$1B a week in Iraq. House energy bill provides $500K for energy efficiency

[flpoljunkie]

What the hell is wrong with this picture! This $6 billion Senate figure to be spent over 10 years is pathetic enough, but the House budgeted less than $500,000 for energy efficiency, conservation, and promotion of alternative fuels in their energy bill.

The kind of energy bill this country needs will not come out of this administration. How utterly tragic!

What Ron Wyden, committee member who voted against this bill, said was right. It is about "cars, carbon and corn" and does nothing to promote fuel efficiency, address global warming or lower gasoline prices. A boon for oil, gas and ethanol producers. Same old, same old.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/15/AR2005061500272_pf.html

Senate Proposes Broader Energy Tax Package

By H. JOSEF HEBERT
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 15, 2005; 10:38 AM

WASHINGTON -- A package of energy tax breaks proposed in the Senate would give up to $2,400 to buyers of hybrid motor vehicles, subsidize the purchase of more efficient appliances and help pay for the development of clean coal technologies.

The $16 billion in tax incentives is double what was proposed in the House and would commit about $6 billion over 10 years to energy efficiency, conservation and promotion of alternative fuels. The House agreed to about $8 billion, with less than $500 million for efficiency and conservation, in the energy bill it passed in April.

The Senate Finance Committee was expected to clear the tax proposals, tentatively agreed to Tuesday, in a formal vote Thursday so they can be rolled into a broader energy bill that the Senate will debate over the next few weeks.

As the Senate began what was expected to be at least two weeks of debate over energy policy, the rhetoric focused on the need to reduce the country's dependence on imported oil. Lawmakers acknowledged the bill does little to ensure reductions in oil imports, which accounted for nearly 58 percent of the crude oil used during the first three months of this year.

[LuPeRcALiO]

1. I guess energy self-sufficiency isn't in the Bible.

Otherwise we might it more seriously. Meanwhile, let's kick their ass and take their gas!

[phantom power]

2. I've estimated costs for actually replacing fossil fuels.

Every scenario for actually meeting all our energy needs (currenty about 100 x 10^18 Joules per year) without fossil fuels will cost several trillion dollars to implement.

This is actually an achievable project, for a country with our resources, but it only works if we've got the ball rolling before lack of oil becomes an emergency.

This business of spending a few billion here or there is just nibbling around the edges of a truly enormous problem.