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Kudo of the Week

Energy companies, migrating birds find common ground
The Conservation Fund
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Conservation Fund and industry partners have launched a landmark conservation effort to meet growing energy demand while mitigating impact on critical wildlife habitat.   Read More...

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Energy companies, migrating birds find common ground
The Conservation Fund
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Conservation Fund and industry partners have launched a landmark conservation effort to meet growing energy demand while mitigating impact on critical wildlife habitat.   Read More...

House GOP leaders urge Salazar to end six-month OCS delay now
PennEnergy
Ninety-eight U.S. House Republicans urged Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to end a six-month delay early and move ahead with a 2010-15 federal offshore oil and gas leasing plan he halted on Feb. 10. <   Read More...

Inhofe defends hydraulic fracturing on Senate floor
ProPublica
Sen. James Inhofe defends hydraulic fracturing on the Senate floor.In a lengthy speech Tuesday Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, defended the natural gas production method of hydraulic fracturing and warned that legislation reinstating the Environmental Protection Agency's authority over the process would be a "disaster."   Read More...

Feds affirm drilling near ruins, Golden Spike
Associated Press
A federal appeals board has cleared the way for oil and gas drilling around prehistoric ruins in southern Utah.   Read More...

Lummis, Herseth Sandlin, Bishop lead bipartisan effort to shine light on lawsuit payments
U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis
A bipartisan trio of western members of Congress, U.S. Representatives Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., and Rob Bishop, R-Utah, have teamed up to introduce the “Open EAJA Act of 2010.” The bill seeks to reinstate critical oversight and transparency measures for payments made to organizations through the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).
  Read More...


Defections shake up climate coalition
Wall Street Journal
Three big companies quit an influential lobbying group that had focused on shaping climate-change legislation, in the latest sign that support for an ambitious bill is melting away.   Read More...

Rep. Lamborn: Energy key to economic recovery
Roll Call
Rep. Lamborn (R-CO) on the important role low-cost energy plays in creating jobs, growing the economy and freeing the nation from our overdependence on foreign sources of energy.   Read More...

Cement plant looks to sun
Pueblo Chieftain
Holcim's Portland cement plant is the first in the United States to use solar panels to help provide power to the plant, company officials say.   Read More...

Rep. Bishop: When it comes to cap-and-trade, give federalism a chance
Daily Caller
Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), the Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, asks proponents to give Federalism a chance, and not impose cap and trade on states choosing to address climate change in a different fashion.   Read More...

Lawmakers blast EPA for neglecting small business impacts
ClimateWire
Four GOP lawmakers opposed to U.S. EPA climate rules asked the agency this week to stall pending regulations until a full analysis of possible impacts on small businesses has been completed.   Read More...

House Dem blasts Salazar 'kings of the world' comment
E&E News
A Democratic congressman is blasting Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for saying oil and gas companies were "kings of the world" during the George W. Bush administration, calling it "beyond the pale."   Read More...

Utilities slash emissions under acid rain program -- EPA
E&E News PM
U.S. power plants slashed emissions of acid rain-forming sulfur dioxide to 7.6 million tons last year, a level well below the annual emission cap of 9.5 million tons, U.S. EPA said.   Read More...

An oil play environmentalists could love
Forbes
Denbury plans to breathe new life into an old field by injecting it with massive amounts of carbon dioxide--a process with big implications for the capture and sequestration of carbon emissions from power plants across the country.   Read More...

The real problem with the climate science emails
The Atlantic
With Obama heading to Copenhagen, where he's expected to pledge some pretty big cuts in U.S. carbon emissions, the ClimateGate story is an economic story as well as a political one.   Read More...

Senators seek CO2 scrubbing technology
New York Times
Senators John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, and Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, have joined in introducing a bill that would establish awards for researchers who develop technologies that can economically extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stash it away.   Read More...

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall calling for nuclear plants
Durango Herald
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall called for the construction of more nuclear plants Thursday in a speech that marked a conversion for the longtime environmentalist and nuclear-power critic.   Read More...

DOI approves Shell's Alaska Beaufort Sea drilling plan
Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Interior Department said Monday it has approved a plan by Royal Dutch Shell PLC to drill for oil and natural gas off Alaska's coast in the Beaufort Sea.   Read More...

Nation's first commercial-scale carbon capture plant planned
Greenwire
A trio of energy companies have filed an application with the Department of Energy for financial support to build the country's first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage coal-fired power plant in Wyoming.   Read More...

Barrasso wants to cut off funds for new CIA climate center
E&E News
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) wants to block funding for the Central Intelligence Agency's newly launched Center on Climate Change and National Security, alleging the new unit could divert the agency's focus on intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism.   Read More...

Washington, D.C. Is NOT Burning
Wall Street Journal
California has been burning up as result of raging forest fires, but Congress doesn't seem to know that. The Senate was all set last week to award $2.8 million of stimulus money for forest fire management to . . . the District of Columbia.   Read More...

Lummis questions Salazar on decision to rescind leases
Little Chicago Review
U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., questioned Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, regarding a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to rescind 23,757 acres of oil and gas leases in the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming.   Read More...

35 senators urge Interior to expand leasing
E&E News PM
Thirty-five senators -- both Republicans and Democrats -- are pressing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to adopt a Bush-era proposal that opens several Atlantic and Pacific coast regions to oil and gas drilling.   Read More...

Editorial: Politics causes energy dependence, not lack of resources
Washington Examiner
For decades, politicians have promoted policies to achieve greater energy independence. Unfortunately, even after dozens of bills and federal initiatives, we continue to import nearly 60 percent of our nation's total energy.   Read More...

Utah governor has the courage to say that the climate change debate continues
Forbes/AP
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he will host the first "legitimate" debate about whether humans contribute to global warming later this year, highlighting skepticism on the topic that is quickly coming to define his new administration.   Read More...

Udall, McCain: Nuclear power must be part of solution to global warming
Denver Post
Bipartisan political leaders strolled through Rocky Mountain National Park this morning studying beetle-kill trees and changing vegetation patterns — and agreed that nuclear power must be part of any comprehensive climate-change legislation.   Read More...

Climate change measure should be set aside, U.S. Senators say
Bloomberg
The U.S. Senate should abandon efforts to pass legislation curbing greenhouse-gas emissions this year and concentrate on a narrower bill to require use of renewable energy, four Democratic lawmakers say.   Read More...

White House disputes Pelosi contention that town hall protests are "un-American"
ABC News
The White House disagreed this afternoon with the contention by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, that the disruptions at town hall meetings are "un-American," as the Democratic congressional leaders contended in a USA Today op-ed this morning.   Read More...

Senators praise Utah gov as China ambassador pick
Associated Press
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Thursday he would work with the Chinese government to shore up the global economy and to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons effort if he is confirmed as ambassador to China.   Read More...

Calif. budget plan includes new offshore oil
Associated Press/Google
The deal to close California's $26 billion budget deficit included a plan to drill for offshore oil, drawing allegations that the fiscal crisis was used for a backroom deal following rejection of the idea by state regulators earlier this year.   Read More...

Industry mitigation efforts may be paying off in Pinedale, Wyo.
E&E News
Oil and gas firms in southwestern Wyoming may be starting to reap air quality and wildlife restoration benefits after several years of targeted mitigation efforts, including the adoption of more environmentally friendly liquid collection technologies.   Read More...

Gov joins delegation against climate bill
Casper Star-Tribune/AP
Gov. Dave Freudenthal has joined Wyoming's congressional delegation in opposing a bill that would attempt to limit climate change by regulating greenhouse gas emissions.   Read More...

Ritter: Natural gas ‘vital part’ of new-energy economy
Denver Business Journal
Gov. Bill Ritter offered Colorado’s natural gas industry his support Thursday in a speech on the last day of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s annual three-day conference.   Read More...

Barrasso pledges to fight climate change bill
cbs4Denver/AP
The junior senator from Wyoming, the nation's top coal-producing state, says he will do everything he can to prevent a climate-change bill from passing the Senate.   Read More...

Opinion: Fracking scare tactics
Denver Post
Want to give the federal government more power to regulate an industry? Start by telling scare stories to alarm the public and set the industry on its heels.   Read More...

VIDEO: Inhofe warns of "Biggest Bureaucratic Power Grab in a Generation"
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.)
Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) warned that passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act (considered before the EPW Committee last Thursday) would have huge implications on rural America. Watch the video!   Read More...

VIDEO: Sen. Crapo fights to keep water rights
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Ida.)
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Ida.) voted against the Clean Water Restoration Act, despite its passage by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Crapo, a member of the Senate EPW Committee, also placed a “hold” on the bill, signaling his readiness to filibuster the bill if necessary. Watch the video!   Read More...

U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop's response to DOI's report
TMCnet
Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-1) issued a statement in response to a report released by the Department of Interior detailing Secretary Salazar's plans to prevent the reinstatement of oil and gas leases scrapped during his first weeks as Secretary.   Read More...

Lamborn seeks more shale exploration
Denver Daily
Congressman Doug Lamborn has introduced legislation that aims at expanding oil shale exploration in Western states. The Republican lawmaker from Colorado Springs said the legislation aims at “dramatically increasing America’s oil production.”   Read More...

Governor Daniels opposes national energy tax
WTVW
Indiana Governor continues to speak out against the proposed national energy tax, claiming the costs will far outweigh the benefits.   Read More...

Matheson stands his ground against pressure on climate vote
Deseret News
For weeks, both supporters and critics of a new climate-change bill pushed advertising and phone-calling campaigns to pressure moderate Rep. Jim Matheson to use his swing vote to help their sides in committee. President Barack Obama even hosted him (and others) at the White House to discuss the bill.   Read More...

Lummis to East Coast politicians: Don’t mess with the West
U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)
U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is fighting against efforts by east coast politicians and extreme environmentalists to lock up more than 24 million acres of land in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.   Read More...

U.S. curbs use of Species Act in protecting polar bear
New York Times
The Obama administration said Friday that it would retain a wildlife rule issued in the last days of the Bush administration that says the government cannot invoke the Endangered Species Act to restrict emissions of greenhouse gases threatening the polar bear and its habitat.   Read More...

U.S. House farm chief opposes climate change bill
Reuters
The Obama administration is unfair to the ethanol industry with its proposals on greenhouse gas reduction, the House Agriculture Committee chairman said on Wednesday, and he will not support any climate change bills.   Read More...

Letter from Sen. Orrin Hatch to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
StandardNET
Veteran U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch gives some pretty direct advice ... and some warnings ... to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on pitfalls to be avoided when managing the people's resources in this open letter to the Secretary.   Read More...

Public lands coalition plans to 'Take Back Utah'
Deseret News
The dust may have settled from the Obama-inspired tea party, but get ready for the next storm of rallying cries to sweep Utah's capital city. Call it Sagebrush Rebellion Two.   Read More...

Arch Coal gives $1.5M for clean coal research
St. Louis Business Journal
The philanthropic arm of Arch Coal Inc. announced a $1.5 million gift to the University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources Clean Coal Technology Center.   Read More...

Opinion: Make-believe world of cap and trade
Denver Post
Don't worry, this shouldn't hurt. In fact, you won't feel a thing. So goes the refrain of those pushing for passage of a climate bill regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Just what do they think we're smoking?   Read More...

Gingrich says climate bill will punish Americans
Associated Press
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says a Democratic proposal to limit global warming pollution will "punish the American people" with higher energy costs and lost jobs. Gingrich appeared before a House subcommittee writing a broad energy and climate bill aimed at cutting greenhouse gases by 80 percent by mid-century.   Read More...

Kansas: Tiahrt says he'd like to debate Sebelius on coal plants
The Witchita Eagle
The day after Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed coal plants for the second year in a row, Rep. Todd Tiahrt called her out and said he doesn't think it's settled science that carbon emissions cause global warming.   Read More...

US green policy will kill economy, says oil chief
Financial Times
Washington’s energy and environment policy risks plunging the US into an economic tailspin that could turn it into “the world’s cleanest third world country,” one of the US oil industry’s most successful chief executives has warned.   Read More...

PUC chief asks for study of climate-change rules' effect on electricity prices
Dallas Morning News
The chairman of the Public Utility Commission is worried that federal climate-change legislation could pummel the Texas economy, and he asked the company that operates the state's electric grid to study the matter.   Read More...

Activist is indicted in BLM auction
Deseret News
A federal grand jury has indicted an environmental activist on criminal charges for disrupting a controversial land auction.   Read More...

Opinion: Anti-oil factions at Interior cancel leases and delay economic progress
Kalamazoo Gazette
Who is really in charge of our public lands and resources? The American public -- or radical left? The recession continues to worsen. Stores and companies are closing their doors. Millions are unemployed. Families are struggling to pay for homes, food, cars and fuel.   Read More...

Editorial: Saving energy projects from being litigated to death
Flathead Beacon (Rep. Llew Jones)
“The U.S. faces potentially crippling electricity brownouts and blackouts beginning in the summer of 2009, which may cost tens of billions of dollars and threaten lives. Unless major investments are made immediately in electricity generation (power plants) and transmission (power lines), the threat of service interruptions will increase.”�That's a quote from a report by the NextGen Energy Council. It shows why we must streamline the permitting process for energy projects in Montana. This nation is facing an energy crisis.    Read More...

Utah: Senate OKs economic impact studies for all climate change action
Deseret News
The Senate on Wednesday voted to require an economic impact study before any legislation or executive action to address climate change can take effect.   Read More...

Editorial: Weigh economics of climate policy
Little Chicago Review (Sen. John Barrasso)
Here at home and all across America, folks are dealing with the reality of an economic meltdown. This is real and immediate. Washington must not add to the problem by increasing the price of energy on families in Wyoming.   Read More...

Matheson asks Salazar to reconsider oil shale position
The Spectrum
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is asking Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reassess his decision to put oil shale leasing on hold.   Read More...

Lamborn statement on oilshale research and development leases
Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
House Energy and Minerals Subcommittee Ranking Member Doug Lamborn (CO-5) voiced his disappointment in Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar's cancellation of a proposed plan for expanded oil shale research development and demonstration leases.   Read More...

Pinedale area awash in mule deer, gas development
Casper Star-Tribune
Each year, the huge Sublette mule deer herd migrates from winter range near Pinedale to summer range in portions of the Salt River, Wyoming, Wind River, Gros Ventre and Snake River ranges. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has set a herd objective of 32,000 animals for the Sublette mule deer herd.   Read More...

The Story of Irena Sendler
Fox News Network
Fox News host Glenn Beck tells the story of Irena Sendler. During World War II, Irena was a member of the Polish Underground in Warsaw. Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, providing false documents and sheltering them in individual or group children's homes outside the ghetto.  To see the video of this story, go here.   Read More...

Gone gobblers: More than 500 wild turkeys on the move in Utah
Salt Lake Tribune
Expect to see more wild turkeys in more places in Utah, thanks to Bill Barrett Corporation.   Read More...

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