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New York Times
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Jul 20, 08 1:05 PM CDT
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If a "crisis is a terrible thing to waste," then George Bush's reactions to 9/11 and the $4.11 average gas cost make him a doubly terrible leader, writes Tom Friedman in the New York Times . Instead of using rising gas costs to spur the nation to energy independence, "Our Decider decided to lift the executive orders banning (offshore) drilling—even though he knew this was a meaningless gesture," because of a Congressional moratorium.
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USA Today
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Jul 20, 08 6:10 AM CDT
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The Big Apple's unprecedented plan to turn its famous yellow cabs green could run into an old-fashioned supply-and-demand problem this fall, USA Today reports. Starting in October, the city is requiring that any new replacement cabs be hybrids. But the transition may be difficult because gas prices have triggered a fever-pitch demand for the fuel-efficient cars. "Consumers have been on waiting lists for months, and even they can't get one," said one analyst.
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Reuters
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Jul 18, 08 12:18 PM CDT
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Think you’re paying a lot for gas? Try telling that to the people in Lime Village, Alaska, an isolated outpost where prices have hit $8.55 a gallon. Alaska is a major crude supplier, but its residents, paradoxically, face the highest average gas prices in the nation, Reuters reports, because the economies of scale don’t work in the sparsely populated state.
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Yale Environment 360
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Jul 17, 08 11:31 AM CDT
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“Clean coal” is the buzzword of the moment, with industry groups and presidential candidates swearing by a work-in-progress technique known as carbon capture and storage (CCS), which ultimately buries carbon dioxide emissions deep underground. But Jeff Goodell, writing in Yale Environment 360 , doesn’t buy it. “We don’t need to bury our problems,” Goodell writes. “We need to reinvent our world.”
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Wall Street Journal
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Jul 17, 08 9:30 AM CDT
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As energy prices soar, many Texans are wishing they had added "regulation of electrical companies" to the list of things not to mess with. Authorities predicted competition would lower prices when they deregulated the industry in 1999, the Wall Street Journal reports, but inadequate infrastructure, rising fuel costs, and other factors have meant just the opposite.
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Fast Company
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Jul 16, 08 11:59 AM CDT
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Vinod Khosla isn’t just smarter and richer than the average venture capitalist—he’s greener, too. Khosla has sunk $450 million into what he calls “imprudent science experiments" over the past 4 years, financing 45 enviro-tech startups. “We've funded an incredible number of things that would make no sense at all for a traditional venture fund,” the 53-year-old tells Fast Company.
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Jul 15, 08 4:41 PM CDT
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“Misunderstood, mocked and maligned” though he was, Jimmy Carter was exactly right about our energy problems and their solutions, Joseph Wheelan writes in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Way back in 1979, "Carter outlined a program for achieving energy independence." In 2008, "It turns out that Carter was right after all."
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Fast Company
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Jul 15, 08 11:56 AM CDT
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With US homes on average twice as large as they were 50 years ago—and, of course, dwarfing those in all other developed countries—rethinking our idea of "home" is as crucial to cutting global warming as switching to a smaller car, says architect Edward Mazria in Fast Company . Half of all greenhouse gas emissions are building-related; residential buildings make up 21% of national energy consumption—almost as much as transportation.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jul 15, 08 11:22 AM CDT
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As fuel costs, and eco-guilt, creep upward, Americans are leaving the thermostat high or kicking air conditioning altogether this summer, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some two-thirds of families are reducing air-conditioning use, a poll finds, as power plants raise prices as much 30% to keep up with natural-gas hikes. Meanwhile, people are getting creative to keep cool.
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Associated Press
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Jul 14, 08 10:24 AM CDT
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President Bush is about to lift the ban on offshore drilling that's stood since his father was in office, White House press secretary Dana Perino announced today. The move will be meaningless unless Congress follows suit, the AP reports. Two bans on the practice are in place: an executive order signed by Bush 41 and a law enacted by Congress.
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Washington Post
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Jul 11, 08 2:24 PM CDT
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Regulation of greenhouse gas emissions will have to wait until President Bush is out of office, the EPA announced today. Instead, the agency will say it needs months of further public comment to make any decision. The statement is the end result of a protracted White House effort to tone down the agency’s findings, the Washington Post reports.
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Los Angeles Times
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Jul 11, 08 11:17 AM CDT
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Gas, as you may have heard, has topped $4 a gallon, and Joel Stein of the LA Times loves it. "Cheap gas is unfair," he argues, tongue mostly in cheek. Heck, why not make it $8 or even $10 a gallon, as in Europe, "where they have fewer road deaths even though they drive like complete idiots"?
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Yale Environment 360
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Jul 10, 08 1:42 PM CDT
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As the Arctic sea ice melts, it’s uncovering vast resources, leading to an international energy and mining rush. Companies are lining up to explore the region, and nations are reviving Arctic border disputes in hopes of tapping its wealth. But the exploitation of the area’s resources could have dire environmental consequences, Ed Struzik writes on Yale Environment 360.
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Financial Times (UK)
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Jul 10, 08 11:32 AM CDT
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French energy giant Total, the last major Western energy group that planned to invest in development of Iran's huge natural gas fields, is dropping out of the project, the Financial Times reports. The turnabout is a victory for the Bush administration's efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear program; it's expected to delay Tehran's efforts to raise its gas production for at least a decade.
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New York Times
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Jul 9, 08 2:29 AM CDT
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Lawmakers who returned to their districts for the 4th of July break have been pushed back to Congress with a resounding order to take action to lower gas prices . Angry and anxious taxpayers have made it clear that soaring energy prices are their chief concern, giving their representatives fresh impetus to work for bipartisan action, reports the New York Times. But compromise may be tough.
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Politico
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Jul 8, 08 11:12 AM CDT
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to forge a bipartisan coalition on domestic oil drilling, Politico reports. Republican senators believe they can sway enough moderate Democrats on an amendment to end a federal ban on coastline drilling—allowing a dramatic shift in US energy policy, and reaping a big victory for the GOP.
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Reuters
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Jul 7, 08 9:46 AM CDT
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Toyota plans to go even more “green” with its hybrid Prius, offering solar panels as a high-end option beginning with the 2009 model year, reports Reuters. And, although the panels will do little more than help power the air conditioning system, Toyota’s move shows just how far automakers are willing to go to engineer greener vehicles.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jul 7, 08 7:38 AM CDT
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As oil flirts with $150 a barrel, nearly double its price from last year, the specter of $6 a gallon gas at US pumps has become more real. A plethora of factors—from the threat of conflict with Iran to tight supplies and a weak dollar—continue to exert upward pressure on crude prices, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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