Not Much Energy in This Energy Plan

That is the early consensus on the energy policy elements of the President's State of the Union speech.  No specifics to cap carbon and reverse with global warming, modest increases in fuel standards, but no plan to deal with the 80% of emissions that don't come from passenger vehicles, and no specifics on how to balance the economics and environmental impact of alternative fuels. 

And much of what the President proposed is duplicitous:

  • 20% reduction in gas usage in 10 years, actually means 20% less then projected levels, not 20% less than usage today.  That means gasoline consumption would actually increase slightly - not as ambitious as it sounded in the SOTU.
  • Bush's fuel economy standard increases would actually lead to more gas guzzling vehicles being sold, by moving from fleet average standards to individual vehicle standards. 
  • When the President talks about alternative energy, he is really playing to coal producers who want to start producing liquid coal as a fuel - liquid coal that releases twice as much carbon into the atmosphere as gasoline.

The lesson, as NDN has argued, is that what the President, and so many conservatives in his mold, are good at is politics, not governing.  Real leadership on energy and tackling the catastrophic threat of global warming will come from progressive thinkers, regardless of party, who are ready to move beyond the cynical half-measures of the current Administration.