The Obama administration’s Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has had a very busy first six weeks. His agency, which handles most domestic energy leasing, has already canceled many onshore oil and natural gas leases. Interior has also slowed to a crawl any progress on new offshore oil leases, and has done the same for oil shale in Colorado. The pro-energy promise of 2008, when President Bush and Congress belatedly began to respond to skyrocketing pump prices by allowing increased domestic production, has already been reversed. In this short span, …
The ongoing row between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas supplies to Europe appears to be deepening. This comes just days after the European Union announced what was supposed to be a breakthrough agreement to get gas flowing again to at least 15 European countries, leaving millions in the cold. EurActiv.com reports that the ongoing crisis between Moscow and Kiev appears to be a strategy of “delusion, reminiscent of the Cold War.” Along those lines, an official at the Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom went so far as to accuse …
The Congressional restrictions on energy leasing in 85 percent of America’s territorial waters, which have been renewed annually since 1982, were allowed to lapse this year. They expired on September 30th, and since overlapping White House restrictions were rescinded by President Bush a few months ago, nearly all of our federally controlled waters are now open for energy leasing. Senator Harry Reid has already implied he wants to reinstate the ban, saying “We look forward to working with the next president to hammer out a final resolution of this issue.” …
The day before the Democratic National Convention Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) went on Meet the Press and told Tom Brokaw: I’m, I’m, I’m investing in something I believe in. I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels. … These investments in wind, in solar and biofuels and focus on natural gas, these are the real alternatives. As we pointed out at the time, natural gas is not an alternative to fossil fuels … it is a fossil fuel. And as the “Energy Kids Page” of …
Finally giving up some ground to reality, Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled her energy package and conceded more than early reports indicated she would. But despite headlines like “Democrats Reluctantly Embrace Offshore Drilling,” it is exceedingly important that conservatives keep their eye on the ball. Earlier this week, the House leadership promised Congress a vote on the Republican “all-of-the-above” plan. Americans deserve a full debate on energy so it is imperative that conservatives force Pelosi to honor that promise. Pelosi’s Package: Do not believe everything you read about Pelosi’s new willingness …
Energy consistently ranks among the top three issues Americans care most about this year. So when Sarah Palin burst onto the national scene, the first thing we did was analyze her record on the issue. The mainstream media, however, seemed mostly interested in attacking Palin’s personal life. But slowly they are returning to cover the public policy issues at stake. Today The Washington Post takes a look at Palin’s efforts to build a natural gas pipeline in Alaska: Ms. Palin is indeed correct about the need to tap the 35 …
DENVER – OK … he bought everybody in The Big Tent lunch today. Pickens sponsored a meal for all the bloggers here catered by Wahoo’s Fish Tacos (I had a steak burrito). Later Pickens took to the main stage where he was joined by Sierra Club president Carl Pope and Center for American Progress president John Podesta. Pope and Podesta enthusiastically endorsed the Pickens plan. Coupled with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s personal investment and rhetorical support for Pickens, it is becoming clear that the left is adopting the Pickens energy platform …
DENVER – It’s not just Nancy. This Sunday on Meet the Press Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended her personal investment in T. Boone Pickens energy plan telling Tom Brokaw: “I’m, I’m, I’m investing in something I believe in. I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuels.” The Pickens plan is very popular among progressives here at The Big Tent. On the main stage now is a panel titled “Faces from the Front: Western Perspectives on the Drilling Boom” and all the speakers are big fans of …
DENVER — This week, The Foundry is reporting on all the sights, sounds and flavors of the Democratic National Convention. And one of the first “sights” for those arriving by airplane is a video on the catastrophic dangers of global warming. You don’t really have much of a choice of whether to watch: The video blares as you wait for the tram to take you to the main terminal. At the main terminal, you’re greeted by the face of Gov. Bill Ritter (D) on a banner extolling the virtues of …
President Bush has done his part and now it will be up to Congress to do theirs. President Bush is lifting an executive order restricting offshore continental shelf drilling, an order put in place by George H.W. Bush in 1990. President Bush said in this speech, “The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress.” The Heritage Foundation’s Ben Lieberman writes that OCS restrictions are a relic of the past; they were put in place to please environmentalists at a …
