Game-Changer:Chair of Obama Spill Commission Changes His Mind on Need for Offshore Ban AfterVisiting Gulf Coast - "It's Not Clear to Me Why It Should Take So Long." NYTimes (7/13) reports, "Three weeks ago, William K. Reilly, the newly namedco-chairman of the presidential commission appointed to investigate the BP oilspill, said he thought the six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in theGulf of Mexico was necessary - and maybe even too short. He said in aninterview with The Times that...

InToo Deep: Salazar "Shocks" Oil Spill Commission By Asking Panel for AssuranceHe's Doing the Right Thing in Shilling for Obama Offshore Ban - Rebuke CameQuick. WallStreet Journal (7/12) reports, "The really odd moment came when InteriorSecretary Ken Salazar said in a statement that he was looking to the commissionfor information that could inform the administration's position on haltingdeepwater drilling. Salazar's statement stunned the commission's twoco-chairmen, William K. Reilly and Bob...

WSJEditorial Draws on IER Research to Expose Obama Spill Commission for What ItReally Is: A Few Activists, a Few Hacks, Every One of ‘Em a Dilettante. WallStreet Journal (7/9) editorializes, "As for the rest of the President'scommission, the Institute for EnergyResearch has compiled a summary of their views on oil exploration:"Offshore drilling is a needless risk," said Ms. Beinecke in 2008."We should be redoubling our efforts to get off oil," said fellowcommission member Donald Boesch in...

Poll Released This Week - Oversampled withDemocratic Voters - Finds 70 Percent of Respondents Oppose National Energy TaxBeing Debated by Congress. E&E News (7/7, subs. req'd) reports, "Voters areoverwhelmingly opposed to any policy they perceive as increasing taxes onenergy and have little interest in seeing climate legislation become a reality,according to a poll released today by a conservative-leaning think tank. The pollfound that roughly 70 percent of voters opposed such a policy, while...

Pyle:Independence Day a Reminder of How Thoroughly Dependent We Are On Others forthe Energy We Need to Survive - Thanks in No Small Part to Our Government. IER president Thomas J. Pyle writes (7/6) forthe Daily Caller,"Happy Dependence Day! This weekend, we celebrated our nation's most importantholiday-the birth of this great country and the freedoms and liberty itprovides us.  But while we celebratedour independence as a nation, we continue to face increasing and alarmingdependence in our...

Authorof New Study Commissioned by IER - Which Finds Kerry-Lieberman Leads toHemorrhaging of 5.1 Million Jobs - Takes on Entire Blogosphere One Greenie At aTime. Andrew Chamberlain writes(7/3) for PajamasMedia ,"President Obama has repeatedly told Americans he has three main policypriorities - rewriting health care, overhauling the financial system, andimposing a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He met hisfirst goal and he's closer than ever on the second; time is...

CubaLibre: Obama Ban on Offshore Energy Exploration Forgets One Important Thing:The Cubans Don't Observe It; Clear the Way for Drilling 45 Miles from Key West.WallStreet Journal (7/2) reports, "Florida has long fought to prevent oildrilling anywhere near its white sandy beaches. But as the state continues todeal with oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill washing up on its shores, it facesa new threat: deepwater drilling in nearby Cuban waters. Maria Ritter, aspokeswoman for Spanish oil company...

Rebuke:Democrats and Republicans Come Together in the Senate to Establish REALCommission on Deepwater Horizon - Will Compete Directly with Obama's PotemkinPanel. Energy Guardian (7/1, subs.req'd) reports, "After unanimously approving legislation to overhaul the nation'soffshore drilling laws, members of the Senate Energy Committee did somethingunexpected. They voted to approve their own independent commission toinvestigate the BP accident that would compete with one that Obama createdseveral...

Kerry-Lieberman "AmericanPower Act" (Really, Guys?) Will Cut 5.1 Million U.S. Jobs over Next 40 Years -And, As Usual, Disproportionately Affect Working-Class Families. Investor'sBusiness Daily (6/29) editorializes, "On Wednesday, the Institute forEnergy Research will release an analysis of the American Power Act, pushed byKerry and Lieberman (sans Graham). IER says it will cut U.S. employment byroughly 522,000 jobs in 2015, rising to more than 5.1 million by 2050."Gross annual burden"...

One Year Later: 365 Days Removedfrom House Passage of Waxman-Markey, Backers of Carbon Criminalization ViewAttachment to Oil Spill Bill as Only Hope. E&E News (6/25, subs. req'd) reports, "One year ago, the stars seemed aligned forCongress to enact a sweeping climate and energy bill. Democrats held largemajorities on Capitol Hill, President Obama touted a cap-and-trade plan as oneof his top legislative priorities, and the House passed a historic bill settingmandatory limits on greenhouse gas...