The News

hosted.ap.org — A new poll says most Americans support the way President Barack Obama is dealing with energy issues, including his plan to limit greenhouse gases with a controversial cap-and-trade approach. A Washington Post-ABC News poll published finds that while support is slipping for the president's heath-care proposals, support for his changes in energy policy remains firm. The poll says that 55 percent of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling energy issues while 30 percent disapprove. By a somewhat narrower majority — 52 percent to 43 percent — Americans back a cap-and-trade system that would set a ceiling for greenhouse gas emissions and would allow companies to buy and sell permits to emit the gases.

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mcclatchydc.com — Climate change is shrinking three of the nation's most studied glaciers at an accelerated rate, and government scientists say that finding bolsters global concerns about rising sea levels and the availability of fresh drinking water. Known as "benchmark glaciers," the South Cascade Glacier in Washington state, the Wolverine Glacier on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and the Gulkana Glacier in interior Alaska all have shown a "rapid and sustained" retreat, according to a report by the U.S. Geological Survey. "They are living on the edge," Ed Josberger, a USGS scientist based in Tacoma, Wash., said of the three glaciers. "We've crossed a threshold, and these glaciers along with those globally are shrinking."

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reuters.com — The climate change bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would raise annual energy costs for U.S. households less than $150 in 10 years, significantly lower than some industry estimates, according to a draft report from the Energy Information Administration. The EIA's analysis of the House climate legislation says the average U.S. family would pay $142 more in energy expenses in 2020, and $583 more in 2030, if it were enacted. The projection from the EIA is in line with projections made by the Congressional Budget Office and the Environmental Protection Agency, and contradict claims by energy and business trade groups that consumers would pay thousands of dollars more a year under the plan to fight global warming.

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reuters.com — The U.S. government's $1 billion "cash for clunkers" auto sales incentive program reached its funding limit unexpectedly after an avalanche of business exhausted its funds, an Obama administration official said. Auto dealers began offering government-backed rebates in early July of up to $4,500 to consumers who traded-in their gas-guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. But the Transportation Department will need additional cash after rebates for nearly 250,000 vehicles jammed the pipeline nationwide. The White House was working with Congress to try to extend funding as lawmakers prepared to leave town for the month of August, according to the official who was not authorized to speak for attribution.

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reuters.com — The United States could save about $600 billion in energy costs by 2020 if it hiked annual efficiency spending about five-fold, business consultants McKinsey and Co said in a report. Governments, businesses and the general public would have to boost annual spending on existing energy-saving measures, like insulating walls and more efficient appliances, from about $10 billion annually to $50 billion per year. The upfront costs would pay off by saving $1.2 trillion by 2020, according to the report called "Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy." The report, which did not look at energy used in transportation, said the savings would cut energy used for heating and to generate power about 23 percent.

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washingtonpost.com — The Energy Department is getting ready to hand out about $2 billion in grants to create a domestic industry for electric-car batteries, and 122 companies are scrambling to get pieces. The companies range from small niche firms to giants such as Dow Chemical and Johnson Controls. All are promising a combination of innovation and ability to deliver new products on a commercial scale to prevent the United States from trading dependence on foreign oil or reliance on foreign-made batteries. Now policymakers hope that helping domestic battery manufacturers will produce economic savings that often come with large-scale production and which are needed to make electric cars affordable. With funds provided by the stimulus bill in February, the Energy Department can cover up to half the cost of a battery-related project.

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