Yesterday, the Senate approved the Energy Bill 86-8, with 6 abstentions. This bill, which could've been great is now just mediocre, but with a silver lining.

Unfortunately, the proposed taxes on the oil & gas industry were stripped out, as was the Renewable Energy Standard, calling for 15% of our electricity to be generated from clean renewable energy sources.

So, where is the silver lining? It comes in the form of an increased CAFE standard, raising our gas mileage standard to 35mpg. While we here at Environmental Action see 35mpg as merely a stepping stone to what we really need which is a doubling of our fuel economy, it is nonetheless historic.

For three decades the auto industry has created a complete and total logjam in Congress in regards to any increase in our national fuel economy. Thankfully, yesterday's vote symbolized Congress breaking free from the auto industry under intense grassroots pressure from their constituents, and while overall we think the energy bill could've been so much better, this is a certainly a welcome change in direction.

The House is expected to ok this bill early next week, and the President is expected to sign it.

This week, it's expected the Senate will vote on the energy bill. Right now, there are some pretty good proposals on the table which include:

- increasing CAFE to 35mpg
- setting stronger energy efficiency standards
- setting a mandatory minimum of electricity coming from renewables like wind and solar

But, the fight is far from over, and as it heats up, your Senators need to hear from you. Take a minute, and ask your Senators to support the strongest energy bill possible, and make sure these three pieces are included.

According to report from the AP today, several environmental and native Alaskan groups have asked a federal appeals court to halt exploratory drilling from Shell Oil off the north coast of Alaska.

Evidently, the U.S. Mineral Management Service has approved Shell's plan to drill 12 oil wells in the Beaufort Sea, despite the negative impact this drilling will have on the endangered Bowhead Whale.

All of this coming as it does just weeks after the massive oil spill, and terrible clean up job, in the Bay Area must be making heads turn.

The court, you see, is in San Francisco. So if the judges, whose homes and local environment has recently been adversely affected by the realities of oil drilling can't stop these wells, well then I just don't know what.

Some of you will remember last year when we asked Coke to help out with protecting the polar bear from the effects of global warming.

Our main request was that Coke include information on their cans about the plight of the polar bears and that the Fish & Wildlife Service is considering protection for the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

Coke's response at the time was basically, thanks but no thanks.

But, they've now partnered with one of the most watered-down, corporate friendly environmental groups, The World Wildlife Fund, to half heartedly protect the polar bear.

Coke has set up an 'action center' which includes such extreme types of action as planting trees and unplugging your MP3 player.

Kidding aside, it's terribly saddening that one of the world's largest companies is merely paying lip service to the cause of endangered species protection. We need real change to combat global warming, the #1 threat to the polar bear. We need caps on carbon emissions. We need to double our mileage standard for our vehicles, and many other changes that will only come about through our government.

Yet Coke and the WWF have teamed up to suggest very small lifestyle changes, which in the end will have very little impact on our emissions. Don't get me wrong, if EVERY house in America switched to CEF bulbs, we'd see a dramatic decrease in emissions. But that's just not going to happen.

Add the this the hypocrisy that Coke has been one of the top opponents to the Bottle Bill, landmark recycling legislation wherein the producers of the bottles are responsible for the recycling of them, while touting their recycling efforts, and this new move is amazingly underwhelming.

Maybe Coke isn't it.

There's a good, and sad, article in today's Sacramento Bee outlining the aftermath of the 58,000 gallon oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

There has been question upon question about how on earth this spill could've happened, and an insane level of finger pointing.

Evidently, the state of California, the Federal Government, and the Coast Guard share responsibility in oil-spill matters. Unfortunately, each of the three are blaming one or two of the other entities in the myriad problems with reporting the spill, accuracy of reporting, and clean up details.

Add to this the facts that The O'Brien Group (the largely unregulated private agency hired for cleanup) boycotted hearings on what happened, and the captain of the ship in question insists the radar was broken and you've got a true quagmire.

The bottom line is that someone needs to have the bottom line. And, while I'm not hopeful, I certainly am keeping my fingers crossed that the outcome of this situation will be the realization that the current oil spill systems are flawed, and need an upgrade. Oh, and maybe we could use less oil, and avoid the whole problem? I know it's crazy talk.....