Answer: U.S. oil and natural gas companies.

According to a study released today, U.S.-based oil and natural gas company investments in renewable energy accounted for nearly one-fourth of the money invested in renewables by all U.S.-based private industry and the federal government over the past nine years. More than $6.7 billion supported development of energy sources such as wind, biofuels and solar power.

The study also found that nearly half of all investments made to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were made by U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies. In fact, between 2000 and 2008, they spent $58.4 billion to reduce GHG emissions, more than either the federal government or all other U. S.-based private industries combined. The study--"Key Investments in Greenhouse Gas Mitigatio... more »

A new study by the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) found that state regulations governing oil and natural gas field operations are "adequately designed" to protect ground water. The study, "State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources," was a collaborative effort between GWPC, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Its goal was to examine the language of state oil and natural gas regulations and evaluate it with respect to water resource protection.

Why is this important? A few news articles in recent months have questioned the efficacy of the regulations and have asserted that certain oil and natural gas operations could be harmful to drinking water. These articles have focused primarily on the practice... more »