Energy & Fuel

"Democratic senators from the California, Oregon and Washington state launched a new drive Tuesday to ban drilling off the Pacific coast but face long odds of getting the bill past the House’s new Republican majority, especially at a time of high gasoline prices."

"President Obama’s call for Congress to pass a mandate that includes both traditional renewable energy sources like wind and solar as well as GOP favorites nuclear and 'clean coal' may be the driver needed to bang through the most aggressive and politically feasible means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions on Capitol Hill this Congress."

"The United States is poised to bet its energy future on natural gas as a clean, plentiful fuel that can supplant coal and oil. But new research by the Environmental Protection Agency -- and a growing understanding of the pollution associated with the full 'life cycle' of gas production—is casting doubt on the assumption that gas offers a quick and easy solution to climate change."

The oil and gas industry is slurping up available groundwater in parts of South Texas where population growth is exploding and global warming may diminish rainfall. There may be a serious crunch ahead.

"Talisman Energy has resumed its Marcellus drilling operations in Pennsylvania, a week after one of the company's gas wells experienced a blowout that caused an uncontrolled discharge of sand and fracking fluids onto state forest lands in Tioga County."

"A massive feat of engineering by any measure, the Keystone pipeline expansion project would transport crude oil close to 1,700 miles from "oil sands" in the icy reaches of Hardisty, Alberta, down through the Great Plains to the refineries of Port Arthur, Tex. In doing so, the giant pipe also promises to allay some fears about U.S. energy security: The oil will come from a trusted ally, and its cross-continental path avoids visions of another deep-sea drilling disaster."

"The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that cars and light trucks from the 2001 model year onward can safely use a blend of 15 percent ethanol mixed with gasoline, up from the 10 percent standard now in effect in much of the country. The decision expands the pool of vehicles that could use such a fuel to about 62 percent of the total on the roads."

"Representative Edward Markey on Thursday asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to launch an immediate investigation into a $16 billion share-swap plan between BP and state-owned Russian oil firm Rosneft."

Quite a few mayors are praising the Energy Department efficiency and conservation block grants authorized under the economic stimulus -- and are seeking to make it permanent.