"The Obama administration is setting aside 187,000 square miles off Alaska as a "critical habitat" for polar bears, which could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas.
The total, which includes areas of sea ice off the Alaska coast, is about 13,000 square miles less than was included in a preliminary plan released last year."
"Introduced in July by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act of 2010 would, among other things, eliminate a $75 million liability cap that energy companies face if they cause extensive damage to coastal areas.
Energy companies — such as BP, which has committed $20 billion in reparations for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill — would be required to make communities whole for damage they cause.
The act would give more oversight to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which traditionally plays second or third fiddle to the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies when it comes to offshore drilling.
It also includes programs that would promote energy efficiency and alternative energy vehicles."
ALTERNATIVES TO OIL
"But all is not doom and gloom, says the study.
On the oil supply side, consumption could well decrease in future as more energy-saving measures are introduced and used by consumers, and new oil reserves could become available as extraction techniques improve.
On the alternative fuel side of the equation, the study did not look at nonprofits, government agencies and universities which are developing new fuels, because they are not quoted on the stock market.
And if governments announced new policy initiatives to promote alternative fuel development, share prices of alternative energy companies would rise, and the gap between the end of oil and the kick-in of alternative fuels would shrink."
