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According to current documents the Copenhagen Treaty, if signed by President Obama in December, will ultimately make the U.S., along with other "developed nations", financially responsible for the CO2 emissions of "developing nations". Read the document here. "Recognizing that current and potential climate change impacts require a shift in the global investment patterns and that criteria for financing allocation shall clearly respond to the priorities identified by the international community, with climate change stabilization being one of these priorities." What does this mean? Essentially, the treaty would mandate that the U.S. and other developed nations share there wealth with developing...

Vice President Biden on Wednesday reiterated the Obama administration's commitment to building the nation's renewable-energy capacity, an effort he says will create thousands of new jobs. "We're not just looking for jobs, we're looking for decent jobs," Biden told business and environmental leaders gathered on Capitol Hill. "These are the kind of jobs that allow people to get to the middle class." Delivering remarks at a green jobs summit held by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, Biden cited studies showing green-collar jobs pay 10 to 20 percent more than "traditional" jobs and noted jobs installing and creating new...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans said on Wednesday they are working with Democrats to come up with compromise energy legislation that would tackle record gasoline prices and open more offshore areas to oil drilling. Instead of trying to move a broad energy bill that is loaded with all sorts of energy proposals, a bipartisan group of 10 senators is working on more narrow legislation that would have a better chance of winning the 60 votes needed in the Senate to block a filibuster. "(We) are trying to move us in a direction to get a package that could actually pass...

Gas prices spur new energy billsHigh gasoline prices have sparked Congress to sponsor a gusher of energy legislation, some of which would face a veto by President Bush. Posted on Sat, May. 24, 2008 BY KEVIN G. HALL khall@mcclatchydc.com WASHINGTON -- With the price of oil and gasoline at record levels and sure to be a campaign issue in the fall, Congress is moving on a host of energy-related measures. Most of them, however, sound good but won't significantly boost production or lower prices in the near or even medium term. Some tax measures would encourage the development of alternative...

President Bush entered office calling on Congress to pass the first national energy plan in a generation. He proposed a comprehensive energy plan to encourage conservation and energy efficiency; expand the use of alternative and renewable energy; increase the domestic production of conventional fuels; and invest in modernization of our energy infrastructure. The energy bill passed by Congress this week paves the way for a brighter and more secure energy future with more reliable, affordable, and clean sources of energy to power America forward. It will help put us on the path to reducing our dependence on foreign sources...

The energy bill that President Bush just signed into law is a significant victory for environmentalists, who have long pushed for such measures as expanded ethanol production. But the centerpiece of the bill--for which environmentalists have been agitating for years--is a major increase in automobile fuel economy standards, the first such increase since 1975. The law forces auto manufacturers to increase the average mileage of cars, SUVs, and light trucks to 35 mpg by 2020. Currently, the standard is 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg for SUVs and light trucks. It might seem obviously beneficial to decree that cars...

If you're like me, the bluster and grandstanding associated with big congressional actions make you want to roll up the windows, crank up the radio, and tune out the whole circus. But the mammoth energy bill finally passed by Congress and signed by President Bush is something consumers should pay attention to. Among other things, the new law will directly affect the kinds of cars on the market in a few years--and what buyers pay for them. Some of the big changes that automakers and consumers will both have to contend with: Surprisingly tough gas mileage standards. The requirement to...

The energy bill to be signed by the president today is arguably the worst piece of energy legislation ever enacted into law. It will substantially increase the price of automobiles, increase highway fatalities, increase fuel prices, worsen air pollution, and force consumers to buy products (like super-efficient light bulbs) that they manifestly -- and for very good reason -- do not want to buy. It will transfer huge amounts of wealth from the consumer to the farm lobby in the course of promoting a dubious product -- ethanol -- that will make energy supplies less reliable and greenhouse gas emission...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans blocked a broad energy bill Thursday because it included billions of dollars in new taxes on the biggest oil companies. Democratic leaders fell one vote short, 59-40, in getting the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP filibuster. Democrats said they would strip the taxes from the legislation to move the bill forward. Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he hoped to get the revised energy package approved later in the day, including the first increase in automobile fuel efficiency in three decades and massive increases in the use of ethanol as a motor...

Taxing successful energy sources and subsidizing unsuccessful ones: That's the essence of Washington's energy policy mistakes during the 1970s and early 1980s. These mistakes are about to be repeated in the tax title to the Senate energy bill. This section would raise taxes by an estimated $21 billion over 10 years--including $13 billion from the oil and natural gas sector--and spend much of it on tax breaks for alternative energy sources like ethanol and wind power. As before, this approach will likely backfire and raise prices while reducing energy security. Overall, this tax title makes an anti-consumer energy bill even...

Will the Reality of Biofuels Catch Up With the Hype? by: Emmanuel Opati, December 11, 2007 Experts are warning that mandating use of bio-fuel energy (such as ethanol) by companies is increasing inflation. The Thanksgiving weekend hike of turkey prices is attributed to increased competition for corn products by farmers and oil companies. As a result, the price of corn increased, which consequently raised farm feeds. “The whole food and fiber sector have to bid to get enough supply of the commodity that supplies them, so when corn prices go up, soy bean and wheat prices have to go up...

December 5, 2007 Madame Chairman, thank you for hosting today’s markup of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007. This chart here is a diagram of the bill’s requirements, new agencies and new programs. The first thing one notices is how extremely complicated and far-reaching this proposal is. Rube Goldberg would be proud, as several members will focus upon. I want to focus upon the red blocks at the top. Unfortunately, they are not just blocks - they represent millions of families, farmers, drivers and workers who will pay higher heating bills, suffer more pain at the pump, and lose...

Both Houses of Congress have labored for months on energy bills that claim to reduce our reliance on oil imports, increase energy efficiency and move the country toward energy independence.Both Houses of Congress have labored for months on energy bills that claim to reduce our reliance on oil imports, increase energy efficiency and move the country toward energy independence. Instead, it looks like Congress is planning to tax our way to energy insecurity with provisions that put American energy companies at a global disadvantage. These bills fall short in many ways, but the most striking provision is the repeal of...

Energy: While the Russians plant their flag on the Arctic seabed, Speaker Nancy Pelosi plants a white flag on the House floor. While the world seeks more energy, her energy bill seeks more lawsuits. We are not making this up. Tucked away in HR 3221, the energy-less bill that Pelosi hopes to pass before the August recess, are various mandates for federal agencies to cut their greenhouse-gas emissions. Part of the bill then lets U.S. individuals (aka trial lawyers) sue the feds for up to $1.5 million each per year. That will save the Earth. Can you say class-action lawsuit?...

08/03/2007 By H. JOSEF HEBERT / Associated Press House leaders pressed Democrats from oil states Friday to support $16 billion in oil industry taxes and sought a compromise over use of renewable fuels by electric utilities, hoping to clear the way for approval of energy legislation. But a vote, planned for Friday, was postponed after the House became bogged down over problems with a computerized voting system, compounded by Republican anger over a disputed vote Thursday night on an agriculture bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has vowed to get energy legislation through before lawmakers leave for their summer recess...

WASHINGTON (AP) - House of Representatives' leaders pressed Democrats from oil states Friday to support $16 billion (¤11.6 billion) in oil industry taxes and sought a compromise over use of renewable fuels by electric utilities, hoping to clear the way for approval of U.S. energy legislation. But a vote, planned for Friday, was postponed after the House became bogged down over problems with a computerized voting system, compounded by Republican anger over a disputed vote Thursday night on an agriculture bill. The leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has vowed to get energy legislation through before lawmakers leave...

Washington -- Democrats, in taking back the House from Republicans, promised to tilt the nation's energy policy away from oil drilling and toward efficiency and cleaner sources of energy. This week their pledge will be put to the test. As the House starts debate on its energy bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must decide: Will she push a measure, opposed by electric utilities, to require them to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable sources? Will she allow a vote on a major increase in fuel economy that's being fought by autoworkers' unions and a few powerful Democrats? "When you...

The UN has come forward and admitted something that the rest of us knew well, at least since the days of Live-Aid. The UN has announced that it can’t feed the world. Anyone following the saga of the world’s efforts to feed Somalia could have told us that. If you can’t protect the food, you can’t feed the world. What makes this iteration of UN blame-outsourcing particularly interesting is that they are blaming the environmentalists. Not personally, but indirectly, the UN cites the competition of biofuels for raw agricultural materials, as a source of World Food Program’s current budgetary angst.Josette...

Yesterday the Senate, led by Harry Reid (D-NV) passed an anti-energy bill called Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, that they say is geared towards reducing domestic dependence on foreign oil. The bill however, does not such thing and will have as its main effect, an increase in prices on consumables. Specifically, food, gasoline, automobiles and plastics. The drastic increase in demand for petroleum by developing nations, such as China and India (link) along with the current burdensome restrictions on building new refineries, is the cause for the increase in gasoline prices. It is the simple...

Washington - Rolling over intense opposition from car manufacturers, the Senate on Thursday approved the first substantial increase in mileage requirements for passenger cars in more than two decades. The measure was part of a larger energy bill passed late Thursday by a vote of 65-27. The bill is expected to be taken up by the House next week. The mileage measure was a major defeat for Detroit's Big Three automakers. If it becomes law, the provision would increase the combined average mileage of new cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from about 25...