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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

California fuels rule sparks controversy

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California fuels rule sparks controversy

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Juliet Eilperin,

Just as it pioneered curbs on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks a decade ago, California is championing standards that could transform the fuel that goes into their tanks.

But its new rule, which requires lowering the amount of carbon in fuel sold in the state, has become embroiled in a fierce public battle and has been barred from being enforced. In light of tight state budgets, litigation over California’s program and a strong lobbying campaign against them, the question is whether the ambitious climate policy will get off the ground.

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“To us, it’s the most credible and powerful mechanism we can put in place,” said Dan Sperling, a member of California’s Air Resources Board and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at University of California-Davis. “It’s an incentive to invest in other things besides oil.”

Many oil industry officials in the United States and overseas say the standards are too complex, will drive up gas prices and cannot be met given the current supply of petroleum alternatives.

Charles T. Drevna, president of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, said the policy “sounds really good at the 30,000-foot level” but added, “When you get down to terra firma, it’s a giant energy tax and a fuel rationing scheme.”

The premise of California’s rule — as well as its European counterpart, the “E.U. Fuel Quality Directive” — is that goals for cutting greenhouse gases can only be met if the transportation sector begins to move away from fossil fuels.

The new standards assign carbon intensity values to roughly 250 types of crude (higher carbon) along with other fuels — including ethanol, electricity and hydrogen, all lower carbon— that power cars and trucks.

They call for reducing the overall carbon content of fuel sold in the state 10 percent by 2020. Refiners will either have to mix low-carbon fuels into what they sell over time in order to make the required cuts or buy credits to offset the amount by which the fuel they sell exceeds the standards.

The state projects that the standard would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 23 million tons in 2020, according to Simon Mui, a scientist at the advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council.

Lawmakers in at least 18 other states, as well as in Washington, started looking at adopting similar clean-air standards over the past few years as a way of cutting greenhouse gas emissions both regionally and nationwide. But now several have either dropped or suspended their plans. Pennsylvania and New Jersey have opted out of a program developed by Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. Maine announced late last month it will withdraw, and New Hampshire’s legislature is considering legislation that would bar the state from spending money on the initiative. Low-carbon fuel standards in Washington state and Oregon are also on hold.

The Midwestern Governors Association abandoned its proposal after its membership flipped last year from seven Democrats and three Republicans to three Democrats and seven Republicans.

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Rick Santorum takes an ax to one-time ally Newt Gingrich

Rick Santorum, perhaps recognizing a make-or-break moment in the South Carolina Republican primary, set about chopping down each of his opponents issue-by-issue in Thursday’s debate.

The former Pennsylvania senator had attacks at the ready for each of his opponents, and perhaps more successfully than any candidate in the dozen-plus debates so far, used them to good effect.

The strategy was either the mark of a desperate candidate, a very smart one, or perhaps both. One thing is clear, though: He did Mitt Romney a major favor.
Presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum got into a heated discussion over whether the other was qualified to be president at Thursday’s debate. (CNN)

That’s because Santorum reserved his strongest attacks for Newt Gingrich, an erstwhile ally and political mentor whom Santorum suggested has to account for his second wife’s allegations and whom he accused of being “grandiose.”

“Grandiosity has never been a problem with Newt Gingrich. He handles it very, very well,” Santorum said. “I don’t want a nominee that I have to worry about going out and looking at the paper the next day and worrying about what he’s going to say next. And that’s what I think we’re seeing here.”

Santorum moved on to attack Gingrich for his stewardship of the U.S. House, where Santorum served with Gingrich prior to his speakership. He at one point said the speaker told him he had been aware of the House banking scandal as much as a decade before it came to light.

“It was an idea a minute, no discipline, no ability to be able to pull things together,” Santorum said.

But perhaps most valuable for Romney, Santorum piggy-backed on the controversy over the allegations lodged by Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne, that he had sought an “open marriage.” Santorum said it represented an issue “of character for people to consider.”

Romney was then asked to give his version of what the allegations meant, and he smartly passed; Santorum had done his dirty work for him.

Santorum also tried to unite his attacks on Gingrich with his attacks on Romney, hitting both men for supporting individual health care mandates and for coming up short on abortion. He said Gingrich gave lip service to the pro-life movement in the House and Romney didn’t move hard enough to prevent federal funding for Planned Parenthood when he was governor of Massachusetts.

He also had tough words for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) on the abortion issue, noting that Paul’s record on the issue has earned him similar ratings from pro-life groups as Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

But most of Santorum’s fire was reserved for Gingrich, whose leadership and conservatism were called into question in the same way a pro-Romney super PAC did in Iowa and New Hampshire. And the format, which has been reduced to four candidates, allowed Santorum to go round and round on the issues with Gingrich.

But by doing so, Santorum seems to be playing for second place and hoping that there is a second ticket to Florida for a conservative alternative to Romney.

That’s a risky bet, but it’s about the only wager Santorum can make right now, given that most polling shows him in third place in South Carolina, not in striking distance of the first-place Romney.

Santorum's attacks may be overshadowed by the controversy involving Marianne Gingrich — along with Gingrich’s very forceful response to those reports -- but they do matter.

Gingrich’s ‘open marriage’ problem: ABC News aired its full interview with Marianne Gingrich last night, and in the interview, Marianne says the former House speaker saw his eventual third wife, Callista, as an asset in an eventual bid for the White House.

“He did tell me once that she was going to help him become president,” Marianne Gingrich said.

Gingrich’s campaign opted not to respond directly to Marianne’s interview on Thursday, instead criticizing ABC for airing the interview so close to Saturday’s South Carolina primary. The candidate called it “tawdry and inappropriate.”

At the debate Thursday, though, Gingrich derided the media coverage of the issue and issued a blanket denial of Marianne Gingrich’s claims.

Redistricting standoff in Kentucky: Kentucky’s Democratic state House and Republican state Senate have passed competing congressional redistricting plans, paving the way for a pitched battle over what the final product will look like.

House Democrats passed a map that would split Rep. Hal Rogers’s (R-Ky.) home county into two districts and add Owensboro to Rep. Ed Whitfield’s (R-Ky.), 1st district, giving them better odds in each district. Senate Republicans have passed a map that looks a lot like that state’s current congressional map, under which they control four of six districts.

For more on Kentucky redistricting, make sure to check out our Mapping the Future piece on Kentucky.

Kentucky’s filing deadline is less than two weeks away — Jan. 31 — so a resolution is needed quickly, unless the legislature moves the filing deadline.

Fixbits:

Gingrich and his wife earned more than $3 million in 2010 and paid about $1 million in taxes, according to his just-released tax return.

South Carolina’s former first lady and ex-wife of a cheating husband, Jenny Sanford, goes after Gingrich.

Rick Perry endorsed Gingrich, but his financial backers appear to be breaking for Romney.

Herman Cain’s big endorsement goes to ... the American people?

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) is reportedly making calls for businessman Steve Welch in the GOP primary to face Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

Kanasas Republicans have proposed some new congressional redistricting maps.

1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis will stump for Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) in his primary matchup with Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.).

Florida Senate candidate Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) picks an interesting fight ... with the Kennedy scion running for Congress in Massachusetts. Of course, Mack himself comes from a famous family.

Must-reads:

“Perry’s Voters May Not Flock to Gingrich” — Nate Silver, New York Times

“Contrary to popular belief, politicians often keep campaign promises” — Ezra Klein, Washington Post

“Rick Perry’s ‘oops’ campaign never ready for prime time” — Dan Balz, Washington Post

“A Final Indignity, Where the Crusade Began” — Jay Root, Texas Tribune

“After Wikipedia blackout, lawmakers struggle to keep anti-piracy bills on track” — AP

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Open thread: NHL All-Star Game

Flames captain Jarome Iginla laughs with Capitals defenseman and fellow Team Chara player Dennis Wideman during the NHL All-Star skills competition. (BLAIR GABLE - REUTERS) The NHL’ annual exhibition game gets underway this afternoon at 4 p.m. on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus).

Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman will be playing with Team Chara as they take on Team Alfredsson at Ottawa’s Scotiabank Place.

Discuss the game as you watch in the comment section below, and check out the complete team rosters after the jump.

Team Chara
14 F BENN, Jamie
51 D CAMPBELL, Brian
33 D CHARA, Zdeno (C)
13 F DATSYUK, Pavel
14 F EBERLE, Jordan
10 F GABORIK, Marian
81 F HOSSA, Marian
12 F IGINLA, Jarome
88 F KANE, Patrick
81 F KESSEL, Phil
19 F LUPUL, Joffrey (A)
71 F MALKIN, Evgeni
10 F PERRY, Corey
3 D PHANEUF, Dion
19 F SEGUIN, Tyler
20 D SUTER, Ryan
44 D TIMONEN, Kimmo
6 D WIDEMAN, Dennis
35 G HOWARD, Jimmy
31 G PRICE, Carey
30 G THOMAS, Tim

Rookies
72 F ADAM, Luke
61 D DIAZ, Raphael
14 F GREENING, Colin
9 F HODGSON, Cody
19 F JOHANSEN, Ryan
92 F LANDESKOG, Gabriel

Coaches
CLAUDE JULIEN
DOUG HOUDA
GEOFF WARD
DOUG JARVIS

Team Alfredsson
11 F ALFREDSSON, Daniel (C)
39 F COUTURE, Logan
23 D EDLER, Alexander
5 D GIRARDI, Dan
28 F GIROUX, Claude
19 F HARTNELL, Scott
65 D KARLSSON, Erik
58 D LETANG, Kris
9 F MICHALEK, Milan
18 F NEAL, James
29 F POMINVILLE, Jason
22 F SEDIN, Daniel
33 F SEDIN, Henrik
19 F SPEZZA, Jason
91 F STAMKOS, Steven
91 F TAVARES, John
6 D WEBER, Shea
3 D YANDLE, Keith
1 G ELLIOTT, Brian
30 G LUNDQVIST, Henrik (A)
32 G QUICK, Jonathan

Rookies
14 F COUTURIER, Sean
28 D FAULK, Justin
62 F HAGELIN, Carl
25 F JOHNSON, Nick
24 F READ, Matt
15 F SMITH, Craig

Coaches
JOHN TORTORELLA
TODD MCLELLAN

Referees
#27 Eric Furlatt
#20 Tim Peel

Linesmen
#71 Brad Kovachik
#75 Derek Amell

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Senate set to take up major cyber legislation

Congress is moving closer to taking up comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, and a Senate aide confirmed this week that Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring a package to the floor before President’s Day.

Meanwhile, eight former senior government officials sent a letter this week to Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging the Senate to approve legislation to better protect the nation’s critical computer networks from attack.

A senior aide to Reid, Tommy Ross, said that legislation could be on the floor as early as next week.

“What comes to the floor will reflect wide agreement,” Ross said this week at the annual “State of the Net” conference.

Last November, Reid wrote to McConnell that he would bring the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act to the floor during the Senate’s first work period of 2012, which ends on President’s Day.

Over the past several years, dozens of cybersecurity bills from across a variety of committees have been penned, but no comprehensive legislation has ever made it to the floor of either chamber of Congress. This year could be different.

Backers of the new legislation say it will address significant cyber issues, improving the security of the nation’s critical infrastructure and encouraging the sharing of threat information between government and industry without violating individual privacy. The legislation is also expected to address whether to set up a new White House office of national cyberspace policy.

But significant hurdles remain over issues of regulation, privacy protections, and how much authority the executive branch should have to direct response actions in an emergency.

“As former executive branch officials who shared the responsibility for our nation’s security, we are deeply concerned by the severity and sophistication of the cyber threats facing our nation,” said the letter that was sent this week to Reid and McConnell, and that was signed by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, former Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III, former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, and former White House cyber czar Richard Clarke, among others.

The authors noted that the administration has weighed in with its proposals, most of which are not too far afield from drafts of Senate legislation.

“The threat is only going to get worse,” the letter said. “Inaction is not an option.”

Some observers are hopeful that at least some elements of the legislation could win enough support. But a key lawmaker, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, “does not support enacting cybersecurity on a piecemeal basis,” a spokeswoman said.

View the original article here

‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’: Harman Hall musical, if not trippy, is worth the trip

‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’: Harman Hall musical, if not trippy, is worth the trip - The Washington Post Print SubscriptionConversationsToday's PaperGoing Out GuideJobsCarsReal EstateRentalsClassifiedsHomePoliticsCampaign 2012CongressCourts &LawThe Fed PageHealth CarePollingWhite HouseBlogs & ColumnsIssues: EnergyTop Blogs

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‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’: Harman Hall musical, if not trippy, is worth the trip

( Shakespeare Theatre Company / ) - Eleasha Gamble and Terence Archie in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Broadway production of “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” a rock opera.

( Shakespeare Theatre Company / ) - Javier Munoz, Robin De Jesus and Danny Rutigliano in the rock opera, which ended Sunday.

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Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Nelson Pressley,

It’s fair to think of the 1971 Tony-winning musical “Two Gentlemen of Verona” as “Hair II”: same composer (Galt MacDermot), same gestalt (antiwar, pro-sex, whirling hippies, whoo!).

Glow sticks were being handed out at the door over the weekend for the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s giggly concert version of the show, although that seems about as close to trippy as director Amanda Dehnert wanted to get. The performance, which closed Sunday, was not especially Day-Glo vibrant or free-love lusty — and from “Night Letter” to “Hot Lover,” the quick-hitting rock tunes percolated with pheromones. But it was a flip, frisky evening and often wonderfully sung.

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This “Two Gents” at Sidney Harman Hall was the second of a pair of concert stagings offered by the STC this season, one of the events marking Michael Kahn’s 25th year as artistic director. (The first concert was “The Boys From Syracuse” in November.) The musical neatly complemented the troupe’s intense staging of Shakespeare’s knotty early comedy of the same title, playing at the Lansburgh Theatre. Neither the play nor the musical, both dealing with pals angling for the same dame, get produced much. Showcasing them together is a bit of an event.

The concert can’t really make an airtight case for “Two Gents,” which is routinely denigrated as a fluke Tony winner over Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies.” But the nearly three dozen lighthearted rock-funk-gospel-blues numbers are still a lot of fun as they whiz by, and Thursday’s packed, invited dress performance was filled with standout musical and comic turns.

The linchpin was Terence Archie: As Valentine, the nobler of the suitors, he was a one-man throwback to the early 1970s, combining James Brown footwork with big, throaty Tom Jones vocals. Archie’s a gas, and his duets with the rock-solid Eleasha Gamble (as love object Silvia), powered by a deepening groove from the electric band, grew from sultry to rousing.

It got bigger and sillier. Ken Page had a loopy gospel turn as Silvia’s father, the Duke. Robin De Jesus got laughs with simple declarative sentences as the clown-servant Speed. Tom Deckman was wifty as Cupid and Thurio (Silvia’s fiance), while Javier Munoz and Arielle Jacobs — like De Jesus, veterans of Broadway’s “In the Heights” — created a bit of heat around the drama of the would-be lovers Proteus and Julia.

The youthful-looking chorus leaped at each chance to sing and dance, and the band played with sass, which means you’d love the company to keep finding reasons to do these concerts. If this “Two Gents” was not quite the full early ’70s social meltdown bliss-out experience, it was still more than enough to keep you snapping your fingers on the way home.

Pressley is a freelance writer.

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