ENERGY BILL: U.S. ENERGY FUTURE AT STAKE

This is an elegantly stated wish list to which NewEnergyNews assents wholeheartedly. The conference process, however, requires compromise. This Times editorial is a lot like Lyndon Johnson grabbing a colleague's lapels and saying, "Listen, here!" Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi don't have that luxury.

Testing Time on Energy
Editorial, September 3, 2007 (NY Times)

WHO
NY Times editorial board

Demand is only going in one direction. The question: What kind of supply will we leave to the next generation?

WHAT
Anticipating the House-Senate conference process coming up this month to reconcile the very different energy bills passed earlier in the year, the Times’ describes 5 points it insists must be in the final legislation sent to the president’s desk.

WHEN
The Times recalls the 2005 conference process in which the Senate lost 3 very important provisions and the final legislation was inadequate.

WHERE
The conference process is an ongoing negotiation between leaders of the 2 bodies. It concerns only the fate of America’s energy future.

The square in the center of the frame that says "Conference Committee" is where we are. It's black -- hopefully not like in "black hole." (click to enlarge)


WHY
The conference process must combine the best points of 2 very different bills without compromising away what is good just because the deal-making is difficult.

The items on the Times’ “must-have” list for the compromise legislation:
1. Fuel efficiency – the Senate’s version. 35mpg by 2020 for cars and light trucks.
2. Renewable electricity – 15% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
3. Taxing Big Oil – following the House standard of $16 billion shifted to develop alternative fuels and protecting western lands from exploitation.
4. Alternative fuels – incentivizing biofuels, especially cellulosic ethanol, is good but must not come at the expense of other environmental degradation.
5. Energy efficiency & emissions control – as passed by both bodies earlier.

These lines had been level for so long nobody thought Senator Feinstein could turn them up again but she did. Now can she take it the last steps?

QUOTES
Times: “Even if a great bill emerges, it cannot and should not be seen as a substitute for comprehensive climate change legislation that puts a stiff price on carbon and drives major new investments in the cleaner technologies we will need to really get a handle on global warming. This issue will not be fully joined until later in the session. In the meantime, though, a good energy bill would help slow greenhouse gas emissions, provide some of the tools we will need to fight the larger battle and set the stage for bolder measures down the road.”