by H. Josef Hebert
17-11-05
Efforts to stem America's appetite for oil,
nearly two-thirds of it imported, is getting new attention in Congress with a
push from an unusual coalition of environmentalists, evangelical Christians and
conservatives.
The diverse groups are putting pressure on lawmakers to find ways to curtail oil
use, especially in transportation, and to promote alternative fuels and new
technologies less dependent on fossil fuels.
Environmentalists view reduced oil use as a way to curtail pollution and
lower the risk of climate change. A number of conservatives and others argue the
dependence on oil imports poses a security threat. Both liberal Democrats and
conservative Republicans in Congress are listening.
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation they said would save 2.5 mm
barrels of oil a day within a decade and 10 mm bpd by 2031. The country now uses
a little over 20 mm barrels of oil a day, most of it for transportation.
"Failure to act, we fear, will make America like a pitiful giant, tied down
and subject to the whims of small countries," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.,
calling US dependence on foreign oil a national security risk.
The legislation would include tax breaks, as much as 35 %, and loan guarantees
to get automakers to switch from producing gas guzzlers to gas-electric hybrids,
advanced diesel or other alternative technologies. It also includes new tax
breaks for those who buy such vehicles for car fleets, and incentives for
developing alternative fuels such as ethanol from cellulosic biomass, research
into use of lightweight material in cars, and the promotion of mass transit
corridors.
Among those joining Lieberman and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., as co-sponsors were
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and GOP Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Lindsay Graham
of South Carolina, and Norm Coleman of Minnesota.
"This is a bipartisan effort," Brownback said. "This is just good common sense.
This is where the public wants us to go. They want us to not be so dependent on
foreign oil."
Earlier this year, Democrats tried to include a provision in a broad energy
bill that later was signed into law by President Bush, which called on the
president to develop programs that would cut oil consumption by 1 mm bpd. It was
opposed by the GOP majority and defeated.
"That was seen as a mandate," said Brownback, who opposed the measure. The new
approach is based on incentives to reduce oil consumption, he said.
Among those supporting the new Senate initiative are environmentalists such
as the Natural Resources Defence Council and the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of
labour and environmental groups. But they have been joined by mix of
neo-conservatives and members of the Christian right who view the country's
continued dependence on foreign oil -- especially from volatile areas such as
the Middle East -- as a threat to the nation's security, and in the view of
some, American values.
Among those arguing forcefully that the country's dependence on foreign oil
poses a security risk are former CIA Director James Woolsey and Robert
McFarlane, former national security adviser to President Reagan.
A number of conservatives have formed a coalition called Set America Free
which advocates a diversification of motor fuels, development of more
fuel-efficient cars and trucks and increased research into the development of
ethanol from cellulosic biomass.
Among the group's members are Gary Bauer, president of American Values; Frank
Gaffney of the Centre for Security Policy, and Gal Luft, director of the
Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.
Source: Dow Jones