All Energy ‘08 Weekly Round-Up
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That carbon cap bill floating around the Capitol sure seems like a step in the right direction. But most Washington wonks are currently focusing on passing the 2008 Energy Bill before the holiday break. A version of the Bill has passed the House but trouble awaits in the Senate. And Bush threatens to veto the whole thing if those 35-mpg auto standards are included.
If you are plugged into policy debates or care about the looming energy crisis in America, you probably have already received some form of a petition asking you to take a side. Nuclear power plant loan guarantees, higher fuel standards for autos, extending tax credits for the wind and solar industries, “clean” coal subsidies–there is something for everyone to love (and hate). Let the battle lines be drawn!
The Solar Wind Industries Association and the American Wind Energy Association want their respective clean-tech tax breaks to extend beyond 2008.
The CATO Institute argues rather unconvincingly that higher fuel standards will not improve energy efficiency.
The Sierra Club has sent out an online petition to pressure the Senate. Sierra says that raising fuel economy standards will save American consumers $25 billion at the pump, create 170,800 new jobs in America, and cut U.S. global warming pollution from passenger vehicles 21 percent by 2030.
The Heritage Foundation claims the new bill would significantly increase gas prices by over 100%.
There seems to be a backlash against ethanol from both sides of the aisle.
The Union of Concerned Scientists likes the House Bill that just passed.
So will this Bill pass the Senate? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he had the 60 votes needed to toughen fuel economy standards and the 60 votes for renewable energy standards for utilities, “but unfortunately they are not the same 60 votes,” according to a Washington Post article covering the Senate battles.
By Stefan Deeran at The Element Agency in New York.