Today I received an email update from Set America Free in which the energy bill's faults are laid out:
After years of deliberations and failed attempts to reach accord on energy legislation the U.S. finally has an energy bill. That's the good news. The bad news is that the 1,725 page bill does almost nothing to drive down record-high gasoline prices, reduce America's dependence on imported oil and protect us from the harming economic impact of supply interruptions. Instead, the bill provides billions of dollars of tax breaks, royalty relief and loan guarantees to the oil and gas industries at a time that these industries are reporting the largest quarterly profits of any corporation in our history. "Right now Adam Smith is spinning in his grave so fast that he would qualify for a subsidy in this bill as an energy source," said Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts.On top of not accomplishing the actual task of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, this energy bill appears to be nothing more than another pork-ladden waste of tax payer dollars.
It's important to keep in mind that unlike in the 1970s, when a significant portion of U.S. electricity was generated from oil and shifting to other power sources such as nuclear, coal, solar, wind and so forth could make a dent in our oil consumption, today only 2% of U.S. electricity is generated from oil so the provisions in the energy bill intended to encourage those sectors essentially do nothing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil - we've already weaned our electricity supply from foreign oil. Today, two thirds of our oil consumption is in the transportation sector. Two thirds of that is gasoline, and most of the rest is diesel. That means that cars and trucks account for most of the oil consumption in the U.S., which in turn means that to reduce our dependence on foreign oil we need to diversify our fuel supply beyond oil based fuels while also making vehicles that stretch each gallon of fuel further. Suffice it to say that the energy bill shied away from focusing on the manufacturing side of the transportation sector. It's not that the bill is all bad. It contains tax breaks for purchasers of fuel-efficient cars, a program to encourage commercialization of hybrids and plug-in hybrids which are also flexible fuel vehicles, and provisions to expand domestic biofuel production. But this is hardly enough to make a dent in the barrel.
Unfortunately, the House failed to adopt some of the provisions in the Senate version. Today our oil consumption stands at 21 million barrels a day (mbd,) a quarter of total world demand. Including everything, the U.S. holds just over 3% of world oil reserves. A Senate call for a national commitment to reduce oil consumption by a mere one million barrels a day by 2015 (by which time absent action our oil consumption is projected to grow by 4 mbd as compared to today) was killed by the House conferees. So was the provision to label tires for fuel efficiency so that motorists can make an informed decision about which replacement tire to buy (good tires can reduce gasoline consumption by 4%.) The result is an energy bill that lacks the vision and the focus necessary to wean the nation from the ruinous dependence on imported oil. "This bill is a lobbyists' paradise and a citizens' nightmare," wrote the Philadelphia Inquirer. Naturally many of the lawmakers from both parties who spent sleepless nights deliberating the bill think differently, as does President Bush who said at the signing ceremony: "I'm confident that one day Americans will look back on this bill as a vital step toward a more secure and more prosperous nation that is less dependent on foreign sources."
We are told that the bill is the best available compromise to stimulate U.S. energy production and conservation in coming decades. But history shows that compromise alone is not enough to solve what is a pressing national security emergency. Problems of such scale can only be solved through boldness, clear vision, determination and, above all, leadership. If this energy bill is the best Congress can do to address the problem maybe its time for Americans, 93% of whom believe that oil dependence is a serious problem, to remind their representatives who they really work for.
The Set America Free Coalition, for its part, will continue to work with its allies in Congress to develop a sound and serious energy policy to address our growing dependence on foreign oil. The energy bill's failure to address the problem calls for a discrete oil savings bill which sets a national goal and embarks on accomplishing it. As oil prices break through $65 a barrel America cannot afford to do less.
If the situation is that our vehicles are what is using this much oil, nuclear power plants and solar/wind farms aren't the answer. We need to be funding alternative fuel technologies and renewable energy research. Hydrogen fuel cells may not be the answer, but it does seem to show the most promise at this point.
