A famous criminal defense lawyer was asked about how to hire a lawyer for a criminal defense case. Imagine, he was asked, that a relative was charged with a serious crime in a place where he didn’t know anyone. How would he go about finding a lawyer for his friend? The answer — hire the… Keep reading →
In March 2014, the Obama Administration released its ‘Climate Action Plan’ laying out a comprehensive, interagency strategy to cut methane emissions. The purpose of this plan is to help meet the president’s goal of reducing total US greenhouse gas emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. In particular, the plan stresses the need for new… Keep reading →
In the wake of the Ukraine crisis and amid heightened pressure on the Obama Administration to speed up the approval process for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants, the geopolitical argument over LNG exports has gained traction in Congress as reflected in various already held committee hearings on the LNG export issue and drafted… Keep reading →
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has embarked on a vital effort — accompanied by extensive outreach to states, power companies, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders, including you — to establish the nation’s first limits on carbon pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA was directed to take this critical step for public health and the environment in the… Keep reading →
The recent memoranda of understanding (“MOUs”) entered between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (”CFTC”) made significant progress towards alleviating the long-time tension between the two agencies. On January 2, 2014, the FERC and the CFTC signed two MOUs on jurisdiction (“Jurisdiction MOU”) and information sharing (“Information Sharing MOU”)… Keep reading →
U.S. Commerce Chamber’s new energy advocacy platform proposes actionable recommendations to capitalize on the nation’s energy potential. On January 15, 2014, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy launched its new energy advocacy platform titled “Energy Works for US,” a comprehensive plan with recommendations for 2014 and beyond. The plan, an update… Keep reading →
The Washington Post had an interesting article last week on a letter sent by 18 environmental groups to the White House. Interesting because it shows the extreme disconnect between their acknowledgement of reality and their demands. First the reality, from their letter: “We understand that the U.S. cannot immediately end its use of fossil fuels and we… Keep reading →
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy laid out a road map for energy policy yesterday. Energy Works for US focuses on nine energy areas including removing barriers to increased domestic oil and natural gas production, modernizing the federal permitting process, regulation reform, and ensuring a competitive workforce. Chamber CEO Tom Donohue spoke on America’s… Keep reading →
EPA has issued final Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations to conditionally exclude carbon dioxide (CO2) streams in geologic sequestration activities from the definition of hazardous waste. On January 3, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final revisions for hazardous waste management under RCRA to conditionally exclude CO2 streams from the definition of… Keep reading →
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on the White House blog. Today, President Obama signed a memorandum establishing the federal government’s first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) process, fulfilling an important commitment from his Climate Action Plan and ensuring that federal energy policies continue to meet the nation’s economic, environmental and security goals. Over the next four years, the QER will provide a… Keep reading →
