The Renewable Energy Blog

 I’m not sure how big the energy bill is except that it is a step in the right direction. Reversing tax breaks for Big Oil is a plus. I’ve pulled some quotes and made comments:

"We will send our energy dollars to the Midwest, not the Middle East," countered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, referring to the bill’s emphasis on promoting renewable energy sources, especially ethanol, which would see a sevenfold increase by 2022 to 36 billion gallons a year.

Why do they expect that ethanol is the answer? According to some government Web sites, Ethanol can cost $1.10 to 1.50 per gallon to produce. (One government Web site stated that wholesale gasoline is selling at around 90 cents per gallon. I’m not sure how up to date this.) But how much are we adding to the price of food because we’re using more and more corn and soybean crops for fuel production? It defeats the purpose. Remember it’s a domino effect. Corn costs more, livestock that feed on the corn costs more, finally meat costs more, etc.

The bill would roll back $13.5 billion in tax breaks enjoyed by the five largest U.S. oil companies with the money to be used for tax incentives for development of renewable energy sources like ethanol from grasses and wood chips and bio-diesel and for energy efficiency programs and conservation. 

It’s about time. With the Enron Loophole allowing energy traders to speculate oil prices far and above the true market value has put unnecessary strains on our economy and allowed the oil companies to reap ridiculous monetary rewards which will never be used to benefit society in the form of new and better fuel sources.

"There’s nothing in here that’s going to lower gas prices in America … nothing that is going to help American families deal with heating costs this winter … nothing to increase production," complained Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio.

No argument there. We have to take it in the rear.

The centerpiece of the bill is a requirement to boost automobile fuel economy by 40 percent to an industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, the first such increase since 1975, when Congress enacted the federal auto fuel economy requirements.

This is another joke. Let’s not put too much pressure on automakers. What this bill should have forced was a minimum of 35 mpg. Is this requirement for all vehicles across the board or do they have different thresholds for different size vehicles? Or at the very least put in some incentives for bettering 50 or 60 mpg. We know it’s well within the scientific and technological capacity for these companies to do so. 

So I have to ask, how many politicians are in the automakers pockets?