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CFR task force urges integration of U.S. energy policy and foreign policy (video and transcript)
Monica Trauzzi, E&E TV
As lawmakers struggle to determine the most effective ways to curb the United States’ “addiction” to oil, concern over how energy dependence plays into national security is mounting. As a result, the Council on Foreign Relations created an independent task force to examine this issue. During today’s OnPoint, task force member Phillip Sharp discusses the report, “National Security Consequences of U.S. Oil Dependency.” He gives recommendations of how the United States can handle China’s growing energy demands and discusses the need to integrate foreign policy and energy policy. Sharp also addresses the importance of implementing alternative fuels, efficient vehicles and developing offshore drilling in order to help ease energy dependence.
(24 Oct 2006)
A more efficient US? Energy agency prods only a bit.
Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor
After a six-year delay, the Energy Department proposes standards so moderate that even some firms complain.
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Under pressure to find new ways to save energy, the US Department of Energy is speeding adoption of new efficiency standards for devices ranging from pool heaters to microwave ovens. President Bush is apparently on board, too, pushing the need for energy conservation in a speech earlier this month.
That’s good news for energy advocates and states that have sued DOE for lagging years behind schedule on new appliance standards, which could curb the nation’s rising appetite for electricity.
But in the three standards it has proposed itself, the department has set a far lower bar than efficiency advocates had wanted. Two of the standards are so low that even some industry officials are complaining. Earlier this month, DOE surprised nearly everyone by nixing on technical grounds a proposal for home boilers backed by industry and consumer groups.
…Such moves are causing many observers – from efficiency advocates to members of Congress – to question how deeply DOE is committed to energy efficiency, despite Mr. Bush’s rhetoric.
(24 Oct 2006)
UK ‘has squandered oil revenues’
BBC
The UK’s North Sea oil and gas reserves are much reduced
The government has been accused of “squandering” the windfalls of the country’s now dwindling North Sea oil and gas reserves.
Income from these sources should have been better invested in renewable energy, says a report by the New Economics Foundation and the WWF.
It also claims that ÂŁ1 in every ÂŁ12 of government income comes from oil or gas, making it “hooked” on the fuels.
(22 Oct 2006)
