Admittedly, not as ominous a headline as the Drudge Report’s overheated, ” ‘Warming’ Plan in Denver: Crackdown on Residents,” but much more accurate. Here is what Denver is considering:

• Making heavy users of electricity and natural gas pay more

• Charging residents who throw away a lot of trash

• Setting energy-efficiency standards for new construction

• Giving carpoolers and hybrids priority for parking

A brutal crackdown, indeed.

Is carbon offsetting the solution? (Or part of the problem?) - The Guardian. Quotable quote at the end of this long article: “I love trees, but the case for forest offsets still strikes me as insubstantial and, ultimately, as ungraspable as air.”

Mexicans torch tequila fields for ethanol boom corn – Reuters. A bizarre unanticipated consequence of U.S. energy policy.

Industrial logging gobbling up Africa’s tropical forests – DailyIndia.com. Deforestation is not just a problem in South America or Asia (and if offsets aren’t the answer we need a new strategy very soon).

The Detroit News reports on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s press conference today on raising corporate average fuel economy regulations, or CAFE:

“For the first time in 30 years, it raises CAFE standards for new cars and trucks — to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, with another 4 percent improvement every year thereafter,” Reid told the Center for American Progress in Washington. “I know that the auto industry is still wavering on this issue. I met with the CEOs of the big three automakers last week, and here is what I told them: the debate on raising CAFE standards is over. It will happen.”

Reid had more strong words for automakers:

Reid then echoed what many of his colleagues have argued: Detroit’s successful efforts to block fuel economy increases had actually harmed automakers.

“Perhaps if they had joined us instead of fighting us these last 20 years, they might not be in the financial mess they’re in today,” Reid said. “But now is their chance to do the right thing — both for their bottom line and for the American people.

Kudos to Reid for pushing a strong bill. Other details of the Democrats’ Energy bill include:

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If this story is true, it suggests the Chinese may be wiser than us. The AP is reporting:

China “may put an end to projects which are designed to produce petroleum by liquefying coal,” the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing an official of the country’s top economic planning agency…. “Liquefied coal projects consume a lot of energy, though the successful industrialization of liquefied coal could help reduce the country’s dependence on petroleum.”

China may be starting to place concerns about global warming — and the tremendous water requirements of coal-to-oil — above energy security and economic growth. That is big news.

A slightly different AP story suggests the Chinese have equally enlightened views about ethanol:

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This from last Friday:

The Wall Street Journal‘s Kim Strassel observes Bush at the G-8 and reaches the same conclusion as NRO‘s editorial on Tuesday.

What a surprise. Ultraconservative global-warming-denier minds think alike.

I have been unable to keep up with all of the silliness on Planet Gore in the face of all the real news from the G-8. But I promise to catch up as the real news subsides for the summer.

Conservative attacks on Al Gore’s home electricity use “make no sense at all,” as Climate Progress has previously argued. Still, the former VP deserves kudos for redesigning his home to be a model green building:

“This plan has been in the works for a long time,” the former vice president said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The only thing that has changed is that we’re more public about it because of the misleading attack by a global-warming denier group.”

Here are his new rooftop solar panels:

Gore’s home will meet the imporant Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. It will also include these green features:

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Okay, I shamelessly stole this from ecorazzi.com — so let’s just say this is a plug for the snarky web site that promises “the latest in green gossip.” Their caption:

Hey, there’s hope for her yet. Even on her way back to jail, Hilton shows her green side with a little carpooling.

And we might add, she seems all choked up about it. That’s eco-consciousness!