Can Senator Merkley's Energy Intervention Break Our Addiction to Oil?

While many greens (you know who you are) are mourning the death of the cap and renewable energy standard as announced by Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Merkley (D-OR) is carrying the flame of energy legislation with his Oil Independence for a Stronger America Act.

The big prize -- economy-wide carbon reduction legislation -- is dead in the Senate, quite possibly for the foreseeable future.  Can we address energy in a
significant way without one?  Merkley's plan is focused on getting off foreign oil, which "come[s] from nations that too often do not share our goals or values."

Merkley's Plan B -- including deploying electric vehicles, shifting freight from trucks to rail and ramping up natural gas -- could reduce our dependence on oil by eight million barrels per day by the year 2030 in his own best estimates.  But US demand for oil is expected to hit 27.6 million barrels per day by that year, giving us about a 28% decrease in oil use, less than what some experts think is necessary. 

LISTEN to Merkley's proposal:

React to Merkley's plan.  Let us know what you think at Planet Forward.

 

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Comments

[research]

12:58 PM on 08/13/2010

yet another bad plan.

Natural gas is in short supply, Fracked environmentally disastrous gas is what is in "surplus"

Save money, cut the deficit, employ everyone, cut energy dependence:

Immediately order energy retrofits for all gov buildings.

Rooftop PV Solar, Offshore wind, and Waste Bio char, can supply the worlds energy and fuel needs: cleanly, safely, Forever, within 12 years and cheaper in the long run 2-6 cents now, and 26$ per barrel bio oils.

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm
about 1$ per Wp solar panels, new.

install solar plants for about $1.30 per watt, compared with an industry average of about $1.75, according to Hardy." http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=a7K1FZoNgJ0w

Wind: “between two and six cents today, depending on location.12 Wind power approaches competitiveness with conventional generation at this price point. “

http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/wind%20issue%20brief_FINAL.pdf

http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/publ/BiofBioproBioref%203,%20547-562,%202009%20Laird.pdf

26$ per barrel bio oil from waste bio char.

[aligatorhardt]

10:16 AM on 08/13/2010

Why does Congress have to over complicate everything? Can we just stop giving government handouts to the coal companies and instead spend the money on clean power? If the costs of using fossil fuels was not supported by federal funds the cost of new energy along with the freedom from fuel would be enough to make the investment worthwhile. How about making public the true cost of using coal and oil that is hidden in military costs and health costs, which are a burden on the whole of society, regardless of the fuel we use personally?