E2 Round-up: If we're warming, why are we so cold?, FirstEnergy buys Allegheny, and Texas could be big in solar

As we also have noted, the punishing winter storms that have battered Washington are fueling climate change deniers like Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), whose family apparently built an igloo and called it Al Gore's new home.

The Los Angeles Times' blog Greenspace has a nice, short take on how you can have global warming and still get storms like Snowmageddon.

"The cold weather spells in the East have been linked with an 'El Nino' year and a shift in the arctic oscillation that sent a jet of cold air down the Eastern United States and elsewhere," the blog notes. Lost in the hype: Alaska has been enjoying unusually warm weather.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that FirstEnergy Corp. agreed to a $4.7 billion takeover of Allegheny Energy Inc. 

The deal would create one of the largest electricity providers in the United States, and comes "amid a trying time for power producers, which have been dealing with a sustained drop in demand caused by the recession."

Greenwire reports that the cap-and-trade vote is causing difficulties for two West Virginia Democrats, even though they didn't vote for the bill. Even before the filing deadline, potential opponents are attacking incumbent Democrats Nick Rahall and Alan Mollohan over coal issues, according to Greenwire.

Both have long records of campaign success and could be tough to topple. Rahall is in 17th term, and Mollohan is in his 14th.

Texas could be a leader in solar power if it wanted. A new report from Environment Texas and the Go Solar Texas Coalition states the Lone Star state has what it takes when it comes to solar resources, but that developers need new financial incentives to spur a solar boon, in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.