Gulf oil spill helps revive all-but-dead energy legislation - latimes.com

Gulf oil spill helps revive all-but-dead energy legislation - latimes.com: "Reporting from Washington — Passing a major energy bill seemed virtually impossible a few weeks ago, but Democrats, bolstered by public anger over the gulf oil spill, are pushing for legislation with renewed hope of success.

A new energy bill could be shorn of its most controversial feature — the costly and complex 'cap-and-trade' system, which would set a declining limit on emissions from power plants and factories and force emitters to buy permits for the release of heat-trapping gases.

But even without cap and trade, the measure contemplated by Senate Democratic leaders could bring far-reaching change, including new renewable energy requirements, tougher liability caps on oil companies and stronger energy-efficiency measures."