NPR: FactWatch: Energy and Climate Change

FactWatch: Energy and Climate Change

From the speech:
"Last year, I asked you to pass legislation to reduce oil consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together we should take the next steps. Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions. Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions-free nuclear power. Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future."

Analysis
The legislation President Bush is talking about is the new energy law, passed last December. It probably did more for the climate than anything the White House has conferred its blessing to: it raised fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks for the first time in 32 years. It failed on other counts, such as extending tax breaks for wind and solar power, however. Clean coal has been a familiar favorite of this White House, since the U.S. is rich with coal reserves. The biggest item on this count is Futuregen, a project to build a model coal-fired electricity plant that captures climate-warming carbon dioxide. It's late, over budget and stalled by paperwork hurdles at the Environmental Protection Agency. As for renewable fuels, the White House has pressed hard every year to demand more biofuels, mostly from corn to make ethanol that replaces gas in cars. That policy has succeeded in getting more ethanol into pumps, but the increased demand has also raised the price of corn. President Bush has encouraged scientists to learn how to make ethanol from other feedstocks, like prairie grass. That technology is several years in the future.

- Christopher Joyce

9:25 PM ET | 01-28-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

B. never wanted the CAFE standards passed and clearly still opposes lowering of oil consumption by new fuel economy standards. Is this just an underhanded way of taking some credit for Congress new CAFE standards?

Sent by Vijay | 10:08 PM ET | 01-28-2008

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