[editor's note, by Prof. Goose] There's a news story hitting the wires about a leaked memo from the Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) which reveals that big coal is planning a major blitz against efforts to fight global warming. From Ross Gelbspan's blog on the DeSmogBlog (Link 1 and Link 2):

The plan is a retread of a similar campaign launched in the early 1990s by coal interests. The latest version is spelled out in what is dubbed a "Vampire Memo" because it resurrects an earlier campaign which was discredited and abandoned in the mid 1990s. It draws on the work of such industry-funded skeptics as Pat Michaels, Fred Singer, Robert Balling and Craig Idso -- as well as such ideologues as Richard Lindzen and William Gray who have long been laughingstocks in the community of mainstream climate scientists. It notes that the IREA alone has paid Michaels at least $100,000 -- and is soliciting more money for Michaels et al from other coal outlets. Among other initiatives, the memo notes that several of the participating companies are planning to finance a major film to counteract the influence of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth."

[Update by Prof. Goose on 07/27/06 at 4:53 PM EDT] OPEC can't bring down prices: cartel president:

"There is no shortage in oil supply. The current geopolitical conditions are out of OPEC's hands," the visiting Nigerian petroleum minister was quoted as saying by the Iranian oil news agency Shana Thursday.

Exxon Mobil 2Q Profit Jumps 36 Percent

Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday it earned $10.36 billion in the second quarter, the second largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company.

[Update by Super G on 07/27/06 at 5:00 PM EDT] Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) wants to rename the energy bill the The Lee R. Raymond Oil Profitability Act.

"While gas prices have soared, the Republican Congress has showered oil companies with special favors," The New Jersey lawmaker said in a statement. "These companies reap record profits while consumers struggle. Lee Raymond symbolizes the excesses of Big Oil, so this bill should carry his name."