Was President Obama right or wrong to reject the Keystone XL pipeline?

Last week, President Obama denied approval of a permit to build the pipeline, which as proposed would have sent oil from Alberta, Canada's tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries. Obama said the "arbitrary" deadline set by congressional Republicans was not enough time to complete a review of the proposal for an alternate route that would not go through an ecologically sensitive area in Nebraska. TransCanada, the Canadian company seeking to build the pipeline, immediately said it would apply for another permit.

Is there a future for the Keystone XL pipeline once TransCanada seeks a new permit? What kind of repercussions will Obama's decision have on the domestic and global oil industries? Will the rejection help the country become less dependent on oil and more committed to renewable energy sources like wind and solar? What does this augur for congressional efforts to enact meaningful energy and environmental policy?

20 responses: Frances Beinecke, Paul Sullivan, Armond Cohen, Jack Gerard, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Amy Harder, Margo Thorning, Bernard L. Weinstein, Bill Dickenson, Marlo Lewis, Craig Rucker, Michael Schwartz, Kenny Bruno, Tyson Slocum, Kathleen Sgamma, Andrea Luecke, David Holt, Charles Drevna, Scott Sklar, William O'Keefe

What are the challenges and opportunities ahead for natural gas?

The recent revolution involving shale natural gas in the United States has sparked debate on a range of issues: the environmental and safety concerns surrounding hydraulic fracturing--the controversial extraction method that's critical to accessing shale gas; how gas should be used within the country; and whether gas should be exported to countries where prices are high compared to domestic prices, which are at record lows.

Recent developments on these issues underscore the importance of the natural-gas industry. More and more states are enacting laws that require companies to disclose the ingredients and concentrations of the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing. The Energy Department is already approving the first natural-gas exports, and several other applications are pending before it. Meanwhile, legislation in Congress would provide tax incentives for natural-gas-powered trucks, and Environmental Protection Agency clean-air rules are encouraging more utilities to shift from coal-fired power plants to natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal.

How should President Obama and Congress handle these disparate issues in the natural-gas industry? Should Congress enact federal legislation requiring disclosure of fracking fluids? Should the United States export natural gas to capitalize on the shale gas revolution and high prices abroad? What role, if any, should the U.S. government play in regulating natural-gas exports?

21 responses: Steve Bolze, Frank M. Stewart, Jesse Jenkins, Amy Harder, Allen Schaeffer, Tim Peckinpaugh, Bernard L. Weinstein, Barry Russell, Mark Brownstein, Thomas Gibson, Paul Sullivan, Kathleen Sgamma, Tyson Slocum, Charles Ebinger, Gregory C. Staple, Don Santa, Tom Amontree, Mark Muro, David Holt, Armond Cohen, William O'Keefe

What are the economic and political effects of high oil prices throughout 2012?

That's the question on people's minds inside the Beltway and throughout the country as oil prices rise amid uncertainty about Iran and other factors that affect the cost of oil. Prices at the pump will inevitably rise along with oil prices. Although it is uncertain what, if any, major changes will result because of the situation in Iran or events in other major oil-producing countries, experts say that just the threat of instability is enough to spike oil prices.

How could high oil prices--and the resulting high gasoline prices--influence the priorities for Congress and the administration this year? How could the volatility affect the 2012 elections? Washington seems to have the same debate whenever prices at the pump rise. Will this time be any different?

17 responses: Brigham McCown, Brigham McCown, Paul Sullivan, Kateri Callahan, Will Rogers, Tyson Slocum, Peter Lehner, Peter Lehner, Allen Schaeffer, Michael Schmidt, Robbie Diamond, Bernard L. Weinstein, Marilyn Heiman, Josh Freed, Brent Erickson, William O'Keefe, David Holt

What energy and environment issues should President Obama and Congress focus on this year?

The politics of the presidential and congressional races will likely overshadow policymaking on Capitol Hill, but that doesn't mean energy and environment policies will be absent. Several big issues are coming down the pike: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has said he will introduce a clean-energy standard this year. Congress could address expiring renewable-energy tax credits early in the year. EPA is on track to issue first-ever national standards for greenhouse-gas emissions. And if all goes as planned for Shell, the oil company could begin drilling in the Arctic Ocean as soon as this summer.

What policies should Congress focus on this year? What, if any, new policies should Obama try to push as he fights to keep his job? What issues, such as the Keystone XL pipeline and EPA, could become flash points during the election season? Will Washington be able to accomplish anything on energy and environment issues this year as most of the political class focuses on the election season?

22 responses: Amy Harder, Simon Lomax, Ann Weeks, Kate Offringa, Lance Brown, Jamie Rappaport Clark, Molly K. Macauley, Jim Collins, Brent Erickson, Barry Russell, Karl Gawell, Tim Peckinpaugh, Rhone Resch, Josh Freed, Kathleen Sgamma, Danny Kennedy, Bob Bendick, Tyson Slocum, Will Rogers, Brian Keane, Charles Drevna, William O'Keefe

What are the economic, health and political significance of President Obama's mercury standards for power plants?

EPA announced this week the first-ever national standards for mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. The regulations will require electric utilities throughout the country to install technology to control the pollution. Many power plants already comply with the rule, but others--namely older, coal-fired plants--will face challenges complying within the three-year timeline required by the Clean Air Act.

EPA said the rules will slash 90 percent of mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants and in turn save 11,000 premature deaths, according to its draft rule announced in March. EPA said then that the rule will cost almost $10 billion a year and have annual health benefits between $90 billion.

What are the factors that EPA should consider when implementing the rule? What are the longer term implications of this rule in terms of both public health and the economy? What, if anything, should Congress do in reaction to this rule?

16 responses: William O'Keefe, Simon Lomax, Charles Driscoll, Tim Peckinpaugh, Amy Harder, Peter Iwanowicz, David Kreutzer, Lance Brown, Susan Dudley, Craig Rucker, Gene Karpinski, Michael Brune, Susan Tierney, Tom Wolf, Scott Sklar, William O'Keefe

What's at stake for EPA, clean-energy initiatives, and other energy issues like the Keystone XL pipeline during this week's spending debate?

Congress must approve legislation by Friday to keep the government running. One of the most hotly contested issues is whether or not any spending measure should include a provision that would require President Obama to immediately approve the Keystone pipeline, which if built would send 700,000 barrels of oil sands from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Other controversial issues include whether EPA's clean-air rules should be eliminated or delayed and whether renewable-energy tax incentives should be extended.

What factors should influence lawmakers' and the administration's ultimate agreement about what makes the cut in a spending bill--and what doesn't? What does this policy of negotiating via spending bills mean for Washington's ability (or lack thereof) to negotiate policy? How can Washington simultaneously balance deficit cutting, job creation, environmental protection, and clean energy? Or should one issue be prioritized before another?

9 responses: Amy Harder, Richard Revesz, Denise Bode, Brigham McCown, Peter Iwanowicz, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Brent Erickson, Rhone Resch, William O'Keefe

Should Congress renew tax credits for renewable energy and ethanol?

Several clean-energy tax credits will expire at year's end if Congress does not renew them for at least one more year. A Treasury Department grant program for renewable energy such as solar power is set to expire, as well as tax credits for the ethanol industry. A key production tax credit for renewable energy--especially wind power--expires next year unless Congress renews it. Legislation introduced in the Senate would add a new tax credit for natural gas-powered trucks.

Should Congress renew some or all of these tax provisions? What factors, such as the deficit and job creation, should influence lawmakers' decisions on this? How will this debate affect the broader discussion over the federal government's role in developing nascent clean-energy technologies?

18 responses: Don Furman, Bill Meadows, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Amy Harder, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Phyllis Cuttino, Brent Erickson, Chuck Gray, Margo Thorning, Brian Keane, Jacqueline Savitz, William O'Keefe, Denise Bode, Rhone Resch, Leticia Phillips, Brian Wynne, Scott Sklar, Andrea Luecke

What should negotiators seek to accomplish during this year's international climate talks?

The United Nations' annual climate change conference takes place for the next two weeks in Durban, South Africa. The United States comes mostly empty-handed to the talks: Congress has no plans to pass legislation that prices carbon pollution, and EPA regulations controlling greenhouse gas emissions are stalled. The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, with no sign of a new treaty to replace it. Negotiators from other countries say there's no way a deal can be reached without action from the U.S. Meanwhile, newly released hacked e-mails have reignited skepticism among U.S. Republicans about climate change science.

In the face of those challenges, what is possible at this year's summit? What are the prospects, in the coming years, for any kind of new global, legally binding climate change treaty? What should be the top priorities for negotiators in Durban? What's the future of the U.N. climate change process? Can it--should it--continue without prospects for action from the United States?

12 responses: Alan Oxley, Duncan Marsh, Amy Harder, Jennifer Haverkamp, Roger Platt, Rob Stavins, Christine McEntee, Matthew Stepp, William O'Keefe, Jennifer Morgan, Craig Rucker, Dirk Forrister

As Washington seeks to slash the federal deficit and Solyndra continues to dominate the headlines, is America's clean-energy industry facing a crisis moment?

One report released earlier this month by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way finds that venture capital investments in clean-energy technology are, indeed, facing a "crisis." Solyndra's demise has raised concerns in both parties about the important role the government plays in developing America's clean-energy technologies. But Washington's laser-focus on cutting the federal deficit is drowning out most other concerns right now.

What's contributing to the struggles facing America's renewable-energy industries like solar and wind? What can this Congress and administration do to ensure the sectors don't face even bigger challenges in the years ahead? How do these challenges affect, if at all, the traditional fossil-fuel and nuclear-power industries?

13 responses: Bill Massey, Simon Lomax, Dan Yates, Jesse Jenkins, Denise Bode, Guy Morgan, Karl Gawell, Rhone Resch, Josh Freed, Peter Lehner, Brent Erickson, Scott Sklar, William O'Keefe

Was President Obama right or wrong to delay the Keystone XL oil pipeline?

The State Department announced last week that it would take at least another 18 months to consider other routes for the pipeline, which if approved would send 700,000 barrels of oil from Canada's oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries. The decision comes after opponents of the pipeline, including Nebraska political leaders and residents, galvanized an environmental grassroots movement against the project, in large part because the proposed route would cross over Nebraska's biggest aquifer. This delay punts the final decision on the pipeline until after the 2012 election.

What factors should influence the Obama administration's consideration of new routes? Does this delay effectively kill the pipeline? What does this move say about Obama's energy and environmental policies more generally?

17 responses: Simon Lomax, Brigham McCown, Tom Wolf, Jack Gerard, Brent Erickson, Amy Harder, Bill Dickenson, Marlo Lewis, Gene Karpinski, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Kenny Bruno, David Holt, Michael Brune, Bernard L. Weinstein, Bill Snape, Charles Drevna, William O'Keefe