cleanest fossil fuel, it is abundant and Oklahoma is the nation’sthird-largest producer. The bill would also have encouraged energy efficiencyand, perhaps, created manufacturing jobs in Oklahoma. The problem is thenegatives far outweigh the positives. Because of Inhofe, Coburn and others whoput our nation’s economy before ideology, Reid’s bill never made it to thefloor. For the time being, we are relieved. Meanwhile, we are still waiting foran energy policy that will promote all of our energy resources, create jobs,strengthen our economy and ensure our nation’s energy security.

JohnDoerr Made a Billion Dollars the Right Way – Now He’s Trying to See if He CanMake a Billion More Through Rent-Seeking, Crony Capitalism, "Green" Hedging. Amanda Carey writes (8/26) for the DailyCaller, "Doerr has been responsible for the firm’s successful investmentsin companies like Compaq, Intuit, AOL, Amazon, Netscape and Google. No onewould argue that Doerr hasn’t earned his spot on Forbes magazine’s annualrichest people in the world list. However, in recent years, Doerr hasredirected his talent from picking out successful start-up companies tosuccessfully lobbying the Obama administration into supporting "green"initiatives. While Doerr considers himself "a raging capitalist," what he hasbeen doing the last few years may be more akin to crony capitalism. With hislobbying, political advising and picky investing, Doerr has been one of themain movers behind green policy initiatives in Washington D.C, creating a webof players within a new industrial complex of green initiatives and renewableenergy. He’s also been one of the biggest profiteers from it. "I think Doerr,like most, supports people he knows will support him," Chris Horner, seniorfellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told The Daily Caller. "He[Doerr] is invaluable to them as a committee hearing witness. And, because they[politicians] are promoting the coercive transfer of wealth to ‘investments’ ofhis – investments that he made on the cheap because they’re uneconomic, but canreap tremendous ‘rents’ if their agenda of taking effective control of theenergy sector is affected – they are invaluable to him," said Horner. He added,"I don’t know if he has been trading tit for tat, but it is clearly a mutualbenefits society."

Here’sHow Much Greens Hate Coal: So Much, That They’d Rather Keep 80 Million Peoplein India in the Dark than Allow Them Access to Coal-Fired Electricity.  TheHill (8/26) reports, "I’m pleased with the unanimous vote of approval tobuild an Indian power plant, which will lead to hundreds of jobs forMilwaukee-area residents. I hope this vote symbolizes a new direction for theObama Administration, where policies promote American economic growth ratherthan ship jobs overseas. Next, the President should acknowledge the harmfulconsequences cap-and-tax will impose on American workers," said Sensenbrenner,the ranking member of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and GlobalWarming, in a statement. But several environmental groups are bashing thefinancing. Three groups – Friends of the Earth, the Sierra Club and PacificEnvironment – said in a statement Wednesday that the project alone wouldproduce carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to one-fifth of the coal plantsproposed in the United States. "The fix is in at Ex-Im Bank. The Bank’s boardbowed to political pressure and in so doing wastes public financing to worsentheir fossil fuel binge," said Doug Norlen, policy director of PacificEnvironment. The bank board’s decision to approve the financing Wednesday is areversal of the bank’s earlier rejection of the project, according to multiplepress accounts.

It’sClearly Not About the Carbon, Friends: Same Enviros – Same Damned Ones! – WhoOppose Coal in India Oppose Emissions-Free Nuclear Power in South Carolina. ClimateWire (8/26)reports, "The five NRC commissioners are scheduled to announce a decision on achallenge raised by the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth against twoproposed nuclear reactors planned for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station inFairfield County, S.C. The two environmental activist organizations contendthat the project’s sponsors — South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. (SCE&G)and the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) — did notseriously consider "greener" alternatives to the proposed reactors,such as offshore wind and demand response programs. And that violates theNational Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which the NRC is obliged to uphold,the Sierra Club and FOE insist. An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board paneldismissed the environmental groups’ objections to the utilities’ environmentalplan for the Summer project last year, calling the challenge "vague andgeneralized." In its environmental statement to the NRC, SCE&Gprojected that its baseload capacity would increase by 24 percent between 2007and 2021, due to growing demand for power it anticipates in the state from anexpanding population and business base (South Carolina also exports power toother states).

MusiciansSay They Won’t Play a Horse Show Because It’s Sponsored by a Local Coal Company- No Problem Using Those ELECTRIC Guitars Though, Huh Fellas? Lexington(Ky.) Herald-Leader (8/24) reports, "At least four entertainment acts haverefused to perform during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games because a coalcompany is one of the major sponsors. Acts who won’t be appearing as part ofthe Kentucky Experience Pavilion include the musical groups Reel World StringBand, Kentucky Wild Horse and Randy Wilson, and storyteller Octavia Sexton. Allare performers with strong Appalachian ties, who often incorporate coal mines andminers into their performances. Reel World String Band, for example, wouldlikely have performed The Taking, which includes a line about stopping"the greed of the coal companies." The artists were selected by theKentucky Arts Council several months ago as part of an effort to showcase thestate’s tourism, businesses and arts and crafts in a group of large structuresat the Kentucky Horse Park. While the arts council was choosing performers, thestate Department of Tourism was lining up sponsors. John Harrod, a member ofthe group Kentucky Wild Horse, said that was something he could not do. "Icould not in good conscience allow myself to be used as an advertisement for anindustry that has bought and corrupted our legislature and consistently blockedall efforts by our state to move ahead on sustainable energy," Harrod saidMonday.

Rockin’Bakken: Innovative Technology, Leadership of Folks from Whiting, Others,Helping Transform North Dakota’s Economy – So Much So that Even NPR Is Smitten. NPR(8/25) reports, "JEFF BRADY: Head out to the wheat fields south of Stanley, andthe peace and quiet folks around here value is interrupted.  Whiting Petroleum owns this talldrilling rig and plans to drill about 400 wells in the region. It can take 20days to drill just one, according to the company’s Blaine Hoffman.  Mr. BLAINE HOFFMANN (Whiting): We’lldrill two miles down and then two miles out. BRADY: Hoffmann is a North Dakotanative, and he’s seen oil booms before. This one started in 2006. The number ofdrilling rigs in the state has steadily increased to more than 140. Each rigneeds a crew and plenty of supplies, which Hoffmann says helps North Dakota’seconomy Mr. RON NESS (President, North Dakota Petroleum Council): North Dakotawas ninth-largest oil-producing state in 2006. Today, we’re the fourth-largestoil-producing state, and we’re growing rapidly. BRADY: There’s plenty of newconstruction and some, like Betty Harstad, now get royalty payments. She hasone well on her farm outside town. Ms. HARSTAD: So for farmers it was a nicegift because farming isn’t all that economical. There’s, you know, a lot ofstress with it. So it relieved the stress of some of the farmers in the areathat were able to receive royalties.

"TheyOwe Us": Greens Incensed over Justice Dept. Brief Arguing that Suing Utilitiesfor Providing People Power Under "Nuisance" Statutes Isn’t Such a Great Idea. Greenwire (8/25, subs.req’d) reports, "The Obama administration has urged the Supreme Court to tossout an appeals court decision that would allow lawsuits against major emittersfor their contributions to global warming, stunning environmentalists who seethe case as a powerful prod on climate change. In the case, AEP v. Connecticut,the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a coalition of states,environmental groups and New York City. The decision, handed down last year,said they could proceed with a lawsuit that seeks to force several of thenation’s largest coal-fired utilities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.Matt Pawa, an attorney representing plaintiffs in the case, said he and hiscolleagues expected the White House to stay out of the matter. During a meetingwith more than 30 administration lawyers at the solicitor general’s office onJune 24, it seemed they had "a lot of friends in the room," he said."We feel stabbed in the back," Pawa said. "This was really adastardly move by an administration that said it was a friend of theenvironment. With friends like this, who needs enemies?" Professional reaxpurveyor Frank O’Donnell writes in (8/26) to Politico, "Some believe theObama White House, having failed to enact climate change legislation, hasadopted the old maxim when it comes to polluters: if you can’t beat ’em, join’em….I think they owe us a better explanation than the one given so far."

DayAfter Biden Calls Green Pork Stimulus the Greatest Accomplishment of His Tenure(Scary: He’s Right), AP Blows It Up with Big-Time Fact Check Rebuttal. Associated Press(8/25) reports, "The Obama administration claimed this week that $100 billioninvested in innovative technologies under the economic stimulus law is"transforming the American economy" by putting the nation on trackfor technological breakthroughs in health care, energy and transportation. Butan examination of details in the 50-page report unveiled Tuesday by VicePresident Joe Biden reveals something a bit different: a collection of rosyprojections that ignore many of the challenges, pitfalls and economic realitiesin all those areas. The claim: Thanks to the stimulus, the U.S. is on track to"doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewablemanufacturing capacity by 2012." Robert L. Nelson, a partner at the AkinGump law firm who co-chairs its renewable energy group, said that themanufacturing claim reminded him of a story told in the old Soviet Union. Acommissar, or government official, asks a farmer how good next year’s crop willbe. The farmer says it will be 10 times as good as last year’s. The commissarthinks to himself, "Ten times zero is zero."

BigSolar, Mighty Wind Ramp Up Lobbying by 1,200 Percent over Last 10 Years – WhileActual Percentage of Energy Derived from Their Products Remained a RoundingError. OpenSecrets.org(8/26) posts: "By 2007, the alternative energy industry had begun todrastically increase its lobbying spending, almost doubling its expendituresfrom the previous year. In 2009, alternative energy organizations shelled outan unprecedented $30 million to protect and promote their interests on CapitolHill, and this year, it’s on pace to equal that record output. The alternativeenergy industry’s lobbying expenditures have grown to 12 times from its 1998level. In comparison, oil and gas spending and mining spending have grown lessthan three times their 1998 amount, and electric utility spending has grown tojust twice its 1998 amount. By 2009, there were about 200 alternative energycompanies and organizations employing lobbyists to help advance the industry’sinterests.  The American WindEnergy Association is one of those organizations that recently andsignificantly increased lobbying efforts. The recent involvement of AWEA infederal affairs, she said, "reflects the urgency of the industry’s numberone priority — passing a national renewable electricity standard withaggressive, binding near- and long-term targets, as part of comprehensiveenergy and climate legislation." Azua de Real cites "marketcertainty" as a concern of AWEA’s members, who need legislative support oftheir industry "in order to expand their operations and invest in newmanufacturing as well as new wind farm facilities."

ProtractedEconomic Downturn Great News for Folks Who Care About Slashing Energy Use – US Continuesto Use Less and Less and Economy Grows Worse and Worse. ChristianScience Monitor (8/25) reports, "The United States used significantly lesscoal and petroleum in 2009 than in 2008, and significantly more wind power,according to energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory (LLNL), a government national security laboratory in Livermore,Calif. There also was a decline in natural gas use and increases in use ofalternative energy sources, including solar, hydrothermal and geothermal power,the researchers say. However, the consumption dip doesn’t necessarily reflect asea change in the way Americans think about and use energy, or a shift to more"green" behavior. Rather, the decrease is due, in part, to thecurrent economic downturn as well as advances in technology. "Energy usetends to follow the level of economic activity, and that level declined lastyear," said A.J. Simon, an energy systems analyst for LLNL. "At thesame time, higher efficiency appliances and vehicles reduced energy use evenfurther." "As a result, people and businesses are using less energy ingeneral," Simon added. "The reduction in the use of natural gas, coaland petroleum is commensurate with a reduction in carbon emissions," Simonsaid. "Simply said, people are doing less stuff. Therefore, they’reburning less fuel."

AllIn a Day’s Work: Guy Who Makes His Living Fracking Wells in Northern PA Savesan Old Woman from a Burning House in Southern NY. ElmiraStar-Gazette (8/23) reports, "A gas industry worker who recently moved toWellsburg from Oklahoma got an unusual opportunity on his birthday Monday: thechance to save a life. Billy Watts, who turned 37 Monday, was driving home onSouth Broadway from Troy at about 6 p.m. when he saw black smoke in the air.Watts, a hydrofracturing operator for Cudd Energy Services in Pennsylvania,pulled over and helped a volunteer firefighter at the scene before any firetrucks arrived. The pair went down the hill toward the burning home at 2726South Broadway and saw a woman who looked to be in her 70s, Watts said."As we got there she was in the back yard by the fence," Watts said."She was bent over the fence and couldn’t get out, couldn’t breathe."A dog was with her, he said. Watts and the firefighter helped the woman and dogget away from the house. Watts said he breathed in some smoke and feltcongested from it, but otherwise he was fine. "It’s important for peopleto stop and try to help out," Watts said, noting that other bystanderscame by. Some helped carry the woman up the hill from her home; another triedto call the fire department, he said.

CAAssembly Loves Passing Outrageous Energy Mandates – Like the One Targeting HDTVs; But Then It Comes Time to Implement Them, and They Run Like Rats. AssociatedPress (8/25) reports, "The nation’s first energy-efficiency standards fortelevisions would be delayed by six months if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signsa bill approved by the California Senate. The bill sent to his desk Wednesdaywould push the regulations adopted last year by the California EnergyCommission back to July 2011. Republican Sen. Bob Huff of Diamond Bar says thatwould give the Federal Trade Commission time to develop its own nationwideenergy efficiency labeling rule for televisions. His bill lets California’srules take effect only if the federal commission fails to act by next July.State regulators had hoped to lead the nation in setting new standards. Therewas no spoken opposition to the bill, SB1198. It passed on a 26-9 vote.

BadNews for Markey: National Science Lab in Berkeley – the One that Secretary ChuHeaded Up – Says Undersea Plume of Oil Has Been Completely Eliminated. Greenwire (8/24, subs.req’d) reports, "The Gulf of Mexico’s undersea oil plume is no more. For nearlya month, scientists sampling the site of a deepwater plume stretching southwestfrom BP PLC’s failed well in the Gulf have been foiled. Their sensors have gonesilent. Where once a vibrant — if diffuse — cloud of oil stretched for miles,3,600 feet below the surface, there is now only ocean, and what seems to be thedebris of a bacterial feeding frenzy. "For the last three weeks, wehaven’t been able to detect the deepwater plume at all," said Terry Hazen,a microbiologist and oil spill expert at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorywho has had a clutch of researchers monitoring the Gulf since late May. Thedisappearance is backed up by government sampling data. The plume is simplygone. And Hazen knows why. "This all fits with the fact that the bugs havedegraded the oil," he said. Despite press accounts to the contrary, thedisappearance of this deepwater oil plume, whose midsummer existence wasdetailed last week by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is far from ashock, at least to scientists. Undersea bacteria — the single-cell janitors ofthe marine world — along with currents and diffusion likely combined todegrade or isolate the dispersed oil to undetectable levels, Hazen said.

BromwichWants Offshore Moratorium Pulled Early, and He Very Well May Get It  – But Will Lifting the Ban ActuallyMake Things Normal Again? Maybe Not. Bloomberg(8/25) reports, "President Barack Obama’s administration may agree to an earlyend for its moratorium on deep-water oil and gas drilling while backing newregulations that may keep rigs idle for months afterward. Obama is likely tolift the drilling ban in October, ahead of its scheduled Nov. 30 expiration,said Michael McKenna, president of MWR Strategies, an oil industry consultingfirm in Washington. Heightened scrutiny of drilling’s risks may delay theresumption of operations by companies such as BP Plc and Apache Corp. untilmid-2011, McKenna said. The administration halted drilling in waters deeperthan 500 feet after BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico blew out April 20.Government officials from Gulf Coast states say the moratorium is ravaging aregional economy already hit hard by the spill, putting the White House underpolitical pressure to end the ban early, McKenna said.  "Lifting the moratorium is almostunimportant," McKenna said in an interview. "It’s how different the regulatoryregime is going to be after. The end game here is to make it a very, verydifficult and time-consuming regulatory process."

Don’tMess: Major Rallies in Support of Offshore Energy Planned for September 1 in 3Cities in Texas – Not a Place You’ll Want to Be if Your Name is Kenneth L.Salazar. HoustonChronicle (8/25) reports, "Details of the previously announced ralliesagainst the deep-water drilling ban are emerging, with Texas events happeningon Wednesday, Sept. 1. According to the RallyForJobs website:  "More energy equals more jobs,higher incomes and greater economic growth. We must come together to tell Washingtonthat our livelihoods depend on the oil and natural gas industry and consumerswho rely on access to affordable energy will not be overlooked." Houston’sevent will be emcee’d by former TV news anchor Minerva Perez, the co-host ofLatina Voices on PBS. The speakers include Carroll G. Robinson of the HoustonCitizens Chamber of Commerce; Sherman Lewis III of The Lewis Group and BrandyJones of Energy People Connect. Entertainment will be by Bruce Robison . (Incidentally, his new song is"Heartache to Houston.") The events will take place in Houston,Corpus Christi, and Port Arthur.

EPATries to Play Both Sides of Debate Over Shale Gas, Hydraulic Fracturing – Butthe State Dept? They Love the Stuff, and Want to Spread the TechnologyEverywhere. TheHill (8/24) reports, "A senior State Department official said Tuesday thatthe U.S. boom in producing natural gas from shale rock formations could pave theway for other countries to expand development that allows displacement ofcarbon-heavy coal. David Goldwyn, the coordinator for international energyaffairs, was bullish about global shale-gas potential in remarks with reportersduring a State Department conference in Washington, D.C., devoted tointernational coordination on the resource. "The U.S. shale-gas phenomenon hastransformed global energy markets. Because we have discovered and we have thetechnology to develop efficiently large quantities of gas from shale, globalprices of liquefied natural gas have decreased. Gas has become cheaper. Gas isnow competitive with coal on a BTU basis, which means that countries that mightuse coal can now not make an economic choice, but on a competitive basis choosegas for their next level of power generation," he said. He said plentifulshale-gas supplies can help increase energy security, giving nations -including China and India – the ability to diversify and expand energy sources,and slow greenhouse gas emissions (burning natural gas emits fewer greenhousegases than coal or oil).

Diesel-PoweredGreenpeace Vessel Attempts to Disrupt Major Natural Gas Find Off the Coast ofGreenland – Danish Warship Puts an End to That Right Quick. WallStreet Journal (8/25) reports, "Cairn Energy PLC said it found natural gasoff Greenland’s western coast, bolstering hopes that the area could become oneof the world’s last significant untapped hydrocarbon provinces."We’reencouraged because we’ve established there are hydrocarbons in a basin thatnobody has ever drilled before that’s the size of the North Sea," he saidin an interview. Some of the world’s largest energy companies have gravitatedto Greenland’s iceberg-strewn waters in recent years, lured by estimates of itsenormous resource potential. The U.S. Geological Survey says the area couldhold around 50 billion barrels of oil and gas, more than the total provenreserves of Libya. A Greenpeace protest ship arrived at Cairn’s oil rig thisweek to highlight the perceived dangers in the company’s exploration program,but a Danish warship prevented the protest vessel from entering an exclusionzone around the rig. Denmark has sovereignty over Greenland. Cairn announcedTuesday that the first of the two exploration wells it is drilling in BaffinBay, between Canada and Greenland, had found natural gas, indicating thepresence "of an active hydrocarbon system." The Edinburgh-basedcompany said the gas could be associated with oil, though it is too early tosay for sure.

OrwellSmiles: VP Biden Doubles Down on Patently Ridiculous Assertion that Green JobsBoondoggle Is Working Exactly As Planned – How Scary Would it Be If He’s Right?TheHill (8/24) reports, "A White House report unveiled Tuesday says tens ofbillions of dollars in stimulus energy funding is helping to greatly expanddeployment of technologies such as solar power, "smart" electrical meters andadvanced batteries. The Obama administration is touting the projects asRepublicans are increasingly charging that the big 2009 stimulus package wasineffective and continuing attacks on the White House economic team. Recentreports by the Energy Department’s inspector general also cited problems withdistribution and use of the stimulus dollars, including "prevalent andwidespread" spending delays. The White House report (found here) forecaststhe effects of the law that provided $30 billion for renewable energy andefficiency programs, $6 billion for advanced vehicles and biofuels programs andbillions of dollars in other energy spending. "Thanks to investments madepossible by the Recovery Act, we are unleashing the American innovation machineto change the way we use and produce energy in this country," said EnergySecretary Steven Chu in a prepared statement. "Just as importantly, thesebreakthroughs are helping create tens of thousands of new jobs, allowing theU.S. to continue as a leader in the global economy and helping to provide abetter future for generations to come."

Meanwhile,Endless Subsidies Not Quite Enough to Allow First Solar to Turn a Profit in USA- So They Decide to Set Up Shop in Communist China Instead.  Bloomberg(8/24) reports, "First Solar Inc., the U.S. company planning the world’s biggestsolar-power plant in China, is "reasonably confident" China’s government willset electricity prices high enough to make the project viable, a spokesmansaid. The company, which announced the project in September and missed itsplanned start of construction in June, is still negotiating the "economicconditions" of the power plant with China, said Brandon Mitchener, aBrussels-based spokesman for the Tempe, Arizona-based solar-equipmentmanufacturer. The talks involve setting guaranteed above-market rates orsimilar instruments that support renewable energy projects, he said. Chinadelayed approving premium prices known as feed-in tariffs for solar power thatthe company said are essential for the viability its project in Ordos, InnerMongolia, in northern China, First Solar President Bruce Sohn said in May.First Solar, the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar power modules, rose11 percent in U.S. trading on Sept. 8 when it announced it would build the2,000-megawatt plant, set to be the world’s largest array of panels thatconvert sunlight directly into power. Construction on the first phase was tobegin June 1, 2010, with the last stage to be completed in 2019. Two thousandmegawatts can supply the equivalent of about 1.6 million U.S. homes when theplant runs at full capacity.

AlternateReality: Biden, Chu Set to Release Report This AM Arguing Green Stimulus CashIs Actually Working, Notwithstanding Paucity of Jobs. The WhiteHouse announced the following in a recent (8/23) media advisory: Tuesday,August 24th,  Vice President Bidenwill hold an event unveiling a report with new analysis on the impact ofRecovery Act investments in innovation, science and technology.  The Recovery Act is investing over $100billion in innovative and transformative programs that span industries fromEnergy to Health Information Technology. These investments are accelerating the pace of innovation, helping toestablish the U.S. as a global leader in competitive, high-growth industries ofthe 21st century.  The VicePresident will be joined by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu as he discusses howthese investments will help make important technologies more affordable in themarketplace and build the nation’s infrastructure to enable further soundeconomic growth and job creation. This event will be pooled for TV cameras, andopen to print, online, radio and still photographers. An RSVP is required toparticipate. Watch this event live at 10:45 AM ET at www.whitehouse.gov/live.

NewChief of Former MMS Agency Tells Spill Commission that Offshore Ban May BeLifted Before November – On Same Day Salazar (His Boss) Defends ItsContinuation. WallStreet Journal (8/23) reports, "The Obama administration’s chief offshoredrilling regulator said Monday the government could partially lift a moratoriumon new deep-water oil exploration before Nov. 30 if oil companies can persuadethe government their operations are safe. Michael Bromwich, the director of theBureau of Ocean Energy Management, Enforcement and Regulation, wrote in aletter to the special presidential commission investigating the BP PLC oilspill that the agency may decide that "certain categories of rigs presentfewer risks than others are and sufficiently safe to allow the moratorium to belifted with respect to those categories of rigs." The commission holds apublic meeting Wednesday. Members of the commission have questioned theadministration’s moratorium, which is also under attack in federal court. Thedrilling ban has been controversial in the Gulf Coast, where oil companies andlocal officials say it is crippling the region’s economy. The Obamaadministration says the ban is necessary while the government develops newsafeguards to lessen the chances of another giant oil spill like the one thatoccurred in the Gulf of Mexico after an April 20 well explosion that destroyeda floating oil rig and killed 11 workers.

CaliforniaPanhandle: SoCal Power Authority Set to Ask Ratepayers to Cough of $533 Millionto Help Underwrite Shift to Expensive, Unreliable Electricity. Bloomberg(8/23) reports, "Southern California Public Power Authority, provider ofelectricity to almost 5 million people, plans to sell $533.1 million ofmunicipal bonds in the biggest scheduled tax-exempt sale of the week. Theauthority expects to sell the biggest tranche, $40.8 million in 20-yearmaturities, at 40 basis points, or 0.40 percentage point, above AAA ratedmunicipal bonds, said Vernon Oates, finance and accounting manager.  "The fact that it’s a AA- issue, with alittle extra yield in a high-tax state, this is really going to dominate thecalendar," said Howard Cure, director of municipal bond research at EvercoreWealth Management in New York, which oversees about $1.5 billion. The proceedsfrom the authority sale will be used to prepay for power from the WindyPoint/Windy Flats Project, a 114- turbine wind-energy farm in Washington state.The Pasadena-based authority is purchasing the electricity on behalf of the LosAngeles Department of Water and Power and the city of Glendale.  California businesses, includingutilities, are required by state law to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissionssuch as carbon dioxide to 1990s levels, in part by purchasing more renewableenergy, Oates said. The authority lowers the cost by prepaying for theelectricity, he said.

Cat’sOut of the Bag: Markey Predicts His Enviro Allies Will Pound House ColleaguesWho Oppose Wind, Solar Hand-Outs with TV and Radio Ads Ahead of November. Greenwire (8/23, subs.req’d) reports, "Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) predicted last week that the Senatewill eventually clear the House-passed climate bill and blamed SenateRepublicans for hamstringing the effort. Markey, who co-authored the Houseclimate bill with Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), saidthat while the Senate missed an opportunity, soaring energy costs and theeffects of climate change will push the issue back into the politicalspotlight. "The conditions should have been right for us to act,"Markey said last week on C-SPAN’s "Newsmakers" program. "There’sno question about it, but those situations are going to arise again."Markey also predicted that candidates who oppose cap and trade will face apolitical backlash during November’s midterm election."I envision thatthere is going to be a reverse political takedown in many districts across ourcountry when the ads are run on wind, on solar, on biomass, on plug-in hybrids,contrasting the member who supports that with the member who opposes it,"he said. "Whichever Republicanshave decided to align themselves with that Kentucky coal and Oklahoma oilagenda are going to wind up with a very big surprise on Election Day."

Rank-and-FileEnviros May Have Zero In Common with Rank-and-File Union Workers, But ThatDoesn’t Stop UAW from Breaking Bread with Sierra Club. E&E News (8/23,subs. req’d) reports, "The United Auto Workers has announced that it will jointhe BlueGreen Alliance, a partnership of labor and environment groups pushingfor policies that create green jobs. The auto union said the announcement ispart of a larger effort for members to build more fuel-efficient cars and helprebuild the overall auto industry. "UAW members produce best-in-class carsand trucks, key vehicle components and top quality heavy-duty trucks, and weknow that we can rebuild the American auto industry by building cleaner, moreefficient vehicles — and developing the technologies that will get usthere," UAW President Bob King said. "We have enormous opportunitiesto revitalize this industry, and the American economy, by embracing the cleanenergy economy of the future." UAW — also called the International Union,United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America –represents more than 390,000 members primarily in the auto industry, althoughsome members work in gambling, health care and higher education. The BlueGreenAlliance was formed in 2006 by the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers.

NRDC-Backed"Republican" Enviro Group Calls on Congress to Dump Even More Cash into Landand Water Conservation Fund — $315M/Year Apparently Isn’t Enough. Jim DiPeso writes (8/24) in Politico, "In1977, Congress agreed to deposit $900 million, from offshore oil and gasroyalties, into the fund each year. Like fiscally responsible Couple A,Congress agreed to forgo some consumption today to be able to leave a bequestfor future generations.  Here’s thecatch. Money deposited into the fund is not automatically available for theintended purpose. Congress must appropriate it through legislation.  Like that fiscally irresponsible CoupleB, Congress has yielded to temptations to grab the money for other programs. Onaverage, Congress has appropriated only $313 million annually over the pastdecade – far below the $900 million per year authorized. The lack of fiscaldiscipline that has shortchanged investments in our natural heritage doesn’t squarewith what the public wants. Recent polling shows that 86 percent of voters -including 83 percent of Republicans – support using offshore oil and gasrevenues to protect open space and expand outdoor recreation opportunities.This conservation fund is a program that works. It has provided critical moniesto buy open space from willing sellers and to develop natural sites availablefor all citizens. This, in turn, pays dividends in good quality of life, healthand local economic activity.

Directorof the Titanic Knows a Thing or Two About Lost Causes – Which Is Likely Why HeDecided to Cancel Major Debate on Climate Change at Last Second. E&E News (8/23,subs. req’d) reports, "Cameron had been scheduled to debate climate changeskeptics yesterday, but the event was canceled at the last minute, according toMarc Morano, director of the skeptic website "Climate Depot" and aformer spokesman for Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). Morano said he and two otherskeptics — conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart and filmmaker Ann McElhinney– were planning to debate Cameron last night, but the director pulled the plugafter environmentalists warned him against participating in the forum. Moranosaid the cancellation was made while he was on his flight to Aspen. "Helet his friends in the environmental community spook him out of thisdebate," Morano said. "When he was warned that he was probably goingto lose and lose badly, he ran like a scared mouse." "Morano is notat James Cameron’s level to debate, and that’s why that didn’t happen,"Comins said. "Cameron should be debating someone who is similar to hisstature in our society." Morano was given a platform to speak in Aspen –a 90-minute event with a question-and-answer session, which he called his"consolation prize" and "an absolute joke." Comins saidMorano’s presentation was not an official summit event.

Collateral Damage: WSJ FindsObama Knew Well the Damage His Offshore Ban was Likely to Visit Upon Gulf Coast- 23K Lost Jobs; Think He Batted an Eyelash? WallStreet Journal (8/21) reports, "Senior Obama administration officialsconcluded the federal moratorium on deepwater oil drilling would cost roughly23,000 jobs, but went ahead with the ban because they didn’t trust theindustry’s safety equipment and the government’s own inspection process,according to previously undisclosed documents. They show the new top regulatoror offshore oil exploration, Michael Bromwich, told Interior Secretary KenSalazar that a six-month deepwater-drilling halt would result in "lostdirect employment" affecting approximately 9,450 workers and "lostjobs from indirect and induced effects" affecting about 13,797 more. TheJuly 10 memo cited an analysis by Mr. Bromwich’s agency that assumed directemployment on affected rigs would "resume normally once the rigs resumeoperations." The administration has said in court filings that theeconomic effect of suspended drilling wasn’t as severe as the industryasserted. In a filing with federal court in eastern Louisiana June 23, the dayafter a judge overturned the initial six-month halt, Justice Departmentattorneys said it affected 33 deepwater wells, "less than 1% of theexisting structures in the Gulf dedicated to oil exploration andproduction." A study by Louisiana State University economist Joseph Mason-publishedin July and commissioned by the American Energy Alliance, a group funded partlyby oil and gas companies-concluded a six-month shutdown of the 33 deepwaterrigs would result in a net loss of 12,000 jobs.

Good Money After Bad: PerhapsPreparing for Backlash from Today’s Journal Hit, Salazar Hastily Files Defenseof Offshore Ban in Today’s Houston Chron. Interior secretary Ken Salazar writes (8/22) in the HoustonChronicle, "In addition, under Bromwich, we are substantially increasingthe number of inspectors for offshore oil and gas drilling rigs and platforms.For too long, the agency that regulates offshore drilling has been short onresources. Together, the reforms we are implementing are strong, fair andrisk-based. In shallow waters – where the risks are different than deep waters -drillers can continue drilling if they meet the new standards and play by therules. Production throughout the Gulf of Mexico has also safely continuedthroughout the BP oil spill. However, in the deep-water areas, where theDeepwater Horizon blowout occurred, it is necessary and appropriate to requireoperators to demonstrate improved safety, blowout containment and spillresponse practices before allowing drilling to continue. To be sure, both thedeep-water drilling moratorium and the reforms we are implementing have drawnfire from the same powerful interests who have, over the last two decades,systematically fought regulation and oversight of offshore drillingoperations.  But make no mistake:Our country needs these reforms and we will deliver them. We will raise the barfor deep-water drilling. We will hold the industry accountable. And we willbuild the strongest and safest offshore energy development program in theworld. Salazar is secretary of the Interior.

Funny Thing About Ratepayers:They Prefer Affordable Electricity Over the Expensive Stuff – Which Is Why(Lots of) Coal Plants are Being Built Across the Country. AssociatedPress (8/22) reports, "Utilities across the country are building dozens ofold-style coal plants that will cement the industry’s standing as the largestindustrial source of greenhouse gases for years to come. An Associated Pressexamination of U.S. Department of Energy records and information provided byutilities and trade groups shows that more than 30 traditional coal plants havebeen built since 2008 or are under construction. The construction wavestretches from Arizona to Illinois and South Carolina to Washington, and hasemerged despite growing public wariness over the high environmental and socialcosts of fossil fuels, demonstrated by tragic mine disasters in West Virginia,the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and wars in the Middle East. Utilities say theyare clinging to coal because its abundance makes it cheaper than natural gas ornuclear power and is more reliable than intermittent power sources such as windand solar. Sixteen large plants have fired up since 2008, and 16 more are underconstruction, according to records examined by the AP. Combined, they willproduce an estimated 17,900 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to power up to15.6 million homes – roughly the number of homes in California and Arizona.

Finally, a Gov’t Agency with aClear Understanding of Its Mission: Interior Dept. Declares Better Oversight ofOff-Road Desert Racing a "Top Priority." TheHill (8/20) reports, "The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Managementpledged to toughen oversight of off-road racing on public lands after anaccident that killed eight spectators at a truck race Saturday in California’sMojave Desert. BLM said Friday it would "carefully review on a case-by-casebasis each approved and pending request to hold Off-Highway Vehicle races onpublic lands for which it issues permits." "We have launched an internal reviewof the tragedy and we will be taking a very close look at all approved permitsand pending requests and determine whether they are appropriate on acase-by-case basis," BLM Director Bob Abbey said in a statement."When we permit any activity on the public lands, our first priority ispublic and employee safety and health. We will look at these requests carefullyand consider the safety record of the individual or organization requesting apermit." He said the agency is "deeply saddened by the tragedy in theCalifornia Johnson Valley OHV open area" and that BLM will increase itspresence at future events.

Sen. Menendez Sees PoliticalOpportunity in Re-Writing Liability Laws to Prevent Independents from Producingin the Gulf – But Will Landrieu Let Him Get Away with It? E&E News (8/21,subs. req’d) reports, "Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu expressed confidenceyesterday that she and a fellow moderate Senate Democrat were close to acompromise on oil spill liability language after offering two separate proposalsearlier this month. Landrieu said she and Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska were closeto a consensus on liability language they are developing to hold oil companiesaccountable for spills without placing a burden on taxpayers and withoutshutting out smaller companies from operating offshore."We’re working veryclosely together," Landrieu said on the sidelines of a Washington eventfor her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. "And I think by thetime we get back here, we’ll have reached a consensus." Landrieu andBegich have been vocal critics of the unlimited liability language in SenateMajority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) energy and oil spill-response package (S.3663). But the two could not come to an agreement on an alternative proposal beforeleaving for recess earlier this month.

Hava Nagila! Massive Natural GasDiscovery Off Coast of Israel Seen as a Game-Changer Not Just for Economy, Butthe Country’s National Security, Geopolitical Standing. NYTimes (8/20) reports, "Enormous deposits of natural gas have been detectedoff the Israel’s northern coast. Last year, the United States Geological Surveyestimated that more than 120 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserveslie beneath the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, most of it within Israeliterritory. Several months after the report, another field of 8.7 trillion cubicfeet was found off Israel and a second, twice that size, was detected and is thoughtto have a 50 percent chance of proving out. Christopher Schenk, a geologist wholed the Geological Survey’s study, said in a telephone interview that there waslittle doubt of the area’s enormous gas potential. Israel’s energy needs willeasily be filled for the next generation by the gas, and the country could wellbecome an energy exporter. Energy companies have been helping drive the TelAviv Stock Exchange into a swirl of anticipation, and the talk has grown heady."This is a huge deal that could change the geo-strategy of the region andIsrael’s resources for years to come," commented Einat Wilf, a member ofParliament who serves on the foreign affairs and defense committee.

WarmBoot: In Fitting Eulogy to Cap-and-Raid, White House Quietly Removes AllReferences to Policy on Energy and Environment Website – Like It NeverHappened. E&E News (8/19,subs. req’d) reports, "The White House has recently revised its energy andenvironment website, stripping references to a cap-and-trade program forgreenhouse gases and a pledge to funnel $150 billion into clean energyresearch. Gone from the site is a section titled "Closing the CarbonLoophole and Cracking Down on Polluters." The website had pledged to"finally close the carbon pollution loophole" by stemming emissionsthrough a market-based cap, according to a version obtained by Jesse Jenkins ofthe Breakthrough Institute, but the updated version omits any mention of capand trade. The changes were likely made on June 23, according to Peter Bray,co-founder of Versionista, a company that tracks changes to websites. SenateDemocrats continued a last-minute push for a sweeping climate and energy billthroughout June, but prospects for passage appeared grim and Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) punted on an energy and climate bill in late July.The updated site also omits a pledge from President Obama to invest $150billion in clean energy research and development over 10 years. That may bebecause the White House won’t have a way to fund the commitment; Obama’s 2010budget slated $120 billion from cap-and-trade climate revenue toward cleanenergy technologies. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

FriendsLike These: Not a Single Democrat Shows Up in Support of Markey’s Latest ShowHearing on Gulf – Dude Sat on the Dais Yesterday All By His Lonesome. TheHill (8/19) reports, "Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is a one-man show atThursday’s oil spill hearing hosted by the House Energy and Commercesubcommittee he chairs. No other members of either party in his Energy andEnvironment Subcommittee or the full Energy and Commerce Committee is attendingthe hearing. The hearing features administration officials, ocean experts andseafood-industry representatives testifying about the amount of oil thatremains to be cleaned up in the Gulf of Mexico and about the quality of theseafood in the region. Markey noted the absence of his colleagues at the startof the hearing. "We appreciate the fact that it is the middle of the summer. Weknow that many people have gone away," Markey said in his opening statement. "However,the oil has not gone away, and it is important for the Gulf of Mexico residentsto know that the attention on this issue has not gone away. That is why we arehaving this hearing today." Officials representing the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Food and DrugAdministration are defending their assessments that seafood from the Gulf isgenerally safe to eat despite the spill and will update how much oil is left tobe cleaned up.

CA"Clean Tech" Investors Know that Unlimited Access to Other Folks’ Money Is theOnly Way to Profit – "Invest" Millions in Fighting Grassroots CampaignTargeting A.B. 32.  Bloomberg(8/20) reports, "California’s clean energy investors are raising millions ofdollars for an advertising battle with oil refiners who want to delay the state’snew law on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The campaign, supported byinvestors such as Tom Steyer, founder of San Francisco-based hedge fundFarallon Capital Management LLC, aims to convince residents to vote against theso-called Proposition 23 when it comes up for approval in November. Theproposal, backed by the oil industry, would delay laws to begin regulating thestate’s carbon emissions in 2012. California’s Global Warming Solutions Act,signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2006, requires the state cutoutput of greenhouse gases linked to climate change to their 1990 levels by2020. The state will introduce a cap-and-trade program to put a price on carbonemissions and trade pollution rights. "It would be a big setback for cleanenergy in the U.S. if California’s climate-change law is overturned," KevinParker, the global head of asset management for Deutsche Bank AG, said in atelephone interview. If the most populous state backs away, it would give otherstates and the federal government "a free pass to do nothing" on curbinggreenhouse gases, said Parker, who oversees about $7 billion to $7.5 billion inclimate change related investments as part of about $700 billion in funds.

EtTu, Jane? 3 Months Ago, Greens Loved Them Some Jane Lubchenco; But Now NOAAChief Says Most of Oil is Gone from Gulf, and So She Must Pay. Politico (8/19)reports, "The Obama administration isn’t backing down on the declaration thatonly 25 percent of spilled oil remains in the Gulf of Mexico in the face ofcriticism from scientists, lawmakers and environmentalists. While the Aug. 4announcements from the White House briefing room and morning news shows drewpositive headlines, they have put officials in the uncomfortable position ofdefending a view of the spill that some say is far rosier than the picture inthe water. Administration officials say they are damned if they do, and damnedif they don’t, when it comes to releasing information from one point in time inthe midst of a fluid situation. "Folks are seriously now saying we shouldn’t have told people whatwe knew. We disagree," one official told POLITICO, noting the White Housewas criticized earlier this summer when it didn’t update the flow rate andother information immediately. "We’re comfortable with our numbers and aswe continue to learn more about what’s happening below the surface andelsewhere, we will build that into our estimate," Jane Lubchenco, thechief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said on ahastily-organized call with reporters Thursday.

Here’sHow You Know These Guys Are Serious: One Shell Platform in the Gulf Cost Moreto Engineer (Three Times More, Actually) than NASA’s Mars Pathfinder. NPR(8/18) reports, "New technology has changed oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexicotoo. As seen in the wake of BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf, companies havesophisticated technology like remote-controlled submarines. That means they canexplore for oil in places humans can’t even go. Sometimes the projects resemblea space mission. "The space program and the offshore industry have longshared technologies and learned from each other," says Tyler Priest,professor of global studies at the University of Houston. In 1996 NASA launcheda probe to Mars, and that same year Shell launched a drilling platform in 3,000feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. "The difference being that Shell’splatform cost more than three times as much as NASA’s Mars Pathfinder, and arguablyinvolved more sophisticated technology and more sophisticated remoteengineering," Priest says. Now companies are drilling in 10,000 feet ofwater. "The fact that you can count on one hand the kind of blowouts thathave occurred in the face of these tens of thousands of wells is a prettyremarkable testimony to the safety and the risk management that the companiesprovide," Hofmeister says.

Centerfor Biological Diversity Has Two Departments In Its Office: One Files LawsuitsAll Day Long; The Other Issues Snarky Quotes to Politico and E&E Reporters. E&E News (8/19,subs. req’d) reports, "An environmental group asked a federal court today tostop construction of a 677-mile natural gas pipeline that would link producersin the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Northwest and California. The Center forBiological Diversity filed a motion for an injunction in the 9th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals here, asking for a temporary stay that would stop Ruby PipelineLLC, a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., from proceeding. The group has also filed alawsuit to halt the pipeline separate from the injunction attempt. El Paso hasignored the legal challenge and broke ground on the project earlier this month.A corporate spokesman reached in Houston said the company has no plans to stopand is proceeding as planned. The center in its lawsuit argues that federalpermits from BLM and an endangered species analysis from the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service are flawed. Noah Greenwald said the pipeline would jeopardizea number of endangered fish, including the Lahontan cutthroat trout, WarnerCreek sucker, Lost River sucker and Colorado pike minnow. Officials at El Pasosaid that a conservation agreement drafted by a number of parties to protectsage grouse habitat and purchase grazing leases is enough mitigation to offsetthe project’s effects in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California.

RyanReynolds (of Van Wilder, Mr. Scarlett Johansson Fame) Applies Just a Bit Too MuchBronzer (Made from Oil) to Cut "PSA" Ad for NRDC Targeting … Oil. Politico(8/19) reports, "He may be best known for his six-pack abs, for his roster ofrom-coms or as Mr. Scarlett Johansson, but Ryan Reynolds is also speaking upfor battling climate change. The actor spent the summer in New Orleans filmingaction flick "The Green Lantern" and was moved to make a statement after flyingover the Deepwater Horizon site. He teamed up with the Natural ResourcesDefense Council to create a short video urging viewers to remember the BP oilspill and ask the Senate to continue fighting climate change. "What’s the priceof a gallon of gas?" asks Reynolds, with images of the spill flashing on thescreen. "It’s one thing here in Louisiana, it’s another in the tar sands ofAlberta and it’s something else in the skies over Los Angeles." All thoselocales are of course close to Reynolds’ heart as he is a Canadian residing inL.A.   Reynolds (who seems tobe wearing a touch too much man bronzer in the video) is among a handful ofcelebs who have joined forces with the NRDC, including Sigourney Weaver, whoblogged about the NRDC’s film "Acid Test" in July.

WarmBoot: In Fitting Eulogy to Cap-and-Raid, White House Quietly Removes AllReferences to Policy on Energy and Environment Website – Like It NeverHappened. E&E News (8/19,subs. req’d) reports, "The White House has recently revised its energy andenvironment website, stripping references to a cap-and-trade program forgreenhouse gases and a pledge to funnel $150 billion into clean energyresearch. Gone from the site is a section titled "Closing the CarbonLoophole and Cracking Down on Polluters." The website had pledged to"finally close the carbon pollution loophole" by stemming emissionsthrough a market-based cap, according to a version obtained by Jesse Jenkins ofthe Breakthrough Institute, but the updated version omits any mention of capand trade. The changes were likely made on June 23, according to Peter Bray,co-founder of Versionista, a company that tracks changes to websites. SenateDemocrats continued a last-minute push for a sweeping climate and energy billthroughout June, but prospects for passage appeared grim and Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) punted on an energy and climate bill in late July.The updated site also omits a pledge from President Obama to invest $150billion in clean energy research and development over 10 years. That may bebecause the White House won’t have a way to fund the commitment; Obama’s 2010budget slated $120 billion from cap-and-trade climate revenue toward cleanenergy technologies. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

FriendsLike These: Not a Single Democrat Shows Up in Support of Markey’s Latest ShowHearing on Gulf – Dude Sat on the Dais Yesterday All By His Lonesome. TheHill (8/19) reports, "Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is a one-man show atThursday’s oil spill hearing hosted by the House Energy and Commercesubcommittee he chairs. No other members of either party in his Energy andEnvironment Subcommittee or the full Energy and Commerce Committee is attendingthe hearing. The hearing features administration officials, ocean experts andseafood-industry representatives testifying about the amount of oil thatremains to be cleaned up in the Gulf of Mexico and about the quality of theseafood in the region. Markey noted the absence of his colleagues at the startof the hearing. "We appreciate the fact that it is the middle of the summer. Weknow that many people have gone away," Markey said in his opening statement. "However,the oil has not gone away, and it is important for the Gulf of Mexico residentsto know that the attention on this issue has not gone away. That is why we arehaving this hearing today." Officials representing the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Food and DrugAdministration are defending their assessments that seafood from the Gulf isgenerally safe to eat despite the spill and will update how much oil is left tobe cleaned up.

CA"Clean Tech" Investors Know that Unlimited Access to Other Folks’ Money Is theOnly Way to Profit – "Invest" Millions in Fighting Grassroots CampaignTargeting A.B. 32.  Bloomberg(8/20) reports, "California’s clean energy investors are raising millions ofdollars for an advertising battle with oil refiners who want to delay the state’snew law on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The campaign, supported byinvestors such as Tom Steyer, founder of San Francisco-based hedge fundFarallon Capital Management LLC, aims to convince residents to vote against theso-called Proposition 23 when it comes up for approval in November. Theproposal, backed by the oil industry, would delay laws to begin regulating thestate’s carbon emissions in 2012. California’s Global Warming Solutions Act,signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2006, requires the state cutoutput of greenhouse gases linked to climate change to their 1990 levels by2020. The state will introduce a cap-and-trade program to put a price on carbonemissions and trade pollution rights. "It would be a big setback for cleanenergy in the U.S. if California’s climate-change law is overturned," KevinParker, the global head of asset management for Deutsche Bank AG, said in atelephone interview. If the most populous state backs away, it would give otherstates and the federal government "a free pass to do nothing" on curbinggreenhouse gases, said Parker, who oversees about $7 billion to $7.5 billion inclimate change related investments as part of about $700 billion in funds.

EtTu, Jane? 3 Months Ago, Greens Loved Them Some Jane Lubchenco; But Now NOAAChief Says Most of Oil is Gone from Gulf, and So She Must Pay. Politico (8/19)reports, "The Obama administration isn’t backing down on the declaration thatonly 25 percent of spilled oil remains in the Gulf of Mexico in the face ofcriticism from scientists, lawmakers and environmentalists. While the Aug. 4announcements from the White House briefing room and morning news shows drewpositive headlines, they have put officials in the uncomfortable position ofdefending a view of the spill that some say is far rosier than the picture inthe water. Administration officials say they are damned if they do, and damnedif they don’t, when it comes to releasing information from one point in time inthe midst of a fluid situation. "Folks are seriously now saying we shouldn’t have told people whatwe knew. We disagree," one official told POLITICO, noting the White Housewas criticized earlier this summer when it didn’t update the flow rate andother information immediately. "We’re comfortable with our numbers and aswe continue to learn more about what’s happening below the surface andelsewhere, we will build that into our estimate," Jane Lubchenco, thechief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said on ahastily-organized call with reporters Thursday.

Here’sHow You Know These Guys Are Serious: One Shell Platform in the Gulf Cost Moreto Engineer (Three Times More, Actually) than NASA’s Mars Pathfinder. NPR(8/18) reports, "New technology has changed oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexicotoo. As seen in the wake of BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf, companies havesophisticated technology like remote-controlled submarines. That means they canexplore for oil in places humans can’t even go. Sometimes the projects resemblea space mission. "The space program and the offshore industry have longshared technologies and learned from each other," says Tyler Priest,professor of global studies at the University of Houston. In 1996 NASA launcheda probe to Mars, and that same year Shell launched a drilling platform in 3,000feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. "The difference being that Shell’splatform cost more than three times as much as NASA’s Mars Pathfinder, and arguablyinvolved more sophisticated technology and more sophisticated remoteengineering," Priest says. Now companies are drilling in 10,000 feet ofwater. "The fact that you can count on one hand the kind of blowouts thathave occurred in the face of these tens of thousands of wells is a prettyremarkable testimony to the safety and the risk management that the companiesprovide," Hofmeister says.

Centerfor Biological Diversity Has Two Departments In Its Office: One Files LawsuitsAll Day Long; The Other Issues Snarky Quotes to Politico and E&E Reporters. E&E News (8/19,subs. req’d) reports, "An environmental group asked a federal court today tostop construction of a 677-mile natural gas pipeline that would link producersin the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Northwest and California. The Center forBiological Diversity filed a motion for an injunction in the 9th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals here, asking for a temporary stay that would stop Ruby PipelineLLC, a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., from proceeding. The group has also filed alawsuit to halt the pipeline separate from the injunction attempt. El Paso hasignored the legal challenge and broke ground on the project earlier this month.A corporate spokesman reached in Houston said the company has no plans to stopand is proceeding as planned. The center in its lawsuit argues that federalpermits from BLM and an endangered species analysis from the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service are flawed. Noah Greenwald said the pipeline would jeopardizea number of endangered fish, including the Lahontan cutthroat trout, WarnerCreek sucker, Lost River sucker and Colorado pike minnow. Officials at El Pasosaid that a conservation agreement drafted by a number of parties to protectsage grouse habitat and purchase grazing leases is enough mitigation to offsetthe project’s effects in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and California.

RyanReynolds (of Van Wilder, Mr. Scarlett Johansson Fame) Applies Just a Bit Too MuchBronzer (Made from Oil) to Cut "PSA" Ad for NRDC Targeting … Oil. Politico(8/19) reports, "He may be best known for his six-pack abs, for his roster ofrom-coms or as Mr. Scarlett Johansson, but Ryan Reynolds is also speaking upfor battling climate change. The actor spent the summer in New Orleans filmingaction flick "The Green Lantern" and was moved to make a statement after flyingover the Deepwater Horizon site. He teamed up with the Natural ResourcesDefense Council to create a short video urging viewers to remember the BP oilspill and ask the Senate to continue fighting climate change. "What’s the priceof a gallon of gas?" asks Reynolds, with images of the spill flashing on thescreen. "It’s one thing here in Louisiana, it’s another in the tar sands ofAlberta and it’s something else in the skies over Los Angeles." All thoselocales are of course close to Reynolds’ heart as he is a Canadian residing inL.A.   Reynolds (who seems tobe wearing a touch too much man bronzer in the video) is among a handful ofcelebs who have joined forces with the NRDC, including Sigourney Weaver, whoblogged about the NRDC’s film "Acid Test" in July.

Ragin’Cajun: Landrieu Calls President’s Decision to Institute Blanket Ban on GulfExploration – And Then Fight to Keep It There – "Uninformed," "Reckless." TheHill (8/17) reports, "Senate Small Business chair Mary Landrieu(D-La.) on Tuesday sharply criticized President Obama’s reaction to the oilspill in the Gulf by halting nearly all drilling activity in the area. "Thedecision to stop virtually all new energy exploration in the Gulf of Mexico wasuninformed and in my view borders on reckless," she said in openingremarks at a field hearing on the moratorium’s affect on the local economy."Today, thousands of Gulf Coast businesses are fighting their way out ofthis government imposed economic disaster that only threatens jobs andbusinesses," she said, adding the moratorium has "substantially reducedthe total amount of economic activity taking place along" the Gulf Coast.The senator warned the president’s decision has made the U.S. more dependent offoreign sources of oil since the country continues to consume 20 millionbarrels of oil a day. "[The] U.S. will necessarily increase its oilimports from other countries with far weaker environmental standards andregulatory regimes, such as Nigeria, Angola, and Venezuela," she said."The record shows that these countries suffer significantly more spills ata much, much more frequent rate, causing more harm to the oceans of theworld."

SomethingRotten: Danish Wind Mill Maker, World’s Largest, Loses 30% of Its Value in aSingle Quarter – Three Guesses Who They’re Blaming for That! Bloomberg(8/18) reports, "Vestas, the world’s largest wind-turbine maker, lost more thana quarter of its value in Copenhagen trading after it reported a larger-than-expected loss and cut forecasts, blaming delayed orders.  The stock dropped the most sinceOctober 2008 after Danish company posted a second-quarter loss of 119 millioneuros ($153 million), exceeding the average estimate of a 7.3 million-euro lossin a survey of 15 analysts.  "Rightnow it’s just a shock, and Vestas has suffered a serious blow to itscredibility," Teea Reijonen, a London-based analyst with Royal Bank of ScotlandGroup Plc, said today. "Analysts are going to take a very dim view of marginsfor 2011 given what’s happened this year." Reijonen had a "hold" rating on theshares before today.  Vestas cutits sales forecast for this year to 6 billion euros from 7 billion euros ondelays in expected orders in the U.S., Spain and Germany. The credit crisis hasprompted banks to restrict loans to wind-park developers that buy turbines fromVestas and competitors including Germany’s Siemens AG, Gamesa Corp. TecnologicaSA and General Electric Co. "We were maybe too optimistic on what we expectedwe could execute in the second half of 2010," Vestas Chief Executive OfficerDitlev Engel said today.

FunnyThing About NOx and SOx Emissions from Coal Plants: Declined Another 36% ThisYear; Here’s the Funnier Thing: Had Nothing to Do with "Cap-and-Trade" Program.Greenwire (8/17, subs.req’d) reports, "Coal-fired power plants have continued to cut their soot- andsmog-forming emissions this year, according to newly released estimates fromU.S. EPA.Emissions data for the first two quarters of 2010 show declines intotal emissions as well as emissions intensity — the amount of pollutionproduced per unit of electricity. The roughly 850 coal-fired power plantsregulated under EPA’s existing Acid Rain Program emitted 2.5 million tons ofsulfur dioxide during the first two quarters of this year, a 36 percentdecrease from the 3.9 million tons they released during the first two quartersof 2008. Emissions of nitrogen oxides fell from 1.5 million tons to 930,000tons, a 37 percent decrease. EPA said the new figures should ease worries aboutpossible increases in SO2 emissions while the agency prepares to replace theClean Air Interstate Rule.  As aresult, SO2 prices have continued to fall, leading traders and some utilitiesto ask Congress to intervene. Without an incentive to hold on to bankedallowances, they say, power plants will not install new controls. "Themarket has said, ‘We get the message, these allowances are worthless,’"said Thaddeus Huetteman, chairman of the Environmental Markets Association

Let’sTalk About that Cap-and-Trade Bit on NOx and SOx – Some Folks Like to CompareIt to Cap-and-Raid for CO2 – Here’s Why They’re Wrong. Marlo Lewis writes (8/17) for MasterResource.org,"However successful the SO2 trading program may have been, it is a dubiousmodel for climate policy, because SO2 and CO2 are different. Utilitiesparticipating in the SO2 emissions trading program could meet all or part oftheir obligations by purchasing low-sulfur coal and/or installing scrubbers, acommercially-proven emission control technology. In contrast, as Kenneth Green,Steven Hayward, and Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute pointout, there is no low-carbon coal, and no commercial technology to "scrub"carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions out of power plant exhaust streams. Thus, unlikean SO2 trading program, a carbon cap-and-trade program has a high potential tobecome a job-killing energy-rationing scheme. The greater economic risk ofcarbon cap-and-trade schemes derives from another key difference as well.Unlike sulfur, which is an impurity in coal and oil, carbon is intrinsic to thechemistry of fossil fuels. Consequently, whereas capping SO2 does not logicallyentail an unlimited agenda aiming at the abolition of fossil fuels, capping CO2does imply total suppression as an ultimate objective.

TheWorld Is Not Enough: EPA Announces Plan for Regulating Economic Activity OutsideUS Jurisdiction – "Pollution Doesn’t End at the Border, Neither Can OurProtections." E&E News (8/17,subs. req’d) reports, "U.S. EPA will focus on six major internationalpriorities, including climate change and electronic waste, Administrator LisaJackson told environmental officials from the United States, Canada and Mexicoduring a summit yesterday. Announced during a meeting of the Commission forEnvironmental Cooperation in Guanajuato, Mexico, the goals were outlined in amemo to EPA employees yesterday. They are: building strong environmentalinstitutions and legal structures, combating climate change by limitingpollutants, improving air quality, expanding access to clean water, reducing exposureto toxic chemicals and cleaning up e-waste. The agency is committed tointernational work "at a time when our challenges are no longer local oreven national, but global," Jackson told an audience that includedCanadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Mexican Environment SecretaryJuan Elvira Quesada. "Pollution doesn’t stop at international borders, andneither can our environmental and health protections," Jackson said in astatement. "This document sends a strong message to our partners in theinternational community that our challenges are shared challenges, and that weare eager to work together on solutions."

Here’sHow Angry Al Gore Is that Congress Didn’t Pass Cap-and-Raid: He’s So Angry, HeFiled a Post on His Blog Today Calling on Other Folks to Do a Rally. TheHill (8/17) reports, "Former Vice President Gore is calling for majorrallies to protest congressional inaction on climate change. In a post on hispersonal blog headlined "The Movement We Need," Gore linked to and quoted froman Australian wire service report that "tens of thousands of protesters … havetaken to the streets across Australia to urge the major political parties totake action on climate change." "Across the world, when politicians fail totake action to solve the climate crisis, people are taking action," Gore wrote.He added after excerpting the news report: "It is my hope we see activism likethis here in the United States." Gore noted he trained activists in Australiato deliver the slideshow that formed the basis for the documentary film thatwon him an Academy Award. A representative of Gore’s Alliance for ClimateProtection addressed the rally in Sydney. Gore has in recent weeks stepped uphis criticism of the Senate for its inability to pass a comprehensive energyand climate bill that would put a price on carbon. In a conference call withenvironmental activists last week, he reportedly said "the United Statesgovernment in its entirety, largely because of the opposition in the UnitedStates Senate to taking action on clean energy and a solution to the climatecrisis, has failed us."

GunControl Ain’t About Guns, As They Say – It’s About Control; So It Is with theEnvironmental Movement: Not About the Environment, Just About Moving Your Jobto China. Robert J. Walker,former president of Handgun Control, Inc., writes on Grist.org,"Supporters of climate-change legislation have much to learn from anorganization that is often rated as the most powerful lobby in Washington: theNational Rifle Association. Don’t fear to be feared.  Progressive groups, including many supporters ofclimate-change legislation, love to be loved.  The gun lobby doesn’t care if you don’t like it, so long asyou fear it.  The NRA, the mostpowerful lobby in Washington, is one of the most reviled.  Many members of Congress, even pro-gunmembers, privately bristle at the tactics of the NRA, but that doesn’t stopthem from voting in lockstep with the gun lobby. Don’t get mad, get even.  Bruised, scarred, and brushed aside, noone could blame supporters of climate-change legislation for being angry at apolitical process that has stymied action on an issue of such greatimport.  When I worked on gunissues, I ran into a lot of activists, particularly the victims and survivorsof gun violence, who were incensed at Congress for its failure to adoptsensible gun laws.  The key was tochannel that anger and frustration into constructive action, and we did thatwith the passage of the Brady Law and the federal assault-weapons ban.

Meanwhile,Back in the Parts of the World that Actually Produce Energy: Massive Deepwater FindsOff the Coast of Australia – This Time, for Natural Gas. WallStreet Journal (8/18) reports, "Three significant deepwater gas discoveriesoff the west coast of Australia announced this week by Chevron Corp. andWoodside Petroleum Ltd. could add momentum to the nation’s emergence as a topnatural gas exporter.  Chevron onMonday said its Acme well, about 150 kilometers off the coast of WesternAustralia state, encountered a net gas pay of 896 feet, making it "one ofour most significant natural-gas discoveries in Australia." It was one ofnine discoveries by Chevron in the area since August 2009 and twice the size ofits next biggest discovery there. The news came as Perth-based Woodside said the Larsen Deep-1 andAlaris-1 wells struck material amounts of gas. Larsen Deep-1 is owned in ajoint venture with Hess Corp. A projected surge in demand for cleaner-burningfuels from developing Asian economies is prompting energy companies to investbillions of dollars on exploration campaigns and large-scale gas exportprojects. Australia’s stable political environment, substantial gas reservesand proximity to Asia make it an attractive place to invest, particularly withU.S. gas prices kept low by ballooning domestic supplies.

ReadingNYT’s Interview of Massey’s Blankenship Is Like Reading Tocqueville’s DemocracyIn America – Dude Can’t Believe Something Like This Even Exists! NYTimes (8/17) reports, "As energy executives go, few manage to stircontroversy and elicit vitriol from environmentalists with as much relish asDon L. Blankenship, the mustachioed chief executive of Massey Energy, one ofthe largest coal companies in Appalachia. Massey was the company involved in adeadly explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine earlier this year, it is alsodrawing fire for its plans to surface-mine a West Virginia mountaintop thatactivists in the area, realistically or not, would rather see turned into awind farm. In a lengthy interview, Mr. Blankenship was characteristicallyunreserved in explaining why he sees this idea – along with global warming andopposition to destructive mountaintop-removal mining techniques – as absurd. "Somepeople believe in CO2 so strongly it trumps every other thought that they’vegot, so we wouldn’t expect them to favor coal mining," Mr. Blankenship said. "Somepeople believe that the country should be socialized so they are opposed tofree enterprise. I mean, you have to have your own beliefs, your own corebeliefs, your own strengths and do what you think is right. You can’t do whatothers believe is right, you have to do what you believe is right."

Know Your Audience: Obama VeryCareful on Where Drops a Line for Cap-and-Raid During Trip Out West – Waits ‘Til$1 Million Fundraiser in Los Angeles to Let ‘Er Rip. LATimes (8/17) reports, "Onlookers lined Olympic Boulevard, snappingcellphone photos. One person held a small sign declaring, "We needjobs." "I was an Obama supporter, but … was stopped by police fromcrossing Olympic to get home … during my daily dog walk," Amy Christinesaid on the website. "I’ve lost all belief in his judgment. Can he reallythink he’s more important than the tens of thousands of people trying to gethome to their families?" Obama told the crowd that he and congressionalDemocrats, through the economic stimulus measure, had "made the biggestinvestments in clean energy in our history – building solar panels and windturbines and advanced batteries." Reaching out to Republicans – andevoking his message at a stop he made earlier in the day – Obama said, "Onenergy, we’re willing to compromise on a whole bunch of issues, but we’ve gotto have a strategy that starts to limit carbon, because we want thoseclean-energy jobs here in the United States. Not in China. Not in Germany."On his way west, the president visited Wisconsin, where he told workers at ZBBEnergy Corp. that his administration had helped jump-start "a homegrownclean-energy industry." At the Los Angeles fundraiser, Obama called foremissions limits – the first time he had mentioned them all day.

Fake It ‘Til You Make It (Up):President Just Pulling Numbers Out of the Ether at This Point – Says Green JobsStimulus Cash will Create 800,000 New Jobs (!) in 18 Months. ABCNews (8/16) reports, "Speaking at advanced battery and electricity storageplant outside Milwaukee, President Obama to push his administration’scommitment to a "homegrown clean-energy industry" to jumpstart manufacturingand create jobs. "For years, we’ve heard about manufacturing jobs disappearingoverseas. Well, companies like this are showing us how manufacturing can comeback right here in the United States of America, right back here to Wisconsin,"Obama said at ZBB Energy Corporation in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.  The White House said that ZBB Energy isexpanding its battery production through a $1.3 million Recovery Act loan. Theloan will help fund a factory renovation that the company says will triple itsmanufacturing capacity, help retain several dozen workers and allow it to hire80 new workers. Obama said that the new commitment to clean energy could leadto more than 800,000 new jobs by 2012. "That’s not just creating work in the short term; that’s going to helplay the foundation for lasting economic growth," he said. 

Meanwhile, Investment BankersWho Had Banked on Guaranteed Prices, Markets Thanks to Cap-and-Raid DownrightPetulant Over Congress’s "Inaction" on Artifiically Pricing Carbon. Reuters(8/17) reports, "Alternative energy investment prospects have shriveled in theUnited States after the U.S. Senate was unable to break a deadlock overtackling global warming, a Deutsche Bank official said. "You just throwyour hands up and say … we’re going to take our money elsewhere," saidKevin Parker in an interview with Reuters. Parker, who is global head of theFrankfurt-based bank’s Deutsche Asset Management Division, oversees nearly $700billion in funds that devote $6 billion to $7 billion to climate changeproducts. Amid so much political uncertainty in the United States, Parker saidDeutsche Bank will focus its "green" investment dollars more and moreon opportunities in China and Western Europe, where it sees governmentsproviding a more positive environment. "They’re asleep at the wheel onclimate change, asleep at the wheel on job growth, asleep at the wheel on thisindustrial revolution taking place in the energy industry," Parker said ofWashington’s inability to seal a climate-change program and other alternativeenergy incentives into place. Besides failing to set a policy dealing with climatechange, Parker also complained that on-again, off-again tax incentives forrenewable energy contributes to the poor outlook for investment in the UnitedStates.

Interior Dept. Doubles Down onOffshore Assault – Will Require New EIS and NEPA’s Every Time Someone Throws aDip In Offshore From Now On. E&E News (8/16,subs. req’d) reports, "Full environmental assessments will be required for allnew deepwater drilling, the Interior Department announced today. The move comesas a new federal report outlines flaws in the government’s process in approvingthe well that caused the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The department will curtailthe use of a provision it had been employing to streamline offshore drillingapplications, including the BP PLC well. For deepwater drilling, the departmentwill no longer use "categorical exclusions," which allowed it toapprove projects without preparing new environmental analyses that wouldnormally be required by the National Environmental Policy Act. A new WhiteHouse Council on Environmental Quality report says the categorical exclusionsused to approve the BP plans were established in 1981 and 1986, long beforedeepwater drilling became widespread. The decision also will affect newdrilling closer to shore. All shallow-water plans will require acategorical-exclusion review to examine whether any factors would trigger anenvironmental assessment — such as the use of unusual technology or a locationnear biologically sensitive areas — and whether the plan’s worst-case spillvolume is greater than accounted for in oil spill response plans.

Lehman, PA’s About as Rural AsIt Gets – Folks Out There Love Their Land, Love Their Country, and Love ThemSome Marcellus Shale Exploration As Well. Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) TimesLeader (8/17) reports, "Despite negative feedback in recent months fromanti-"fracking" groups concerning Marcellus Shale gas drilling, supervisors onMonday night expressed their support for the industry, as did several townshipresidents. Fracking refers to the drilling process of hydraulic fracturing,which uses water and chemicals under pressure to liberate natural gas from theshale deposits. Many have expressed concern that the process could impactdrinking water wells. Carl Kern, who owns trucks that service drillers inBradford County, said the public should listen to the positive side of drillinginstead of the protest.  Forexample, he said the companies are maintaining the roads they use. In LehmanTownship, if a road repair is necessary, the supervisors can call the companyand it will fix it, he said. Board Chairman Dave Sutton concurred, adding thatif the township must repair a road in an emergency situation, it will bereimbursed by the drillers. "It’s nice to hear something positive," Suttonsaid. Kern discussed his support with state Sen. Lisa Baker and believes she isdoing what she can to ensure the drilling "is done right."

EPA Jumps the Shark (Again):Agency Gets Set to Issue New CAFE Rules for Huge Industrial Work Trucks – Can’tWait to See What a Hybrid Caterpillar Looks Like. Greenwire (8/16, subs.req’d) reports, "The Obama administration is preparing to issue new fueleconomy standards and the first-ever greenhouse gas limits for large trucks andbuses. U.S. EPA and the Transportation Department sent draft rules Friday tothe White House regulatory review office that would limit heavy-duty vehicles’emissions under the Clean Air Act and boost fuel economy standards for medium-and heavy-duty trucks, according to a federal website that tracks new rules.President Obama announced the latest initiative during a Rose Garden speech inMay, where he directed officials at EPA and DOT to expand on a joint rulemakingfinalized earlier this year for cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2012through 2016. Obama issued a memorandum directing the agencies to expand theprogram to include medium- and heavy-duty trucks for model years 2014 through2018. "While the federal government and many states have now created aharmonized framework for addressing the fuel economy of and greenhouse gasemissions from cars and light-duty trucks, medium- and heavy-duty trucks andbuses continue to be a major source of fossil fuel consumption and greenhousegas pollution," Obama wrote in the memo.

Sierra Club Chooses College inVermont as "Greenest University" — For the 321^st Consecutive YearThat the Survey Has Been Around. SierraMagazine, the Club’s monthly rag (8/16), writes, "Green Mountain College;Poultney, VT | Score: 88.6; GMC excels in most categories, and it’s the MVPwhen it comes to creativity. The campus gets power and heat from biomass andbiogas (a.k.a. cow power) and plans to be carbon-neutral by next year.Intercollegiate rivalry is a long and hallowed tradition. That was theoperating premise, anyway, behind our fourth annual Coolest Schools survey. Wesent out 11-page questionnaires to 900 colleges and universities across theUnited States, asking them to detail their sustainability efforts. We received162 responses, nearly all of them painstakingly thorough. Justin Mog, who workson sustainability initiatives at Kentucky’s University of Louisville, was oneof several respondents who confirmed our original idea, thanking us for"keeping up the competitive pressure on universities to push thesustainability envelope." Although we worked hard to apply rigorous,objective standards when evaluating the questionnaires, a certain amount ofsubjectivity was inevitable, and we hope that readers (and the growing legionof college sustainability officers) will bear that in mind. The point, afterall, is to create competition, to generate awareness, and to celebrate that somany colleges even have a sustainability officer.