While Washington dithers on energy policy, the economy and consumers pay the price - more than 500,000 potential jobs by 2025 and an additional $51 billion in increased energy costs to the transportation sector over the last year alone.

That's the crux of a new report by the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a nonpartisan collection of more than 160 energy consumer and producer groups and consumer advocacy organizations, and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), an industry trade group. The report points a finger at government:

"Onerous regulations, endless layers of red tape, restricted access to critical supplies of domestic energy and a lack of direction from government are only a few of the many examples of artificial barriers that paralyze business and make it difficult for... more »

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Texas Shale Lessons: Twenty years ago, the Barnett Shale in North Texas was virtually unknown. Today, it's the largest producing natural gas field in the United States with output exceeding 4 billion cubic feet a day. What's more, the Barnett Shale has added a new dimension to the North Texas economy, supporting thousands of jobs and generating millions in tax revenue for local governments and school districts. One recent study prepared for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce found that drilling and production activity in the Barnett was supporting more than 110,000 jobs across the region. And a study by this author a few years ago calculated that Barnett wells and related equipment had added $6 billion to the local property tax base. In South Texas, where new oil w... more »

A couple of questions for the White House's scheduled 2 p.m. live chat on U.S. energy independence:

• While discussion of improved batteries for electric vehicles, liquid fuels from microorganisms and other new technologies is worthwhile, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) says oil and natural gas will provide 55 percent of the energy we consume in 2035 (just slightly less than today's 61 percent share). Isn't securing those resources the more important discussion to be had?

• Whatever the potential of batteries, algae and other innovations, EIA's forecast clearly shows that oil and natural gas are an important part of our energy future. Thus, if 92 percent of America's liquid fuel needs by 2030 can be supplied domestically and through partnership with Canada, where are... more »

NOLA.com: Tap the Nation's True Oil Reserve in the Gulf of Mexico: The Obama administration has come under criticism for its decision to drain 30 million barrels from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, purportedly in an effort to address Libya's unrest and ease prices at the pump. Obama administration is facing criticism for tapping the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve while there are still obstacles to explore the natural reserves of the Gulf of Mexico. The critics are right. This move was not necessary. Gas prices are trending downward already, and our nation doesn't face an emergency that warrants tapping into the strategic reserve. Just as important, the Obama administration needs to focus on developing our nation's true long-term oil reserve by moving more efficiently to r... more »

Yesterday I posted some initial reactions to the latest articles in, as Michael Levi puts it, "The New York Times' war on shale gas..." More from Levi:

I hate to say it, but on the whole, both pieces are of pretty poor quality...[reporter Ian] Urbina was clearly looking for negative views of shale gas, and had no problem finding them. Given the massive size of the industry, and the number of financial bets being placed upon the sector, that shouldn't be a surprise. What is a surprise is that Urbina hasn't done much to put them in context...The Times descriptions of the emails (not just in the article, but in the document database) also betray a serious lack of understanding of the industry

Ken Cohen from Exxon wonders: "Don't facts matter anymore?"

In the latest installment (stories publis... more »