18 May 2006

Climate Change: U.S. Senate Dems Offer Clean EDGE

Yesterday, Senate Democrats put forth what they call the "Clean EDGE Act of 2006," which they hope will lay the groundwork for energy independence and a domestic clean energy industry. According to reports, the bill will "create good jobs, control gas prices, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and help curb global warming."

The new legislation will create a new Clean Energy Investment Administration, modeled after the Small Business Administration. The new agency will channel billions in federal loan guarantees to renewable energy and related industries.

According to the Apollo Alliance, the major focal points of Clean EDGE Act of 2006, include
Reducing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil: The legislation seeks to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 40%, cutting U.S. oil use by nearly 6 million barrels a day in 2020.
Transitioning to Clean Home Grown Fuels: The Clean EDGE Act of 2006 aims to increase the number of flex fuel vehicles that can run on both gas and ethanol to half of all new U.S. vehicles sold by 2020. Furthermore, it mandates an increase in the number of gas stations selling alternative fuels.
Supporting Clean Energy and Good Jobs: It also acts as a catalyst for clean energy and good jobs by setting a national “renewable portfolio standard” that requires 10% of all electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.
Ending Giveaways to Big Oil: The bill pays for itself by ending some subsidies to big oil and restricting certain oil industry incentives including royalty waivers. Furthermore, the legislation would make price gouging a federal crime
Investing in American Jobs and Industry: The Clean EDGE Act will create a clean energy investment administration to help deploy renewable power and related manufacturing technology. It also invests in education programs to develop a skilled domestic workforce, to create good new clean energy jobs.

Critics of the plan, such as Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, claims "This latest plan is a sprinkling of good ideas, a heavy helping of bad ideas and distractions, and a pathetic absence of any effort to increasing American energy supply," according to a statement quoted in the New York Times.

Read more about it: Reuters and New York Times

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2 comments:

Geezer Power said...

Yaknow...Just looking at the name of this "Clean Edge?" bill sends me the signal that it probably won't cut it. Is it really written to benefit "We The People"? Or is it leaving the controlls in the hands of Corporate government?

What made this country great, is free enterprise and the imagination of the American people. At the turn of the century many of our farms had their own blacksmith shop in the barn. Self sufficient farm families traded with other families and invented farm machines to suit their needs. Anyone that wanted to build and market an automobile was free to do so. By the 1920's there were over 200 kinds of automobiles. There was of course gasoline power, but also steam powered, electric powered, and a gas/electric powered vehicles. The gas electric had a motor/ generator in line with the gas motor and differential, which...yes...put power back in the batteries when coasting or braking.
Sound familiar? Well take a look at the Toyota Prius, an environmental friendly car that gets 50 mpg.

Great...we say. Look what we can buy, if we pay more tax because we are using less gas. Of course, "We The People" can do much better if we can develope cottage industries, and return to our own blacksmith shops. I dream about this kind of freedom, and pray that the Corporate Government isn't able to tune in to my thoughts.

Anyhoo...getting back to Toyota...In 2002 Toyota came out with a prototype e-car that surpassed 100 mpg, in tests, and was advertized on Toyotas web site. It is a supercharged 4 cylindar deisel\electric, that stores energy when coasting or braking. There was an artical in The London Times on this car, and there were people trying to buy one, but no one could find anything out from Toyota. So there are a few of them around, that have been road tested, with excellent reports on performance and milage, but it is the Prius,which came on the market in 1997 that is on the market. It is a shame that yet another efficient car has dissappeared from the market at a time when we should be doing everything possible to reduce co2, and conserve energy. This is just another example of what Al Gore is saying in his latest movie..."An Inconvenient Truth.
I don't know what kind of bill we need, but I believe that if it has to have a name, that it should be something like "Power To The People", or "Free Enterprise For Everyone", or maybe "Freedom".
That's what we truelly need in this country is freedom. Not the freedom that the Bush administration says we are fighting for in Iraq. Not the Neoconserative treachery that puts tricky names on every agenda in order to control every aspect of business and government. But the old fashioned freedom that this country was founded on.

The Green Skeptic said...

yagota point geezerpower...we need a "freedom energy" or "free enterprise energy plan" ...and what about that 100 mpg toyota ecar, can you give us more information about that?