The government is calling off a recently announced moratorium on applications to build solar plants on public lands.
The Bureau of Land Management decision came after public opposition to its original decision.
The BLM wanted to put new applications for solar plants on federal land on hold while reviewing potential environmental impacts from such plants.
That process could [...]

On Capitol Hill, the House approved financial help for mass transit systems facing a surge in riders because of high gas prices. But Republicans blocked Democrats from requiring oil and gas companies to drill on the millions of acres of government land and water on which they already own federal leases.
The House authorized $1.7 billion [...]

On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats pushed for the government to take some of the billions of dollars in profits made by the five biggest U.S. oil companies. But the move was blocked by Republicans, who also thwarted a Democratic proposal to give the government greater power to address oil market speculation that some argue has [...]

Senate Republicans blocked a global warming bill that would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases.
Democratic leaders fell a dozen votes short of getting the 60 needed to end a Republican filibuster on the measure and bring the bill up for a vote, prompting Majority Leader Harry Reid to pull the legislation from consideration.
The Senate [...]

A Senate bill to cut greenhouse gases and address climate change is heading toward almost certain defeat after nearly a week of stalemate and partisan bickering. Both sides are charging the other with blocking action.
The Associated Press has learned that senators close to the issue privately say there is virtually no chance to get the [...]

Billionaire financier George Soros told a Senate hearing that growth of funds designed to mimic the price of crude oil and other energy futures remind him of a similar craze that brought on the 1987 stock market crash.
The surge in popularity of commodity index funds is “intellectually unsound … and distinctly harmful in its economic [...]

The Senate this week considers legislation that would cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by about 70 percent by mid-century.
The bill would cap the amount of carbon dioxide that affected industries would be allowed to release. Allowances could be traded in an open market among companies that either need to buy them to meet [...]

Wall Street tumbled Tuesday after oil prices spiked to a new record above $129 a barrel and a government report raised investors’ concerns about the impact of inflation on consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 200 points.
Crude jumped after OPEC’s president was quoted as saying his organization won’t raise its output before its [...]

President Bush still thinks a bill forcing his administration to temporarily stop buying oil for the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a bad idea, but he’ll sign it anyway.
“The president is not going to stand in their way on this bill,” said deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel.
The Senate last week voted 97-1 and the House [...]

The U.S. Senate Tuesday rejected an attempt to expand offshore oil and gas drilling to allow the states to generate revenue.
The Republican-backed proposal would have allowed states to drill off their coasts and share revenues with the federal government, the (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press reported.
The amendment would have amended a federal ban prohibiting offshore [...]