The Briefing - 6/12/07: Senate Energy Bill Edition

The Senate energy bill looms large... here's a quick rundown of all the news on the bill and its components.

MW

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The Briefing – 6/11/07: Senate Energy Edition
510 days until the NEXT election… and global warming is an integral part of our nation’s agenda!

Media Coverage of the Senate Energy Bill
- What’s Happening:
o Reid hopes to make quick work of energy bill
§ He’s offering a course for energy independence
o Senate and House turn focus to energy
o Regional interests shaping the bills
- Fuel Economy:
o Senate tackles fuel economy rules
o Climate looks ripe
o Reid: Standards must rise
o It’s the Senate v. Automakers on MPG
- Renewables/Biofuels:
o 15% renewable standard may cut CO2 by 3 billion tons by 2030
o National RPS rules key to fixing flaws in state policies
o Focus on mileage and biofuels
o Thune focuses on biofuels
- Global Warming:
o In drive for climate bill, Reid is all energy
- Bad Stuff:
o Groups warn against coal shale subsidies
o Controversial oil substitutes sharply increase emissions, devour landscapes
§ Man, even China doesn’t want CTL
o Coal-to-liquid industry taps controversy
- Controversy:
o Here comes the lobbyists
o Energy bill under fire from several different directions
o The American Petroleum Institute isn’t so happy
- Editorials/Op-Eds
o Harry Reid: How the U.S. Should Fuel Its Prosperity
o LA Times: Serious Energy Reform
o Des Moines Register: Focus Energy Bill on Conservation, Research
o Bangor Daily News: A Better Energy Bill
o Colorado Springs Gazette: Mining the Taxpayers
Quotes O’ the Day
“Our search for solutions must begin at home, powered by American-made ingenuity and innovation. But the impacts of our oil addiction do not stop at our borders; they reverberate around the planet and in the atmosphere that surrounds it.” ~ Majority Leader Harry Reid

The Briefing - 5/29/07: Secret Service, Greenland, Coal, and The Vatican

So according CNN's Money section, Generation Y produces driven, ambitious, and pierced workers. We're a weird lot, focused on success but not afraid to challenge authority. Sounds good, although I hope we can live up to such platitudinal greatness.

MW


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The Briefing – 5/29/07
524 days until the NEXT election… and global warming is an integral part of our nation’s agenda!

Politics, Politicians, Elections, and Electoral Mayhem
- Think you can’t handle this ridiculously large Presidential crowd, what about the Secret Service?
The (supposedly) Presidential ’08 Crowd
- Obama: Hitting Romney and McCain hard; Will unveil health care plan in Iowa; Here’s a sneak peek
- Romney: Playing the lead in Iowa
- Giuliani: Surprisingly, he is backed by social conservatives; Maybe its because he’s smiling
- Edwards: Populism is a risky bet
- Clinton: Vilsack is a key player
- Huckabee: Room for more???
- Bloomberg: Why the fantasy won’t come true
- Biden: May pay political price for Iraq war funding vote
- Coburn: Wait… what... Coburn???
Senatorial Shenanigans
Our Very Own House of Commons
- Texas 22: Lampson will not run for Senate, intends to seek re-election
The Environment and Elections
Environmental Issues People Really Should Care about in the News
- Speaker Pelosi sees firsthand evidence of climate change in Greenland
- US rebuffs Germany on greenhouse gas cuts, consistently holding back the G8
o 2009 set as a deadline for negotiations
- Lawmakers push for big subsidies for coal to liquid
- A legacy issue for older Americans -- What type of planet is being left for future generations?
- Efficiency, not just alternatives, is promoted as an energy saver
- Will warming lead to a rise in hurricanes?
- Oxfam – Rich must pay bulk of climate change bill… who’s Rich?
- Anti-pollution lawsuits have fallen by 70% under the Bush Administration
- From state pride to rarely eyed?
- Biodiesel makers see opportunity
- Program aims to treat nature-deficit disorder
…oh that pesky Blogosphere
- Green Media: The Vatican goes solar
- The Fix: On the Obama-McCain kerfuffle
- MYDD: Frustration with coal-to-liquids
- MYDD: Peterson yields on Farm Bill amendment process
- Grist:
o An interview with Warren Stone, green religious leader
o Dispatches from New Orleans
Miscellaneous… or just plain weird
- Can science outwit storms like Katrina?
- An analysis of Gen Y workforce… not sure if I wholly agree…
- Who needs Mother Nature anyway?
- Man, leave the freakin’ Teletubbies alone
- The nerve.
Quotes O’ the Day
“You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it.” ~ Art Buchwald