Why Can't We Have An Intelligent Congress?
The House of Representatives, in its infinite wisdom, recently passed an energy policy bill. Here are the highlights:
1. At least eight billion (spread over ten years) in tax breaks for oil-and-gas exploration, coal extraction, and nuclear energy (this one is not a terrible idea if we can find a place to store it).
2. Only 500 million in incentives for energy efficiency and renewable sources.
3. Open the Artic National Refuge to oil and gas drilling.
4. MTBE manufacturers would be given immunity from lawsuits alleging pollution of drinking water by gasoline additives.
5. Would not require car manufacturers to raise mileage standards (to an average of 33 mpg; current standars are 27.5 mpg for cars and 21 mpg for SUV's and trucks).
Does any of this make sense when we have high gas prices and politicians talk about energy independence?
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2 comments:
A million barrels of oil a day coming from our own resources rather than being purchased from Saudi Arabia seems like a pretty good idea to me. So does sending more fuel down the Alaska pipeline which has never had a significant spill and is much appreciated by the caribou. When asked a Senator asked the Inuit chief of the only human village in ANWAR if he was concerned about drilling development chasing off the caribou (a main source for food for those people) the chief said -- and I paraphrase -- you are missing something, we kill the caribou and they keep coming back! 54 Democratic Senators voted against the Democrat's amendment that would have increased gas mileage to 33mpg---makes you wonder what was wrong with the amendment that the headline doesn't capture. Let's dig a little deeper and not just blame it on the greedy oil and auto companies.
We won't see the oil from ANWAR for years, and it will hardly make a dent in our usage. In the decade it takes to get the oil we could be investing in newer technologies. Also, if people had half a brain and bought the cars they actually need, rather than Hummers and Suburbans, that oil would not be necessary. Lastly, the Senate has not voted on this bill yet, only the House. If they voted against the amendment, it was political, not because it is not a good idea.
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