In this week's 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama announced his energy policy initiatives for 2013. He signaled new directions on issues ranging from transportation fuel economy to promoting low-cost natural gas to investing in energy efficiency, clean energy and infrastructure. These policies could have significant impacts on those in the energy sector as well as any others who consume electricity, oil, or natural gas in their operations. I wrote a brief summary of President Obama’s remarks on energy issues: http://energypolicyupdate.blogspot.com/2013/02/2013-state-of-the-union-on-energy.html

This is a very interesting question. Plug-in electric vehicles generally rely on grid-purchased electricity to run, meaning that their fuel costs and that fuels' emissions characteristics will be determined by the policies affecting the overall electricity generation mix. In states with renewable portfolio standards, which require electricity suppliers to source a specified portion of their energy from renewable resources, electric cars may be displacing fossil fuels, whereas in other states, the electricity used for transportation purposes may come from coal or even oil itself. I write a blog about energy policy and technology, including electric vehicles and renewable power: http://www.energypolicyupdate.blogspot.com/ For more on electric vehicles, you might be interested in this post. Or check out this post for more on the mix of generation resources producing electricity that could be used to power electric cars.