by Sarah Laskow. The New York Times obtained government documents that call natural gas companies' enthusiasm about shale gas and hydrofracking “irrational exuberance.” That exuberance has convinced some lawmakers, though. Nine of them are writing to President Obama to ask him to push for more gas drilling. In other technology-that’s-not-actually-going-to-save-us news, China's building a $1.5 billion clean coal plant , the first commercial clean coal plant of this size. European countries are ditching even the tiniest of cars in favor of public transportation, because — surprise! — global treaties matter and EU countries need to cut carbon in some way to meet their Kyoto commitments. In America, we'd never persecute cars and their owners like that. Hell, Cars 2 made $68 million in its first weekend , even though it’s not supposed to be all that good. But the Obama administration might force us to make those suckers more gas efficient — officials are looking to double the average fuel economy to 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025. (It was the Republicans’ idea! ) UNESCO added a lake system in Kenya and a coastal reef system in Australia to its list of World Heritage sites. Should we be exterminating rat colonies in order to preserve biodiversity? (Pro: They’re undermining the survival of other species and also they are creepy. Con: They’re damn smart.)
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Critical List: ‘Irrational exuberance’ about shale gas; doubling fuel economy in the U.S
