Associated Press: House Democratic leaders released a first draft of legislation to curb emissions from global warming. Here are the highlights: CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAM — Establishes a cap-and-trade program for electric utilities, oil companies and large industrial sources that release more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year. — Sets increasingly tighter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities, oil companies and large industrial sources. They would have to …

Associated Press: The Senate has endorsed using revenues from controversial cap-and-trade auctions of permits for emitting greenhouse gases to help consumers pay higher gasoline and electricity prices. The 54-43 vote Tuesday is nonbinding. It took place as the Senate debated a budget plan designed to help advance President Barack Obama’s program to slow global warming, an initiative that administration officials acknowledge will raise energy prices. Industries emitting large amounts of …

Associated Press: Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday proposed cutting greenhouse gases by one-fifth over the next decade, a faster clip than urged by President Barack Obama. Their plan, seen as the first step toward Congress enacting climate legislation this year, was crafted to attract broader support among centrist Democrats. It includes measures to spur energy efficiency and to support technology to capture carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, from coal burning power plants. The 600-page …

Reuters: The death toll among ducks that landed on a toxic waste pond at Syncrude Canada Ltd’s oil sands operation last spring was 1,606, more than three times higher than previously made public, Syncrude’s chief executive said on Tuesday. Syncrude CEO Tom Katinas disclosed the final count after getting permission from prosecutors in a criminal case against Canada’s biggest oil sands producer over the deaths, which became symbolic in efforts by green groups to highlight the environmental …

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Contra Costa Times: After 12 years and billions of dollars spent, the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday officially certified the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Key missions of the facility, the world’s largest laser operation, are to assess the reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile through simulations and to provide a training ground for a new generation of physicists. But in 2010, all eyes will be on the facility to deliver on its most visible promise – …

Christian Science Monitor: Congressional Democrats have launched a bid to shift the United States into greener energy technologies, while protecting US consumers and jobs during a difficult transition. The draft plan, released Tuesday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, moves one of President Obama’s key campaign pledges onto a fast track on Capitol Hill. It also opens a debate over how America powers its economy – one that crosses party and regional lines – at a time of deep economic …

Farmers Guardian: FARMERS could soon be facing a major water shortage that could leave the country unable to grow enough food to feed a growing population, leading hydrologists have warned. With food security now high on the political agenda, experts have warned water shortages could become a major limiting factor in efforts to boost production. The stark warnings came as the Environment Agency (EA) published a new plan to tackle future water shortages, warning demand for water could increase by …

Agence France-Presse: The House of Representatives Tuesday received a draft bill for clean energy development that its authors claim would create millions of jobs and slash 2005 levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020. The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) breaks down into four sections dealing with renewable sources of energy, energy efficiency, global warming reduction, and a transition to a clean energy economy. "This legislation will create …

McClatchy Newspapers: Democrats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday announced a sweeping plan to change how the nation produces and uses energy in order to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change. No environmental legislation in America has ever attempted such wide-reaching changes. The bill — an incomplete draft that will evolve in the months ahead — would provide incentives to boost wind, solar and other renewable energy, would improve efficiency so that homes and businesses need less fuel …