Clinton says all the right words in a short energy statement - but has no details. Obama has details but the coal to oil idea will both work and is an environmental disaster, while also being a pandering to the Illinois soft coal mining rich folks. Gov. Tom Vilsack's energy program - seems excellent - missing only DME that Asia is developing into a dimethyl ether infrastructure. DME is superior to oil as a fuel and can use the existing liquid infrastructure now set up for cars with gasoline motors.
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Vilsack's program:
A 25-cent per-gallon credit for ethanol from cellular fiber production.
Cut carbon emissions from "new" coal-fired plants by 20 percent via the forced use of the existing technology IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle), with all new power plants built after 2020 required to produce zero carbon emissions by using wind, solar, geothermal, safe nuclear, and coal plants that use carbon capture and sequestration as in the Federal Governments current demonstration project FutureGen, which by 2012 is scheduled to build the world's first zero-emissions fossil fuel power plant, using integrated sequestration and hydrogen production.
Incentives for consumers to purchase petroleum-free cars.
Eliminate petroleum from the U.S. transportation system by 2040.
Cut greenhouse gas emission by 75% by 2050 over 2000 levels.
Set a renewable fuel goal of using 60 billion gallons of renewable fuel per year by 2030, with 45 billion of the 60 billion gallons be cellulosic ethanol and/or biobutanol made from cellulosic materials or biodiesel.
U.S. Department of Energy to be renamed the Department of Energy Security
Include carbon emission standards as part of trade agreement negotiations (e.g., India, China).
C.A.F.E. fuel efficiency standards 50% higher by 2030, with no set intermediate dates by which U.S. automakers must "retool" to achieve this, using the new and developing technolgy of fuel cells, biofuels, plug-in biofuel hybrids or other technologies, and by giving consumers significant incentives to then purchase the petroleum-free automobiles.
By 2010, all fuel providers reduce carbon production by one percent a year.
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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070214/NEWS09/702140374/1001(Commonwealth Club San Francisco, California February 13, 2007
Democratic candidate will try to cancel greenhouse gas emissions
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO -
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that corn-based ethanol will fail to meet the nation's renewable-fuel needs, and he proposed tax incentives to promote other sources as part of a long-term national energy plan.
The outsider candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination said in a speech in San Francisco that if elected, he would propose tax credits to improve the technology to produce other types of ethanol.
"The reality is corn-based ethanol will never be enough to reach our long-term goals," Vilsack told the Commonwealth Club, in remarks prepared for delivery.<snip>
He said cellulosic ethanol - produced from a wide variety of plant and forest waste products - holds the most promise...."The only way we can produce enough renewable fuel domestically is if we greatly improve the technology to create cellulosic ethanol." <snip>
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070214/NEWS09/702140374/1001