Environmental Capital - WSJ.com : Nixed: No Windfall Tax on Big Oil from Obama

Apparently, the transition team quietly rubbed out the proposal to slap U.S. oil companies with a windfall profits tax a few days after the election.

Environmental Capital - WSJ.com : Coal Pits: Recession Sends Coal Prices Plunging

...With demand from steel makers in free-fall, prices for premium coal are also plummeting. And that threatens to send the price for run-of-the-mill coal used to fire power plants even lower, after already plunging 60% from its summertime highs (just like oil).

After a year of meteoric price rises for coal, that makes coal more attractive for power companies, environmental concerns notwithstanding. Even for utilities that have restrictions on their emissions—such as those in the European cap-and-trade scheme—it’s often cheaper to burn coal and buy permits to cover the pollution. More so, now that both coal and the permits are getting cheaper.

That’s also bad news for renewable energy...