Energy & Fuel

"Quite a few of the 225 people who live in Dish, Texas, think the nation's natural gas boom is making them sick. They blame the chemicals used in gas production for health problems ranging from nosebleeds to cancer.
And the mayor of Dish, Bill Sciscoe, has a message for people who live in places where gas drilling is about to start: 'Run. Run as fast as you can. Grab up your family and your belongings, and get out.'"

"COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio senators approved new regulations for horizontal shale drilling known as fracking on Tuesday in a bipartisan vote punctuated by a spoken rendition of 'The Beverly Hillbillies' theme song."

"Living in the middle of a natural gas boom can be pretty unsettling. The area around the town of Silt, Colo., used to be the kind of sleepy rural place where the tweet of birds was the most you would hear. Now it's hard to make out the birds because of the rumbling of natural gas drilling rigs." ...

"From horsepower to battery power, Ferrari is joining the growing ranks of green carmakers by launching its first ever hybrid vehicle at the end of the year."

A new poll shows more Americans (47%) trust President Obama on climate issues than those who trust GOP contender George Romney (21%). Some 66% percent believe global warming is happening. A previous poll showed 72% think climate change should be a priority for both the president and Congress. The poll, conducted by Yale and George Mason University researchers, had a 3% margin of error.

"A pioneering proposal to build a wind power transmission line on the ocean floor from southern Virginia to northern New Jersey cleared a hurdle on Monday when the Interior Department opened the way for the project’s sponsors to start work on an environmental impact statement."

"WASHINGTON -- Progressive lawmakers Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) teamed up on Thursday to introduce legislation designed to stop subsidies to the oil, coal and natural gas industries, preserving an estimated $110 billion over the next ten years."

"Long involvement in Canada's tar sands has been central to Koch Industries' evolution and positions the billionaire brothers for a new oil boom."

"MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Vermont is about to become the first U.S. state to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for natural gas."