Going green is the answer to high gas prices
U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards/NNPA Special Commentary
Issue date: 7/13/08 Section: Politics
When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before the Economic Club of Chicago in 2006, he foreshadowed "the days of persistently cheap oil and natural gas prices are likely behind us."
Two years later as the price of oil surpasses $140 a barrel, the chairman's prediction appears to be increasingly accurate. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's efforts to address the crisis included simply a series of short-sighted remedies such as attempting to persuade Middle East oil producers to increase supply, subsidizing big oil companies through tax breaks, and pushing for leasing millions of additional acres of federal and protected lands to oil companies for exploration and drilling for fossil fuels.
These efforts have achieved no significant effect, with gas prices rising 250 percent since the day President Bush took office, leading to $4.09/gallon and costing the average American over $1,250 dollars more per year for gasoline since 2001.
And while the Democrats in Congress take this country in a new direction when it comes to our energy future, they are blocked at every turn by the oil barons and their friends in the White House and on Capitol Hill.
But now more than ever, there is no doubt that much of our nation's future prosperity depends on a sound, multi-faceted energy policy that weans our nation off of oil, promotes research and development of renewable energy, and eventually eliminates the harmful emissions that contribute to global warming.
Recently, Congress took important steps in leading our country in a new direction by passing two important bills. The first, Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act of 2008 (SEPTA), will help fight rising energy costs by providing grants to mass transit authorities to reduce public transit fares, expand transit services and assist with escalating operating costs.
In the Washington, DC, metropolitan region alone, SEPTA will provide $57.3 million dollars in federal funding for public transportation. The second bill, the Energy Markets Emergency Act, directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority and emergency powers to limit excessive speculation in energy futures markets which many believe is contributing to a rise in cost that has little to do with the traditional relationship of supply and demand and a lot to do with greed.
Two years later as the price of oil surpasses $140 a barrel, the chairman's prediction appears to be increasingly accurate. Unfortunately, the Bush administration's efforts to address the crisis included simply a series of short-sighted remedies such as attempting to persuade Middle East oil producers to increase supply, subsidizing big oil companies through tax breaks, and pushing for leasing millions of additional acres of federal and protected lands to oil companies for exploration and drilling for fossil fuels.
These efforts have achieved no significant effect, with gas prices rising 250 percent since the day President Bush took office, leading to $4.09/gallon and costing the average American over $1,250 dollars more per year for gasoline since 2001.
And while the Democrats in Congress take this country in a new direction when it comes to our energy future, they are blocked at every turn by the oil barons and their friends in the White House and on Capitol Hill.
But now more than ever, there is no doubt that much of our nation's future prosperity depends on a sound, multi-faceted energy policy that weans our nation off of oil, promotes research and development of renewable energy, and eventually eliminates the harmful emissions that contribute to global warming.
Recently, Congress took important steps in leading our country in a new direction by passing two important bills. The first, Saving Energy through Public Transportation Act of 2008 (SEPTA), will help fight rising energy costs by providing grants to mass transit authorities to reduce public transit fares, expand transit services and assist with escalating operating costs.
In the Washington, DC, metropolitan region alone, SEPTA will provide $57.3 million dollars in federal funding for public transportation. The second bill, the Energy Markets Emergency Act, directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority and emergency powers to limit excessive speculation in energy futures markets which many believe is contributing to a rise in cost that has little to do with the traditional relationship of supply and demand and a lot to do with greed.
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