This morning's LA Times focused in like a laser beam on the key points of President Bush most recent speech on energy: Technology Is Key to Bush's Long-Term Energy Plan:
President Bush, under pressure to do something about high energy prices, called Wednesday for new efforts to harness the "transformational power of technology" to wean the United States from its dependence on oil and gas.
In his second major energy policy address in a week, Bush proposed several initiatives he said would help address long-term problems contributing to price increases and constraining energy production.
They include government-provided risk insurance for new nuclear power plants, expanded federal authority to approve liquefied natural gas terminals, possible construction of oil refineries on closed military bases and a new tax break for people who buy diesel-powered cars.
But for the most part, the president expressed a bedrock belief in the ability of the private sector to expand energy supplies and promote conservation, with modest government involvement to start.
"In the years ahead, technology will allow us to create entirely new sources of energy in ways earlier generations could never dream," Bush said. "Technology ... is this nation's ticket to greater energy independence."
I've read the President's remarks and the LA Time got the focus exactly right: technology will save us.
I beg to differ. Innovation is our hope - technology is only one part of that mix.
The speech (and the Administration's policies) are focused mainly on technology for new sources of energy. Missing from the President's speech were the words "information" or "knowledge." There is a lot more that can be done in the area of energy that makes better use of information and knowledge (often through new technology) on both the supply and the demand side. Smart roads that help reduce conjestion (and reduce gasoline waste); new forms of urban design to build places where people can live and works in close proximity with out the long commute; better energy conservation standards (a key form of information). These are just of few of the energy innovations we could pursue.
However,that is not where the Administration is headed. As Business Week puts it, Bush Is Blowing Smoke on Energy
Plenty of evidence indicates that the White House's sudden interest in energy policy is driven far more by politics than substantive policymaking.
. . .
But while the speech's rhetoric was lofty and inspiring, the President's proposals don't match up with the problems they purport to solve. They carefully avoid the politically difficult steps that actually would take America farther down the path of energy independence.
. . .
But the goals of energy efficiency and independence won't be spurred by anything this Administration is currently proposing.
Let's see if the Congress, especially the Senate, can do any better.
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