"Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the new chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has asked a slew of companies and industry groups for feedback on the regulations they think need to be changed. Two major lobbies, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the American Petroleum Institute (API), wasted no time in sending over their wish lists."

"Oil and gas companies drilled fewer new wells on public lands in 2010 than in any other year over the past decade, leaving nearly two-thirds of their drilling permits unused, according to federal records obtained by Greenwire."

"The presidential panel investigating the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico recommended on Tuesday that Congress approve substantial new spending and sweeping new regulations for offshore oil operations at a time when the appetite for both is low."

"Republicans in Congress are introducing legislation to curtail the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act and to prevent and roll back regulations intended to reduce air pollution such as mercury emissions from cement plants. These efforts amount to attacks on the nation's health, the advocacy coalition Health Care Without Harm said [Tuesday]."

Is Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's call on constituents to get "armed and dangerous" over the climate bill something to be concerned about?

The American Farm Bureau is suing EPA for requiring farmers to clean up agricultural pollution going into Chesapeake Bay.

"Former House majority leader Tom DeLay, the brash Texan who helped build and tightly control a Republican majority in his chamber until resigning in 2005, was sentenced by a state judge on Monday to three years in prison for illegally plotting to funnel corporate contributions to Texas legislative candidates."

"New House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) drew attention last week when he solicited advice from a number of corporations, trade groups and organizations about federal regulations covering a variety of issues. A number of energy companies, manufacturers were on the list that are likely to focus on regulations from the Environmental Protetion Agency in their response.  The letter raised some eyebrows in DC, of course."

"U.S. EPA senior policy analyst Hugh Kaufman, a kind of living legend in the world of federal whistleblowers, ... believes the [House] Oversight panel's chairman [Darrel Issa, R-CA] is turning a committee that is supposed to serve as Congress' watchdog into a panel for partisan witch hunts."

"House Republicans wasted no time Thursday in trying to block the Obama administration from acting to stem global warming." Whether they have the votes to succeed is uncertain.

"Citing alleged health effects from electromagnetic waves, a county in the North San Francisco Bay Area has criminalized the installation of "smart" electric meters."

"MIT professor Kerry Emanuel is among a rare breed of conservative scientists who are sounding the alarm for climate change and criticizing Republicans' 'agenda of denial' and 'anti-science stance.'"

"U.S. EPA's plan to sidestep state officials and oversee climate rules in Texas has been temporarily blocked by a federal court, making the Lone Star State the only place where businesses cannot apply for greenhouse gas permits that the Obama administration now requires."

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), incoming chairman of the House Energy Committee, used to be in favor of reducing the carbon dioxide emissions which are the biggest cause of global warming. Now he is against it.

"It may be heresy to conservatives, but a trip down memory lane shows nearly all of the top-tier Republican presidential contenders want to save the planet from global warming."