Offshore oil and gas drilling from 2012-2017 would be focused in the western and central Gulf of Mexico and off the shores of northern and southern Alaska, if the Dept. of Interior's proposed plan and draft programmatic environmental impact statement, released Nov. 8, 2011, are accepted as is. A 60-day public comment period ends Jan. 9, 2012.
"Google Inc has abandoned an ambitious project to make renewable energy cheaper than coal, the latest target of Chief Executive Larry Page's moves to focus the Internet giant on fewer efforts."
"State and federal wildlife officials have a rare opportunity to stem the decline of American shad on the Susquehanna River, a Chesapeake Bay tributary crucial to annual spawning runs."
"HONG KONG — Chinese solar panel makers plan to shift some of their production to South Korea, Taiwan and the United States in hopes of defusing a trade case pending against them in Washington, according to industry executives. But at the same time, the Chinese industry is considering retaliating by filing a trade case of its own with China’s Commerce Ministry."
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"The Obama administration controls the tie-breaking vote on a plan to begin drilling for natural gas in the Northeast, shining a spotlight on its efforts to find a middle ground on the use of hydraulic fracturing to tap deep shale rock formations for energy.
"Several times a day, long trainloads of coal trundle through Missoula to power plants in Washington. Those routine runs generate lots of electricity for homes and lots of consternation for politicians and scientists concerned about the trade-offs. In the short term, coal's convenience and low price make it a simple answer to the nation's energy needs. But its pollution, damage to water supplies and impact on global climate may produce a long-term cost we're unable to afford."
"VANCOUVER -- A Canadian environmental organization has launched a new automated system to draw public attention to the number and size of the oil tankers that transit Vancouver's Burrard Inlet."
"After deciding it isn't worth cleaning up one of the nation's dirtiest power plants, the owners of an aging coal-burner along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan are shutting it down sooner than expected."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation [Wednesday]formally unveiled their joint proposal to set stronger fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for model year 2017-2025 passenger cars and light trucks."
The White House rejected the House Energy Committee's subpoena for "all internal communications" related to federal loan guarantees for the now-bankrupt Solyndra solar panel company.
