And even the WALL STREET JOURNAL AGREES with me. I am not going to reprint the whole article here because it is 5 pages long but the synopsis is that Bush has had a new “fuel” source per year since he announced that the USA is addicted to oil. 2 years ago Hydrogen was gonna be our savior. Now its switchgrass ethanol. Fact is it takes the political WILL to implement new clean energy advances and political will is something the Bush administration has but not GOODWILL.
http://www.iogen.ca/news_events/iogen_news/2006_02_02_addiction_treatment.pdf
The Wall Street Journal
Addiction Treatment
Bush’s Latest Energy Solution,
Like its Forebears, Faces Hurdles
Fuel from ‘Cellulosic Ethanol’ Is Costly, Hard to Dispense;
Broad Political Support, Enthusiasm From Detroit
By JOHN J. FIALKA and JEFFREY BALL
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 2, 2006; Page A1
With oil prices stuck at more than $60 a barrel, President Bush is touting “cellulosic ethanol” as a 21st-century
panacea for the U.S.’s addiction to oil. In his State of the Union address Tuesday, Mr. Bush said energy made from
“wood chips, stalks or switch grass” could be available at gas pumps in six years and could supply nearly a third of
the fuel needed to keep Americans on the road.
The plan is the latest in a long line of promises from Washington to back new forms of alternative energy, going
back to President Carter’s promotion of synthetic fuels. It offers some intriguing new technology and the possibility
of widespread support from environmentalists, farmers and auto makers.
Like earlier promises, most of which failed, Mr. Bush’s surprise promotion of cellulosic ethanol also faces huge
hurdles. For one, the budget-constrained White House is offering little money to back up its rhetoric: just $150
million next year, hardly enough to revolutionize a multibillion dollar energy market.
The fuel also faces distribution problems and a lack of properly equipped vehicles. And an unpopular gas tax might
well be needed to make ethanol a competitively priced product at the pump.
The proposal marks a switch in emphasis for a politically weakened president. The administration previously has
said the route to energy independence lay in encouraging domestic oil and gas drilling, including opening the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. Such proposals, which have repeatedly died in
Congress amid bitter political wrangles, were notably absent in this year’s
speech.
By contrast, cellulosic ethanol can draw support from a surprisingly diverse
political coalition. Scientists, investors and policy makers say it is increasingly
viable to make fuel from farm waste, also known as “biomass.” For one, it is
cheaper than corn-based ethanol, the fuel that has been a heavily subsidized
favorite in Washington. Private-sector investors — from Virgin mogul Richard
Branson to Canada’s Iogen Corp. — are putting money into the concept in hopes
of seeing an ethanol boom in the U.S. similar to one in Brazil.
Environmentalists like the idea because burning the fuel doesn’t pollute as much
as conventional gasoline. Defense hawks, notably Reagan Secretary of State
George P. Shultz and Clinton Central Intelligence Agency Director James
Woolsey, promote it as a way to boost national security. Struggling U.S. auto
companies like it because they have a competitive advantage over the Japanese
on so-called flexible-fuel vehicles that can switch between gasoline and
alternatives.
And because the fuel can be made from a wide range of agricultural products, it draws backing from a
geographically diverse range of politicians, from New York Republican Gov. George Pataki to a bipartisan group
of elected officials in California. The fuel is even popular in farm states such as Iowa that tout conventional cornbased
ethanol, since it can make heavy use of corn stalks.
Many experts say conservation or a gas tax is the best way to dent import demand. Mr. Bush has rejected these
approaches as conflicting with his free-market bent and has preferred throughout his term to focus on new drilling
and new technologies. The White House estimates the president has provided $10 billion in spending on new
energy technologies since taking office in 2001.
Beyond ethanol, Mr. Bush’s new “Advanced Energy Initiative” includes spending for research on hydrogen cars and
hybrid-car batteries that can be recharged overnight, as well as money for solar and wind energy. His grand goal, as
he stated in his national address, is “to replace more than 75% of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.”
Significant Departure
That would mark a significant departure from the future the government now predicts.
OH I am sorry…not a lie, its a significant departure…I will have to remember that, … a significant departure..
