Letter to the Editor . . . July 2005The president's rhetoric today (6/23/05) on energy independence does not match reality. It'll take a lot more than hot air from Washington to make America energy independent. The corporate feeding frenzy in Washington has spoiled any hope for energy independence from dangerous foreign oil. President Bush's energy bill would make things worse for everyday people who work hard to make ends meet. This bill increases the price of gas and protects the profits of the oil industry. President Bush says he wants to increase energy independence, but his 2006 budget cuts homegrown biofuels. Bush's 2006 budget:
• cuts $18.3 million in industrial energy efficiency (-24.5 %)
• cuts $15.9 million in biomass (-18.1 %)
• cuts $7.5 million in building energy efficiency (-11.5 %)
• cuts $4.4 million in hydropower (-89.7 %)
• cuts $3.8 million in distributed energy resources (-6.3 %
• cuts $2.0 million in geothermal technology (-7.8 %)
• cuts $1.1 million in solar energy (-1.3 %)
The Republican energy policy was drafted behind closed doors by Washington lobbyists working for big energy companies. That's why less than 6 percent of the bill's $8 billion in tax incentives would be invested in renewable energy and efficiency programs. $7.5 billion of it would be used by mature and profitable energy corporations.
Please share this information with others at The Light Connection and stay tuned for more from the Campaign for America's Future's Apollo Alliance, which has a plan to create energy independence from foreign energy sources in 10 years. The Apollo Alliance believes that we must rejuvenate our nation's economy by creating a new generation of American jobs.
Toby Chaudhuri
Communications Director, Campaign for America's Future
www.apolloalliance.org and www.ourfuture.org
We welcome your letters and contributions, please email them to
The Light Connection
HOME - FEATURES - NEWS - FROM THE PUBLISHER
LETTERS - COLUMNS - MUSIC REVIEWS - BOOK REVIEWS
PLANETARY CYCLES - CALENDAR - ABOUT TLC - CONTACT US
CLASSIFIEDS - RESOURCE DIRECTORY
ARCHIVES - SUBSCRIBE - ADVERTISE - SEARCH