Election

Former Vice President Al Gore last week was back on Capitol Hill, not to announce any future election plans, but rather to appear before his former colleagues and testify about an issue he first held hearings on as a congressman from Tennessee 20 years ago: global warming.

Former Vice President Al Gore came back to Washington, DC, on Wednesday, not to announce any future election plans, but rather to appear before his former colleagues and testify about an issue he first held hearings on as a congressman from Tennessee 20 years ago: global warming.

On Nov. 8 — after election returns showed Democrats will take control of both houses of Congress — many in the oil and gas industry likely heard the windfall profits tax bogeyman knocking on the door.

On Nov. 8 — after election returns showed Democrats will take control of both houses of Congress — many in the oil and gas industry likely heard the windfall profits tax bogeyman knocking on the door.

While admitting its election came too late to ameliorate the Mackenzie Gas Project’s (MGP) regulatory ordeal, Canada’s nine-month-old Conservative government is vowing to make life easier for developments the northern pipeline is expected to inaugurate.

While admitting its election came too late to ameliorate the Mackenzie Gas Project’s (MGP) regulatory ordeal, Canada’s nine-month-old Conservative government is vowing to make life easier for developments the northern pipeline is expected to inaugurate.

Keeping his election year pro-environmentalism theme in tact, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday pushed further and harder for a continued ban on new drilling offshore and on federal lands onshore.

After winning by the barest of margins in an election that was disputed for weeks, Washington state’s new Gov. Christine Gregoire earlier this month shook up the three-member state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) by appointing two new commissioners, including a new chairperson, to six-year terms. The move pushes the current UTC chairperson, Marilyn Showalter, out of the job she has held for the past four years.

While the energy industry generally applauded the re-election of President Bush, seeing it as favorable for energy projects, large and small, others focused more on Capitol Hill, pointing to the increased majorities racked up for Republicans in both the Senate and House of Representatives, bolstering the chances that comprehensive energy legislation will get through Congress next year.