February 15, 2008

President Bush's positions on the environment and the development of clean energy technologies have evolved during his seven years office. In his last year, he seems determined to be remembered as a leader who fostered more renewable energy while pushing the traditional fuels to be cleaner.

In his State of the Union address to the nation, the president said that the country would invest $2 billion over three years into a global energy fund to advance new technologies to slow the growth of global warming emissions. Since Bush took office, the federal government has committed nearly $18 billion to research, develop and promote clean and efficient technologies and help get them to market, his office says. The private sector has responded in kind with significant investments, ranging from corporate research and development to the venture capital markets.

January 11, 2008

California is flexing its muscle. It is now suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for preventing it from strengthening its standards for tailpipe emissions in cars.

It's a classic case of whether federal laws should supersede those of the states when the two come into conflict. Typically, conservatives prefer to give localities greater say as they are the ones closer to the communities that will be regulated while liberals tend to like centralized power at the federal level. In this latest test, the opposite is occurring. So, California officials have vowed to challenge the Bush administration's ruling in the federal courts to forge ahead with its tougher air pollution rules.

New Energy Law to Phase Out Today's Common Incandescent Lamps, Probe-Start Metal Halide Ballasts

by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association
Posted January 2008

On December 19, President Bush signed H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, into law.

The legislation is the result of a year-long legislative process that resulted in several modifications before congressional passage in December, and a final product that would receive White House support.

January 7, 2008

For the second time in three years, Congress has passed a comprehensive energy measure that the president has signed into law. The overarching aim is to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. While the bill had bi-partisan support, it has still been criticized by both the right and left as harmful to the economy and giving short shrift to green fuel sources, respectively.

With the blessing of automakers, the new law will increase the minimum fuel-efficiency for passenger vehicles for the first time in 32 years from an average of 25-miles per gallon now to 35-miles per gallon in 2020. That, in turn, could help trim this country's use of foreign oil supplies by 1.1 million per barrels a day that equates to more than half of the oil exported by Kuwait and Venezuela.

12/13/2007 -- The Senate passed energy legislation that would boost fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The measure includes provisions by Senator Bernie Sanders to promote energy efficiency and to train workers for green-collar jobs. “Given the crisis we’re facing in global warming, the passage of this energy bill is an important step forward,” Sanders said. “Much more has to be done in the future, but raising fuel efficiency standards and helping states, cities and towns go forward with energy efficiency and sustainable energy projects will reduce carbon emissions, lower energy costs and create good paying jobs.”

By a one-vote margin, the Senate on Thursday defeated a measure that would have stripped billions of dollars in tax subsidies from oil and gas companies and devoted the money to new renewable sources such as solar and wind. The vote for the provision was 59 to 40, still one vote shy of the 60 needed to end debate and move the bill forward.