Bush security adviser helped firm land lobbying gig for Chinese oil co. The bid by state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation to purchase U.S. oil and gas producer Unocal has raised hackles among some national-security types. So it may seem odd that James C. Langdon Jr., the chair of President Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board -- a group with security clearance greater than even members of Congress -- would meet with CNOOC to drum up lobbying business for his law firm. Odd but true: Langdon, a major Bush fund-raiser, met last winter with reps from CNOOC seeking lobbying work for …

Investors pouring millions into new nanotech solar-energy firms A merger of cutting-edge nanotechnology with the earth's oldest power source may revolutionize clean energy. At least three U.S. start-ups are aiming to develop thin, flexible sheets of tiny solar cells for the mass market. If perfected, the companies say, these nano-cells would catapult solar to the forefront of clean-energy generation: they'd not only cost much less to produce than current solar panels, but would provide electricity as cheaply as average utilities do now, about $1 per watt. It may take five years or more before the technologies are perfected for mass …

We're constantly hearing about how insanely popular the Toyota Prius is -- the celebrities, the cachet, the waiting lists. Is it possible that said popularity is just a blue state phenomenon? I ask because we recently got an email from a reader, Linda, who's having trouble selling hers. No, really! My husband received an international assignment so we are moving to Belgium. We have decided to sell my beloved 2004 Prius. I live in Pocatello, Idaho, and in this land of conservatives, where they are sure that global warming is a figment of Al Gore's imagination, there appears to be …

State-controlled Chinese oil company makes big bid for America's Unocal China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), a state-controlled Chinese oil company, is making an $18.5 billion bid to take over California-based oil and gas firm Unocal, which has extensive Asian operations. Rival bidder Chevron warns that China will have the power to raise energy prices for U.S. consumers if CNOOC prevails, and some lawmakers are anxious about national-security implications. But the Bush administration seems loath to comment on the deal, since China has some very pointy hooks in the U.S. economy. In particular, it acquired over $200 billion in U.S. …

Silicon Valley investors putting big bucks into clean-tech start-ups Silicon Valley's venture capitalists are seeing green in clean energy -- and we're talking gobs of profit, not the whole planet-saving thing. Investor interest in clean-energy tech firms has jumped in the past year, fueled in part by escalating global demand for electricity and the rising price of oil. This month, a consortium of moneybags put $20 million into Nanosolar, a solar energy company based in Palo Alto (gajillionaire Googlemeisters Sergey Brin and Larry Page were early investors). Other California energy innovators are raking in millions in investment funds as well. …

The Bush administration is championing natural gas as the answer to America's domestic energy needs, despite reservations from the usual batch of freedom-haters about its cost, reliability, and safety. Proponents point out that natural gas is cheaper, less polluting, and more abundant than oil -- and, oh yeah, a huge business opportunity. Major energy companies are pursuing over $100 billion in gas-production projects worldwide. But worries remain. Given the current hubbub over dependence on foreign sources of energy, it's notable that the big natural-gas reserves are in countries like Qatar, Yemen, Iran, and Russia. And communities being targeted for off-loading …

White House official who edited climate reports moves to Exxon Philip Cooney, the White House official (and former oil-industry lobbyist) recently outed for watering down government climate-change reports, has left his position in the Bush administration to take a new job at ... wait for it ... ExxonMobil. Now, we know what you're thinking, but you've got it all wrong. His sudden departure is "completely unrelated" to the controversy over his editing of research reports, said a White House spokesflack. His new job at Exxon, which the company declined to describe, is no doubt also completely unrelated to his willingness …

Lee Raymond, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, has decided that global warming is bunk and that his company is not going to waste time or money funding renewable energy. Openly and unapologetically, the world's No. 1 oil company disputes the notion that fossil fuels are the main cause of global warming. Along with the Bush administration, Exxon opposes the Kyoto accord and the very idea of capping global-warming emissions. Congress is debating an energy bill that may be amended to include a cap, but the administration and Exxon say the costs would be huge and the benefits uncertain. …

Forget the feds -- we'll make our own deals. The Oakland airport seems perfectly situated. Unlike many urban airports, which require an expensive taxi trip or hour-long train ride to reach the city where you thought you'd just arrived, downtown lies mere minutes away. Such convenience is possible because the runways sit on a former wetland at the edge of San Francisco Bay. But this prime location could prove costly. We're all intimately familiar with the basic global-warming scenario by now: greenhouse gases are warming the atmosphere, polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising -- and coastal cities …

BT and other multinationals call for action on climate change More and more prominent suits are issuing calls to action on global warming. The latest is Ben Verwaayen, chief exec of U.K. telecom company BT, who this week became the first Brit corporate bigwig to say publicly that climate change is hurting his business -- and, oh yeah, could destabilize the world economy. Summer flooding in Scotland last year, followed by gale force winds in the winter, led to "numerous cable faults, overhead cables down, and a whole car park full of vehicles ruined by floods," says Verwaayen, who fears …