Did you know that hydraulic fracturing has been used in about one million oil and natural gas wells in the United States? This tried-and-true process injects wells with water, small amounts of chemicals and sand to create tiny cracks in hard rock, allowing natural gas and/or oil to flow up the wellbore. Fracking, as it's often called, occurs thousands of feet below aquifers containing fresh water, and water supplies are protected by state well construction and drilling regulations.

But there is a misperception in many parts of the country that hydraulic fracturing threatens drinking water. According to Bruce Vincent, vice chair of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, who testified at the inaugural hearing of the new House Natural Gas Caucus last week, this misperception is bei... more »

Repeat after me: We don't have to settle for just one or the other. We can have a healthy environment and energy development.

Yet, some conservation groups have expressed dismay over last Thursday's decision by the federal government to create critical habitat for polar bears in Alaska. The proposed habitat area covers 200,541 sq. miles including portions of the northern and northwestern coasts, coastal barrier islands as well as coastal spits, sea ice in waters less than about 1,000 feet deep, and denning areas as far as 20 miles inland. Apparently that wasn't enough for some groups who immediately warned that planned oil and natural gas development in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas could be harmful to bears.

It's believed that about 3,500 polar bears inhabit the Beaufort and Chukchi sea a... more »

This week, the National Journal's Energy & Environment Blog posed several questions about the Kerry-Boxer climate bill. Among them, "What's your take on the chairman's mark and EPA's analysis?" The blog also invited a number of individuals, including API's Jack Gerard, to discuss the bill's strong points, weak points and provide an overall perspective on the legislation.

In an excerpt from Jack's post, he said:

"Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was directed to assess the Kerry-Boxer bill, it did not conduct a formal analysis. Instead, it chose to rely on its earlier assessment of the Waxman-Markey bill, which was fraught with overly optimistic assumptions that greatly downplayed energy costs. The government's own Energy Information Administration (EIA) has projected that... more »

In the first of a series of Senate hearings about the Kerry-Boxer climate bill today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mt.) said he has "serious reservations" about the bill's "overall direction."

Speaking at today's Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, Baucus encouraged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to compromise with Republican members of the committee, who have expressed strong opposition to the bill. As Politico reported today, Republicans "see the legislation...as a nonstarter."

"This bill necessarily will raise the price of gasoline, electricity, food and just about everything else," Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said.

Based on the provisions in the Kerry-Boxer bill, it's expected that it would be even more costly than the House's Waxman-Markey bill:

• It... more »

Members of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee, which includes API along with fifteen labor unions, have written to senior members of Congress encouraging them to support tax policies that will protect and encourage the development of quality U.S. jobs, while at the same time fortifying our nation's energy and economic security.

In letters sent to Sens. Max Baucus and Charles Grassley, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee and Reps. Charles Rangel and Dave Camp, chairman and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Committee said avoiding tax increases on the oil and natural gas industry is "not only good tax policy--it is good energy policy."

For more information, read the full letter and press release.