New report lays out failures that led to Deepwater Horizon explosion

An interim report released today by the National Academy of Engineering lays out a series of failures that led to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill.

The report isn’t pretty. It points to “failures and missed indications of hazard,” “insufficient checks and balances” on safety and a More…

Will Rockefeller’s proposal to delay EPA climate action get a lame-duck vote?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met late yesterday with Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) to discuss whether he would allow a vote on the West Virginia lawmaker’s proposal to delay the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by two years.

Reid said yesterday before the meeting that More…

Reid will delay procedural vote on electric, natural gas vehicles bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has decided to delay a procedural vote on a bill to encourage the development of electric and natural gas vehicles.

Regan Lachapelle, Reid’s spokeswoman, said canceling the cloture vote on the bill, set for tomorrow, in favor of continuing discussion with Republicans will give More…

Upton lays out his energy committee agenda

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) sent a letter to presumptive House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) today outlining his priorities for the House Energy & Commerce Committee, if he becomes chairman. The letter is heavy on conservative go-to issues — cutting spending, “restoring freedom” and protecting human life — but noticeably light on More…

Republicans blast Manchin’s support for Reid as majority leader

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is targeting newly sworn-in Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for voting today to keep Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in his position as majority leader. The NRSC painted Reid as an “anti-coal” lawmaker who “strongly supports a job-killing cap-and-trade energy tax and has repeatedly attacked West Virginia’s More…

Ethanol industry looks to tack tax credits onto Bush tax cuts extension

The ethanol industry is eying the likely extension of the Bush tax cuts as a potential vehicle for extending key ethanol tax credits. (See our lame-duck preview for more on these tax credits.)

Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, a major ethanol industry trade group, told More…

A look at the latest climate research and its impact on the energy debate

In the spirit of writing more often about climate research, I thought I’d share some new data on the impact of climate change on coral reefs and forests. Climate advocates have homed in on the research in the latest effort to call for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The More…

Harkin threatens to oppose electric vehicles bill if ethanol provisions aren’t added

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), in a floor speech today, called for expanding electric and natural gas vehicles legislation slated to come up for a procedural vote during the lame-duck session to encourage the use of ethanol. While he said he would vote for cloture on the bill, he warned that More…

Covering climate policy: science versus politics

Maybe it’s time to renew my pledge to write more often about climate science and how it shapes the political debate.

Reuters reports on a new study that shows that under 10 percent of the articles written about last year’s United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen focused More…

Business leaders call for electric vehicle legislation

A coalition of business leaders today called for passage of a series of proposals that would provide tax credits for the purchase and production of electric vehicles.

The push comes as an electric and natural gas vehicles bill that addresses a number of the coalitions concerns is expected to come More…