In the 2006 State of the Union, President Bush acknowledged that
"America is addicted to oil." However, his actions haven't reduced our
reliance on it. In fact, he has increased our reliance on oil by his
support for measures that further our dependence on it – such as the
offshore oil drilling bill he signed into law at the end of 2006, and
his stream of proposals to open more public lands to oil companies. And
just last week he opposed the House legislation to invest in efficiency
and renewable energy with money from the elimination of some tax
loopholes and royalty relief for Big Oil companies.
President
Bush has also failed to meaningfully raise fuel economy standards,
which is the best way to reduce our dependence on oil. Instead the Bush
Administration adopted a rule for light truck standards last year that
will make an inadequate increase in miles per gallon standards – less
than 8 percent over four years. In fact, it allows manufacturers to
avoid meeting even these weak standards by making their light trucks
longer, wider and heavier.
This
year, we expect him to repeat and expand upon the broken 2006 promises.
While his rhetoric will call for a 20 percent reduction in oil
consumption within ten years, there are massive loopholes.
Brief summary of the expected proposal:
Gas
Mileage Standards: President Bush will call for a 4 percent a year
increase in CAFE standards while adding significant new loopholes that
would undermine current standards without ensuring an overall increase
in gas mileage. For example, the Secretary of Transportation could just
waive the increase. Another loophole is that automakers could meet
lower standards by making larger vehicles.
Renewable
fuels standard: Current law requires a certain percentage of the
nation's fuels to come from "renewable" sources, a standard that mainly
benefits ethanol. The President will call for expansion of the
definition of renewable fuels to include things like liquid coal, which
is much dirtier with the same gas mileage.
Arctic
drilling: President Bush will again call for drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. Americans have shown again and again that
they do not support Sacrificing a national treasure to save consumers
only a penny per gallon at the pump in twenty years.
Off-shore
drilling: The President he will applaud passage of the off-shore
drilling bill in the last congress, but this offshore drilling measure
is bad energy policy, bad fiscal policy and bad environmental policy.
This does nothing to address our current or future energy needs. There
are better ways than allowing more of the drilling that harms our
shores to finance the important restoration of the Gulf coast wetlands
that have been destroyed by offshore drilling and hurricanes.
Clear
skies: President Bush is likely to again call for passage of the bill,
which would allow double the smog and soot pollution than the existing
Clean Air Act.
NSR:
The Presidents proposal is likely to call the for gutting of new source
review provisions of the Clean Air Act, which would allow the oldest
and dirtiest power plants a lifetime license to pollute.
Just last week, Congress took a good first step to putting us on the
path to a cleaner energy future. The House, as a part of their First
100 Hours agenda, passed a bipartisan bill to cut tax breaks for big
oil companies and invest that money in clean energy technologies, which
will help to ensure our national, economic and environmental security.
Now it's up to Bush to endorse this first step, and take the next steps
for a new energy future.
One of the most significant energy policies that Bush should support to
break our country's oil addiction is a federal renewable energy
standard, which would require our country to get a certain percentage
of our energy from clean, renewable sources, like wind, solar, and
biodiesel. While Governor of Texas, Bush signed a renewable energy
standard into law for the state, and to date, more than 20 states have
passed these standards.
A
renewable energy standard would ensure that we're powering more of our
country on clean, homegrown sources of energy, instead of relying on
importing polluting sources of energy like oil from unstable parts of
the world. The future of our country's environment, public health,
economy, and national security depend on us making a significant change
in our energy sources and policy.
President
Bush should also take meaningful steps improve the fuel economy
performance for cars and trucks by reforming and raising fuel economy
standards for all vehicles. "Breaking our over reliance on oil will
depend on setting strong standards and investing in efficiency, fuel
economy, and renewable energy. Too much is at stake for another false
start and more inadequate miniscule measures."
