Chairman of select panel on energy independence plans to hold hearing on Chinese restrictions.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is hopping mad about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s apparent hint that the department is on its way toward approving the controversial proposed TransCanada pipeline carrying crude oil from Alberta oil sands to Texas.
 
Nelson joined fellow Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns (R) in sending his own letter Thursday to Clinton saying he is “deeply concerned” by her recent suggestion that the State Department would approve the Keystone XL pipeline project.
 
“These comments strike me, and many of my fellow Nebraskans, as an indication that a decision has been reached on the Keystone XL pipeline before your agency has done a thorough study of the environmental impacts” the pipeline would have on the state’s Sandhills and a key aquifer, Nelson wrote. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday said the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision to allow the use of a higher ethanol fuel blend in some vehicles is a “momentum builder” for the industry.
 
Vilsack expressed optimism that EPA would approve the E-15 blend — comprised of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline — for older vehicles in model years 2001 through 2006. He also noted that NASCAR already uses E-15 in its racing cars.
 
“If it’s good enough for Jimmie Johnson, I remain hopeful it will also be good enough for earlier model vehicles,” he said following a speech at the National Press Club.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is pressing Congress to approve a “fiscally responsible short-term extension” of a key ethanol tax credit.
 
Vilsack said lawmakers need to extend an excise tax credit for ethanol before it expires at the end of the year and also need to reinstate a tax break for biodiesel production.
 
The agriculture secretary pointed to job losses in the biodiesel industry to make the case for the extension of the ethanol credit. He said 12,000 positions have been lost since a $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit expired at the end of 2009.
 
“We’ve already seen what happens when incentives are ended too quickly,” Vilsack said after a speech at the National Press Club.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) is asking Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to clarify recent comments that suggested she is poised to approve a TransCanada pipeline that would pump crude oil from Alberta oil sands to Texas.
 
“A premature decision of this magnitude is unfortunate, especially in light of the significant concerns I outlined to you in a letter the previous day regarding the proposed pathway of this pipeline,” Johanns wrote Clinton Thursday morning.
 
“Your comments inspire further doubt as to the validity of the review process undertaken by the department.”

The Obama administration plans to propose first-time mileage and greenhouse-gas standards for heavy trucks and buses next week, an Environmental Protection Agency official said.

The proposal — which President Obama first announced in May — is slated to cover model years 2014-2018 and expands a federal program that creates linked vehicle efficiency and climate standards.

The joint EPA-Transportation Department plan follows rules for cars and light trucks — including SUVs — finalized in April that cover model years 2012-2016.

Sen. Michael Bennet's (D-Colo.) Republican opponent Ken Buck reportedly declared global warming a hoax at a campaign rally.

On tap Thursday: White House, cabinet officials tout ‘sustainability’ efforts

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and other officials will appear at the National Press Club to talk up the “Partnership for Sustainable Communities initiative and how it will work to support more livable and sustainable communities across the country,” an EPA advisory states.

Joining Jackson are Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes.

Here comes the neighborhood

“Through the [Partnership for Sustainable Communities] initiative, HUD, DOT and EPA are announcing new, coordinated grants to help communities create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses,” EPA said.

On tap Thursday II: Vilsack touts ethanol support

Not to be outdone, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will also be at the National Press Club this morning. He will discuss federal efforts to help meet the 2007 law that requires 36 billion gallons of ethanol and other renewable fuels in the motor fuel mix by 2022 and “new efforts by the Obama administration to bolster the industry and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.” 

Poll: Boxer is hanging on in California, Brown ahead

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is maintaining a slim lead in her reelection battle against Republican Carly Fiorina.

Boxer is ahead by 5 points, 43 to 38 percent, with 13 percent undecided, according to a poll released late Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. Boxer led by 7 in a PPIC poll in September.

California Democrat Jerry Brown is also leading in the state’s governor’s race. He’s up by 8 points, 44 to 36 percent, over Republican Meg Whitman after she led by 1 point in September. Sixteen percent are still undecided.

Both gubernatorial candidates oppose California’s Proposition 23, the ballot initiative to kill the state's global-warming law. But Whitman has said she would suspend the law for one year to make changes.

Prop 23 losing steam

The same poll provides some comfort to Prop 23's foes. According to the PPIC survey, 48 percent of likely voters would not support the ballot initiative, 11 points ahead of supporters. Prop 23 backers held a 1-point lead — 43 to 42 percent — in September. The odds appeared long even then for Prop 23, given it was short of 50 percent support that close to the Nov. 2 vote.

Opposition from Democrats, independents and Latinos to Prop 23 has grown, while support from Republicans has remained steady since the September poll. “Now that we think we’re going to win, we really want to have a big, big victory,” said Jenesse Miller, spokeswoman for the California League of Conservation Voters. Critics of the initiative want to “send a message nationally with a big win. That’s the goal at this point,” she said.

The ballot question — which oil companies are fighting to pass — suspends the emissions-cutting law until the unemployment rate drops to at least 5.5 percent for one year. That would basically kill the law because the state’s unemployment rate is above 12 percent, the third highest in the nation.

Kerry campaigns for Boxer, lauds her climate work

Boxer got some help on the stump from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who said Boxer has “immersed herself in the science and the details and the minutiae of global climate change,” according to his prepared remarks. Kerry on Wednesday went to two fundraisers, a veterans event, Boxer campaign headquarters and did media interviews, a spokeswoman said.

“She’s a walking encyclopedia of the latest science and the most detailed policy, and that’s why she’s so respected on climate change,” Kerry added. “And that’s why she was the commanding officer in our effort to stand up for science and stand up for America's energy future.”

NYT front page: Tea Party doubts climate change

“Skepticism and outright denial of global warming are among the articles of faith of the Tea Party movement,” the New York Times reports Thursday.

“For some, it is a matter of religious conviction; for others, it is driven by distrust of those they call the elites. And for others still, efforts to address climate change are seen as a conspiracy to impose world government and a sweeping redistribution of wealth. But all are wary of the Obama administration’s plans to regulate carbon dioxide, a ubiquitous gas, which will require the expansion of government authority into nearly every corner of the economy,” the piece adds.

Oil and tea do mix

The big Times piece looks at the nexus between oil industry groups and the Tea Party movement.

“Groups that help support Tea Party candidates include climate change skepticism in their core message. Americans for Prosperity, a group founded and largely financed by oil industry interests, has sponsored what it calls a Regulation Reality Tour to stir up opposition to climate change legislation and federal regulation of carbon emissions. Its Tea Party talking points describe a cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions as ‘the largest excise tax in history,’” the story notes.

“FreedomWorks, another group supported by the oil industry, helps organize Tea Party rallies and distributes fliers urging opposition to federal climate policy, which it calls a ‘power grab.’”

Interior faces continued pressure on drilling

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) is making a recess trip to Washington to meet Thursday with Michael Bromwich, who heads the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Gulf Coast lawmakers such as Brady, who represents an oil industry-heavy district, are pressuring Interior to issue permits for deepwater drilling projects now that the formal moratorium has been lifted. They’re also calling for faster action on shallow water projects.

“Bromwich has met with more than 100 federal, state, tribal and local politicians. This includes regular briefings on Capitol Hill, as well as conference calls with members during recess,” Bromwich spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said.

Bromwich fired a shot across the bow of drilling policy critics earlier this week.

Shallow-water drillers boost lobbying

Offshore drilling companies active in shallow Gulf of Mexico waters have boosted their Washington, D.C., presence since the blowout of BP’s deepwater Macondo well.

New third-quarter federal lobbying reports show the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition paid the D.C. firm Bracewell & Giuliani $200,000 over the last three months. The coalition, which formed earlier this year, spent $180,000 on second quarter lobbying. They’re concerned with new federal rules and the slowdown in permitting for their operations since the BP catastrophe began.

But the coalition is just one of several oil industry groups and companies that lobby on oil-and-gas policy and spend much more. The American Petroleum Institute — a broader trade group — spent almost $1.3 million on third quarter lobbying, records show.

Judge mandates new review of polar bears and climate change

“A federal judge ordered the Obama administration on Wednesday to review whether polar bears, at risk because of global warming, are endangered under U.S. law,” The Associated Press reports.

“U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wants the Interior Department to clarify a decision by the administration of former President George W. Bush that polar bears were merely threatened rather than in imminent danger of extinction.”

On tap Thursday III: Conservative panel to chew over bear’s status

The prospect of the polar bears getting Endangered Species Act protections as a result of warming-induced habitat loss has never sat well with conservative groups.

The Heritage Foundation and the Pacific Legal Foundation are hosting a panel discussion on the issue Thursday. “Such a link puts any entity emitting CO2 that could, as the argument goes, harm polar bears squarely in the sites of environmental lawyers. Is such an approach in the best interest of the United States? Does it do anything to protect the polar bears?” Heritage asks.

Speaking of endangered species . . .

Several green groups used the six-month anniversary of the BP oil spill to sue the company over the alleged effects on sea turtles, manatees and other Gulf of Mexico species.

Speaking of BP . . . 

The company spent $1.86 million on lobbying over the past three months, according to federal third quarter lobbying reports, up from $1.72 million in the second quarter.

Study: Climate change will be expensive for Gulf Coast

“The U.S. Gulf Coast may face $350 billion in economic damage by 2030 as extreme weather fueled by climate change wreaks havoc on the region, according to a study released today by Entergy Corp.,” Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

“The estimate assumes severe weather similar to Hurricane Katrina — a storm that crippled the region in 2005 — will occur every generation rather than once a century, according to the study by Swiss Re, a Zurich-based reinsurer, and McKinsey & Co., a New York-based research firm. New Orleans-based Entergy, the second-largest U.S. producer of electricity from nuclear reactors behind Exelon Corp., commissioned the report.” 

In case missed E2 Wire yesterday

Check out these Wednesday posts:

Grassley slams stimulus energy program following Energy Department report

NRSC mocks Manchin cap-and-trade hunting ad

U.S. reaches $773 million environmental settlement with GM estate, 14 states

Clinton seems poised to approve TransCanada pipeline

China denies reports of rare-earth export cutbacks

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Several green groups used the six-month anniversary of the BP oil spill to sue the company over the alleged effects on endangered sea turtles, manatees and other Gulf of Mexico species.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in a Louisiana federal court alleges past and ongoing violations of the Endangered Species Act.

“The harmful effects of the BP oil well blowout on endangered and threatened wildlife will continue for many years,” said Gregory Buppert, an attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “Through this lawsuit, we ask the court to compel BP to provide the resources necessary to ensure imperiled species in the Gulf recover from this disaster.”