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Gasoline prices have fallen more than 20 percent. And natural gas is selling for less than half what it cost a year ago. But that doesn't mean everyone is benefitting equally from the abrupt reversal.

Soaring energy prices are expected to top the agenda as global finance leaders meet in Washington, D.C., Saturday. President Bush is pressing for increased energy production at home, as well as renewed efforts at conservation and improvements in research.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez moves to tighten control of the country's oil reserves at a time when oil is at record levels and no slackening of prices is in sight. Analysts say the result is that Chavez is rewriting the rules of oil investment, forcing huge companies to share ownership and profits with the Venezuelan government.

Bolivian President Evo Morales places the country's private energy industry under state control. Reclaiming ownership of Bolivia's natural resources, Morales said, is "a fundamental means for recovering our sovereignty."

Two significant programs in Iraq have not met expectations, says a U.S. expert. One is a security program to protect the energy infrastructure. The other is to construct primary health care centers throughout Iraq. May 1 marks the third anniversary of President Bush's declaration of the end of major combat in Iraq.

A simmering debate that got under way last week in the Senate over new energy legislation is bound to hit a full boil this week. The bill's most contentious issues remain unresolved. They include gas-mileage standards, renewable fuels and price gouging.

The Senate is debating a new energy bill that would raise average mileage standards for cars, light trucks and SUVs, from 25 to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The Auto Industry argues that hiking mileage standards will mean lost jobs and less safe vehicles for Americans.

This year, Democrats get their shot at an energy bill. It's a sprawling effort that aims to reduce global warming, curb dependence on foreign oil and keep energy costs low. But those can be contradictory goals.

President Bush vows in his State of the Union speech to increase funding to develop coal-fired power plants that produce no polluting emissions. But the federal government is currently undermining efforts by states to require power companies to use an existing "green" technology that's already available.

In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi sits on nearly 10 percent of the world's oil reserves. So it may be surprising to hear that climate leaders there have launched a major initiative in sustainability. Masdar, a demonstration city of 50,000 inhabitants, will have a zero carbon footprint.