Bulletin Blog

Tracking the latest developments on energy and environment

• Senator Seeks Federal Standards On TV Power Use

  Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wants the federal government to follow her state's lead in cutting the energy usage of power-hungry high-definition television sets. The California Energy Commission earlier this week approved a plan to cut the energy consumption of new...

  Tech Daily Dose | November 20, 2009 | 1:49 pm

• Expert Bloggers Split On Reid's Delay

  The decision earlier this week (subscription) by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to delay climate change legislation until spring is drawing criticism and praise in NationalJournal.com's Energy Expert Blog.

  American Chemistry Council CEO Cal Dooley warned that with this delay, "Congress runs the very real risk of letting EPA's regulatory deadlines overtake the legislative process." In fact, neither industry groups, lawmakers, nor the administration want the EPA regulating greenhouse gas emissions, but White House officials say the impending threat of EPA regulation could serve as an incentive for skeptical lawmakers to get on board with climate legislation. "Congress should redouble its efforts to develop effective emissions reduction legislation," Dooley wrote. "But I would argue that Congress's top priority is to stop EPA from moving forward with a regulatory train wreck that EPA estimates could cost as much as $55.5 billion and deliver, by its own admission, 'absurd results.'"

  National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger urged the Senate put energy reform at the top of its agenda immediately after health care, before financial regulatory reform or a jobs bill. "Americans have had enough delay," he wrote. "We can't afford to wait and let clean energy jobs go to other countries ready to invest in clean energy."

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  Amy Harder | November 20, 2009 | 1:15 pm

• Need-To-Know Memo, Nov. 20

  1) With less than three weeks until the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, "a rapid-fire succession of countries are unveiling national plans" to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. A top U.N. official said the organization has plans from every industrialized country except the United States. U.S. climate change envoy Todd Stern said the administration was still deciding whether to release a proposal (New York Times).

  2) Shell Oil's request to drill in Alaska's Chukchi Sea is on hold while the company responds to public criticism of the plan. Shell President Marvin Odum denied that his company asked for a delay, but a letter from an Interior Department agency suggests otherwise (AP). Odum's comments came after a congressional hearing that focused on whether Congress or the Interior Department should have authority over setting buffer zones for offshore oil and gas drilling (Environment & Energy Daily -- subscription).

  3) The "unlikely partnership" between Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on climate change legislation goes back years, to when the senators first got to know each other. They have since worked on numerous pieces of legislation together (The Hill).

  4) Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who was among the first lawmakers to spearhead efforts on climate change legislation, has "emerged as a vocal opponent of the climate bill." The senator maintains that the efforts in both the administration and Congress are too partisan. Others speculate that senior staff changes or Arizona politics could be playing a role in his thinking (Politico).

  5) Almost no major Republican Senate candidate in the 2010 midterm elections is in favor of cap-and-trade legislation. Experts say climate change has "become part of a litmus" test "for GOP candidates and those who had previously supported such a policy have had trouble selling their candidacy to the conservative voters." Republicans facing pressure over their previous support include Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Delaware Rep. Mike Castle (Greenwire).

  Amy Harder | November 20, 2009 | 10:30 am

• ANGA Maintains Renewables, Gas Are Partners

  In response to a report NationalJournal.com published Wednesday on the relationship between the natural gas and renewable energy industries, America's Natural Gas Alliance President Rod Lowman wrote a letter to the editor saying the story "created the erroneous perception that natural gas and renewables are rivals, rather than partners." Read the full letter after the jump.

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  Amy Harder | November 19, 2009 | 1:03 pm

• Kennedy's Passing, Markey's Backing Could Affect Wind Farm

  Depending on what side you're on, Rep. Edward Markey's recent endorsement of a controversial offshore wind farm off the Massachusetts coast is either a boon or a bane. But what's certain is that it's a sign the political winds are shifting more than two months after the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

  The beloved -- and influential -- Democrat had staunchly opposed the Cape Wind project, which would erect 130 wind turbines a few miles off Nantucket Sound, the backdrop of the Kennedy family vacation compound. The wind farm has also faced opposition from Rep. Bill Delahunt (D), whose district includes the sound. Sen. John Kerry (D) still hasn't taken a stand, nor has Sen. Paul Kirk (D), who is filling Kennedy's seat until a January special election. Kirk's office said in a statement that he believes the administration should implement a national ocean policy with zoning requirements before "green-lighting major developments in such sensitive areas."

  Markey (D) had been silent himself until last week, when he wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to approve the project before the U.N. climate change negotiations next month in Copenhagen. "Approving the Cape Wind project as the nation's first commercial offshore wind project before the start of the U.N. conference would send a strong message to international negotiators about the United States' commitment to developing sources of clean energy and reducing global warming pollution," Markey wrote.

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  Amy Harder | November 19, 2009 | 10:00 am

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