Sex for Oil, Gas, Fuel, Drugs: Energy Surplus by Department of Interior Officials

Officials charged with ensuring that American taxpayers receive their share of revenue from oil and gas companies drilling on federal lands reportedly engaged in a "culture of ethical failure," one plagued by sexual relationships with oil industry employees and improper acceptance of dinners, gifts and travel, according to a series of Interior Department inspector general reports released today.

Investigators from the Interior Department's inspector general's office said more than a dozen employees, including the former director of the oil royalty program, took meals, ski trips, sports tickets and golf outings from industry representatives. The report alleges that the former director, Gregory W. Smith, also netted more than $30,000 from improper outside work.

The report from Inspector General Earl E. Devaney contains fresh allegations about the practices at the beleaguered royalty-in-kind program of Interior's Minerals Management Service, which last year collected more than $4 billion worth of oil and natural gas from companies given contracts to tap energy on federal and Indian lands and offshore. The revelations come as Congress is set to consider opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and areas off the coast of Florida for drilling.

The report also identifies four companies that had provided gifts to RIK employees while maintaining a business relationship: Chevron, Shell, Gary Williams Energy Corporation and Hess Corporation (nyse: HES - news - people ). Chevron and Shell conducted business as producers on leases where the Minerals Management Service collects royalties and also buys oil from the RIK program. Hess also operates MMS leases, and Gary Williams Energy purchases RIK products.

For Shell, Chevron, and Gary Williams Energy, the report details several thousand dollars of gifts from employees of each company that Department of Interior employees should not have accepted, including meals, hotel rooms, ski lodge stays, and golf and paintball outings. Spokesmen for Shell and Chevron said they had not yet seen or had time to review the reports. Gary Williams Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

World Vision Gives Examples of Global Food Crisis Impact: Young Girls' Forced Marriage to Pay Debt

A new briefing paper from Christian humanitarian organization World Vision, illustrates the causes and human costs of early marriage in countries and regions where it is most common. With contributions from development and advocacy workers in the field, the report also highlights innovative and successful programs in countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia where a variety of approaches aim to tackle the underlying needs that often fuel the practice.

While most girls in North America are starting a new school year this week, millions of their peers across the developing world must stay home and stop their education because they have become child brides. The result is a continuing spiral of poverty, illiteracy and maternal and child health problems in impoverished and underdeveloped communities worldwide, humanitarian workers say.

Child and early marriage — before the ages of 14 and 18, respectively — are expected to claim the futures of some 100 million girls in the next decade, depriving most of them of the chance to finish school and putting them at higher risk of injury or death due to early childbearing, and of contracting HIV. Aid workers also report that the current global food crisis is exacerbating the practice, pushing more poor families to send young daughters into marriage in their struggle to cope with the strains of deeper poverty and hunger.

Haiti's Hurricanes Photos: Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike...Mudslides, Floodwaters in Photos

Haitians need your help. They are asking for help from citizens and countries. The recent series of hurricanes make their situations worse. They need your help.

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