Energy & Environment

Rep. Michele Bachmann vowed Friday to scrap a law mandating energy efficient light bulbs if she is elected president.

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South Florida will likely see tar balls reach its shores by August, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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A "top kill" procedure to stop the flow of oil has failed and British Petroleum will try another way. 

"After three full days of attempting top kill we have been unable to overcome the flow from the well so we now believe it's time to move on to the next of our options," chief operating officer Doug Suttles said Saturday evening during a press conference. 

After numerous attempts to overcome the flow and after significant review BP and industry engineers as well as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Department Secretary Stephen Chu and other Obama administration officials, the decision was made to move on with the next option, Suttles said. 

Rear Adm. Mary Landry said she was "very disappointed" but made assurances that a "very aggressvie response posture" is being taken to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico's waters. 

"There's no silver bullet to stop this leak," she said. 

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The flow of oil hasn't been stopped by British Petroleum's latest attempt to plug the gushing well. 

The "top kill" operation doesn't appear to be working yet and BP is planning its next move, chief operating officer Doug Suttles said Saturday. 

"I don't think the amount of oil coming out has changed," he said. "Just by watching it, we don't believe it's changed." 

BP engineers have tried several different ways to stem the flow of the well, which is a mile under the surface. Millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico's waters since the rig blew up and sank April 20, killing 11 employees. 

The next option is called the lower-marine-riser package cap, in which an underwater robot uses a saw to cut the leaking pipe and put a cap over it. 

"If we have to go to it, we can do it as quickly as possible," Suttles said. 

An independent contractor hired by British Petroleum to clean up the oil spill, denied today that extra people were sent to the Louisiana coast to prepare for President Barack Obama's visit Friday. 

Although Donald Nulty of Environmental Safety and Health denied accusations that extra workers were hired to be on hand for Obama's arrival, he did say Saturday that his company decided to send 400 workers to to Grand Isle, Louisiana several days before they knew about the visit. 

"Absolutely, without a doubt, no. I had no idea about the president," Nalty told CNN today. "Whether it's the president or whatever dignitary is coming into the area, it makes no difference to us. We're there to clean up Grand Isle."

Councilman Chris Roberts of Jefferson Parish, said BP brought in additional workers to Grand Isle then sent them away after the president left town. 

Cross-posted from E2-Wire. 

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) is "Robocop-out" for his opposition to a bailout for the automotive industry, the Detroit Free-Press mocked in an animated editorial cartoon Tuesday.

The cartoon likened Shelby to an elephant-featured Robocop who sweeps through the city of Detroit, threatening union workers and the head of the city's Big Three automakers.

"In a world where American auto companies are teetering on the brink, and millions of job are on the line, he backed out on his commitment to help American workers," a narrator says. "Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby is Robocop-out and he's cleaning up Detroit."

"If I help you big three autoworkers, you'll never learn to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps," an animated robot as Shelby says.

"His duty to fix the economy be damned! He's more interested in kneecapping a major union!" the narrator adds.

The original movie "Robocop" is set in the city of Detroit.

Watch a copy of the cartoon here.

Former Bush administration Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christis Todd Whitman warned President-elect Obama's pick to head the Department of Energy may have a lot of on-the-job learning to do next year.

Obama chose Nobel physicist Steven Chu to head up the Energy Department.

"It's a big leap from the academic world to the administrative world," Whitman said during an MSNBC appearance.

"He's certainly going to know how to analyze the issues,

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) appears to be a frontrunner to become Secretary of Energy in the Obama administration, according to a report Wednesday.

The two-term governor, currently ensconced in the effort to secure assistance for the troubled Big Three automakers headquartered in her state, would join reportedly join former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner as part of the new administration's energy and environmental policy team. Browner is said to have been chosen as Obama's "energy czar."

"Obviously an economic stimulus package is going to involve retrofitting buildings with energy efficiency," Granholm told Dow Jones of her energy priorities for the Obama administration. "But for the longer term, having a strategic plan that develops these renewable energies and clean technologies are critical."

Granholm's departure could open the door for Reps. Pete Hoekstra (R) or Candice Miller (R) to pursue the state's governorship.

President-elect Obama's transition team said Monday that Obama and Vice President-elect Biden will meet with former Vice President Al Gore in Chicago on Tuesday.

The president-elect and the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee are scheduled to discuss "energy and climate change and how policies in this area can stimulate the economy and create jobs."

After Obama won the presidency early last month, Gore publicly declined any role in the administration as a climate change czar.

-Sam Youngman

A 25-22 secret ballot vote by the House Democratic steering committee gave Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) a leg-up for chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce committee, ousting longtime Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).

The vote comes after a frenzied campaign by both lawmakers to whip up support for their candidacies. Waxman had aggressively courted freshmen members of Congress as well as more progressive members, in hopes of taking control of the committee in charge of producing energy and environmental legislation.

Dingell, whose southeast Michigan district is largely dependant on the automotive industry, has sometimes been accused of trying to slow bills increasing emissions standards that could prove costly to the automakers. Dingell had served as the committee's chairman or ranking member since 1981.

Dingell, a veteran representative who was first elected in 1955, is serving his 27th term in Congress.

-Michael O'Brien and Allie Foote