This is why we need a few more Democratic senators. Republican senators threatened to filibuster the hugely important energy bill moving through Congress if certain taxes on oil companies weren't removed. The effort to override the filibuster failed by one vote (you need 60).
So, to get the bill passed, the tax provisions were stripped out, denuding the bill. Among the provisions ditched--extension of a very modest tax credit for homeowners who install solar power.
What do we get now? A pretty crummy bill, unless some of the stripped out provisions can be restored in conference (the House bill has the taxes). Yes, we finally get a modest increase in fuel economy standards. We get a slight improvement in appliance efficiency--which would probably occur anyway, with higher fuel and electricity prices. And a huge boost in biofuels--a waste of subsidies on farmers that will only increase food prices without appreciably reducing global warming.
Meanwhile, U.S. representatives at the Bali conference on global warming are holding up any progress on new limits, thereby providing cover for China, India, Brazil and other developing countries to object to limits as well.
How many more days until we get a new President and a new Congress?
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Sometimes more is less. The less we have in the energy bill, the better.
If you want to reduce the use of fossil fuels, then advocate a tax on the consumption of fossil fuels. The solution is simple, and it forces industry to consider viable alternatives.
We have a bunch of lawyers in Congress. There is no reason to believe these people will ever identify the best alternatives to fossil fuels. What they will identify is the best contributors to their political campaigns. When we let politicians engineer a complicated bill, all they do is waste and give away our money.
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