Senate Tuesday group has bipartisan energy legislation in its sights

Senate supporters of efforts to curb carbon dioxide emissions hope to cobble together a package this year that would boost energy efficiency and alternative energy — and can pass the Senate. The group, headed by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), revived their Tuesday meetings late last year, and approximately 20 Democrats attend regularly. [ read more … ]

Pipelines, pump prices fuel political theater with few hard truths

What do Libyan rebels, Wall Street traders, Federal Reserve bankers and anti-drilling greens have in common? Over the past year, members of Congress in both parties have variously blamed all four for the mercurial prices of oil and gas. The villain changes with the season and the ideological leanings of lawmakers in search of a scapegoat to soothe voters riled by the economic toll wreaked by expensive fuel. But as 2012 begins with President Obama and the oil industry hailing the nation’s rise as a petroleum powerhouse, Washington fingers are beginning to point at the web of pipelines that ship crude between the five American refining districts and the booming Canadian oil sands.
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Brazilian Imported Ethanol Tax Questioned

The Renewable Fuels Association is urging U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk to investigate the news that the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo was imposing a 25 percent tax on all imported ethanol. [ read more … ]