, from former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich to John
Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. So far, seven
governors (four Republicans and three Democrats) have signed on, as have
state legislatures in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Vermont. A list of some
140 supporting organizations ranges from the National Wildlife Federation to
the Texas Farm Bureau to the American Bankers Association.
The public seems to like the idea as well. A
recent poll by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Va., shows that 98
percent see shifting to domestically-produced renewable energy sources as
important for the country with 74 percent agreeing that it is "very
Meanwhile, there are new indications that such
an effort could work. The Worldwatch Institute this week reported that
biofuels can significantly reduce global dependence on oil.
Oil still accounts for more than 96 percent of
transportation fuel use, but biofuel production has doubled since 2001 and it
is poised for even stronger growth as the industry responds to higher fuel
prices and supportive government policies, Worldwatch reported.
The result, the research organization predicts,
is that advanced biofuels could provide 37 percent of US transport fuel
within the next 25 years, and up to 75 percent if automobile fuel economy
Given the rather tortuous history of energy
legislation, translating ambitious goals for renewables into specific
legislation with adequate funding will take considerable political effort.
The six senators and representatives (three Republicans and three Democrats)
who introduced "25x'25" as a national goal Wednesday acknowledged
Meanwhile, the various elements of clean energy
each have their own challenges.
Wind turbines, for example, have sprouted at an
accelerated rate around the country in recent years. But opponents say the
giant bladed towers (some reaching as high as 40 stories) create visual
pollution and can kill bats and migrating birds by the thousands.
As part of a military spending bill, Congress
ordered the Pentagon to study whether wind towers mask radar signals,
allowing small and possibly threatening aircraft to penetrate restricted
As a result, the FAA has blocked new wind farms
that might interfere with military radar, including more than a dozen in the
Last week, the six US Senators from Wisconsin,
Illinois, and North Dakota wrote to Defense Department and FAA officials
asking that the agencies "not unnecessarily obstruct the implementation
of this major source of domestic, clean energy."
"Since much of the nation is in radar line
of site, this interim policy has a sweeping effect," the senators'
letter stated. "Prohibiting, even temporarily, the development of wind
energy facilities within those areas would be a considerable setback for
efforts to increase our country's energy independence."
6) Warning of
Calamities and Hoping for a Change in 'An Inconvenient Truth'
By A. O. SCOTT May 24, 2006 http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/movies/24trut.html?pagewanted=print
CANNES, France, May 23 "An Inconvenient Truth," Davis Guggenheim's
new documentary about the dangers of climate change, is a film that should
never have been made. It is, after all, the job of political leaders and
policymakers to protect against possible future calamities, to respond to the
findings of science and to persuade the public that action must be taken to
protect the common interest.
But when this does not happen and it is hardly a partisan statement to
observe that, in the case of global warming, it
hasn't others must take up the responsibility: filmmakers, activists,
scientists, even retired politicians. That "An Inconvenient Truth"
should not have to exist is a reason to be grateful that it does.
Appearances to the contrary, Mr. Guggenheim's movie is not really about Al Gore. It consists mainly of a
multimedia presentation on climate change that Mr. Gore has given many times
over the last few years, interspersed with interviews and Mr. Gore's voice-over
reflections on his life in and out of politics. His presence is, in some ways,
a distrac