Need-to-Know Energy: Dueling Shale-Gas Campaigns Ramp Up

News
July 26, 2012
 
DUELING SHALE-GAS CAMPAIGNS RAMP UP. The two sides of the shale natural gas debate will be on full display over the next few days in Washington. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign today to promote the economic benefits of shale natural gas development (key states in the campaign so far include Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia). Just two days later, on Saturday, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups are organizing the first-ever national rally in D.C. to oppose hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the controversial extraction technology key to unlocking shale gas reserves. Read more
 
LOCAL FIGHTS ON A GLOBAL ISSUE. Environmentalists are trying to make the politics of climate change local when the problem is inherently not. Two high-profile examples illustrate this conundrum: proposed terminals in the Pacific Northwest that would export coal to Asia and the Keystone XL pipeline that would send carbon-heavy oil from Canada’s tar sands to U.S. refineries. Amy Harder’s Power Play column delves into the environmentalists’ obstructionist strategy and why it’s unlikely to ultimately work despite successes so far. Read more
 
INSIDERS: GOP WON’T STOP PENTAGON’S GREEN-ENERGY PUSH. Republicans in both the House and Senate this year have proposed cutting funds for alternative-energy programs in the defense authorization bill. But these efforts won’t gain much traction, National Journal’s Energy & Environment Insiders say. More than 70 percent of Insiders say that the Defense Department’s move to use more biofuels will survive congressional opposition, arguing that lawmakers will have trouble saying no to the Pentagon. Meanwhile, 31 percent of Insiders said that the Defense Department's investments are “very likely” to encourage an alternative-energy push from the private sector, while the rest of the Insiders were split on the issue. Read more
 
SENATE REPUBLICANS ROLL OUT ENERGY MESSAGING BILL. House Republicans on Wednesday passed a “drill, baby drill” energy bill that will provide campaign fodder in August before dying a certain death in the Senate. So Senate Republicans today keep the energy message machine going, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joins oil- and coal-state GOP Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Barrasso of Wyoming, along with House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for a press conference rolling out a pair of drilling bills. As with the House bill, the legislation stands no chance on the Senate floor, but the high-noon rollout allows Republican leadership to inject energy-themed campaign talking points into the day’s conversation.
 
BILBRAY BUCKS FELLOW REPUBLICANS ON SOLYNDRA BILL. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., was the one Republican on the House Energy and Power Subcommittee to vote against the GOP-sponsored “No More Solyndras” Act, which would eliminate the federal program that awarded a $535 million loan guarantee to the now-bankrupt solar manufacturer. Bilbray has not been afraid to stray from the party line on other energy and environment issues, too. He has expressed frustration that some Republicans deny global warming exists. As expected, the Solyndra bill easily passed the subcommittee, 14-6, along party lines (save for Bilbray’s defection). The bill is expected to get a full-committee markup soon.