Bush’s phony rhetoric from the State of the Union:

The United States is committed to strengthening our energy security and confronting global climate change, and the best way to meet these goals is for America to continue leading the way toward the development of cleaner and more energy-efficient technology.

His actual energy-efficiency budget, summarized by Environmental and Energy Study Institute Executive Director, Carol Werner, (my previous post on the budget here):

DOE Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy FY09 Budget Cut 27%;
Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program Zeroed Out

In signing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (HR 6, P.L. 110-140) on December 19, 2007, President Bush said the Act makes “a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure.” In his January 28 State of the Union address, President Bush said, “Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions. Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions-free nuclear power…. The United States is committed to strengthening our energy security and confronting global climate change. And the best way to meet these goals is for America to continue leading the way toward the development of cleaner and more energy-efficient technology.”

The funding priorities reflected in the President’s FY 09 budget appear in conflict with the goals of expanding renewable energy development and making the economy more energy efficient. Given the volume of voices and concerns about energy security, the huge bills residential and business consumers face, loss of economic competitiveness, environmental degradation, and rising greenhouse gas emissions, the President’s budget is not consistent with his stated goals. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE/RE) program should play a critical role in reducing energy import dependence while protecting the environment by developing and promoting the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

The President’s FY 09 budget request for DOE’s EE/RE programs is $1.26 billion (five percent of the DOE budget)–essentially flat with the FY 08 budget request and 27 percent below FY 08 appropriations. At the same time, nuclear energy received a $385.5 million increase (37 percent increase from FY 08 appropriations) and fossil energy received a $222.7 million increase (25 percent increase over FY 08 appropriations). Although there is a significant increase for geothermal and increases for biomass and building technology, the funding for DOE’s energy efficiency and renewable energy technology investments includes significant cuts in hydropower technology and tribal energy activities and zeroes out investments in weatherization assistance program grants and the Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI).

The President’s FY 09 budget request includes:

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Even as BMW clean car honchos tour the globe with the Hydrogen 7, the German automaker could be coming to terms with reality. According to Drive, an Australian magazine

The head of BMW’s clean-energy technology, Jochen Schmalholz, says hydrogen-powered cars are still 15 to 20 years away from being on the road “in significant numbers” and revealed the German maker is also working on an electric vehicle.

With only 5 liquid hydrogen filling stations in the world available to fuel the 100 Hydrogen 7s – “Distribution is the biggest hurdle to the hydrogen car,” Schmalholz says – it could be dawning on BMW that it would be better to develop cars for the electric infrastructure already in place around the world.

He says BMW is also working on an electric car but a decision on production is yet to be made.

“We will only bring this [electric car] if it makes sense,” he says. “At the moment we are not really convinced it will work for BMW. But if it makes commercial sense and it makes sense to our customers, then we will do it.”

Let BMW know.

– Marc G: Plugs and Cars Blog

Climate Conference Ends Without Targets – AP. That would be Bush’s climate “conference,” and the only appropriate comment on the headline is “Duh!”

Carbon trading must be globally regulated – The Telegraph (UK). Bring on the black (carbon) helicopters!

UK’s CO2 emissions fall 0.5% – The Press Association. Cool Britannia!

High Oil Prices Boost Energy Efficiency – Report - Reuters. “High oil prices have spurred countries to use energy more efficiently, a report by an energy industry group said, but the authors say concerted government action is still needed to encourage less waste.” I’m gonna give this a “Duh!” also. That said, the piece has interesting factoids:

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It has not been a good year so far for King Coal, Big Oil and whatever nickname we give to the nuclear energy industry.

Two weeks ago, TIME reported that nuclear plants in the southeastern U.S. may be forced to cut power production or temporarily shut down later this year because the year-long drought has left too little water to cool the reactors.

There already has been one drought-related shutdown in Alabama. And while officials aren’t yet predicting brownouts, utilities will be forced to buy expensive replacement power from other places, leading to “shockingly high electric bills for millions of southerners.”

Unfortunately, the southeast is precisely where the nuclear energy industry has been looking as the best location for new power plants, in part because they believe there is less public resistance there. We’ll see how the public feels when those “shockingly high electric bills” arrive in the mail.

The south’s problems are not unique. The Associated Press reports that 24 of the nation’s 104 nukes are in areas experiencing the most severe drought.

Then came an e-mail from the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell to his staff, predicting that the production of conventional oil supplies won’t be able to keep pace with world demand after 2015 — a mere seven years from now.

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