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ENERGY

Defending our best lands from irresponsible energy development; Pushing cleaner, sustainable energy policies forward.

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Senate Introduces Climate Bill: Clean Energy Jobs Act Builds on House Momentum

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September 30, 2009 - Building on the momentum generated by passage of a comprehensive energy and climate bill (H.R. 2454) in the House in late June, the Senate today introduced its own clean energy jobs bill — the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act — at a Capitol Hill event this morning. more

My afternoon as a Polar Bear

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September 23, 2009 - There was a bit of hesitancy in communications director Kathy Westra’s voice last Thursday when she asked me how I would feel about wearing a polar bear costume to an outdoor mid-day rally at the Department of the Interior to raise awareness about oil drilling in Arctic waters. As a communications intern new to Washington, I jumped at an opportunity to draw attention to myself, and I then proceeded to research the issue more in-depth, so I would know why I was wearing this enormous furry outfit in the noonday Washington heat. more

Gale Norton: Was She a Shill for Shell on Shale?

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September 22, 2009 - A remarkable news item surfaced this past week that Gale Norton, President George W. Bush’s first Secretary of the Interior from 2001-2006, is under a federal criminal probe due to her potentially inappropriate, unethical, and illegal relationship with Royal Dutch Shell over the federal lands that a Shell subsidiary was awarded for oil shale development when Norton was Secretary. more

Drilling at what cost? Our science shows that U.S. public lands hold tiny amounts of energy

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September 22, 2009 - For the past several years, there has been an unprecedented rush in applying for permits to lease and drill federal public lands especially in the West. Proponents for drilling use energy independence and economic gain to justify their case. So how much oil and gas is really available under public lands and how much are they worth? Our spatial analysts, economists and ecologists in TWS make it their business to find out. more