-Caveat Lector-
March 22, 2001
Bush Administration Exploits Energy Issue to
Assault Environment
Clean choices available to resolve energy crunch in
California, nation
The Union of Concerned Scientists today charged the Bush
administration with using energy needs as a pretext for
assaulting the environment and proposing actions that would
actually make our energy problems worse. To wit:
· Two days before taking office, Bush said that environmental
laws may be preventing California power plants from operating
at full capacity. Generators subsequently declared Bush wrong.
· Ten days into his term, the president used California power
shortages to justify oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife. Oil
accounts for only one percent of California electricity and less
than three percent of national electricity generation.
· On day 39, Bush proposed relaxing regulations to speed
construction of new power plants.
· On day 40, the administration proposed cutting the Department
of Energy's overall budget by $700 million. There are indications
that DOE's energy efficiency and renewable energy research and
development budget could suffer a disproportionate share of the
cut. A day earlier the president said he supported renewables
and efficiency.
· On day 53, he broke his campaign pledge to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions at power plants.
Earlier this week administration officials were wrong again when
they said there no short-term fixes for energy problems.
"Conserving energy by investing in energy efficiency
improvements is by far the fastest, least expensive way to
balance energy demand and supply needs," said Alan Nogee,
Director of UCS's Clean Energy Program. "President Bush's
proposals would prolong our dependence on coal and oil, which
will only cost us more in the long run by increasing the cost of
responding to global warming."
"We need to develop and deploy efficiency and renewable
energy technologies that will conserve and reduce our
dependence on fossil fuels," said Ron Sundergill, UCS's
Washington Representative for Energy. "These programs need
federal funding, not lip service."
Energy efficiency and renewable energy could immediately
begin to stem the energy crunch. For example:
· If the 11.5 million households in California replaced 4 (average
100 watt) incandescent light bulbs with 4 (equivalent 27 watt)
compact fluorescent light bulbs, burning on average 5 hours per
day, we would save enough energy to shut down four 350
Megawatt power plants.
· The California Energy Commission is providing low-interest
loans to convert traffic lights to more energy efficient modules
that cut electricity use by 80 to 90 percent. The change is
expected to save Sacramento County $67,000 a year in electricity
costs.
· A bill currently under consideration in California would
increase funding for energy efficiency by more than $1 billion.
· America has abundant renewable energy resources. With
today's technology, wind energy alone could economically
provide 20 percent of America's electricity. A typical wind farm
generates electricity within six months of groundbreaking for the
project.
· The current cost for wind projects with up-to-date technology
is 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at good sites. Electricity
from large new wind farms in the western United States will cost
less than 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
· By comparison, recent hikes in natural gas prices have driven
fuel costs alone for older gas-fired power plants past 5 cents per
kWh produced, and spot market shortages have led to much
higher prices -- $10 per kWh and up.
· Leading states have made commitments that will increase the
total use of wind, solar, geothermal and biomass power by 8,550
megawatts. That's enough electricity to power 5.6 million homes,
reducing as much carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas
causing global warming - as planting 1.2 billion trees or taking
four million cars off the road.
· Sales of residential wind turbines in California are already
skyrocketing as consumers seek refuge from high energy bills.
Sales for one company are seven times greater for the month of
January 2001 than they were for all of 2000.
Meanwhile, utility spending on energy efficiency programs
nationally fell 45 percent between 1993 and 1998. While utility
conservation budgets were being slashed, peak summer loads
grew by 56,000 MW. In several regions, capacity reserve
margins are thin. Half of the growth in peak loads could have
been avoided by increasing energy efficiency spending.
Renewable energy generation nationally fell from 66 billion kWh
in 1993 to 49 billion kWh in 1998, as utilities cut near-term costs
to prepare for deregulation. Congress should extend and expand
renewable energy tax credits and require energy companies to
provide an increasing percentage of their supplies from clean
renewable energy sources.
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
2 Brattle Square
Cambridge, MA 02238
617-547-5552
Contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
