Tornadoes whipped up by wind, not climate: officials

Sorry Al:

US meteorologists warned Thursday it would be a mistake to blame climate change for a seeming increase in tornadoes in the wake of deadly storms that have ripped through the US south

Article HERE

A Toxic Setback for the Anti-Plastic Campaigners

http://www.american.com/archive/2011/april/a-toxic-setback-for-the-anti-plastic-campaigners

 

A comprehensive review by the German Society of Toxicology of thousands of studies on BPA concluded, “[BPA] exposure represents no noteworthy risk to the health of the human population, including newborns and babies.” The group, which included several scientists who have advised regulatory caution on BPA, bucked calls by advocacy groups to lower safe exposure levels.

Study tracks widening partisan divide on climate

Percent of those polled who believe global warming effects have begun:

·         2001 Republicans: 49%

·         2010 Republicans: 29%

·         2001 Democrats: 60%

·         2010 Democrats: 70%

 

Percent of those polled who believe changes in temperature over the last century are attributable to human activity

·         < college degree Republicans: 47%

·         College degreed Republicans: 40%

·         < college degree Democrats: 65%

·         College degreed Democrats: 83%

 

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/156881-study-tracks-widening-partisan-divide-on-climate

 

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53279.html

GOP: EPA ‘evaporating’ from hearings

House Republicans aren’t happy that top EPA officials are skipping hearings on efforts to roll back the agency’s regulations.

“We could call them the Evaporating Personnel Administration, I guess,” Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton said Friday. “They don’t seem to ever show up and be accountable.”

Of three Energy and Commerce Committee hearings held this week on controversial EPA rules, the agency sent an administration witness to just one.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53279.html#ixzz1JtPTIgmV

 

U.S. needs a "rational" policy for oil, gas development, API says

U.S. needs a "rational" policy for oil, gas development, API says
The American Petroleum Institute is seeking "rational" energy policy that backs domestic oil and natural gas production "to keep this country going strong," said Rayola Dougher, API's senior economic adviser of media relations. At a Wyoming conference of energy and business leaders, Dougher spoke of the impact of oil and gas on global economies and several challenges facing the industry. "I think some people think we're going to switch overnight from fossil fuel to renewables and it's just not going to happen," Dougher said. Wyoming Business Report

API: Idle leases do not exist

API: Idle leases do not exist
There is no such thing as an idle lease, the American Petroleum Institute said in response to President Barack Obama's speech Wednesday detailing a comprehensive energy plan. Obama cited an Interior Department study saying the industry has several nonproducing offshore and onshore leases. "The administration's report assumes that oil and natural gas are spread uniformly across the lease acreage -- suggesting that 70% of idle leases equates to 70% idled resources," said Erik Milito, API's upstream director. FuelFix.com