10 Steps Bill Clinton Believes the US Government Should Do for a Clean Energy Future
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08.19.08
photo by Theirry via flickr
I find it more than slightly ironic that the National Clean Energy Summit is being held in Las Vegas, a city that on environmental grounds and water usage alone probably should not exist, but nonetheless it’s happening. Yesterday evening Bill Clinton opened the event will a speech which, among other things, outlined what he believes the US government should do to support renewable energy.
At the Federal level these are his recommendations:
And my comments, where warranted, in italics.
1. Pass a price on carbon via a cap-and-trade system.
2. Tax credits to purchasers or producers of clean energy, must have a 6-10 year time frame.
Yes, yes, yes. Current US renewable energy policy is all over the map in terms of time frames. Without consistent long term policy you simply create market uncertainty and stifle investment.
3. Modernize the electrical grid, both its efficiency and its carrying capacity.
This is something which many people have been highlighting recently. If renewable energy, in particular wind power, is to make a dent in fossil fuel usage we need to build the transmission lines to bring it from where it’s most easily generated to where it’s needed.
4. Utility decoupling ought to be mandatory federal policy rather than left to the states.
If this is done Clinton said that if this is done—separating a utility’s profitability from its power output, utility companies will “pursue conservation with the same vigor with which they have pursued new power plants in the past.”
5. Accelerate replacement of incandescent lights with florescent, and raise appliance efficiency standards.
6. Fund research and deployment of carbon capture and sequestration.
While there certainly is wisdom in this, as well as undeniably more research being needed before this is commercially ready, my fear is that it will continue to be dangled in front of the public as something always just on the horizon as the coal industry continues to pollute.
7. Accelerate the move away from corn ethanol to more sustainable biofuels via a "differential tax incentive."
As I’ve said before and will continue to say until we stop opening corn ethanol plants, corn ethanol is a dead end and of limited utility as even an intermediary step towards better biofuels.
8. Implement a national program to shut down all urban landfills and use the organic material for waste heat or fertilizer.
9. Accelerate the shift hybrid electric vehicles and modernize rail networks.
Hear, hear. Especially on the part about modernizing rail networks. Why the United States continuously refuses to expand the railway system of this country, especially in densely populated areas on the coasts, is beyond me.
10. Demonstrate to rest of the world that "this is not an affectation for rich countries," that it's just as big an opportunity for developing countries. This is how we can restore our world reputation.
Clinton Repeats an Important Message
All of these are important, though frankly nothing new in the sense that many people have been recommending similar steps for some time now. Perhaps if these are simply repeated enough times by high profile people we’ll start truly getting somewhere on this.
Part of this shift needs to be a change in outlook and the underlying civic infrastructure. The 10 Steps Towards a Sustainable Future which the Post Carbon Institute put out a little while ago is a good starting point.
via :: Earth2Tech, :: Grist, and :: Platts
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Vegas isn'tt green?
Ahem..it's run on hydropower?
You're just upset about its frivolity.
All spot on. By the way, who attends the National Clean Energy Summit? Are they people who actually have power or influence over national energy policy?
Also, I've been reading about decoupling in CA recently, and I have to say I still don't understand how it works. It's great that it does, but I wish I knew more.
If I remember correctly, Bill Clinton and Al Gore were in power for eight (8) years. Other than speeches, why didn't they implement the changes as decribed above. I really love armchair critics.
Bill must have been too busy with more important matters during his 8 years in office to make any headway on this list. Come to think of it, didn't environmental superstar Al Gore have a government job around the same time? I wonder what they were doing for all those years? Oh, I forgot...it was the Bush administration that caused global warming.
Bill is a little jealous, I think, over all the press that Al Gore gets these days and maybe he figures that environmental activism is a good way to keep the speaker's fees rolling in now Hillary is down-and-out. Honestly, when is this man going away?
Bill was too busy signing NAFTA to worry about the environment.
I always look forward to what the readers have to say, good comments!
Al Gore ran for re-election as the environmental vice-president and thereafter did little or nothing until he was groomed by the spin doctors who probably said" Al this could be a money maker when you leave office and you could alos have a private jet that spews out carbon but we'' lll handle that. So just keep your government job while we set up the business using you as the frontman". And now Bill wants in on the action. Whatabout the eight years they conned the people as environmentalist? If in fact they did.
Why is it that every time one of these top feeders propose a solution to OUR problems it comes in the form of some big massive project that will take decades to accomplish? Not only that it keeps the public, as in you and me, dependent upon their corporations, as in if you can't afford the heating oil then you'll just have to freeze.
T Boone Pickens isn't out to save the world, he just isn't rich enough yet and he sees a chance to capture a significant part of the electricity market and its customers. That would only be profitable if he can keep those customers dependent on his electric company.
I'll give you one guess as to who will foot the bill to modernize and maintain the grid. It won't be the likes of T Boone, it'll fall on our shoulders. I'd rather use my share to put solar panels on my roof and generate my own electricity, thank you!
Recently Bill's been saying that McCain's energy plan makes sense. he needs to realize that some folks are writing this stuff down. If he wants to be taken seriousiously about the U.S. leading the development of renewable clean energy, he needs to stop talking out of both sides of his mouth.
I remember being told all my life that the Teamsters' political clout forced politicians to starve rail transport in favor of roads. Do you recall the loud noises the Teamsters made when containerized shipping started in this country? Only now, when we are in dire financial straits that militate against fortifying the rail infrastructure, is there an interest in doing just that. Look to densely-populated Europe as a model for the Northeast and California. There are empty places where I never imagined there would be settlement in the U.S., such as the Southwest, where there is a golden opportunity to establish or refurbish railbeds. And let's try not to personalize everything that is said by politicians, past and present. The detractors of Messers Clinton and Gore will recall that in 1994 there was something called the "Republican Revolution," with its "Contract *on* America," whose sole purpose was to hamstring the enlightened work of the Clinton Administration. Shame on them.
Rob - Vegas power is provided by an investor owned utility that burns coal and natural gas. That big dam provides hydro power to rural electric utilities, through a federal program established to ensure that rural folks could get affordable electricity. To put it in perspective, The power company that serves Vegas provided 23,000MW of power in 2007. Glen Canyon hydro can produce 1,300MW.
Others - Don't forget that Clinton/Gore had to deal w/ a nasty republican majority in congress. They did not have the "same team" advantage that Bush had when he set energy policy and gutted environmental standards.
Clinton/Gore did try to implement changes, but most people didnt see the urgency back when oil was less than $30 a barrel.
Buildings are easly the largest energy hogs, and all that is mentioned are light bulbs and appliances? We need to think bigger than this laundry list.
Rob - Vegas power is provided by an investor owned utility that burns coal and natural gas. That big dam provides hydro power to rural electric utilities, through a federal program established to ensure that rural folks could get affordable electricity. To put it in perspective, The power company that serves Vegas provided 23,000MW of power in 2007. Glen Canyon hydro can produce 1,300MW.
Others - Don't forget that Clinton/Gore had to deal w/ a nasty republican majority in congress. They did not have the "same team" advantage that Bush had when he set energy policy and gutted environmental standards.
Bill and Al probably had the same problem then that people have now. Every time legislation is proposed it gets debated forever, or watered down till it is useless or forgotten. Control of the White house with total opposition in congress means that nothing goes through without the other parties approval.
Lightbulbs? Seriously? Now, if we talk about changing the entire system of building construction, operation, and maintenance we're on to something.