Bush Is Blowing Smoke on Energy (BusinessWeek)

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Bush Is Blowing Smoke on Energy

By John Carey
2 hours, 22 minutes ago

n Apr. 27,

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"Our dependence on foreign energy is like a foreign tax on the American people," he declared in a speech to a gathering of small-business owners and entrepreneurs in Washington. What the country needs is "a national strategy," Bush said. "And the most important component of our strategy is to recognize the transformational power of technology. By harnessing the power of technology, we're going to be able to grow our economy, protect our environment, and achieve greater energy independence."


Powerful sentiments, indeed. But the words are largely hollow. Sadly, the plan Bush proposed would do little to increase existing supplies of oil, gas, or electricity, or decrease domestic demand for energy --the two steps that would really make a difference. Charges Frank O'Donnell, head of Clean Air Watch, a Washington-based environmental group: "The new Presidential energy plan seems mainly to be a public-relations stunt aimed at trying to reverse some of the latest polls, which show a growing public discontent with high gas prices -- and the President."


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LOW PRIORITY.

Of course, environmentalists such as O'Donnell can usually be counted on to bash GOP policies. But in this case the criticism is deserved. Plenty of evidence indicates that the White House's sudden interest in energy policy is driven far more by politics than substantive policymaking.

To understand why, recall the last Presidential election. Democratic candidate John Kerry struck a nerve when he called for reducing American dependence on Middle Eastern oil, saying that "we should rely in American ingenuity and not the Saudi Royal family."

Yet, Kerry failed to turn energy into a significant policy issue in the race. And the White House learned a lesson: You can score political points by talking about energy policy -- without ever needing to follow through. It has been widely reported that Vice-President Dick Cheney privately told top Washington energy-policy wonks after the 2004 election that the Administration would put the issue low on its priority list for 2005.




more......

http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20050428/bs_bw/nf200504289012db045;_ylt=Al1y.jL.fqVCXEaJncyGUfqyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

of the water by his own party for his pains. Jimmy was also
the last President EVER to walk among the people (his inaugural)
unafraid.

When he came to my small town to be a speaker at graduation, he stopped his car right in the middle of town and got out to speak to people and shake hands. There was NO screening of the crowd, of any kind.

Although I did not like everything about him, he was
honestly elected twice, and did not hide from the people.

... for research and development into all alternative fuels? $1.7B a year is peanuts.

How about a significant amount of money to develop and promote Thermal Depolymerization, a technology which (by all accounts so far) can produce clean, cheap fuel from nearly ANY waste product?

How about an Apollo-style program to REALLY gain energy independence.

It's completely do-able. It just takes political and financial committment... and the latter would only be a fraction of what the Iraq War has cost so far.

LOL! "environmentalists" have been trying to wake everybody up for decades, since Reagan lulled everybody back to sleep after Carter. But now they'll throw us a bone, and say "OK, just this once, maybe you're right."

Fuck you very much, "liberal" media.

eom

Can't wait for tonight's fruit n' hoot.

I wouldn't buy a used toaster at a garage sale from Bush, much less a plan regarding energy.