"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."
"Have you heard about the massive public uprising to protect Big Oil's tax breaks? No? Oh, probably because it doesn't exist. But that doesn't mean the American Petroleum Institute won't try to convince you it does!"
"Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders took turns Tuesday blasting each other for the ill-fated special session he called to get a constitutional amendment on November’s ballot to ban offshore oil-drilling in Florida waters."
"The U.S. Interior Department issued its first shallow-water drilling permit since offshore exploration companies were required to meet two sets of new safety regulations in response to the BP oil spill, a department official said on Monday."
"The Bush administration focused from its earliest days on ramping up domestic oil and gas production, charged House Democrats, but at the same time allowed the industry a 'dangerous culture of permissiveness' that culminated in the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico."
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