energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

OIL/GASOLINE/DRILLING

Criminal Charges Are Prepared in BP Spill (via The Wall Street Journal)

U.S. warns Iran against closing key oil route (via...

energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

POLITICS

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energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

OIL/GASOLINE/DRILLING

Nigeria coast braces for biggest oil spill in 13 years (via Reuters)

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energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS

EPA finalizes air-toxics rule for power plants, likely will unveil it today (via Fuel Fix)

Top EU court says carbon airline law valid (via...

energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

POLITICS

How long can Obama delay Keystone XL pipeline call? (via Politico)

Romney Jabs Newt Over 2008 Global Warming Ad (via ABC News)

EFFICIENCY/LIGHT BULBS

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Although today’s Senate Environment and Public Works hearing on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was tamer than yesterday’s verbal fireworks before the House Oversight and Government Reform panel, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko's fellow commissioners maintained their stance that Jaczko's aggressive management style inhibits the agency's work.

In yesterday’s hearing, Jaczko’s colleagues, two Democrats and two Republicans, accused him of bullying and intimidating NRC senior staff members and withholding crucial information from other commissioners...

All four of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko’s fellow commissioners told a House panel today that Jaczko regularly berates and intimidates members of the NRC’s senior staff, and that his behavior and management tactics inhibit the agency from carrying out its mission.

Commissioners Kristine L. Svinicki, George Apostolakis, William D. Magwood, IV, and William C. Ostendorff spoke to the House Oversight and Government reform committee after writing to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley on Oct. 13, citing “grave concerns” about Jaczko...

energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS

EPA To Unveil Stricter Rules For Power Plants (via NPR)

Canada first nation to pull out of Kyoto protocol (via Reuters)

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President Obama says he will reject any bill that ties approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to an extension of the payroll tax cut for middle class Americans.

The president has been calling for weeks for Congress to extend the tax cut, which he says will keep an average of $1,000 a year from being deducted from workers' paychecks, before it expires at the end of the year. House Republicans have said in recent days they are considering a bill that would tie an extension to approval of the pipeline, a proposed 1,700-mile link between Canada's oil sands region and U.S....

energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS

At Climate Talks, a Familiar Standoff Between U.S. and China (via The New York Times)

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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says prospects may be dwindling further for a comprehensive emissions deal, or even a plan for one, at the world climate talks in Durban, South Africa.

Ban tells The Associated Press that such a deal "may be beyond our reach for now," after China and India dealt a setback to European plans for a "road map" to a binding deal that would take effect after 2020.  The European Union...

Chinese officials at the world climate talks in Durban, South Africa, have raised the possibility of their nation taking part in a binding climate deal by 2020.

The Washington Post reports that negotiators said they might be willing to discuss a new, enforceable global warming agreement by 2020. In separate talks with non-governmental groups, the Post reports that China's representatives set several...

President Obama has announced an initiative to make buildings 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020.

The president and former President Bill Clinton unveiled the Energy Savings Performance Contracts, a $4 billion public-private partnership, today in Washington. The administration is touting it as an employment boosting measure that does not require congressional approval, saying it could generate about 50,000 jobs over two years

The federal government is committing $2 billion and a coalition of corporations, labor unions, universities and local governments will match...

energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT/EMISSIONS

UN Says Climate Talks Making Progress on Adaptation Measures (via Bloomberg)

Emerging economies question Canada's...

Negotiators from the European Union are holding out hope that China will agree on a path to binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions at the United Nations climate talks in Durban, South Africa.

Without such a framework, the EU has said it will not extend its commitments to the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement among some industrialized nations for mandatory cuts, after the deal expires next year. China, meanwhile, is calling for all nations covered by Kyoto to extend it, while opposing mandatory cuts for developing nations like itself.

However,...