Shell America's Marvin Odum and Alabama mine operator Ronnie Bryant would appear to have little in common. Odum oversees tens of thousands of employees, making decisions that are measurable in the billions of dollars. Bryant has permitting to open a new coal mine that would employ about 125 workers in Alabama.

No question, a galactic difference in scale. But there's at least one common point. Both run businesses that attract environmental attention.

Odum told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce audience last week that a recent lawsuit filed by environmental groups against the government, targeting the federal permitting process, could bring drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to a standstill:

"We are not named in the suit, but we have an interest in how it is resolved - as does every energy consumer in... more »

Here's what we're reading today:

• Gulf production resumes after storm passes
• Louisiana representatives push for more drilling permits
• NYT public editor: Using redacted emails affects shale gas article integrity
• Canadian minister touts Keystone XL pipeline with U.S. officials
• U.S. Chamber launches pipeline campaign

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When you think about it, the Environmental Protection Agency is asking an awful lot from the country with its proposed, more restrictive standard on ozone. Underline the word "awful":

• 7.3 million U.S. jobs could be lost by 2020, according to a Manufacturers Alliance (MAPI) study.
• An additional $1 trillion in new regulatory costs per year between 2020 and 2030 again, according to the MAPI study.
• About 85 percent of the country in non-compliance with the new standard, including pristine areas like Yellowstone National Park. More below.

Here's the kicker: EPA has no real idea how the country would get in compliance. In its proposal the agency suggests new technologies will make compliance possible. Sounds like a leap of faith ... off a cliff. Howard Feldman, API's director of regulatory and... more »

Here's what we're reading today:

• Shell exec concerned lawsuit could become "backdoor ban" to drilling
• Justification for stricter ozone standard questioned
• Editorial: Attack on revenue sharing proposal disingenuous
• EPA proposes air rules for hydraulic fracturing
• Oil and natural gas in Ohio's Utica shale valued at $20 billion

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As the Wall Street Journal pointed out in an editorial this week, Pennsylvania and New York are writing distinctly different chapters in a tale of shale natural gas development:

"Politicians wringing their hands over how to create more jobs might study the shale boom along the New York and Pennsylvania border. It's a case study in one state embracing economic opportunity, while the other has let environmental politics trump development."

Two states, two approaches to the natural gas-rich Marcellus shale formation that lies under portions of both. Pennsylvania:

• More than 2,000 wells drilled since 2008.
• $2.8 million in direct economic benefits from natural gas company spending on wages, payments on capital and taxes - per well - according to a Manhattan Institute study from earlier this yea... more »