Anyone want to shoot out any guesses on what Dubyah will be saying about his plan(s) on climate change during the state of the union speech? Might he tie it into the new interest in the topic by some evangelicals? Or is he just manipulating the media? Skifree maintains very low expectations of Bush and his administration.
Jan 14, 2007 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. official on Sunday denied a British newspaper report that President George W. Bush was preparing to announce a dramatic policy shift on global warming in his State of the Union speech this month.
The British newspaper The Observer reported on Sunday that senior Downing Street officials, who were not named, said Bush was preparing to issue a new climate change policy during his annual speech on January 23.
The first will be to confine his remarks to the supply side of the problem.
<
p>
The second will be to conflate energy independence with reducing carbon.
<
p>
The second will be to tout the promise of supply-side technologies with zero chance of making a dent in the carbon problem in the next ten years–such as nuclear hydrogen or various coal fantasification ideas.
<
p>
Guess what: it will turn out that what we are already doing is the best possible course. Maybe with a “surge” on things like arctic drilling.
It’ll be the usual.
<
p> * We have to drill for more gas and more oil because we’re addicted * Clean coal, blah blah blah * Tar sands in Canada, eh? * More free market, less red tape
<
p>
Then, * fuel cells, ignoring that a fuel cell is energy storage and not energy generation * Teensy weensie increases on MPG, with loopholes large enough to drive an SUV or x-ton pickup through * Ethanol, ethanol, ethanol! Don’t mind that even if the nation were 100% ethanol tomorrow, it would only reduce our petroleum consumption by about 5-10% because of all the fuel it requires to plant, grow, harvest, and transport corn, as well as to crack, distill, and transport ethanol.
<
p>
What you won’t hear any positive commentary on are things that are guaranteed to reduce our pollution and/or reliance on foreign autos, like * increasing the fuel tax * decreasing the speed limit on highways back to 55 MPH * feebates based on fuel efficiency * increased CAFE standards * increased gas guzzler tax * dramatic increased spending for Amtrak, including infrastructure to improve its speed and reliability or its comfort * dramatic increased spending for the nation’s subway systems * dramatic increased spending for the nation’s commuter rail systems * dramatic increase in federal highway funding tied to high occupied vehicle lanes * dramatic increase in federal funding for bicycle trails in suburban/urban environments designed for transportation needs