Secretary of Energy Chu Speaks About Green Technology
In times of national need, history has shown that countries can innovate fast — with enough funding. The government has been able to say “Deliver the goods now, we need them, quickly,” and has seen successful results, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said in a talk today hosted by Stanford University’s Green Alliance for Innovative Action. The classic example: The Manhattan Project. Asked why the Department of Energy doesn’t launch an initiative like the Manhattan Project for green energy technologies, Chu said, well, we should — but the money isn’t there.
“If you look at the amount of funding for that [the Manhattan Project], and the amount of funding to put a man on the moon, it was a huge spike in funding.” For energy technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Chu said, “you still need I think tens of billions of dollars as a minimum per year invested in these technologies and the associated science.” The agency’s base budget, he said, is a far cry from that — just $3 billion. So it’s up to Congress, he said, to allocate more funds.
Chu, a onetime Stanford professor, began his talk with a rundown of the latest climate data and global temperature records. “This is recent data,” he said. “It’s more than a smoking gun. The carbon in the atmosphere is due to humans.” Bottom line, said Chu, “The question is not will the earth warm up, it’s how much will it warm up.”
“We will live in a carbon constrained world. I don’t know when. Five years or 10 years. I hope it’s five years, worldwide. I hope it’s two.”
As for China, he said the country is now “spending over $9 billion a month to diversify and clean up their energy industry.” Noting one particularly pricey green project backed by China’s government, he commented, “A country essentially run by engineers is a good thing. Well, it’s not all good — I’d rather live here. But it has its advantages.”A peak at the Senate's Energy Bill 2010
http://lugar.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=322910
Lugar’s practical Energy and Climate Plan would address the diversity of threats (national security, economic, and environmental) posed by our current energy situation, rather than focusing primarily on climate.
The plan focuses on the cheapest energy savings first – those that will save Americans money and will have minimal fiscal government impact – and it does not attempt to solve everything in a single comprehensive piece of legislation.
Goals:
* Reduce foreign oil dependence
* Save Americans money on their energy bills
* Improve competitiveness
* Diversify and clean-up power sources
Policy outline:
1. Capturing Energy Efficiency
National building performance standard – long-term building codes with continuing improvement guidelines for new residential and commercial construction.
Incentive programs, such as low-interest loans, for retrofits of homes and commercial buildings (Thailand does not have the above programs)Strong energy standards for appliances and lighting
2. Diverse and cleaner electricity sector
Clean Energy Standard – a national mandate for the use of cleaner energy sources that sets guidelines but gives states flexibility, allowing diverse cleaner sources: renewable, nuclear and clean coal with carbon capture & storage.
Enhanced fiscally-responsible federal supports, such as loan guarantees
Early retirement program for the dirtiest coal plants
3. Reducing foreign oil dependence
Long-term, automatically strengthening CAFE standards for cars and trucks
Full implementation of current 36 billion gallon renewable fuels standard
Enhanced domestic oil production (including outer continental shelf) as transition
0 Comments
Recommended Comments