State of the Union response by
Environment Michigan
President Bush has finally responded to what the public
already knows: global warming is a huge crisis that we must respond to
immediately. Bush’s support of a 20%
reduction in oil consumption within ten years is a lofty goal but is full of
dirty details. The President’s proposal has
loopholes big enough to drive a Hummer through.
His call for a 4% a year increase in CAFE standards comes
with significant new loopholes that will undermine current standards without
ensuring an overall increase in gas mileage.
Had President Bush increased the fuel economy of cars and SUVs to 40
miles per gallon by 2012 when he took office in 2001 – which the National
Academy of Sciences says is possible over the next 10 years – we would have
consumed 500,000 barrels of oil less per day in 2006, and saved $8.7 billion at
the pump.
In the 2006 State of the Union, President Bush acknowledged
that “America
is addicted to oil.” However his
previous actions and this new plan fail to help break our dependence on
oil. In fact, he is increasing our
reliance on oil by his support for measures that further our dependence on it –
such as the offshore oil drilling bill he signed into law at the end of 2006
and his continued determination to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge.
The United
States can reduce global warming pollution
using energy efficiency and renewable energy and in so doing also break our
reliance on fossil fuels, enhance our long-term economic and national security,
and once again lead the world as a positive force for change.
Michigan
sits at the forefront of this battle. As
a state that is home to the automobile industry and the highest unemployment
rate in the country, we can either stand in the way or lead the way to a
cleaner more secure energy future that creates job and moves us away from dirty
non-renewable energy sources.
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