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A La Nina event — an unusual cooling of ocean surface temperatures off the western coast of South America — will help produce relatively warm temperatures through November and, despite a slow start to the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, will be one of the drivers behind the creation of an unusually large batch of tropical storms this year, according to Andover, MA-based WSI Corp.

Obama officials supported the deepwater moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico even though they knew it would have “significant negative economic impact” and would cost up to 23,000 jobs, according to documents that were filed in federal court in New Orleans last week.

Most locations saw small price increases Thursday based on a gain of nearly a dime by futures a day earlier and forecasts of high, though slightly receding, temperatures in much of the U.S.

Natural gas is not currently a viable solution for most long-haul trucking operations, though it is an acceptable fuel alternative for some short-haul applications, according to trade group American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Natural gas is not currently a viable solution for most long-haul trucking operations, though it is an acceptable fuel alternative for some short-haul applications, according to trade group American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives once again took up legislation to impose a tax on natural gas extraction, even though the governor and many state Republicans are opposed, officials said Wednesday.

Natural gas is going to eclipse coal to become the second biggest fuel source after oil, and even though prices aren’t cooperating, ExxonMobil Corp. has no plans to slow its North American gas projects, an executive said last week.

Even though California utilities have been spending billions of dollars pushing renewables and energy efficiency while preparing for stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission restrictions that start in 2012, a host of legislative proposals dealing with all of those issues and more were kicked around in an all-day meeting of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee last Tuesday. Most of the 34 items passed.

Even though California utilities have been spending billions of dollars pushing renewables and energy efficiency while preparing for stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission restrictions that start in 2012, a host of legislative proposals dealing with all of those energy issues and more were kicked around in an all-day meeting Tuesday of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. Most of the proposals among an agenda packed with 34 items were passed after being amended with agreement from their authors.