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Complaint accuses Exxon Mobil of anti-gay bias

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:10:09 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — One after another, major U.S. corporations have updated anti-discrimination policies to protect gay, lesbian and transgender workers, drawing plaudits from gay-rights groups. There's one prominent exception: Exxon Mobil Corp.

W.Va. average gas prices up 5 cents in past week

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:16:30 -0400

West Virginia gasoline prices are up about 5 cents over the past week heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend. AAA East Central says the average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.66 in the ...

Wind energy tax measure headed to final Neb. vote

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:01:12 -0400

A plan aimed at attracting wind-energy farms to Nebraska is headed to a final vote in the Legislature. Lawmakers gave second-round approval Tuesday to the bill, which would extend sales tax exemptions ...

Solar industry pushes for more use in Ga.

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:59:50 -0400

The solar industry in Georgia is pushing a power monopoly to expand its use of solar energy as it plans to meet the state's electricity needs over the next two decades. State utility regulators heard testimony ...

Canada retail sales unchanged in March, gas prices a drag

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:37:54 -0400

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The value of Canadian retail sales in March was unchanged from February, due largely to the drag caused by lower gas prices, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 0.1 percent from February. Statscan trimmed February's month-on-month growth to 0.7 percent from an initial 0.8 percent. After removing the effects of price changes, particularly less expensive gasoline, retail sales in volume terms grew by 0.7 percent. Higher sales were reported in six of 11 subsectors, representing 47 percent of total retail sales. ...

Get Ready for the Solar Energy Boom

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:31:01 -0400

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EU leaders look to end Apple-style tax avoidance schemes

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:18:44 -0400

By Luke Baker and Mark John BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Growing concern in European capitals about aggressive tax avoidance by high-profile corporations such as Amazon, Google and Apple looks set to steal the agenda of a European Union summit in Brussels on Wednesday. The summit was originally called to discuss energy policy and tax coordination, but press reports in Britain, France and the United States exposing how little tax major international companies have been paying by carefully structuring their European operations has forced the issue up the agenda. ...

EPA grant to help assess Detroit brownfield sites

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:02 -0400

The Wayne County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has received a $600,000 federal grant to assess about 32 potentially contaminated sites in southwest Detroit. The Environmental Protection Agency grant ...

Chevron nears sale of Egypt, Pakistan downstream assets -sources

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:02:06 -0400

By Dinesh Nair DUBAI (Reuters) - Chevron Corp is in advanced talks to sell its downstream assets in Egypt and Pakistan, three sources said, with the planned disposals seen raising around $300 million for the U.S. oil major. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, is conducting a separate sale process for its assets in both countries, the banking sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public. Downstream operations of oil companies include refining and processing of crude oil, as well as the marketing and distribution of products. ...

Are we on the cusp of a solar energy boom?

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:50:00 -0400

Solar power is getting much easier to store — and at a much cheaper price

Gas prices in Rhode Island climb 2 cents

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:44:56 -0400

Gasoline prices in Rhode Island have climbed 2 cents in the past week and a nickel over the past month. AAA Southern New England said Monday the latest gas survey shows the average cost of a gallon of ...

Massachusetts gas prices up a penny

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:19:37 -0400

The price of a gallon of gas in Massachusetts is up a penny. AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular crept up to $3.49 per gallon in the past week. The in-state price is 16 cents ...

Gas prices rise slightly in New Hampshire

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:58:24 -0400

Gas prices have risen in New Hampshire, but they're still below the national average. The website Gasbuddy.com says the average retail price for a gallon of gas rose 1.9 cents in the last week, averaging ...

AAA Mich.: Gas prices rise 10 cents over past week

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:53:51 -0400

AAA Michigan says gasoline prices have risen about 10 cents during the past week to a statewide average of about $3.88 per gallon. The auto club says Monday the average is about 13 cents per gallon more ...

Maine gas prices rise more than 3 cents

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:47:05 -0400

The price of a gallon of gas in Maine is rising, but not as fast as prices are going up nationally. Price-monitoring website MaineGasPrices.com reports Monday that the average retail price of a gallon ...

Gas prices take big jump in Ohio

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:38:27 -0400

Gas prices have taken a big jump in Ohio and the U.S. A gallon of regular gas in Ohio was listed at an average of about $3.84 in Monday's survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and ...

Tesoro to buy Chevron system for reduced price

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:53:25 -0400

Tesoro Logistics LP said Monday that it will acquire Chevron Pipe Line Co.'s northwest products system for less than previously expected, citing a March diesel fuel spill involving the system. Tesoro said ...

Supreme Court declines to hear Alaska climate change case

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:11:10 -0400

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an Alaskan village's claim that it should be able to sue oil companies and utilities for damages attributed to climate change. Lawyers for the village of Kivalina wanted various named defendants responsible for greenhouse emissions, including Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and Duke Energy Corp, to pay damages for greater flooding and erosion that they say have caused by a reduction in sea ice. The court's refusal to take the case means an appeals court ruling in favor of the defendants remains intact. ...

Readers Write: The dangers of immigration amnesty; Not all oil companies are alike

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:10:38 -0400

The April 8 cover story, "Amnesty: back to the future," understates the threat that a new amnesty for illegal immigrants poses to the United States. The 1987 amnesty was a massive failure on all counts: The border is still not secure, employers hire illegal immigrants without a credible deterrent, and the previous amnesty was subject to massive fraud.

Special Report: The Rise and Fall of China's Sun King

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:34:59 -0400

By Charlie Zhu and Bill Powell HONG KONG (Reuters) - In a 2010 speech before a packed ballroom of university students in Sydney, Shi Zhengrong, founder of Chinese solar-panel maker Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, listed the people who had been important in his rise to fame and riches. Two were of particular note: Yang Weize and Wang Rong, senior Communist Party officials from the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi. A decade earlier, Shi had been research director of a solar energy firm, a spin-off from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, where he attended graduate school. ...

US gas prices up 11 cents over past 2 weeks

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:50:36 -0400

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 11 cents over the past two weeks.

Republicans see IRS scandal parallel in EPA info requests

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:54:32 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers on Friday began an investigation into whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency greatly favored left-leaning environmentalists over conservative groups when granting fee waivers for requests to access information. The lawmakers drew a comparison between the actions they say the EPA has taken with the Internal Revenue Service, which is embroiled in controversy over its targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny. ...

The EPA Could Lose Its Power to Fight Climate Change Before Using It

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:39:05 -0400

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Gas prices headed for a record in North Dakota

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:21:18 -0400

Gasoline prices are on the rise and headed to a record in North Dakota. The average price of gas in the state could reach $4.15 per gallon in the coming days, breaking the July 2008 record of $4.08, according ...

Why the GOP dropped its boycott of Obama's Labor and EPA picks

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:14:00 -0400

Don't start singing "Kumbaya" just yet

Exclusive - U.S. approval of Tesoro BP refinery buy could come soon

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:57:16 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal antitrust regulators are prepared to approve U.S. refiner Tesoro Corp.'s proposed deal to buy a BP refinery in southern California, three sources told Reuters. The Federal Trade Commission, which assessed the deal to ensure that it complied with antitrust law, may announce the deal's approval as early as Friday, according to one source with knowledge of the deal. Tesoro announced in August that it had agreed to buy BP's Carson facility for $2.5 billion. Tesoro is the second-largest refiner in California, the nation's largest gasoline market, after Chevron Corp . ...

Senate Confirms Energy Secretary, Stalls on EPA and Labor Nominees

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:14:05 -0400

The Senate on Thursday confirmed President Obama’s nominee to lead the Energy Department, Ernest Moniz, by a vote of 97-0. On the upper chamber’s plate now are two considerably more controversial nominees whose confirmation votes—if they come at all—surely won’t be unanimous.

EPA nominee advances without GOP support

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:13:46 -0400

President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency has moved one step closer to getting the job, but it came without Republican support. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ...

Senate Committee Approves Gina McCarthy EPA Nomination Along Party Lines

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:01:17 -0400

Senate Republicans on Thursday eased their opposition to the nomination of Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency—but her confirmation by the full Senate is not yet assured.

Senate Committee Approves Gina McCarthy Nomination to EPA Along Party Lines

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:48:49 -0400

Senate Republicans on Thursday eased their opposition to the nomination of Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency--although her confirmation by the full Senate is not yet assured.

Senate Committee Approves McCarthy Nomination to EPA Along Party Lines

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:38:49 -0400

Senate Republicans Back Off Opposition to EPA Nominee McCarthy

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:36:05 -0400

Lower natural gas prices pull down NE power costs

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:41:27 -0400

Falling natural gas prices helped drive down New England's electricity prices by nearly a quarter last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the region's power grid operator. The 2012 Annual ...

W.Va. gas prices down 4 cents, average $3.61

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:19:02 -0400

Motorists in West Virginia are getting a break from price increases at the pump. AAA East Central says the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline fell 4 cents in the past week to a statewide average ...

Oklahoma gas prices up 20 cents in past week

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:05:14 -0400

Gas prices across Oklahoma are up sharply during the past week — rising 20 cents per gallon. AAA Oklahoma reports the average price for a gallon of self-serve regular on Tuesday is $3.58 — compared to ...

Teenager Designs Safer Nuclear Power Plants

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:06:44 -0400

Do nuclear power plants need a redesign? Critics of nuclear energy seem to think so, and so does nuclear energy advocate, Taylor Wilson. A physics wunderkind, Wilson became the youngest person to ever create fusion at age 14. And since graduating from high school last year, he's devoted himself to finding innovative solutions to the world's biggest problems.

Bush-Era EPA Chief Calls Republicans ‘Sore Losers’

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:43:50 -0400

Republicans’ decision to boycott a planned committee vote of President Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency made them look like “sore losers,” said Christine Todd Whitman, EPA administrator under President George W. Bush.

Stopping the EPA from Regulating Puddles

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:59:28 -0400

Some of the biggest Environmental Protection Agency abuses of property rights (see last term's Sackett case and this term's Koontz case) stem from expansive interpretations of the Clean Water Act. The EPA imposes huge costs on people who want to do anything on their property, claiming the agency has the authority to regulate "wetlands." The agency is only supposed to have authority to regulate discharges to "navigable" waters, but the jurisprudence here is so confused that it's become an area ripe for federal overreach. ...

W.Va. officials challenging EPA clean-air rules

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:28:38 -0400

Two West Virginia officials are blasting the Environmental Protection Agency over new air pollution rules. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey ...

How Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds?

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:01:45 -0400

Wind energy is frequently touted as a clean, green source of energy that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.