Budget may cut energy research

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

Budget May Cut Energy Research

By Peter Behr, Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 7, 2001; Page E04

Bush administration budget officials have proposed steep cuts in federal research spending on energy-efficiency improvements in buildings, vehicles and appliances, and in solar power and other "renewable" energy sources, according to the programs' congressional and lobbying supporters.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has not decided where to cut his department's fiscal 2002 budget, aides said. The Bush plan calls for a $700 million reduction from this year's $19.7 billion Energy Department spending.

Half of those proposed cuts were aimed at the efficiency and renewable-energy programs, said David Nemtzow, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, which supports these programs. They are currently budgeted at $1.18 billion. "We're looking at cuts of 30 percent or more," he said.

The research is focused on a range of programs, from high-mileage, hybrid motor-vehicle engines and more energy-efficient industrial processes to new building designs that conserve energy. Much of the research on energy savings takes years to have a major impact, so the proposed budget changes wouldn't affect California's current electricity crisis.

"My fear is that [the cuts] are very deep, particularly in the area of renewable-energy research and development," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Bush administration has proposed a $120 million increase in next year's spending to help low-income residents cut their energy costs by improving home weatherization and purchasing more energy-efficient appliances. Funding for this program would grow by $1.4 billion over 10 years under the Bush plan.

An energy-policy task force headed by Vice President Cheney is reviewing policy options for improving energy conservation and promoting renewable energy sources as part of a report due out in mid-April, an administration spokesman noted. Part of that review aims at determining how much energy savings the research has produced.

President Bush has proposed that up to $1.2 billion in revenue from the sale of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be earmarked for renewable-energy research.

Bingaman said that the promise of lease-sale revenue from the refuge -- which would not appear until 2004 at the earliest,assuming that Congress approves the controversial Alaskan project -- would put conservation programs on sharply restricted rations for several years. And if Congress rejects opening the refuge, that funding source would never materialize, he said.

"It's very short-sighted," Bingaman said of the proposal.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

-- Swissrose (cellier3@mindspring.com), March 08, 2001

Answers

The oilman trying to line his own pockets, banana-republic style.

-- Swissrose (cellier3@mindspring.com), March 08, 2001.

URL for the article is http://washingtonpost.com/cgi-bin/search99.pl

-- Vicki (smithfox@mind.net), March 08, 2001.

There's an interesting little thread over on the Downstreamventures board about the worldwide decline in oil production and whether something else can "save us" from an energy collapse. See

http://pub38.ezboard.com/fdownstreamventurespetroleummarkets.showMessa ge?topicID=2483.topic

(and then for hard-core pessimism one can read more at www.dieoff.com ).

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), March 08, 2001.


RE: dieoff
Interesting that they predict TEOCAWKI
without even factoring in Y2K ::::-§

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), March 08, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ