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‘More Than We’ve Ever Done’
It seems like there are serious goals but no concrete plan for how this technology might pan out. Isn't that a pretty big gamble?
Yes. It is a gamble, but the alternative is to continue to import more oil from overseas. There's some gamble in that too. The hope is that we can begin a process to wean ourselves off more foreign imports of oil.
What happens if the U.S. can't meet these goals or they don't produce the hoped-for results?
It depends. If we can't meet the goals in any particular year then we can adjust the requirement. If it turns out the use of biofuels doesn't prove to be a valid way to offset our need for petroleum products then we would have to put more emphasis on something else like plug-in hybrids. The truth is we are trying to move ahead in the various areas where we think technology will provide us with solutions. At this point, we don't know what will prove to me the most useful.
You said this Act would help America "be more secure in the face of uncertain world energy markets." What else has to be done in the next session and into the next presidency?
We need to continue to diversify our sources of energy. We have to make serious progress in developing plug-in hybrid technology and proliferating that so that much of our transportation needs can be met with electric power instead of petroleum products. We're also going to have to find ways to transition our whole electricity sector to production of more power from clean energy sources.
If the U.S. meets these biofuel goals, that will aid in cutting roughly 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that some scientists say must be eliminated by 2030. Is that enough?
There is no way we're doing enough with this law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it is a significant step in beginning to reduce them. There are a lot of other things we need to do as well. A lot of greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings and coal-fired power plants. We do very little in this legislation to deal with that. So there's a lot we're not addressing. I think these are significant steps, but they're not anywhere near the level of effort bound to be required to beat the problem scientists have defined. On the other hand, this is more than we've ever done.
© 2007
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Member Comments
Posted By: five10man @ 04/19/2008 11:34:01 PM
Comment: It is a shame that "reporting" is done like this, where Ms. Ramirez says that "X is true, therefore what do you think, Senator?" rather than telling us, for instance, about how much it would cost to convert the non-flex-fuel vehicles to run on E85 (less than $300 if the dealer makes a packet on each one.) With this sort of writing, we are left to assume that Ms. Ramirez is an expert in the subject of flex-fuel vehicles, and is competent to quiz the senator and to inform us.
Posted By: Froggie76 @ 01/03/2008 2:06:18 AM
Comment: You definitely need to check your "facts" about ozone level depletions. Have some humility and intellectual honesty to check here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion
Global Warming and Ice Age are misnomer for the real events. Climate Change is not.
Depending on the regions and the seasons, areas will suffer increase alterations in climatic events (ie increased drought or rainfall occurences). Coupled with the endangerment of coastal areas (up to 100km inland from sea) due to sea levels rise and atmospheric pressures (wind currents), which directly affects over 60% of the world population, you have serious food for thoughts (action would be even better).
And please stop this nonsense about the sun. The sun is expected to run out of combustible (hydrogen) in over 5 billion years. 5 000 000 000 years !!!!!!! This current climate change cycle is starting to gather irreversible strength for the next 50 to 200 years. Enough to affect your children or grandchildren for their ENTIRE lives !!
Best regards,
Posted By: Mwalimu @ 12/30/2007 12:32:03 AM
Comment: For research, everyone should read Growing Fuel in the October, 2007 edition of National Geographic. Yes global warming is real. Currently the carbon dioxide is at 380 parts per million, we are increasing that ratio by about 2 parts per million each year. 450 parts per million is the Doomsday threshold - And remember this does not include nitrous oxide, or methane, which is currently being released in record portions from melting permafrost in Siberia. Do the math. Unless we do something drastic, the planet has only about 30 to 35 years to live.
According to National Geographic, ethanol from corn is the least effective and least efficient means of an alternative fuel. Switch grass has more promise and does not complete with food crops, or the current ecological destruction that agricultural corporations are wreaking on the planet. Even more promising is algae, which can been grown by capturing the carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants. This is already being done in Dunkirk, New York by GreenFuel technology. (Check out the MNBC website.) The new energy bill is only a start, but we still need to do a lot more. For those who keep claiming that global warming is some sort of leftist plot to destroy America, I???ve one question to ask. What state of denial are you in? It took the Catholic Church hundreds of years to finally accept Copernicus??? theory as scientific fact,.albeit Copernicus himself was a Catholic monk. This time around we don???t have a hundred years.