Gas 2.0

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After hearing President Bush blame Congress for our country’s high gas, food, and energy prices yesterday, I still wasn’t convinced that drilling in ANWR would solve all of our problems (note: sarcasm).

It turns out that voters, at least according to a poll of 1,200 Americans conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc., feel the same way.

Not only did fifty-seven percent of voters rate energy issues as “very serious” concern, but they also thought investment in renewable energy was the best solution: Read the rest of this entry »

This morning on NPR, President Bush tried to blame congress for the nation’s high gas, food, and electricity prices. Apparently, Congress has been thwarting the President’s attempts to fix the economy:

“I’ve repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems,” the president said. “Yet time after time, Congress chose to block them.” Read the rest of this entry »

The White House has outlined their plan to increase fuel efficiency standards to 35 MPG by 2020, a move that will save Americans an estimated $100 billion in fuel costs.

The mandate was outlined in last year’s energy bill in December, but this proposal gives a boost to the timeline by requiring the mileage of passenger vehicles to average 31.6 MPG by 2015. That’s up from today’s average of 25 MPG (which I can’t help but mentioning is identical to the mileage of the original Model T Ford). Read the rest of this entry »

British Columbia will be the first in North America to institute a comprehensive carbon tax on nearly all fossil fuels. It’s a groundbreaking move that could prove the feasibility of taxing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Beginning July 1st, 2008, businesses and residents of British Columbia will be taxed $10 per metric ton of carbon emitted by fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane, and home heating fuel. The tax will increase yearly by $5 per ton to $30 per ton in 2012, at which point the government will reevaluate the tax rate.

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The driver of an engine-less, pedal-powered 1986 Buick Regal who, last October, was stopped on the street by Toronto Police for “operating an unsafe vehicle” had the charges against him dropped and the case laughed out of court.
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Congress and the president have spoken: ethanol is America’s new renewable fuel.

Yesterday, President Bush signed into law energy bill H.R.6, which establishes a new renewable fuel standard in the United States (see Max’s earlier post). But not everyone is applauding Capitol Hill. James B. Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, has railed against ethanol in an op-ed to be published in the magazine’s February 2008 issue. As Meigs points out, Washington is looking for quick fixes, not long-term solutions:

It’s great that our politicians have discovered the need for new energy technologies. But it appears that Washington is determined to put its money—our money—on the wrong horse. Right now, researchers are studying a host of energy solutions, including hydrogen, high-mileage diesel, plug-in hybrids, radical reductions in vehicle weight and cellulosic ethanol (made from cornstalks, switchgrass or other nonfood crops). It is far too soon to say which of these holds the most promise. But, instead of promoting experimentation and competition to find the best solutions, politicians seem ready to declare ethanol the winner. As a result, our nation could wind up with the worst of both worlds: an “alternative” energy that is enormously expensive yet barely saves a gallon of oil.

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The U.S. Senate has passed the new energy bill, which now goes back to the House for final approval before going to the president for his signature. But, as they say, there’s no free lunch.

While the legislation includes the landmark increase in fuel-economy standards for vehicles and a huge boost for alternative fuels, legislators caved in to oil and utility companies and stripped the legislation of a $13 billion dollar tax increase on those industries.

But that isn’t all, the bill also removed a requirement that utilities nationwide produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. Another example of the incredible clout of oil and utility company lobbyists in the nation’s capital.

The full legislation easily passed the House of Representatives last week, and that’s when the industry boys focused on Republican members of the Senate and the White House. President Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill if the offending sections were not removed. Read the rest of this entry »