The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a new plan to tighten standards for drilling on public lands and force companies to reveal the chemicals they use in the process, after making significant concessions to the oil industry.  More »

Drawing on comments filed by a half million Americans in opposition to Arctic drilling, environmentalists are urging President Barack Obama’s nominee for Interior secretary, Sally Jewell, to halt exploration in the region.  More »

Federal regulators this month issued a batch of safety violation notices to offshore drilling contractors, exercising an aggressive new interpretation of the Interior Department’s powers for the first time since the 2010 Gulf oil spill.  More »

Thousands of environmental activists are descending on the nation’s capital today for a rally against the Keystone XL pipeline that would ferry oil sands crude from Canada to refineries along the Gulf Coast.  More »

Senators grappled with the thorny issue of natural gas exports on Tuesday, as even self-proclaimed free-market enthusiasts questioned whether some federal limits are needed to constrain U.S. prices and give a boost to domestic manufacturing.  More »

In a move surprising Washington insiders, Pres. Obama picks Sally Jewell — the CEO of REI and a former Mobil Oil Corp. engineer — for Interior secretary.  More »

In a rousing inaugural speech Monday, President Barack Obama vowed to “respond to the threat of climate change,” warning that “failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”  More »

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday he is concerned about the series of blunders surrounding Shell’s recent Arctic drilling and is looking to a government investigation for answers. Salazar stopped short of saying Shell would be able to resume drilling exploratory oil wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas this summer.  More »

Environmentalists on Thursday stepped up pressure on the Obama administration to halt Arctic oil exploration, citing the grounding of Shell’s Kulluk rig as fresh evidence that the work is too dangerous.  More »

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., today demanded the Coast Guard and Shell turn over information revealing how they prepared for reining in an adrift vessel, long before the oil company’s Kulluk drilling rig grounded on an Alaska island.  More »

The Obama administration is set to unveil a fresh environmental analysis of the Keystone XL pipeline, but project opponents say that study won’t be complete unless it considers climate change costs tied to the $7 billion project.  More »

Texas drivers spent 7.3 percent of their income on gasoline in 2011, making them among the most vulnerable motorists nationwide to climbing fuel prices, according to a report issued Monday.  More »