National Security/Big Oil's Murky campaign. Sen. Murkowski and her Big Oil supporters on the Hill are up to their old tricks again, claiming EPA's endangerment finding on carbon dioxide will hurt the economy and create a "backdoor to sweeping climate regulations." This is pure poppycock intended ... Get the facts national security/big oil's murky campaign.

Sen. Murkowski and her Big Oil supporters on the Hill are up to their old tricks again, claiming EPA's endangerment finding on carbon dioxide will hurt the economy and create a "backdoor to sweeping climate regulations." This is pure poppycock intended to drum up support for the Alaska senator's dirty air bill. It will strangle EPA's ability to clean up the air and threaten our nation's national security by forcing us to remain dependent on oil. EPA has made it clear that it will only regulate the biggest carbon pollution sources-starting at 100,000 tons per year, such as giant oil refineries and power plants. Small businesses will not be affected. Despite Murkowski's empty threats of economic meltdown, mom and pop companies won't have additional regulations or price increases.

Even for the giant polluters, EPA only requires a new or expanded oil refinery, power plant, or other facility to use available and affordable pollution control measures, including energy efficiency, to minimize its emissions. Nothing fancy, nothing different from what they've done for decades for other pollutants.

The truth is by regulating GHGs and moving to a clean energy economy, we can create jobs and remain competitive in the world's energy technology race.

Murkowski's minions are also claiming there is no science behind EPA's findings on greenhouse gases. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the most prestigious science institution in the United States - the National Academy of Sciences - just reaffirmed how solid the science behind climate change is. The facts are clear; climate change is real and it will have a devastating impact on our economy, the health of our citizens and our national security.

It's astounding that the purveyors of doom are also spreading misinformation on the Hill that Murkowski's resolution won't hurt our energy security. They have it backwards. Passing Murkowski's Big Oil Bailout will sacrifice 25 percent of the 1.8 billion barrel oil savings coming from new standards for autos and light trucks recently issued by EPA and the DOT. It will reduce oil savings by more than 450 million barrels. That's nearly 19 billion gallons of oil. The consensus standards set under the Clean Air Act will cut vehicles' carbon pollution by 30 percent, save consumers billions at the gas pump, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. If Murkowski gets her way, EPA would have to abandon these historic oil saving measures and put our country at further risk.

Cheney-like doomsday misinformation now being spread in political circles needs to have a reality check. The backers of Big Oil, now swamping our Gulf coast with crude, want to keep the status quo. Murkowski's resolution to gut EPA will do just that. It will just line the oil company pocketbooks and keep our economy stuck in neutral. Meanwhile jobs created by the world's clean energy leaders will pass us by.

National Security/The True Risks from Offshore Oil. As oil gushed out of an underwater oil well ruptured by a deadly explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil funded American Enterprise Institute published an essay April 26 by AEI scholar Steven Hayward that called environmental threats from off shore ... Get the facts national security/the true risks from offshore oil. As oil gushed out of an underwater oil well ruptured by a deadly explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil funded American Enterprise Institute published an essay April 26 by AEI scholar Steven Hayward that called environmental threats from off shore oil "largely obsolete." Hayward's polemic on AEI's website and in the Weekly Standard is titled "The Energy Policy Morass" (subtitled "Think Baby Think" in the Weekly Standard). Hayward writes that "Improvements in drilling technology have greatly reduced the risk of the kind of offshore spill that occurred off Santa Barbara in 1969. There hasn't been a major drilling related spill since then…to fear oil spills from offshore rigs today is analogous to fearing air travel now because of prop plane crashes in the 1950s." Hayward is the producer and host of the Al Gore-bashing documentary "An Inconvenient Truth…or Convenient Fiction?" that was hosted on a website of the oil funded Pacific Research Institute. Now Hayward may want to make a few revisions to his essay about the safety of offshore oil drilling. A Gulf of Mexico oil slick is growing daily as petroleum pours out of a deep underwater well at the rate of at least 40,000 gallons a day, threatening rich fishing grounds and the shores of the Mississippi Delta. As the Coast Guard moved ahead with plans to set fire to the oil to combat dangerous impacts on marine life, Big Oil's policy friends will have to come up with an ever slicker PR strategy to bolster their mantra of "drill baby drill." Read less

Pentagon Shoots Down Climate Science Denial. From ThinkProgress:  For the first time, the Pentagon’s primary planning document addresses the threat of global warming, noting that it will accelerate instability and conflict around the globe.  Read more here and make sure to check out ... Get the facts pentagon shoots down climate science denial. From ThinkProgress:  For the first time, the Pentagon’s primary planning document addresses the threat of global warming, noting that it will accelerate instability and conflict around the globe.  Read more here and make sure to check out the blog by NRDC's Bob Deans on this topic ... Read less

CIA Attacked For Addressing Climate Change Threat. After the CIA announced it was opening a new research center to focus on security threats posed by climate change, Fox News and conservative blogs attacked the CIA for using its valuable resources on "spying on icebergs." As noted in this MediaMatters ... Get the facts cia attacked for addressing climate change threat. After the CIA announced it was opening a new research center to focus on security threats posed by climate change, Fox News and conservative blogs attacked the CIA for using its valuable resources on "spying on icebergs." As noted in this MediaMatters report, the FoxNews commentators echoed word for word parts of an Exxon funded group&339;s press release that attacked the CIA for its climate change efforts. That group, the National Center for Public Policy Research, has long been funded by conservative foundations funded in part by the fossil fuel industry. According to the Washington Post, the group also was used by convicted felon and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to launder payments from Indian tribes. Read less

NATO Chief Takes Tough Stand On Climate Change. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a strong warning about the international security consequences of climate change, stating in an editorial in the Huffington Post that "climate change presents security challenges of a magnitude and ... Get the facts nato chief takes tough stand on climate change. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued a strong warning about the international security consequences of climate change, stating in an editorial in the Huffington Post that "climate change presents security challenges of a magnitude and a complexity we have never seen before." Anders also introduced a brief video about the security threats of climate change. Read less