Washington Post reports that the smoke and mirrors program of encouraging energy conservation by consumers is picking up steam. Meanwhile the same report points out

The Energy Department has not kept up with reviews of efficiency standards for residential and commercial appliances that could result in changes that decrease energy consumption. For years, the Energy Department has missed legally mandated deadlines to review a number of efficiency standards and determine whether to strengthen them. The administration is continuing to push for expanding domestic energy supplies by drilling for oil and natural gas in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Makes BushCo's claim that "conservation has long been part of Bush's agenda" ring pretty hollow. Drilling for oil and giving large sums of money to multi-national energy companies "has long been Bush's agenda." During the 2000 election Bush made fun of those funny hybrid cars, his Energy Dept. has failed to do it's legal duty under laws passed by the Congress of the United States, and yet he still claims to have an "energy policy" that includes conservation. Bush with his limited imagination has failed to grasp one of the important lessons of the ongoing hurricane season, which is being dependent on fossil fuels is an economic liability. Real leadership would have seen this five years ago and proposed an energy policy that sought to diversify our energy infrastructure.

Oh, and the same Washington Post article notes that the average family will pay 19% more in energy costs in 2006 than in 2004. I'm not real good at math but that's almost $800. That's roughly half of what Bush claimed "the typical family with two children" would save in taxes under his give away to the rich in 2001. Add increasing college tution at most state schools and you're pretty much back to zero. So much for those tax cuts the middle class and working class didn't really get. All of this is the result of policy choices made by George Bush and the Rubber Stamp Congress--or maybe George Bush is the rubber stamp since he's never vetoed a bill in nearly five years.

posted by Idle Crank at 10/04/2005 01:14:00 AM