Energy Time: It's Not About Something for Everyone

[marmar]

from CommonDreams:


Published on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 by the International Herald Tribune
Energy Time: It's Not about Something for Everyone
Editorial

Al Hubbard, the economic adviser who is coordinating the Bush administration's energy strategy, recently promised that President George W. Bush would produce "headlines above the fold that will knock your socks off in terms of our commitment to energy independence."

Every president since Richard Nixon has talked this way, while every year the country slides further into dependency. Bush's overpromising has included a forecast that we would all be buying hydrogen-fueled cars in 20 years and his pledge a year ago to rid the United States of its addiction to oil.

Still, we must hope that Bush is serious this time, because we simply cannot continue to hold U.S. national security and the health of the planet hostage to America's appetite for fossil fuels.

America's closest allies, and increasingly its governors, know this. Last week, the European Union — shaken by Russia's threatened shutdown of oil passing through Belarus — announced a menu of initiatives aimed at reducing Europe's dependence on unreliable suppliers while cutting greenhouse-gas emissions with cleaner fuels and new technologies.

In the United States, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California ordered state regulators to require fuel-oil companies and refiners to start reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other global- warming gases. The order is expected to help jump-start the production of biofuels and, over time, hydrogen for fuel cell cars. It follows an earlier California directive requiring more fuel-efficient vehicles, and represents an important element in the state's broad plan to cut global- warming emissions from all sources by 25 percent by 2020.

For its part, Congress is churning out energy bills. But this is a recipe for paralysis unless it observes a few basic guideposts.

The last thing America needs is another multi year debate leading to yet another giant bill that offers something for everyone without really changing the way the country produces and uses energy. Senators Harry Reid and Jeff Bingaman have produced the outlines of a bill that could become the template for more specific action. It sets two basic goals: Reducing America's dependency on oil and reducing the risks of global warming. And it focuses on a handful of remedies, including more efficient automobiles, the rapid development of alternative fuels and cleaner ways of producing power. ....(more)

The rest is at: http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0116-29.htm