And the winner of Iraq's oil is...China? Yes, thanks to U.S. senators

On the same day as the deadline for American troop withdrawal from Iraq, the Iraqi government held a daylong, nationally televised public auction of its vast oil reserves...and the show turned out to be a dud.

Although this was the most significant attempt to open up the country’s oil industry since it was nationalized by Saddam Hussein in 1972, only a single deal emerged among the six giant oil fields and two gas fields that the Iraqis had put up for bid.

"The single successful contract went to a pairing of BP and the China National Petroleum Corp. for the largest field on offer: Rumaila, near the southern city of Basra, which has proven reserves of 17 billion barrels," the New York Times reported.

China? Yes, China. All three of China's mail oil companies were in the thick of the Baghdad bidding show Tuesday, all of them in partnership with Western companies.

"Few Americans or Iraqis may have expected China to emerge as one of the winners in Iraqi oil, particularly after six years of war," the Times reports in a separate story. "But signs of stability in Iraq this year, and a planned American military pullout from Iraqi cities on Tuesday, happened to coincide with an aggressive Chinese push to buy or develop overseas oil fields."

Originally, the Times noted, the Iraqi government tried "to award oil fields to Western companies through a no-bid process. That prompted objections from a group of United States senators, who wanted greater transparency, and the plan was replaced with the auction, which had the effect of letting Chinese companies play a much larger role."

[AP photo]

Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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EPA lets California set own auto emission standards; Florida can't because of Legislature

As expected, the Environmental Protection Agency today approved California's longstanding application to set tougher auto emission standards as a tool for combating climate change, reports the Associated Press.

"The California regulation requires automakers to increase the fuel economy of cars and trucks sold in the state by 40 percent over the next seven years, to an average of 35.5 mpg," the AP reports. California had been asking for the waiver since 2005, but the EPA under the Bush Administration had turned it down.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in an agency news release, said the decision "puts the law and science first." As Reuters notes, it comes just over a month "after Obama on May 19 ordered the struggling auto industry to cut emissions and improve gas mileage."

Two years ago, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order that would set the exact same emissions standards as California, as soon as California got its EPA waiver. It would be one of 17 states following California's lead.

But the following year the Legislature passed a law that said Crist couldn't set those standards without legislative approval. And this spring, a bill to approve the tougher emissions standards were held hostage in the House by lawmakers who wanted to allow offshore drilling within 3 miles of Florida's beaches, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. And it didn't even get out of committee in the Senate.

Automakers had hired super-lobbyist Wade Hopping to press their case in Tallahassee, and he successfully argued that Florida lawmakers should wait until there is a national emissions standard rather than simply following what California does, according to the Miami Herald

"You shouldn't give away your authority to another state,'' Hopping said as the bill sputtered and stalled.

Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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House passes controversial climate change bill by just 7 votes, after last-minute push by Obama

After three hours of debate, and some last-minute lobbying by President Obama, the House of Representatives tonight narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey bill to combat climate change by setting up a cap-and-trade system.

The tally was 219 to 212 -- a mere seven-vote margin, with 44 Democrats voting no, according to the New York Times. Here's a breakdown of the roll call, which shows Rep. C.W. Bill Young  and Gus Bilirakis voting no along with most of the GOP, and Rep. Kathy Castor voting yea with most, though not, all of the Democrats.

The bill is "a patchwork of compromises," notes the Times, and "falls far short of what many European governments and environmentalists have said is needed to avert the worst impacts of global warming. And it has pitted liberal Democrats from both coasts against more conservative Democrats from areas dependent on coal for electricity and heavy manufacturing for jobs."

And as tough as the passage was in the House, "it is just the beginning of the energy and climate debate in Congress, since the issue now moves to the Senate, where political divisions and regional differences are even starker."

Here's President Obama's Rose Garden speech today in support of the bill's passage:

--Craig Pittman

Progress Energy chief: Climate change bill to jack up customer rates

Outgoing Progress Energy CEO Jeff Lyash told the Orlando Sentinel that the Waxman-Markey bill, the climate-change legislation scheduled for a House vote today, will drive up customers' rates in the near future.

Lyash and incoming Chief Executive Officer Vincent "Vinnie" Dolan told the paper that "major federal energy legislation that may face a key vote in Congress today could ultimately translate into electric rates 20 percent to 50 percent higher for Progress customers in about 15 years," the Sentinel reported.

Lyash, who's being promoted by the utility to a post in North Carolina, also conceded that Florida's second-largest utility "miscalculated in seeking a controversial rate hike early this year," which then "triggered the biggest consumer protest in state officials' memory," prompting the utility to back off, the Sentinel said.

"Was it objection from our customers? Yeah, you always listen to your customers," Lyash said. "We looked at our financial wherewithal and we decided we could make an adjustment and that would be the right thing."

--Craig Pittman

California considers global warming fees, first ever for nation

California air regulators today will consider leveling the nation's first statewide carbon fee on utilities, oil refineries and other industries as a way to pay for the state's landmark greenhouse gas emissions law, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

"The fee - about 12 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide - is not designed to penalize emissions. Instead, it would pay for creating and enforcing the state's global warming regulations, the result of California's landmark 2006 law to fight climate change," reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The fee would cost the average cement plant, for example, about $200,000 a year, and the average power plant would have to pay $1.3-million a year, the two papers report.

It won't be an easy choice. "The move comes at a time of rising unemployment and great economic uncertainty in the nation's most populous state, prompting concerns that the regulatory fee will impose yet another burden on California's struggling business climate," the San Jose paper reports.

The fee is supposed to raise $51.2 million annually for the next three years to fund the bureaucracy needed to implement California's 2006 global warming law, known as Assembly Bill 32. The total would drop to $36.2 million by the fifth year.

The California Air Resources Board "also will discuss regulations to capture methane from landfills and require glazed, heat-deflecting car windshields, which cut the amount of energy needed to keep cars cool," the Chronicle notes.

Craig Pittman, Times staff writer

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Florida gets $50.4 million for energy efficiency and renewables

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $50.4 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Florida. The state got almost a quarter of the total of more than $204 million for State Energy Programs in 10 states.

With today's announcement, Florida will now have received 50 percent of its total Recovery Act funding. The remaining 50 percent will be released once it meets reporting, oversight and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act. After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $63 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $126 million.

Now we just have to see how wisely that money is used. After an initial burst of clean-energy initiatives that  earned Gov. Charlie Crist national attention, the state has slowed the pace. The Legislature did not take action on several key issues this year, and Crist, who was pushing energy and climate change legislation, is now caught up in his Senate campaign.

(The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act appropriated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program to help achieve national energy independence goals and promote local economic recovery.)

David Adams, Times staff writer

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Obama urges passage of climate change bill; House vote may come this week

President Barack Obama today urged Congress to pass "historic legislation" to fight global warming, prompting his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives to aim for a vote on Friday on the bill to reduce industrial emissions of carbon dioxide, Reuters reports.

At a midday White House press conference, Obama said the climate change bill moving through the House would "transform the way we produce and use energy in America," the wire service reported. (In case you're wondering, the Congressional Budget Office says it will also cost every household in America $175 a year by 2020.)

Obama said the Waxman-Markey bill “will finally spark a clean-energy transformation that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and confront the carbon pollution that threatens our planet,” according to the New York Times. He also predicted it will help position the country as a global leader in clean energy technology “and that is why I urge members of the House to come together to pass it.”

However, notes Reuters, even with Obama's support, "the climate change bill faces a tough road: Democratic leaders in the House are cajoling farm-state lawmakers and other moderates from their own party to support the measure. Without such support, it is unclear whether the House could approve the bill."

Craig Pittman

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Energy use rising with mercury across Florida (now watch the bills rise, too)

As the mercury rises, so does energy usage. Crank up the air-conditioner, folks -- and watch your bills go up, too.

Usage levels statewide are up about 4 percent more than average, Cherie Jacobs, a Progress Energy spokeswoman, told the St. Petersburg Times.

The increase in energy usage began several days ago just as the nearly 100-degree heat started to settle in, prompting health advisories from the state. Thermometers in South Florida, for instance, are hitting record high temperatures there, according to the Miami Herald.

The state's biggest utility, Florida Power & Light. saw an almost 4 percent statewide increase in energy usage over what's usually expected this time of year as people try to keep cool, according to the Daytona Beach News Journal.

"Meanwhile, Progress Energy, which serves 35 counties, almost beat its all-time usage high for a single day, which happened in August 2005, coming in at a Monday peak of 22,343 megawatts, according to a company spokeswoman," the News-Journal reports.

On the other hand, if you raise your thermostat to 78 degrees, each raised degree reduces costs by seven to 10 percent.

Kim Wilmath and Craig Pittman

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Nissan announces plans to go all-electric

Nissan is planning to launch an all-electric car in the United States and Japan next year.

The company is hoping to sell the new car on a "mass market" scale of 100,000 units a year or more. The car is being developed in partnership with Renault of France. It doesn't have a name yet, but  an unveiling is scheduled for early August. (in photo, Nissan Cuba electric prototype)

Nissan says it hopes to keep the price affordable, similar to its current combustion engine models.

This is a big leap for Nissan. It has failed to compete with Toyota and Honda in the hybrid car market. But by going all-electric it may be hoping to for new, low-interest U.S. government loans being offered by the Obama administration for developers of next-generation green cars. The winners of the $25 billion program are expected to be announced today.

David Adams, Times staff writer

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Greening Your Business -- the idiot's guide

Looking for practical steps to make money by going green? You might want to consult The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Greening Your Business, a new book by Trish Riley and Heather Gadonniex.

The book explains how the transition to greener businesses practices can be profitable, as well as rewarding the environment. This is known as the "Green is Gold" concept, which is perhaps one of the most persuasive arguments environmental activists use to convince skeptics about the need to tackle climate change.

The authors offer "to provide the tools you need to learn why creating a sustainable business is your best strategy for the future and how to make the changes."

They explain how to calculate your "carbon footprint" (the amount of heat-trapping "greenhouse" gas your business puts into the atmosphere) and how to make a building more eco-friendly (as well as worker friendly). They explore green retail and packaging, and energy saving methods.

Riley, from Gainesville, is an award-winning environmental journalist and co-founder of Go Green Nation. Gadonniex is an expert on green building design and co-founder of Green it Group, which provides advice on sustainable business strategies.

David Adams, Times staff writer

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