By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 10, 11:07 AM ET

Winter heating bills are expected to be slightly lower for most families across the nation, with the highest reductions for those who use natural gas, the government said Tuesday.

Families using natural gas should expect to pay an average of $119 less during the upcoming winter compared to last year, a decrease of 13 percent, the Energy Department said. Those heating their homes with fuel oil will pay $91 more, an increase of 6 percent, it said.

By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
DECATUR, Ill.

BACK in 1999, when she was the head of refining at Chevron, Patricia A. Woertz told a group of energy officials that it was “time to stop mixing agricultural policy with fuels policy.”

In that same speech, at a fuels conference in Washington, Ms. Woertz also publicly expressed worry about the “unintended consequences” of a federal mandate requiring the use of corn-based ethanol in gasoline.

Germany's carmakers are looking to join forces to push clean diesels in the U.S. market with the Bluetec technology developed by Mercedes-Benz (DCXGn.DE) and diesel injection system specialist Bosch (ROBG.UL).

Starting in 2008, Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), its premium unit Audi, BMW (BMWG.DE) and Mercedes aim to launch and market Bluetec in the world's largest car market, where diesel has a market share of just 5 percent versus 50 percent in western Europe.

Push for New Policy Puts Oil-Rich West At Odds With Big Automakers in East

By Doug Struck
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, October 5, 2006; Page A28

TORONTO, Oct. 4 -- Canada's conservative government, groping for a new policy on climate change, is facing a dilemma over how to deal with greenhouse gas emissions from the hugely profitable Alberta oil fields in western Canada.

At a meeting with auto industry executives Tuesday, government officials backed away from reports that they would impose California's tough emissions standards on the auto industry in eastern Canada. The curbs had drawn loud protests from auto industry supporters, who contend that the oil fields should bear the greater brunt in addressing climate change.

The meeting exposed bitter differences between eastern and western Canada about who should shoulder the cost of curbing greenhouse gases.

Recession fears are being reported as affecting the oil markets. Oil prices tumble over fears of US recession is typical.
Oil prices have dropped to the lowest level in six months, as markets' concerns about geopolitical instability are replaced with worries about an impending US-led economic slowdown The plunge in oil prices has hit mutual funds for $4.5bn (£2.4bn), and there are fears that more investors could fall victim to unexpected falls in energy prices...

Global warming could strain the Northeast's power grid, farms, forests and marine fisheries by the next century unless carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 3 percent each year, according to a report released Wednesday.

The climate in the nine states — from New Jersey and Pennsylvania up to Maine — could become like that of the South with longer, much hotter summers and warmer winters with less snow, the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

"This has enormous implications for human health. It puts a lot of stress on the energy system. It could lead to blackouts,"

BUSINESS ethics have mostly to do with business. But business is touched, sometimes trampled on, by government in a large way. So let’s imagine that there is such a thing as government ethics as it relates to the conduct of business, and talk about that.

California is my home. It’s a beautiful state with mostly great weather, endless beaches, haunting deserts, immense redwood forests, seascapes and escapes that most people can only dream of. In short, it’s a fine place. I especially recommend Santa Cruz.

But lately, the escutcheon of the state has been darkened by a fellow named Bill Lockyer, our attorney general. He’s going after one of the mainstays of life in the Golden State in a way that is so confused, so terrifying an abuse of state power, that it begs for redress

By JERRY HARKAVY, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 28, 4:52 PM ET

WISCASSET, Maine - A $250,000 demonstration project that produces hydrogen energy to provide backup lighting and warmth at the Chewonki Foundation's environmental education center was hailed at its unveiling Monday as the first of its kind in the nation.

The nonprofit foundation teamed up with the Portland-based Hydrogen Energy Center to develop the system that was touted as an example of the kind of cutting-edge technology that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and help ease global warming.

By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
STUDIO CITY, CALIF. – As Los Angeles motorist Jill Cantrell removes the pump nozzle from her Honda Civic gas tank, she spouts out two figures: "$56 for a gas tank for me and $78 billion in profits last year for the oil companies," she says. "I'm livid."

How many other Californians are angry about gasoline prices - and ready for their state to take action - will be clear this November, when voters decide whether to levy a new tax on oil companies that drill in California and use the money for in-state development of alternative fuels.

SEATTLE - An engineering firm raised a red flag more than four years ago about BP's monitoring of its Alaska oil pipelines, documents show.

The draft report by Seattle's Coffman Engineers, published in November 2001, is among documents being reviewed by a federal grand jury in Anchorage that is investigating a March oil spill of more than 200,000 gallons from a pipe on the western side of the Prudhoe Bay oil field.