A bittersweet victory. Now that the elite have moved global warming from myth to fact, Democrats introduced a bill in January to move America away from its oil addiction, an addiction that makes Homer Simpson's Duff Beer binges look responsible.
Seriously. The energy bill signed by President Bush on December 19 does some good for the environment. It also makes strides toward kicking that nasty oil addiction. But the bill visited the dentist before signed into law, and its sharp teeth were dulled down to weak molars.
First, some facts. In 2006, the U.S. gobbled 20.6 million barrels of oil a day, more than any other country in the world. Talk about addiction! Getting the silver metal was China, with 7.3 million barrels a day. Of all that oil the U.S. devoured, 12.2 million of those barrels a day are imported.
Some dealers are making big bucks off this addiction. Take ExxonMobil, a company that broke its own 2005 global record for the corporation that made the biggest annual profit in history: $39.5 billion, yes, $39.5 billion in 2006! In fact, 3 of the 10 Fortune 500 companies of 2006 were oil companies.
So they're not hurting a bit. America's "War on Terrorism" has done more to enrich the pockets of Big Oil than any other time in history. Continued war in Afghanistan and Iraq, mixed with a oil supply close to peaking and more and more countries demanding the black gold has kept the price of oil high. Good for Big Oil, bad for us addicts.
It's good for Big Oil cause, as shown above, they're making a killing in profits. These are the golden days for Big Oil, and who can blame them for being so damn happy. But they weren't always so. By the end of 2001, the price of oil per barrel slid down to about $20. Big Oil felt powerless. Then the tide turned and prices soared to heights never before seen. Every year, the price got higher and higher, and then oil hit $99 a barrel on Nov. 21.
Now for us poor addicts. As the cost of oil rises, so does gas - if one drives. On Dec. 24, 2001, the average price of gas in the U.S. was $1.11/gallon. The same day in 2007, the price jumped to $3.03/gallon. But it doesn't stop there. Almost everything people rely on in this society uses petroleum: the food we eat, the plastic containers and bags we store stuff in, hell, even vitamin capsules. As oil prices rise, so does the cost of all those products relying on oil. And that doesn't even consider the cost to bring, say, produce from the farm to a supermarket near you.
OK, so the U.S is addicted. To make matters worse, there isn't a rehab clinic yet for oil addicted countries to clean up. So the Democratic-controlled Congress decided it was time to at least try and curb that oil itch. They introduced an energy bill that, among other things, would get more bang out of the gas car's use. It would also improve the amount of ethanol (corn-based fuel) produced.
A 1975 law required cars to squeeze 27.5 miles per gallon, and light trucks (which funny enough, includes SUVs) 22.2 miles per gallon. Now, cars and light trucks must hit an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The auto industry didn't like this at first, but the politician that grabbed the most amount of their campaign cash ($104,350) in the 2006 election cycle, John D. Dingell, prodded them to accept it. Thanks John!
But Big Oil wasn't so willing to back down from their complaints. The version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives had two major differences from the one the Senate voted for, and Bush signed. For one, the bill targeted utility companies to move 15 percent of their energy to renewable sources by 2020. That was a no go for the Edison Electric Institute, a utilities lobby group.
Also, Democrats wanted to increase the tax on oil and gas industry, which would have raised about $13 billion for the development of renewable energy (remember, ExxonMobil alone made $39.5 billion in profit in 2006). Another report put the tax figure at $21 billion.
Big Oil was able to destroy parts of the bill due to the delicate majority the Democrats have in the Senate. They called out all their big Republican guns, and their biggest oil lobbyist, President Bush, to put a halt on messing with them. During the 2006 election cycle, the oil and gas industry gave $16.3 million to Republican politicians, about five times as much as they gave to Democrats.
Small victories are better than no victory. The bill will help reduce the U.S. addiction to oil, dropping five million barrels a day by 2030. It does open the door to making a cleaner fuel source, but ethanol is part of another addiction, which is tied to oil more than most think. Relief to the oil addiction will be a 12-step program with no sponsor. But hey, the U.S. can stop using oil when it wants right...right?
3 comments:
Good stuff. Like the 'tude (attitude). You left out an important detail in your bio. You Might want to mention your job as editor-in-chief!
Blog on,
Vicky
You're too soft on this bill. It's a total farce. A standard of only 35 mpg over 12 years is pretty small step and probably something that would have happened anyway. This bill does nothing to encourage or reward necessary innovation. The technology already exists for far better fuel efficiency but it hasn't been mass produced and won't be until there is either significant economic or government pressure.
Also, the bill's proponents' claim that it will save that much fuel don't seem to be taking population and infrastructure growth into account.
Also, the subsidies for ethanol may seem like a good idea, but corn ethanol is, at this point at least, far more expensive and environmentally destructive than ethanol from other sources like sugar cane. And it still produces greenhouse gasses when burned in an engine (albeit fewer of them).
Yes, a small victory our government refuses to let us look beyond, as exemplified most recently here and here.
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