Global warming fight to be a casualty of economic meltdown? Or the solution to it?

"Attempts to tackle global warming are being made more difficult by the spreading economic crisis even as Democratic congressional leaders say it's still a top goal for next year," the Associated Press is reporting.

"At the very least, fear of a prolonged economic downturn is expected to delay attempts by the United States to cap greenhouse gases blamed for global warming," the AP says. Some Republicans want to scrap any kind of cap-and-trade or carbon tax legislation, the story says, while some Democrats say that "a proposal to auction off emission permits — a source of money to help refocus the nation's use of energy away from fossil fuels — may have to be abandoned with permits distributed for free."

This, of course, is completely contrary to what the two presidential candidates said in their last debate. Both Barack Obama and John McCain asserted that clean energy is the key not only to combating climate change, but also to getting the stumbling economy on its feet and moving again.

The United Nations' climate chief agrees with McCain and Obama that the credit crisis is an opportunity, not a hurdle. According to Reuters, Yvo de Boer told reporters that the global credit crisis could hasten countries' efforts to create green growth industries by revamping the financial system behind them.

"The credit crunch, I believe, is an opportunity to rebuild the financial system that would underpin sustainable growth," de Boer said. "Governments now have an opportunity to create and enforce policy, which stimulates private competition to fund clean industry."

--Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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Forest loss costlier than worldwide credit crisis, says study

Current worries over the global economic meltdown could be nothing compared to the longterm financial cost of dwindling forest land, according to a new European Union study.

The study puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. The study reached those figures by adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.

The study, headed by a Deutsche Bank economist, echoes previous assessments that have warned that failure to act now on climate change will cost us far more than addressing the problem today. (this was the argument of the Stern Review published last year by the UK government.)

A number of nations, businesses and global organisations are beginning to direct funds into forest conservation, the BBC reports, and there are signs of a trade in natural ecosystems developing, analogous to the carbon trade, although it is clearly very early days.

- David Adams, Times staff writer

McCain, Obama on energy: new Manhattan Project?

In last night's debate, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama both asserted that clean energy is the key not only to combating climate change, but also to getting the stumbling economy on its feet and moving again.

McCain said that energy independence, specifically “drilling offshore and nuclear power,” would power up the flagging economy: "We can work on nuclear power plants. Build a whole bunch of them, create millions of new jobs. We have to have all of the above, alternative fuels, wind, tide, solar, natural gas, clean coal technology."

When moderator Tom Brokaw asked the candidates to rate their priorities, Obama listed energy first: "Energy we have to deal with today, because you’re paying $3.80 here in Nashville for gasoline. . . And it’s a strain on your family budget, but it’s also bad for our national security, because countries like Russia and Venezuela and, you know, in some cases, countries like Iran, are benefiting from higher oil prices."

However, Obama added, "we can't simply drill our way out of the problem. And we're not going to be able to deal with the climate crisis if our only solution is to use more fossil fuels that create global warming. We're going to have to come up with alternatives, and that means that the United States government is working with the private sector to fund the kind of innovation that we can then export to countries like China that also need energy and are setting up one coal power plant a week."

McCain emphasized his opposition to the 2005 Bush energy bill that was loaded with tax breaks for oil companies -- a bill which, he said, was supported by "that one," a reference to his opponent which is already stirring some controversy.

Brokaw asked McCain if the government should "fund a Manhattan-like project" to produce alternative energy, "or should we fund 100,000 garages across America, the kind of industry and innovation that developed Silicon Valley?" McCain said he liked the idea of "pure research and development" by government scientists, an answer which the folks at Earth2Tech say "didn’t display much knowledge as to how technology innovation works in Silicon Valley."

For a full comparison of the candidates' energy proposals, check out our colleagues at Politifact. If you'd like a debate transcript, CNN has it here.

[Manhattan Project photo from Department of Energy]

--Craig Pittman

Wave power generator cranks up off Portuguese coast, and Oregon may be next

The world's first commercial wave power project has cranked up at last three miles off the Portuguese coast, CNN reports. The first phase is expected to generate 2.25 megawatts, enough power for 1,000 homes, according to the Guardian.

"If successful, a second phase will see energy generation rise to 21 megawatts from a further 25 machines providing electricity for 15,000 Portuguese homes," CNN says.

The generators, made by a company called Pelamis, are three red cylindrical converters (shown here) which are partially submerged in the Atlantic Ocean. "Moving up and down on the endless waves of the open sea, they convert motion into electricity, without emitting any of the carbon dioxide that is warming the planet," the Guardian notes.

Meanwhile the U.S. Department of Energy has, for the first time, awarded a $2-million contract to an American company called Ocean Power Technologies to build a wave power generator. The generator will be installed off the Oregon coast, according to a press release. The first "PowerBuoy" should be ready for installation by the second half of 2009, the company said. It's already working on a similar project off Spain.

One of the questions these companies will have to deal with, however, is the impact the power generators may have on fish, seabirds and marine mammals, according to a recent study by Oregon State University.

For more on the Pelamis system, click this: Download pelamisbrochure.pdf.

--Craig Pittman

Palin's polar bear suit backed by Big Oil & climate skeptics?

Earlier this year, before she was being seriously considered as a vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took on the Bush Administration, the Endangered Species Act and global warming, all in one fell swoop.

Bush's Interior Department declared the polar bear to be a threatened species because climate change was melting the Arctic sea ice that is its habitat. Palin sued, arguing that the decision to list polar bears was based on shaky science regarding global warming, and would create a serious economic impact on the state's oil and gas industry.

Now, on the eve of Palin's debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden, a British paper, the Guardian, is reporting that Palin's polar bear suit was based on studies by global warming skeptics. One study used in Palin's lawsuit was funded by ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute, the story notes.

When a congressman questioned the use of those somewhat suspect studies, the story reports that Palin responded: ""Attempts to discredit scientists ... simply because their analyses do not agree with your views, would be a disservice to this country." Meanwhile, though, Alaska's own state scientists were agreeing with the polar bear experts at the Interior Department -- and not the climate skeptics -- that the bears deserved to be on the threatened list.

Since she joined the presidential ticket, Palin's repeated questioning of whether humans are causing the climate to get warmer have undercut her political credibility. Her Palin's polar bear lawsuit and her position on global warming (a stance that puts her at odds with her running mate, GOP presidential nominee John McCain) led to the Center for Biological Diversity awarding her its annual Rubber Dodo Award (shown here).

--Craig Pittman

Fla. wildlife & climate change: What's the outlook?

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission kicked off a summit meeting in Orlando today called “Florida Wildlife: On the front line of climate change” that drew experts from around the country. One of the first items on the agenda was a speech by Virginia Burkett of the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Over the next 50 years, according to the models, South Florida will see a high increase in temperatures, but unlike the rest of the southeastern United States, it will also see increasing drought conditions,” said Burkett, who was a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (but not the Oscar) with Al Gore.

“This is an accelerating trend, but we are not helpless, Burkett said. "There are things we can do now through mitigation and adaptation.”  She offered a to-do list of 10 ways to deal with the challenge, such as performing prescribed burns and controlling and preventing invasive species.

If you're wondering about the carbon footprint of the climate change summit, an FWC press release notes: "The Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University will calculate carbon dioxide emissions from the energy used at the summit, as well as from travel. Energy use will be translated to dollars to pay for native tree planting in protected parks and wildlife refuges across the nation."

[Photo: NASA]

--Craig Pittman

Fla. cap & trade program to be endorsed by Gov. Crist's advisers?

Gov. Charlie Crist's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change holds its final series of meetings starting today in Tallahassee. The advisory panel is putting the finishing touches on its latest report to Crist, due Oct. 15. The agenda for this week's two-day meeting calls for a discussion of whether Florida should join other states in a cap-and-trade program.

One option: Joining the ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states that form the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or Reggie for short. Reggie just conducted its first auction of carbon credits, as the Fueling Station reported earlier this week. That sale brought in $38.5-million which the states plan  plan to invest the funds in energy efficient and renewable technologies as well as programs to benefit utility rate payers.

Another option: Join the newly announced Western Climate Initiative, or WCI (sorry, no catchy nickname.) That one has the advantage of pairing Crist up with his fellow climate crusader from the GOP, former action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, a.k.a. California's Governator (shown here with Crist last year).

Fueling Station readers may recall that the big difference between Reggie and WCI is that Reggie focuses only on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, while the Western plan would include transportation, too, since that's the largest source of greenhouse gases there. The other big difference: Reggie is up and running, while WCI is still in the planning stages.

There is a third option: "Explore the creation of a Southern regional climate initiative to reduce GHG emissions." But that would mean starting from scratch, and joining forces with two states that Florida is currently battling with regarding water.

No matter what else they recommend, though, the Action Team's members are likely to urge Crist to lobby Congress to create a national cap-and-trade program. To read the Action Team's draft report on Florida cap-and-trade possibilities, click here: Download DraftCapAndTrade.pdf

[Photo: Getty Images]

--Craig Pittman

Alt-energy credits expiring because of congressional impasse

Tax credits crucial to the continued existence of the U.S. solar, wind and biofuel industries will expire in three months unless Congress renews them. 

But the New York Times is reporting that the House and Senate are stuck in a stalemate over the credits, "leaving the future of the nascent industry in limbo." Both houses have passed a version of the bill extending the credits, but can't  reconcile their differences.

Support for extending the credits comes from such varied groups as the Sierra Club and the National Association of Home Builders. But the House will not take up the measure again before adjourning next Monday, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal and the Senate seems unlikely to pass the House version. Solar industry leaders said they hope to see a renewed interest in passing the tax breaks after the November election is over.

"Both versions would extend for one year production tax credits for wind energy, with an eight-year extension for investment tax credits for solar energy projects," reports Reuters. "Both provide tax credits for purchasing plug-in electric vehicles, though at different amounts. The bills also provide incentives for the use of biodiesel."

How important are the credits? "The solar industry alone has estimated that it could create more than 400,000 jobs if it receives an eight-year extension of its investment tax credit," the Associated Press says. Don't think of this as just mom-and-pop operations, either: the largest wind AND solar energy producer in the U.S. is Florida Power & Light, which this year announced plans for new solar and wind projects in Florida.

"With hundreds of thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in clean energy investment at risk, we urge congressional leaders not to leave for the election recess" until reaching an agreement, the CEOs of national hydropower, geothermal, solar and wind energy associations said in a statement.

[Photo: Getty Images]

Craig Pittman, Times staff writer

Cost of carbon: $3.07 a ton, say Reggie bidders

The nation’s first cap-and-trade greenhouse gas auction sold the right to pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at $3.07 a ton, the Associated Press is reporting.

Before the auction there was some concern, as the Fueling Station previously reported, that the auction by the organization nicknamed "Reggie" would run into trouble because the price of carbon futures had tumbled in the past three months. It turns out that demand remained strong.

"The results of Thursday’s sealed bid, online auction by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative were released today," the AP says. "All 12.5-million allowances were sold, and 59 bidders representing energy, financial and environmental interests participated."

Demand was so heavy, in fact, that an RGGI press release says that bidders wanted four times as many credits as were available. However, the auction price wound up "lower than the $4.50 to $4 per ton that contracts on the permits had been fetching in recent weeks on futures markets," Reuters is reporting.

Still, the AP notes,"Thursday’s sale brought in $38.5-million, which will be distributed to Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. The states plan to invest the funds in energy efficient and renewable technologies as well as programs to benefit utility rate payers."

Four states in the Reggie consortium -- one of them New York -- failed to complete their cap-and-trade rules in time to participate in last week's auction. They are expected to join in the next auction, slated for Dec. 17.

--Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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Greenhouse gases: Going up!

Worldwide man-made emissions of carbon dioxide — the main gas that causes global warming — jumped 3 percent last year, the Associated Press is reporting.

"That means the world is spewing more carbon dioxide than the worst case scenario forecast by a Nobel Prize-winning group of international scientists in 2007," the AP notes. "Scientists said if the trend does not stop, it puts the world potentially on track for the highest predicted rises in temperature and sea level."

"The new numbers, which some scientists called 'scary,' were a surprise because experts thought an economic downturn would slow energy use," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Instead, carbon dioxide output rose 3 percent from 2006 to 2007."

"The window of opportunity we have in order to achieve an international agreement and act upon it is beginning to close,'' climate expert Martin Parry told Bloomberg News. ``We have potentially serious damage in store.''

And who's to blame for this? "The pollution leader was China, followed by the United States, which past data show is the leader in emissions per capita in carbon dioxide output," the AP reports. "Emissions in the U.S. rose nearly 2 percent in 2007, after declining the previous year."

[AP photo]

Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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As Eastern states auction carbon credits, Western states propose own cap-and-trade plan

Get ready for some bicoastal cap-and-trade action in the United States. Starting tomorrow, "for the first time in US history, a price tag will begin to be placed on millions of tons of carbon dioxide spewing from every major power plant from Maine to Maryland," the Christian Science Monitor reports.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, nicknamed "Reggie," is being launched by 10 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, which will cap and then reduce CO₂ emissions from the power sector 10% by 2018 using a cap-and-trade system.

Meanwhile, seven Western states and four Canadian provinces (see map) have now proposed their own sweeping cap-and-trade plan for carbon reduction, says the Los Angeles Times. Known as the Western Climate Initiative, it aims to "slash regional greenhouse gas pollutants by about 15% below 2005 levels in the next 12 years" using "a complex trading system in which businesses can buy and barter their way out of trimming emissions."

The big difference between the two: Reggie focuses only on power plants, while the Western plan would include transportation, too, since that's the largest source of greenhouse gases in the West. Both regional initiatives reflect an impatience with the Bush Administration's foot-dragging on dealing with global warming, as well as the hope that a national cap-and-trade program may arise during the next administration.

However, notes the Times, "some experts are predicting that the Wall Street meltdown will weaken support for a national cap and trade system because investment banks, which stand to profit from such trading, are among its strongest supporters."

--Craig Pittman

Cutting greenhouse gases -- the Chicago way

The Windy City. The Second City. The City of Big Shoulders. Chicago has had a passel of nicknames over the years. Could the Hog Butcher to the World now become America's Greenest City? Could that now be "the Chicago Way"?

"Mayor Richard M. Daley has announced a plan to dramatically slash emissions of heat-trapping gases, part of an effort to fight global warming and become one of the greenest cities in the nation," the AP is reporting.

"The plan calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to three-fourths of 1990 levels by 2020 through more energy-efficient buildings, using clean and renewable energy sources, improving transportation and reducing industrial pollution."

"We can't solve the world's climate change problem in Chicago, but we can do our part," Daley told reporters. "We have a shared responsibility to protect our planet."

Army's new mission: saving energy (and taxpayer $$$)

Nine years from now, "many of the 25,000 soldiers and civilian employees living and working at Fort Lewis in northwest Washington state could be using no more energy than it takes to walk from the office to the gym or catch a hydrogen-powered bus to the firing range," the Federal Times reports.

The Army wants to transform the sprawling 134-square-mile campus of Fort Lewis, which is only slightly smaller than Seattle, "into a cluster of environmentally sustainable communities complete with public transportation and light rail systems, bike paths and parks, and green-certified homes and businesses that are within walking distance of each other," the paper reports.

"The ultimate goal, according to environmental chief Paul Steucke: a community where all energy is from renewable sources and residents have no need to drive on post."

Fort Lewis is not alone. "Since 2000, 13 Army posts, including Fort Lewis, have set 25-year sustainability goals to reduce or eliminate consumption of fossil fuels, build facilities that exceed national standards for energy conservation and environmental design, and preserve open lands and natural habitats," the paper reports. "Army leaders say building sustainable installations ultimately saves money, saves natural resources and improves the Army’s ability to meet mission requirements."

The secretary of the Army even hands out an annual award for bases that go above and beyond the call of duty in saving energy. The EPA, among others, hopes that the Army's push for energy conservation will provide tactics that city leaders can adapt to civilian life.

--Craig Pittman

Arctic ice near record low; scientists call it 'most visible' indication of global warming

The ice covering the Arctic Sea dropped to the second-lowest level ever recorded this year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

"While slightly above the record-low minimum set in 2007, this season further reinforces the strong negative trend in summertime sea ice extent observed over the past 30 years," the federal agency noted in announcing its findings.

As of last Friday, the sea ice had melted down to cover just 1.74-million square miles, which is just 150,000 square miles more than the record low, which was set in 2007. This is 33 percent below the average summer ice cover in the Arctic since satellites began measuring it in 1979, reports Reuters.

"The trend of reduced ice dates to even before 1979, according to measurements from aircraft and ships," reports Bloomberg News.         

      

Carbon cap and trade starts this month in Northeast; only two problems: supply and demand

"Ten states from Maryland to Maine are about to undertake the nation’s most serious effort yet to tackle climate change, putting limits on carbon dioxide emissions from utilities and making  them pay for each ton of pollutants," reports today's New York Times. It will be the first mandatory cap-and-trade program in the United States aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, will cap emissions for 233 plants," says the NYT. "By putting a price on the carbon dioxide they emit, it gives plants a financial incentive to clean themselves up, with the proceeds channeled to energy-saving and renewable energy programs in each state."

Here's how it works: The 10 states -- Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont -- will set their own limits, with each issuing tradable permits, or allowances, for carbon pollution. Then, on Sept. 25, "utilities will start bidding at auction for allowances, which they can later sell — mimicking the so-called cap-and-trade programs that effectively reduced acid rain in the 1990s," the paper reports.

Sounds good, right? The problem: The price of carbon futures has fallen by nearly 20 percent in the past month, says Reuters, and 40 percent in the past three months, says the Times.

“The supply of allowances is more than what the market needs,” Milo Sjardin, head of the North America division of New Carbon Finance, a research and analysis firm, told the NYT. “Prices are not going to be high, not for the foreseeable future.” He also noted that the market was also “not going to produce a lot of emission reductions” as long as the supply of allowances outstrips utilities’ needs.

It probably doesn't help much that Lehman Brothers shut down its carbon trading desk when it filed for bankruptcy, according to Reuters.

[AP photo of New York City smog]

--Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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Peru's potato crop threatened by climate change

Climate change in the Andes is disrupting traditional potato farming, according to this article in the Miami Herald.
Warmer winters and less rain are causing new plant diseases and a plague of rats.
It's bad news for peasants, as well as efforts to promote the under-rated potato, considered one of the most nutritious, vitamin-rich vegetables, as a remedy for poverty.

"According to climate models, temperature in the Andes will increase at a rate more than two times the global average," the article reports.

(Photo courtesy of the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru)

- David Adams, Times Staff Writer

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No curbside recycling says St. Pete mayor -- not even if it's free

Pinellas County has a deal for St. Petersburg: We'll reduce carbon emissions, extend the life of the landfill and provide curbside recycling to every household, all at no extra cost to taxpayers.

And St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker still wants no part of it, reports today's St. Petersburg Times. Did we mention that  Baker chairs the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, the one that listed climate change as one of the state's top challenges?

The county's ongoing effort to bring free curbside recycling to every residence in Pinellas has been met with firm opposition from Baker, who questions the financial and environmental benefits of the initiative, notes our colleague Christina Silva. So a lot of St. Petersburg's recyclable material winds up going to the incinerator instead.

One argument city officials make: Curbside recycling translates to more fuel-hungry trucks on the road. City internal services administrator Mike Connors estimates curbside collection would require the trucks to burn an extra 25,000 gallons of fuel, producing 20 tons of engine exhaust in St. Petersburg alone. So the city prefers that residents use any of the dozens of dropoff recycling centers across the county, which requires them to use their own vehicles to get there.

Hogwash, say county officials.The county estimates 4.8-million gallons of gas would be saved if 440 tons of recyclable material were picked up curbside instead of at collection centers. Greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by 20,900 metric tons, the equivalent of removing 16,600 passenger cars from the road.

Interim County Administrator Fred Marquis asked whether Connors had any evidence to support his claim that forcing St. Petersburg residents to do their own dropoff recycling somehow uses less fuel than sending out trucks to pick up recycling materials at the curbside.

"I'm not able to prove that," Connors conceded, then put this twist on his argument: "But I'm not so sure anyone can disprove that."

UPDATE: On Sept. 24, Mayor Baker announced he had changed his mind. For details click here.

[Associated Press photo]

--Craig Pittman, Times Staff Writer

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Muck makes fuel: a Florida firm turns algae to diesel, but the problem is the cost

The green muck in your pool might someday be a source of fuel for your car, but not just yet.

Although there's been a surge of interest in biofuels that has sent companies racing to be the first to produce cost-effective algae fuels on a large scale, algae fuels remain mired in unforgiving economics, notes today's St. Petersburg Times.

But a Florida company, PetroAlgae, hopes its technology will provide the needed breakthrough to make algae the fuel of the future. Formed in 1996, the Melbourne-basec ompany licensed technology from Arizona State University.

Featured in Time magazine last year, PetroAlgae has grown to 91 employees. Company vice president Fred Tennant hopes to complete a 20-acre demonstration farm early next year.

The real challeng isn't the manufacturing process, explained Tennant, but the price. "No one needs another high-priced fuel," he said. "If we make biodiesel out of this and it's 21 bucks a gallon, no one is going to buy it."

[St. Petersburg Times photo of algae by John Pendygraft]

 

--Asjylyn Loder

Crist endorses building ethanol plant at U.S. Sugar mill being bought for Everglades restoration

Gov. Charlie Crist has endorsed a plan to build an ethanol plant on land that the state is trying to buy from U.S. Sugar for Everglades restoration.

Because he’s concerned about the fate of the 1,800 U.S. Sugar employees who depend on the company to survive, converting that land to ethanol production “is one of the things I’d like to see,” Crist said Wednesday in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times.

Although Crist did not endorse a project by a specific company, an ethanol manufacturer backed by General Motors has already spent several months negotiating with U.S. Sugar to build a plant on its land.

Negotiations with the ethanol company, Coskata, have been on hold while talks about the buyout proceed, said Robert Coker of U.S. Sugar, “but depending on what happens in the next month or so, we’ll probably be sitting back down with them.”

Most ethanol manufacturing plants are built to produce 50 million gallons a year, Coker said. “We were talking about a facility that was substantially larger,” the sugar executive said.

Coskata, an Illinois-based firm, is backed not only by GM but also by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, who was one of the keynote speakers at Crist's 2007 climate change summit in Miami. The company specializes in turning waste products such as sugar cane leaves into ethanol, and its executives boast that when their demonstration plant in Madison, Penn., opens next year they will be able to produce ethanol for about $1 a gallon.

[AP photo of U.S. Sugar's mill in Clewiston]

--Craig Pittman and Steve Bousquet

Friedman's new bestseller on the need for a "Green Revolution."

Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman has a new book out about the global energy challenge, titled 'Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America.' The book has already shot to the top of Amazon's bestsellers list.

In the book Friedman argues that global warming, population growth, and new wealth in emerging economies has created an urgent need for changes to the way we use and produce energy. He calls it "Code Green."

It's now up to the United States to take the lead in a worldwide effort to replace wasteful, inefficient energy practices with a strategy for clean energy, energy efficiency, and conservation, he writes.

- David Adams

Hybrid cars pay off in a year -- thanks to higher gas prices

This has always been the big question about gas-electric hybrid cars: Sure they help save the planet and your lungs by cutting emissions. But they cost you more up front than a regular old gas-guzzling polluter. So if you're buying a hybrid, is that higher cost balanced out by the savings you get?

The answer, according to the latest Consumer Reports, is yes, depending on the make and model you pick: "With gas prices soaring, our latest analysis of owner costs shows that you can save more than $4,000 over five years by choosing a hybrid over a similar conventional gasoline-powered vehicle. Six of the 12 affordable hybrids we looked at can save you from about $500 to $4,250, even without tax credits, and pay back their price premium after only one year"

Those six are the Toyota Prius and hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Malibu and Tahoe, Ford Escape, Saturn Vue, and Toyota Camry.

"The Toyota Camry Hybrid, which got 34 mpg overall in our tests, saves the most money, about $4,250 over five years, compared with a similarly equipped four—cylinder Toyota Camry XLE, which gets 24 mpg," the magazine reported.

Not all the hybrids are quite so beneficial to your pocketbook, however: "The Lexus models and Toyota Highlander Hybrid show five-year losses ranging from about $1,250 for the Highlander to $5,500 for the GS," the magazine noted.

[Ford Escape hybrid from Ford website]

--Craig Pittman

Drilling takes center stage on Capitol Hill; could shut down the government

Even as Hurricane Ike bears down on the thousands of offshore rigs dotting the Gulf of Mexico, offshore drilling will take center stage in the House and Senate starting today as politicians debate allowing rigs 50 miles off Florida's beaches.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is unveiling an energy package that would open new areas offshore to drilling, the Houston Chronicle is reporting. Meanwhile Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has declared next week "Energy Week" in the Senate, with votes on a series of drilling amendments possible, the Houston Chronicle reported.

To get this passed before Congress adjourns in three weeks may require more bipartisan support than is possible right before a presidential election. For one thing, the GOP is unhappy with Pelosi's plans to revoke tax breaks for the oil companies, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. For another, Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson has been telling his colleagues that he's opposed to any move to open up the eastern Gulf of Mexico to more drilling.

"More leasing will only delay America's freedom from oil," Nelson told his colleagues in a speech Monday. "And, if we do - 'drill, baby, drill' - we will dirty and destroy our state’s economy." Instead, he said, "we need to keep bringing gas prices down by not wasting so much oil, and by banning greedy speculation on the part of the oil traders and profiteers."

Pelosi was supposed to unveil her bill Tuesday, but "House Democrats met in a closed session for 1½ hours Tuesday and emerged without clear consensus about the boundaries," our colleague Wes Allison reports in Wednesday's St. Petersburg Times. "Democrats from Florida later met privately to discuss what they could accept. After an hour, they still lacked consensus."

The debate "may be headed toward a high-stakes showdown at month's end, when lawmakers will have to vote on a resolution to continue funding the federal government during the next fiscal year," the Houston Chronicle says. "Republicans are threatening to oppose that resolution — and possibly shut down the federal government — unless Democrats agree"