Today's Climate

North Dakota could double its oil production by 2015 to more than 1 million barrels daily, putting it on par with Texas "if everything goes our way," the state's oil regulator told industry and government officials Wednesday. Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, said the increase from about 575,000 barrels at present would depend on a strong global economy, steady oil prices and a favorable federal regulatory climate. North Dakota has gone from the nation's ninth-biggest oil producer in 2006 to No. 2 this year, trailing only Texas, which produced about 1.1 million barrels daily in February, the most recent month for which there are figures. The jump in production in North Dakota likely would push the state's population to more than 1 million residents, Helms told an audience of several hundred at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Expo in Bismarck.

Ohio lawmakers moved ahead despite opposition Wednesday with a controversial bill to regulate shale gas production and tinker with renewable energy rules. The House Public Utilities Committee voted to approve the measure nearly intact as it arrived from the Senate despite hearing a full day of testimony -- and more than 25 amendments -- from environmental groups warning the new law would not go far enough. The bill is expected to easily win approval in the House Thursday in a largely partisan vote as lawmakers race to adjourn before Memorial Day. Still missing from the proposal are provisions that would require complete disclosure of all chemicals used during drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale rock to free natural gas and oil.

Opposition to a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing has slowed the development of natural gas in Europe, creating export opportunities for U.S. producers hurt by low prices and a glut of gas at home. Fracking, as the practice is known, was temporarily suspended in the United Kingdom after it was linked to a series of earthquakes. Bulgaria and France—home of the continent’s largest estimated reserve—outlawed it over environmental concerns. Some other countries are poised to impose moratoriums on the process, in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to free gas trapped in rock. This opposition, along with a projected growth in demand driven in part by Germany’s plan to phase out nuclear power, has created opportunities for U.S. gas producers such as Exxon Mobil.

The Alberta government is wavering on whether new land, water and air monitoring in the oil sands will be fully independent, one of a series of questions the province faces as it overhauls its environment strategy amid mounting public scrutiny. One of Premier Alison Redford’s first major initiatives was to boost environmental oversight in the booming sector. Several reviews showed the existing system was subpar, and the new, robust monitoring system was designed to quell critics’ complaints. Run jointly with Ottawa, it would increase pollution testing throughout the region. Many external scientists applauded the plan, but stressed it had to be independent when implemented. Now, a picture of the system is beginning to emerge. Yet another external panel, at the province’s request, will next month present two visions for how it could run: one fully independent, and one run by government using work by independent scientists.

President Barack Obama is returning to Iowa, seeking support for an election-year agenda to encourage renewable energy along with a more immediate prize: the state's up-for-grabs voters. Obama was pushing Congress to support clean energy tax incentives, part of his congressional "to-do list" that he contends could help bolster the economy. The president has tried to portray congressional Republicans as obstructing his ideas to create jobs and said Republican challenger Mitt Romney would follow their lead. The president was stopping in Iowa on Thursday after attending fundraisers in Colorado and California, returning to the state that launched his presidential campaign in 2008 and could play a pivotal role in whether he gets a second term. Iowa is a prime general election target for Romney, who narrowly lost the state's caucuses but expects to compete for the state's six electoral votes.

The ultra-conservative Heartland Institute admitted it was in financial crisis on Wednesday, with the flight of corporate donors making it difficult to pay staff or cover the costs of its annual conference aimed at debunking climate science. In a speech at the close of this year's climate conference, Heartland's president, Joseph Bast, acknowledged that a provocative ad campaign comparing believers in human-made climate change to psychopaths had exacted a heavy cost. However, Bast also attributed Heartland's current problems to his weakness in financial management. "These conferences are expensive, and I'm not a good fundraiser so as a result I don't raise enough money to cover them. We really scramble to make payroll as a result to cover these expenses," Bast said. "If you can afford to make a contribution please do. If you know someone, if you've got a rich uncle or somebody in the family or somebody that you work with, please give them a call and ask them if they would consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the Heartland Institute." The organization has lost at least $825,000 in funds from corporate donors although Heartland also claims to have attracted 800 new small donors. Heartland also came in for bruising criticism from its own allies – a number of whom faulted Bast for failing to consult Heartland's colleagues or board members about the ads in advance.

Old coal is the dirtiest kind, and it still keeps the lights burning in large swaths of the U.S. A new report from the Government Accountability Office says the U.S. is getting much of its electricity from power plants that are more than 30 years old – the biggest polluters. The GAO found that coal-fired units in operation since 1978 or earlier provided 45 percent of the electricity from fossil fuel in 2010, but produced more than their share of emissions compared to newer units: 75 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions (3.6 times), 64 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions (2.1 times), and 54 percent of carbon dioxide emissions (1.3 times) – pollutants linked to respiratory health effects, smog, and climate change. The report was requested by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, who has praised proposed mercury standards for power plants, and educated some fellow lawmakers about the realities of climate change. A total of 93 percent of the juice produced by older fossil fuel units came from coal, the report says. The old coal plants, compared to newer natural gas units, emitted more than 90 times as much sulfur dioxide, twice as much carbon dioxide, and five times as much nitrogen oxides.

TransCanada's proposed pipeline to carry crude from the oil sands of Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast would increase gasoline prices, according to a report from an environmental group that opposes the project. The Keystone XL pipeline would divert crude oil from the U.S. Midwest to refineries along the Gulf Coast geared to producing diesel fuel for export, the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a report today. That will decrease the amount of gasoline produced for U.S. consumers and raise production costs, making the fuel more expensive, according to Anthony Swift, author of the report and an attorney with the environmental group. President Barack Obama rejected the project in January saying that more environmental study is needed. The NRDC findings contradict a report last year from IHS CERA, which provides business advice and analysis to energy companies, that said the pipeline would help lower fuel prices.

Britain announced plans Tuesday to finance a new generation of nuclear power plants and renewable energy facilities, in a move that illustrates the differences in energy policies among European Union countries as the bloc grapples with the challenge of reconciling economic and environmental objectives. While Germany intends to phase out nuclear power, and France’s new president, François Hollande, says he hopes to reduce his country’s reliance on it, the British government appears to be moving in the opposite direction with its proposals, which are intended to attract $175 billion in investment to build new reactors and renewable energy plants. The 27-member European Union sets climate change targets and coordinates efforts to reduce energy dependency, but decisions on energy sources remain with national governments.

Anxious to show voters he's working to create jobs, President Barack Obama is putting tax credits to boost clean energy in the spotlight this week as he heads to the political battleground state of Iowa. The president will visit TPI Composites, a wind manufacturer in Newton, on Thursday to highlight his push for tax credits to encourage investments in clean energy technologies. The trip is part of Obama's ongoing effort to prod Congress to act on a "to-do list" he says is necessary to make sure the economy doesn't lose steam. Specifically, Obama wants Congress to renew the federal Production Tax Credit for the wind industry, which is set to expire at the end of the year, and expand the 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, which supports American-made clean energy manufacturing.

North Dakota's prosperity from an energy boom as the rest of the country slowly crawls out from under a collapsed economy is making a contest of a Senate race that Democrats had all but conceded. Heidi Heitkamp, a former state attorney general with ties to the energy industry and a one-time candidate for governor, is perhaps the state's only Democrat who can prevent the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad from flipping to the GOP in November. Heitkamp, 56, touts her success as attorney general in fighting new regulations on coal and her work for a natural gas and coal production company since leaving office. She keeps a healthy distance from her party's standard-bearer, criticizing President Barack Obama over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and complaining that he "hasn't done enough" to support the energy industry.

Members of the Group of Eight, in a declaration, said deep-water drilling and hydraulic fracturing were key to a safe and secure energy future. The G8 industrialized nations wrapped up meetings last weekend at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Md. In a 40-point declaration, the G8 said it was committed to a policy of energy security that focused on safety and sustainability. "We are committed to establishing and sharing best practices on energy production, including exploration in frontier areas and the use of technologies such as deep water drilling and hydraulic fracturing, where allowed, to allow for the safe development of energy sources, taking into account environmental concerns over the life of a field," the declaration read.