Green Nightmare: Coal-Loving Manchin May Get Energy Panel Perch

West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin famously used a rifle to shoot a climate-change bill in a 2010 campaign ad, vowing to take “dead aim” at the landmark cap-and-trade legislation.

Now, Manchin, a staunch backer of his state’s coal industry, is poised to become the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has wide-ranging jurisdiction over energy policies and the use of federal lands, that, in turn, have an influence on global warming.