"About an hour's drive southwest of Las Vegas, on a private 2,200-acre desert patch flanked by Clark Mountain and the Mojave National Preserve, lies an idled mine many consider to be a linchpin in the U.S. push for energy independence and national security."
"When Barack Obama took over the White House from George W. Bush, environmental activists breathed a collective sigh of relief. ... But recently, Obama and his administration have been taking flak from the left on the environment."
"Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is certainly making the rounds today, in support of his company’s latest PR campaign — this one an all-out effort to convince the public that the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster was an unavoidable act of God."
"A major U.S. government agency has thrown up a new political roadblock for a $12-billion TransCanada Pipelines project by questioning the need for a new pipeline to carry bitumen from Alberta's oilsands to American refineries."
"The ethanol industry is feverishly lobbying lawmakers in an effort to hang onto billions of dollars in subsidies that are set to expire — although there appears to be some discord on the message front."
"Just got confirmation from several Senate offices about what is actually going to be in the package Democrats put forward next week. In a nutshell, this is going to be a very tiny package, with little in the way of energy measures. I'm not even sure you can call it an energy package at this point."
"A federal judge on Wednesday stopped companies from developing oil and gas wells on billions of dollars in leases off Alaska's northwest coast, saying the federal government failed to follow environmental law before it sold the drilling rights."
"The effort to advance a major climate change bill through the Senate this summer collapsed Thursday ... Bowing to political reality, Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, said the Senate would not take up legislation intended to reduce carbon emissions blamed as a cause of climate change, but would instead pursue a more limited measure focused on responding to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and tightening energy efficiency standards."
"Three out of every four lobbyists who represent oil and gas companies previously worked in the federal government, a proportion that far exceeds the usual revolving-door standards on Capitol Hill, a Washington Post analysis shows."
"Senate Democrats appear unsure how to proceed on major energy legislation, with just days remaining on the Senate's summer schedule. The uncertainty is prompting grim forecasts for the passage of any bill -- one containing climate provisions or not."
Advertisement 
