Oil up to $82 a barrel on weak dollar/weak recovery

Bloomberg just posted this.

Three month high. Joy.

Manufacturing jobs a focus of the Democrats

One way to make manufacturing in America more competitive is to lower energy costs.

That should be part of the overall strategy.

Washington Post has a story on manufacturing jobs as a focus for the Democrats in the upcoming elections.

Roanoke Times Editorial on Coal Ash

How widespread of a problem is coal ash in Virginia?

This editorial leaves no room on where the Roanoke Times editorial board stands.

AWEA Launches Offshore Wind Development Coalition

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced yesterday that it has launched the Offshore Wind Development Coalition, known as OffshoreWindDC. As noted in AWEA’s press release, “OffshoreWindDC will both expand and sharpen the focus of the industry efforts already underway through AWEA,” and many industry and government stakeholders are expected to take part in the effort.

Read more.

Heat Wave in U.S. Driving Coal to 18-Month High: Energy Markets

Prices have gained 30 percent this year on hotter-than normal weather from California to New York. Demand from utilities increased amid stiffer federal scrutiny of the mining industry after the Massey Energy Co. disaster on April 5 curbed operations in Appalachia, home to 33 percent of U.S. coal production. Output has dropped 6.9 percent in the past 12 months, Energy Department data show.

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Pollution fight cools climate talks

Closed-door meetings between a select group of environmentalists and a handful of electric utility executives may determine the fate of climate change legislation in the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid’s top energy aide, Chris Miller, nudged the small group to the bargaining table earlier this month in the hope they could resolve more than a decade of dispute on Clean Air Act regulations and reach agreement on a first-ever cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

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