Energy & Environment

The latest mandate handed down from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is so ridiculous, even I was shocked. The EPA has now mandated how much gasoline you must buy at certain gas stations. Say hello to the Obama Administration’s four gallon minimum.

This unprecedented EPA overreach applies when filling up at a gas station that provides both E15 and E10, gasoline with 15 or 10 percent of ethanol, respectively, from the same hose.

All across America, millions of young, eager minds are beginning a new school year, outfitted with seemingly harmless backpacks, lunch boxes, three-ring binders, and other classroom supplies. A recent study, however, found that these back-to-school essentials can be loaded with phthalates, chemicals that are hazardous even at low doses and have been linked to birth defects, infertility, ADHD, diabetes, early puberty, asthma, obesity, and cancer.



Three years ago, President Obama stood with automakers, state government leaders, environmental health advocates and others to launch an effort to improve fuel efficiency for and reduce carbon pollution from millions of vehicles on our roadways. It was a bold call for action, aimed at protecting consumers from fluctuations in gas prices and helping them save money at the pump regardless of the vehicle they drive. 



Today in Alaska, there’s a political battle raging over a proposed copper mine, the Pebble Project. Not many in Washington, D.C. know about it, but it’s time people start paying attention. That’s because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is about to lock some of America’s poorest communities into a permanent economic depression as a favor to national environmental groups. If the EPA succeeds, what happens in Alaska won’t stay in Alaska – there will be huge economic and employment consequences for the rest of the country.

The international media reacted with alarm last month when major parts of northern India suffered power outages. They shouldn’t have. The failure of the electric grid on July 30 and 31 was an isolated incident. The government and private sectors are working hard to prevent a recurrence.

The resilience of the electrical system was obvious almost from the start. Power was restored widely after a few, short hours. Essential services such as railroads, metro lines and airports went dark only briefly. And the grid has functioned well and without incident ever since.

[Coming soon] the Obama Administration will announce new standards for cars and light trucks that will reduce total U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by around 10 percent. Too often environmental problems seem like they have no adequate solution. Well, finally, here’s some good news.

We read with interest your story titled, “Industry, GOP fear power-grab by EPA in Alaska mine decision,” (Aug. 15). The association I represent consists of 1,800 commercial fishing businesses based in Bristol Bay, Alaska – ground zero for impacts from that mine. We have a few comments to share that your readers may find interesting.

July marked the 42nd consecutive month that unemployment has been at or above 8 percent on the president’s watch, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The labor force participation rate, which measures individuals working or looking for work, remained low in July with many Americans giving up on finding a job. If the percentage of those looking for work were as high today as at the beginning of the recession, unemployment would be a staggering 11.5 percent. These troubling numbers are a direct result of the president’s failed economic policies and the Democrat-led Senate’s refusal to vote on House-passed, job-creating legislation. To date, 32 job-creating bills await action in the Senate.

Royal Dutch Shell and Great Bear Petroleum are preparing to explore new sources of Arctic oil this month. This provides American policymakers the opportunity to examine the long-term costs and benefits of oil production in the Arctic.

On Aug. 7 on Congress Blog, Gary Hufbauer criticized our recent report, “Romney Tax Plan: Many Happy Returns for Big Oil.” That report detailed how the five largest public oil companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell -- would benefit enormously from Mitt Romney’s corporate tax plan.