The Time is Now? Congress Moves on the Environment
Environmentalists have been waiting a long time for this: a sea change in the environment and energy debate. A new Congress and a worried public have helped create the conditions for new regulations, and Democrats have promised change -- but what will those changes be?
The general population seems more concerned about gasses that trap the heat of the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere - called greenhouse gasses. (Note Al Gore’s guest-of-honor status at the Academy Awards this year.) and even industry is ready to cooperate. (G.E. and DuPont are ready to cut their emissions by as much as 80 percent by 2050.)
Of course, global warming is a global problem. Other nations - like China - are competing with the U.S. for resources and contributing significantly to the pollution problem. Congress must reach beyond U.S. borders to resolve this crisis.
So, what are the policy options in Congress?
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CAFÉ passé? (return to top)
Although many legislators are in favor of controlling car emissions, some are saying that such standards represent an old-fashioned way of thinking.
Car makers don’t want to be required to change their engines to be more efficient. Top executives from Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and Toyota recently met with the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, and they argued that tightening fuel efficiency or CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards will do little to stop global warming.
This point is arguable, with energy experts and legislators coming to different conclusions about the importance of automobile fuel efficiency - most environmentalists are in favor of tighter controls.
While car makers have said they will resist any efforts to strengthen CAFE, they have agreed to support broader carbon regulations. The executives didn’t promise support of any particular legislation, but they did tell the subcommittee that they were in favor of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Current policy options: energy efficiency (return to top)
- Now that the Democrats control Congress, they say they want to build on to the 2005 energy law and make efficiency a key piece of the puzzle. But what do they mean by efficiency?
Efficient energy is energy that doesn’t require a lot of non-renewable fuel or produce a lot of waste. Legislators are mulling over a measure that would require electric and natural gas utilities to create more consumer-oriented efficiency programs.
- Policy that focuses on the consumer through tax credits and incentives: In the Senate, Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, is leading a bipartisan group that wants to create and extend various tax credits and incentives to boost energy efficiency in vehicles, homes, and office buildings.
More specifically, the bill would give homeowners a tax credit of up to $4,000 for making their homes more efficient. It would also extend through 2012 the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. A companion House bill was introduced last week.
- Policy that focuses on the energy provider: Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that compliments Snowe’s. Bingaman’s bill would require major electric utilities to provide 15 percent of their power through renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by 2020.
Global warming in the House (return to top)
New speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (California), has created a bipartisan global warming panel. Democrats in favor of the panel say it proves the party is confronting global warming. Some Republicans are questioning the panel’s validity and expense.
The two-year, $3.7 million panel does not have legislative power, but will investigate the problems of global warming in order to make policy recommendations to committees who do have jurisdiction over the relevant issues, such as the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
For more on this debate, click here
What it takes
According to the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, addressing the issue will require more than one strategy and willingness to change:
- a fundamental shift from industries based on traditional burning of fossil fuels to one based on less wasteful energy production, generation, and use - thereby creating new jobs.
- increased use of low-carbon energy (wind power, solar power, etc.).
- capture and storage underground of carbon from fossil fuels.
- adaptation to the changes that are already taking place. (Cultural and legal acceptance of new energy technologies.)
What do you think?
What do you think Congress should be doing about energy and the environment? How important is energy efficiency? Is a panel on global warming worth the money? What do you think of fuel efficiency standards for cars?
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Article Posted on: 3/27/2007
