News round-up: EPA problems, no coal, and daily U.S. water consumption

Today's interesting and notable news round-up is chock full of energy news.

First up, the Environmental Protection Agency keeps getting itself into trouble. If it's not Congressman Henry Waxman ripping EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson for dragging his feet regulating C02 emissions, it's the EPA not lowering smog limits as low as their advisory panel had recommended. Who knows what they're protecting anymore?

From there we've got the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspending "a low-interest lending program for rural electric cooperatives seeking federal assistance to build new coal-fired power plants."

And lastly, a quiz from Treehugger. Do you know how much water is used in the U.S. every day? The answer will surprise you, especially the details on how much goes to cooling power plants.

Phew! All that, and today is the first day of the "Good Jobs, Green Jobs" conference in Pittsburgh. Hope you can all keep up!