The Obama administration views carbon dioxide as a pollutant that warms the earth, and it imposed new regulations at the beginning of the year to begin to control CO2 emissions. But to Texas oilmen, carbon dioxide is a useful — and scarce — commodity that is vital to extracting hard-to-reach oil reserves.

In Texas, the nation’s largest oil producer, the demand for CO2 is soaring — because carbon dioxide can help squeeze oil out of formations deep in the earth — and new carbon dioxide-producing facilities are in the works. 

Last month, Texas air-quality regulators approved crucial permits for two coal-fired power plants ...

Full Story