OVERNIGHT ENERGY: EPA, activists ponder next steps after major court defeat

Environmental groups are also exploring their options following the latest defeat for the rule to cut soot- and smog-forming power plant emissions that cross state lines.

{mosads}”The American Lung Association is disappointed in the decision not to rehear the case before the full Court, but we will continue to explore legal and regulatory options to create a program that will address secondhand-smog,” said Paul Billings, the groups’ senior VP, in a statement.

Click here for more coverage.

FRIDAY’S AGENDA:

Federal officials talk biofuels

The
Institute of Medicine wraps up its “Nexus of Biofuels Energy, Climate
Change, and Health” on Friday with several speakers from the federal
government.

Officials with the EPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others will participate in a panel titled “Government Perspectives on Biofuels and Human Health.”

For more of the event’s particulars, click here.

Journalists offer insight on environmental stories for 2013

A panel of journalists will predict Friday which environmental stories are likely to emerge this year during a panel hosted by the Society for Environmental Journalists.

Speakers include John Sullivan, director of environmental news with Bloomberg BNA; Dina Cappiello, national energy and environment reporter with The Associated Press; and Bud Ward, editor of the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media.

Click here for more information on the 3 p.m. event — and here for the webcast.

Forum discusses electric vehicle deployment

The National Academy of Sciences will host a Friday forum on how to expand deployment of electric vehicles.

The Academy’s Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences and its Transportation Research Board is spearheading the two-day event at the Keck Center in Washington, D.C.

For more on the event, click here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out these stories that ran on E2-Wire Thursday …

— Petroleum group quadruples lobbying spending

— Sen. Kerry keeps cards close to vest on Keystone pipeline
— Waxman: Keystone XL ‘small’ piece of climate puzzle
— Republicans threaten ‘formal action’ over EPA head’s ‘Richard Windsor’ emails
— Democrats send wish list to Obama for executive action on climate change

— White House official: Corporate tax reform should boost green energy 

NEWS BITES:

California sued over fracking

A Tuscon, Ariz.-based environmental group is suing California for allegedly failing to regulate and oversee hydraulic fracturing, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The Center for Biological Diversity said California is not adhering to the state’s underground injection control program.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, injects a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals into tight rock formations to tap shale oil and gas.

The practice has been credited with driving the domestic energy boom. Industry and congressional supporters contend it is safe, but green groups are concerned it might contaminate groundwater.

Utilities uneasy with gas surge

The Wall Street Journal reports on concerns popping up alongside the increasing use of natural gas in the electric power sector. From their story:

U.S. electricity producers have ramped up their use of natural gas now that technological advances have unlocked vast amounts of the fuel in shale rock formations. But executives at some top utilities remain wary of relying too heavily on natural gas to make electricity, worrying that its current low price may not last.

Check out the whole story here.

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