A conservative GOP freshman congressman from Ohio, Bill Johnson, has been attacking federal surface-mining regulation for costing jobs. It advances him politically. The only problem is that it does not seem to be true.

US energy independence -- for decades a seemingly unreachable strategic goal -- seems now tantalizingly almost within reach as hydrofracking and high oil prices bring into play oil and gas deposits once economically unfeasible. But the US will continue to import hydrocarbons from Canada and Mexico, and price corrections (much less depleting reserves) could snatch the boom from industry's hand. More to the point: should a nation whose political rhetoric uses "energy independence" to justify gifts to industry be preparing to export petroleum products and natural gas?

"In a sign that the Obama administration is willing to clear the regulatory decks for oil drilling in Alaska's remote Arctic waters, the Interior Department on Friday gave a conditional green light allowing Royal Dutch Shell PLC to explore for oil this summer in Alaska's Chukchi Sea."

Some building codes in Texas are forcing new homes to be more energy-efficient.

"A new discovery from a chemist at the University of Texas at Austin may allow photovoltaic solar cells to double their efficiency, thus providing loads more electrical power from regular sunlight."

"China has further revised up its solar power development target for 2015 by 50 percent from its previous plan, state media reported on Thursday."

"The shutdown-averting budget bill will block federal light bulb efficiency standards, giving a win to House Republicans fighting the so-called ban on incandescent light bulbs."

"The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on Wednesday to increase its production target for the first time in three years, a move that appeared to signal that Saudi Arabia and Iran had put aside their recent differences on oil policy, at least temporarily.

"BP and the oil industry drilling in the Gulf of Mexico lacked the proper safety attitude to handle the large risks of deepwater drilling, leading to the many bad decisions behind the nation's worst offshore spill, a panel of expert engineers said today.

More specifically, the industry needs to radically redesign the blowout preventers that are meant to be a last line of defense against runaway wells or else risk a repeat of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the National Academy of Engineering concluded.