Green news harvest: Tracking Congress' signals

Here's a sampling of green-tech news, with quick commentary.

• Waxman Defeats Dingell in Race for House Energy Committee Chair - The Washington Post
  California Rep. Henry Waxman's win is potentially significant change for clean-energy legislation, as Michigan Rep. John Dingell had been criticized for resisting higher fuel economy standards.
• Boxer to move 'streamlined' climate bill - TheHill.com
  California Sen. Barbara Boxer looks to quickly live up to Obama's environmental pledges, with climate change legislation and $15 billion a year on renewable energy.

• Oil could fall to $40/bbl in 2009: Deutsche Bank - Reuters
  In general, falling oil prices are bad for the clean-tech sector, particularly biofuel firms.
• Clean Energy Confronts Messy Reality - The Wall Street Journal
  Utilities are scaling back capital-spending plans, with renewable-energy projects getting the ax.
• Omron Prototypes Compact, Simple Vibration-powered Generator -- Tech-On!
  Japanese firm looks for cheap, small chips to turn vibrations into electrical energy.
• Electricity from Waste Heat - Technology Review
  This report focuses on another company jumping into the waste heat business. Talk about a cheap energy source.
• Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year: Hypermiling - Gas 2.0
  If you're not hypermiling when you drive, you're apparently out of touch.
• Software Billionaire Tom Siebel Assembling $20M Green Building Contest - Greentech Media
  The latest software guy to get the green-tech bug.
• Leading Entrepreneurs View Climate Change as a Growing Strategic Concern, According to New Ernst & Young Survey - Press release
  Data shows that climate change is a business driver, creating demand for clean-tech products.
• Patrick pushes solar for big-box stores - The Boston Globe
  Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick looks to tweak building codes to incentivize energy efficiency and solar endeavors.
• Utilities to test solar at existing gas plants - Las Vegas Review-Journal
  This sounds obscure, but it's actually one way to significantly reduce the cost of solar-thermal power plants.