1. Uncle Sam's Energy Strategy.
- Author
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Walker, Tim
- Subjects
- *
ENERGY policy , *PETROLEUM industry , *GOVERNMENT policy on energy consumption , *SUSTAINABLE development , *GOVERNMENT policy on renewable energy sources , *ENERGY conservation - Abstract
The article examines efforts by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Congress in 1991 to formulate and enact major energy legislation. In outlining his goals, Bush argued that a successful energy policy should neither slow economic growth nor derail "the successful policy of market reliance" that governs the production and distribution of energy. Many energy analysts fear Bush's strategy will not avert a future energy crisis because it tilts too heavily toward promoting existing energy sources and technologies, such as oil and nuclear power, while all but ignoring the role that "end-use" measures, such as conservation and energy efficiency, might play in securing a stable and sustainable energy future. In March, Bush sent to Congress the National Energy Strategy Act of 1991, a bill that includes provisions of his energy strategy that require changes in law. While energy analysts are not yet willing to forecast what policy changes will emerge after Congress concludes its infighting, dealing and compromising, the resulting national energy strategy is widely expected to have a dramatic effect on most, if not all, sectors of energy use. Currently renewable energy sources supply only about 8 percent of the U.S. energy demand, but a March 1990 Department of Energy report calculates that by doubling or tripling renewable energy research and development, these sources could meet 40 percent of U.S. energy demands by the year 2030. The bill would also set up a fund to finance energy-efficiency improvements in federal buildings and would direct the government to install energy-efficiency devices that pay back their cost through energy savings in less than 10 years. INSET: Feds accused of energy waste..
- Published
- 1991
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