House Energy Bill Is a Failure of Leadership Source: REP America [Apr 23, 2005] http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=8279
SYNOPSIS: Republicans for Environmental Protection criticizes House energy bill as a failure of leadership. The energy bill passed by the House today fails to solve the increasingly serious energy problems that the United States faces, REP America, the national grassroots organization of Republicans for Environmental Protection, said today. "The House had a chance to set a new, more positive energy direction for America. Unfortunately, our elected representatives failed," Jim DiPeso, REP America policy director, said. Dangerous pressures building on Americaās energy system have increased the urgency of using energy more efficiently and expanding the energy choices available to the nation. Heavy oil dependence has become a strategic liability. Rising gasoline prices are a sign that the global oil market is straining to keep up with demand. As a result, Americaās growing oil appetite exposes our nation to price shock and international conflict. There are worrying indications that similar stresses are straining the natural gas market. The nationās aging electric power grid is vulnerable to blackouts similar to the outage that hit the Northeast in 2003. Carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning oil and other fossil fuels, is building in the atmosphere, trapping heat and increasing the risk of damaging spin-off impacts on water supplies, agriculture, coastal property, and public health. "Unfortunately, the House majority canāt see beyond yesterday to find solutions," DiPeso said. "The single most important thing we could do to reduce our dangerous dependence on oil is to update motor vehicle efficiency standards. Yet the House majority, made up of so-called conservatives, dismisses the need to reduce fuel waste," DiPeso said. "The House rejected Congressman Sherwood Boehlertās (R-NY) reasonable, bipartisan amendment to increase fuel efficiency standards to 33 miles per gallon." "Drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would do very little to reduce oil imports or lower prices, as independent studies have shown. Domestic production is long past its peak and cannot keep up with rising demand. Drilling the Arctic Refuge would perpetuate our dangerous dependence on oil, not reduce it. Yet the House majority single-mindedly embraces this distraction as if it were a magic wand," DiPeso said. "We urgently need to diversify our nationās energy portfolio, so we donāt keep all our eggs in too few baskets. Yet the House has loaded up the energy bill with budget-busting pork for mature energy industries that ought to stand on their own two feet, instead of focusing the limited money available for incentives on the clean energy technologies of tomorrow," DiPeso said. "Scientists worldwide have found clear and compelling evidence that carbon dioxide emissions are at least partly responsible for rising global temperatures. Yet the House majority persists stubbornly in its denial, doing nothing, letting risks get bigger, and guaranteeing higher costs when a future, more responsible Congress faces up to the issue," DiPeso said. "We need to rewrite our stale energy script and plan for a future of cleaner, more secure, more diverse energy choices," DiPeso said. "There will be many benefits: We can strengthen our security, reduce energy costs, revitalize rural communities, and develop new manufacturing industries." "The path forward starts with using fuel and electricity more efficiently," DiPeso said. "At the same time, we must aggressively commercialize clean energy technologies ö including alcohol fuels, renewable power, perhaps carbon-sequestered coal and advanced nuclear technologies ö that do not despoil the landscape, pollute air and water, or take dangerous risks with the global climate," DiPeso said. "REP America is grateful for the Republican House members who voted for a balanced energy policy by supporting fuel efficiency and protection of the Arctic Refuge. Representatives Boehlert, Roscoe Bartlett, Tom Davis, Vern Ehlers, Wayne Gilchrest, Tim Johnson, Nancy Johnson, Mark Kirk, Jim Leach, Frank LoBiondo, Todd Platts, Jim Ramstad, Jim Saxton, Joe Schwarz, Chris Smith, and others deserve credit for their leadership in trying to stop the House majority from passing a bad bill," DiPeso said. "Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the House failed. Itās up to the Senate to do a better job," DiPeso said. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://wwia.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel archives at Infoarchive.net (searchable): http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
