New Year’s celebrations are past. Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa leftovers have been eaten. Thanksgiving and Halloween are distant memories. The holiday season is finally over. The new year, with all its new uncertainties, begins in earnest.
First out of the chute, the U.S. Senate will be turning its attention to America’s energy needs, with a critical vote on a Senate energy bill expected in mid-February.
The Senate energy debate will swirl around the bill introduced in December by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). The National Energy Security Bill, S. 1766, is a huge improvement over the plan proposed by President Bush and the bill passed by the House of Representatives in August.
The Daschle bill is on the right track because it recognizes that our energy policy must protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other special places, plus help curb global warming and reduce America's oil dependence. The bill creates a strong framework to accomplish these key things, and move us to a cleaner, safer, more secure energy future.
However, some key elements have been left blank, to be filled in later.
For example, the bill calls for improvements in automobile fuel economy, but doesn't say how much of an improvement should be made. We need to make sure that there is a loud chorus of support for a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 40 mpg for cars, light trucks and SUVs by 2010.
Another fill-in-the-blank deals with tax subsidies for new energy technologies. The bill doesn't say yet how much or which technologies and industries will benefit. We need to make sure our tax dollars support clean, renewable technologies like solar and wind power, and don't subsidize nuclear power or so-called “clean coal,” which is anything but.
The Senate bill calls for 10 percent of our electricity to be provided by new renewable energy sources by 2020, but studies by the Union of Concerned Scientists show that we can achieve 20 percent.
And please be sure to tell your Senators to reject any and all amendments to drill the Arctic Refuge.
Clearly, our voices are needed now. Please take a minute to write a letter to your Senators. You can use the sample letter below as a starting point.
Or go to the Club’s new Take Action Web site at https://tioga.sierraclub.org/action/actionindex.jsp and send an e-mail or fax alert to your Senators. Add your voice to the growing chorus for a cleaner, safer, more secure energy future.
Sample letter to either Senator Carnahan [or Bond]:
Dear Senator Carnahan [Bond]:
The Senate energy bill, introduced in December by Senators Daschle and Bingaman, is a significant improvement to the backward-looking bill passed by the House. The Senate bill would increase federal research and development for energy efficiency to more than $1 billion per year by 2006, and mandate higher efficiency for appliances. It also recognizes that a sound energy policy must protect special places like the Arctic Refuge and help curb global warming.
This bill is a strong framework. However, more is needed. The Senate bill requires that 10 percent of our electricity be provided by clean, renewable energy by 2020, but studies show that we can achieve 20 percent. It also calls for improved fuel economy and tax benefits for energy technologies, but does not yet specify how much. The Senate should require a CAFE standard of 40 mpg for cars, light trucks and SUVs by 2010, and should support clean renewable energy, not nuclear power or fossil fuels.
And please reject any amendments to drill the Arctic Refuge.
Sincerely,