Petroleum Club—Republicans claimed to be shocked by Texas Congressman Joe Barton’s apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward. Democrats (including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel) claim that Barton simply went public with the Republican Party principles at the wrong time. Rahm’s right. So are the Democrats, as the Democratic National Committee is running ads […]

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Oil and Politics—Minerals extraction is a dirty business, evident in the oil slick riding the currents of the Gulf of Mexico. Minerals-extraction political appointments are often as befouled as the process. The previous occupant of the Oval Office had left a disaster waiting to happen. Consider. Nine days before George W. Bush and Dick Cheney […]

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ON A SOMBER TUESDAY MORNING IN MID-APRIL, pews were filled in the tiny chapel of Pax Advent Christian Church. Behind the sobbing women, men wearing jeans and pressed shirts stood together, the nails of their calloused hands scrubbed clean of black dust. With red buds blooming outside, the pastor spoke of hope for a future […]

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Gaming the System—The death of 29 coal miners in Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in April was not exactly predicted when the House Committee on Education and Labor met on February 23—to address a failed safety inspection process. But the industry’s response to tougher regulations that followed a spike in miners’ deaths midway through […]

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DEMOCRATS SCORED A MAJOR VICTORY in June as the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the first piece of legislation aimed at curbing planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions. It was a narrow victory, eked out against overwhelming opposition from Republicans. The Republican caucus, save the eight who broke ranks on the bill, seem to […]

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