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The effort afoot in Congress to end a ban put in place in 1981 on offshore drilling has been embraced by federal lawmakers as a way to end the United States' dependence on foreign oil, but it's no coincidence that this push is occurring during an election year as politicians increase their pandering to Big Oil. A column by former Montana Congressman Pat Williams, a Senior Fellow at the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, of which Headwaters News is a project.
Pat Williams, O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West

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A wind farm in New York state was forced to shut down because there was no available transmission line capacity to carry the electricity generated to where the demand for it is, a scenario that is repeated throughout the nation as more renewable energy projects come on line.
New York Times

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University of Calgary researchers discovered that a sudden decrease in air pressure near wind turbine blades on a wind farm in Alberta caused severe injury to bats' respiratory system that resulted in hundreds of bats dying on the newly opened wind farm near Pincher Creek.
Toronto Globe and Mail

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When the Wyoming-Colorado transmission tie line was first proposed three years ago, developers believed the line would carry coal-generated power, but when emissions concerns sidelined many of those projects, wind producers are stepping in and buying space to ship their power on the line which should be in place by 2013.
Casper Star-Tribune

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The Southern Nevada Water Authority, which is exempt from property taxes, agreed to pay White Pine County such taxes on seven ranches the water authority has purchased since 2006 to tap into groundwater in the Spring Valley, but county officials said the negotiated agreement on taxes doesn't change their opposition to the plan to pump groundwater from their county south to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Review-Journal

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It took just two minutes for Boise firefighters to arrive at the Oregon Trail fire that killed a BSU professor and burned nine homes in the Oregon Trail neighborhood and another in the adjacent Columbia Village in the southeast area of the city, but high winds drove the wildland fire upslope through sagebrush into the subdivision at an amazing speed.
Idaho Statesman

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Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is no stranger to the Democratic National Convention, having given an afternoon speech at the 2000 convention and an early evening speech at the 2004 convention, but at this year's convention, her primetime speech Tuesday night, along with appearances in Monday presentations used to set the mood for the convention, provides Arizona great exposure no matter what your political leanings.
Arizona Republic

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The report from Headwaters Economics presented to an interim committee of the Montana Legislature put a price tag on what it costs to save homes built in areas of the state where forests meet subdivisions, and while the report held few surprises, it highlighted the need for land-use policies that could reduce the state's cost of fighting wildfires.
Great Falls Tribune

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With more than 84 percent of the votes counted early Wednesday, a ballot initiative designed to impose new water-quality standards on new mining operations in Alaska appeared headed for defeat, with 57 percent of the votes rejecting the initiative.
Seattle Times (AP)

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A research scientist said if Arctic ice keeps melting at the pace it is this year, it will best the record set in 2007 for the lowest amount of ice since record-keeping began three decades ago.
Washington Post

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Santa Barbara County commissioners voted along geographic lines to press Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to change California's opposition on offshore drilling, with three inland commissioners voting in approval and two shoreline commissioners opposing the action.
Los Angeles Times

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During her speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano warned Republican presidential candidate John McCain not to assume his home state will support his run for president, and cited recent gains by Arizona Democrats in capturing congressional seats in the state as a reason for McCain to be concerned.
Arizona Daily Sun (AP)

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At the Democratic National Convention in Colorado, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Barack Obama's promise to work with governors if he is elected president would help Washington state move forward on issues now in contention between the state and the current administration such as health care for children, education and clean-car technology.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's speech last night at the Democratic National Convention began with what appeared to be a pitch for doing business in Montana, which was met with polite attention, but when he changed tactics and began working the crowd, using Barack Obama's "change" theme, he really go them going.
NewWest.net

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Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has done much to power up the discussion about energy at the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver, and party officials hope his support will help Barack Obama win in the Rocky Mountain West states.
Great falls Tribune

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While Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer was delivering his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Democratic presidential candidate was in Billings, where he joined a convention-watching party at the home of Eran and Carlee Thompson; Obama is scheduled to speak in the Montana city this morning.
Billings Gazette

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Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday that he passed with flying colors the process by which Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama vetted his potential vice presidential candidates and believed until Friday he would be in the No. 2 spot, and tonight the New Mexico Democrat will address the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Santa Fe New Mexican

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T. Boone Pickens, the Texas billionaire who made his money in oil and who provided $2 million in funding to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 2004 attack on Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John Kerry's Vietnam War record, is now making the rounds at the Democratic National Convention where his proposal to build wind farms across the nation's midsection has earned him forgiveness for his past transgressions.
Reno Gazette-Journal

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