New polling from Rasmussen Reports on the Keystone XL pipeline:

“Most voters still favor building the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas and think it will be good for the economy despite President Obama’s decision last week to delay the project for environmental reasons. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% of Likely U.S. Voters at least somewhat favor the pipeline, with 36% who Strongly Favor it. Just 27% are opposed, including 12% who Strongly Oppose the project. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided.”

Here’s another number from the Rasmussen survey that should get attention at the White House: Among independents the Keystone XL’s favorability is 55 percent, opposition 27 percent. Among independents, 55 percent think the pipeline would be g... more »

Members of the U.S. Senate met with President Obama at the White House Tuesday to discuss next steps for energy and climate legislation. In a statement, the White House called the meeting "constructive" and released information about the president's comments:

"The President told the Senators that he still believes the best way for us to transition to a clean energy economy is with a bill that makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses by putting a price on pollution - because when companies pollute, they should be responsible for the costs to the environment and their contribution to climate change."

Notice that the stated strategy is to make clean energy profitable. This statement acknowledges that "clean energy" isn't profitable now. The fact is that so... more »

Reaction to Judge Feldman's ruling against the deepwater drilling moratorium came swiftly yesterday. Environmental groups and many Democrats attacked the decision, while Republicans in general supported it and called it encouraging.

But no one predicted that it would put energy workers back to work immediately.

"This is certainly not going to put the drilling rigs back drilling," Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, told the Times-Picayune. "The practical reality of this decision is that it really doesn't change anything from an operational standpoint in the Gulf of Mexico."

The fact is there is too much uncertainty for oil companies and rig owners to commit to U.S. deepwater drilling now. The White House has announced it will file an appeal to the Fi... more »

U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman says he will rule on the deepwater drilling moratorium by noon tomorrow.

In suits filed by Hornbeck Offshore Services and Diamond Offshore, federal courts are being asked to issue temporary restraining orders that would end the freeze on deepwater drilling. Diamond says the moratorium amounts to an illegal "taking," and Gov. Bobby Jindal, who filed a brief in the Hornbeck case, says the rights of the Gulf Coast states were ignored when the moratorium was imposed. (The Washington Post)

The moratorium also has been the topic of conversation on several notable blogs.

James Shott at Observations (June 15) believes the administration went too far in imposing the moratorium:

"President Barack Obama's rash decision to stop all drilling in the Gulf and ot... more »

In his speech last night, President Obama reiterated his support for the six-month deepwater drilling moratorium, saying that the ban would remain in place until the presidential commission completes its investigation into the Deepwater Horizon accident.

The president's statement must have been heartbreaking for the thousands of Gulf workers who depend on energy development for their livelihoods. As you can see in this New York Times video, the moratorium is taking an economic and emotional toll among these workers.

API's calculations show the moratorium could put 46,200 jobs at risk in the short-term and as many as 120,000 jobs over the long-term. It also could cut U.S. energy production by 130,000 barrels of oil per day by 2011 and as much as 500,000 barrels per day between 2013 and 2017... more »