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Barack Obama's election has members of the alternative energy world sounding positively giddy, an enthusiasm not shared by their competitors in the oil industry. Obama's energy plans read like a wish list for the companies that make solar cells, wind turbines or alternative fuels. He wants to pump money into energy research and force all electric utilities to use renewable power. He has proposed creating a cap-and-trade system that would put a price on the greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels.

Both The Hill and Politico.com have reported that a bipartisan "gang" of 20 Senators will not introduce a compromise energy bill before the election. You can read details of the original compromise here: The Gang-of-10 drilling deal is something for nothing. This is a huge triumph for McCain and major political blunder by Congressional Democrats. The original energy compromise was, I argued, "the best chance -- indeed, the only chance -- the Dems will have to simultaneously give the lie to McCain's faux bipartisanship and to expose the Big Energy Lie, the absurd notion that McCain and the Republicans believe in an all-of-the-above energy for dealing with our energy crises" (see "Gang-of-10 deal is a must for Dems").

Offshore drilling became a campaign issue as gasoline prices hit $4 a gallon. Public opinion polls show that not only do Americans want their elected leaders to do something about it, but they think drilling for oil on the continental shelf is a great idea.

The Interior Department will announce new rules today that clear the way for the first offshore wind turbines to be erected along the Atlantic Coast. The rules will set long-awaited guidelines for offshore leases, easements and royalty payments that the Bush administration worked on for years but did not complete.

Federal employees and contractors are in a unique position to contribute valuable information and save taxpayers huge sums of money, Angela Canterbury, director of advocacy for Public Citizen's Congress Watch division, told lawmakers today. At a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Canterbury testified in support of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R. 1507), to restore and modernize the law that protects federal whistleblowers. "Not only is it a national disgrace that speaking out about wrongdoing in government is still such a risky endeavor, it also is unsustainable. Federal spending is at unprecedented levels, and the need for strict accountability and oversight has never been more urgent," Canterbury said. "Whether the issue is stimulus spending, fraud at a Wall Street firm, prescription drug safety, environmental protection or national defense, federal workers must be empowered to safeguard the public trust." In 2007, the Ethics Resource Center found that more than half the federal workforce observed misconduct on the job, but only one-quarter of those reported wrongdoing because the rest feared retaliation. More than one in 10 who did report experienced retaliation.

Congress is all but abandoning President Barack Obama's goal of producing fully one-quarter of the nation's electricity from renewable sources - wind, solar and the like - by 2025, though a push for at least some increase is making headway. Both the House and Senate are considering legislation that would establish the first national requirement for electric utilities to generate a certain percentage of their power from renewable energy - from wind turbines and solar cells to biomass and geothermal sources.