Tuesday, 23 January 2007
Bush on Energy and Alternative Fuels
One of the low points of President Bush's state of the union was when he meandered into the area of "alternative fuels". During this segment I couldn't tell the difference between him and the liberals who run Congress.
It is in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply -- and the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power -- by even greater use of clean coal technology ... solar and wind energy ... and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol -- using everything from wood chips, to grasses, to agricultural wastes.
We have made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies in Washington and the strong response of the market. Now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next ten years -- thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.
To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 -- this is nearly five times the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks -- and conserve up to eight and a half billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.
While I agree that it is on our vital interest to diversify American's energy supply, I don't think the government should play any part in the process. Let's let the "free market" determine what alternative fuels should be used. Adam Smith teaches us that we must use the scarce resources that are given us to create goods that people want at the price they are willing to pay. By doing so, the raw resources are turned into something more valuable than their natural state. Any disruptions to the natural market creates a waste of these resources. By requiring "mandatory standards" and "government backed proposals", we are artificially valuing resources and propping up technologies that could not stand on their own merits. In the process we are not only wasting resources, but we are wasting the taxpayers money.
Only when we get out of the way and let the free market work can we find truly innovative and cost effective alternative fuels. For some reason, I don't see Congress and this president pursuing this avenue. They are too busy finding ways for government to solve the problems instead of removing impediments for this countries citizens to find solutions.
