From the Salt Lake Tribune - read more here...
Bush's budget enables America's oil addiction
Much has been made of President Bush's State of the Union commitment to reduce oil imports from the Middle East. With his budget request this week, the president had a perfect opportunity to put his money where his mouth was during that speech. Instead, he chose to slash funding for essential energy efficiency programs, prolonging our nation's painful addiction to oil and other fossil fuels.
In his recent address to the nation, Bush unveiled his "Advanced Energy Initiative," promising supposedly new support for clean energy research. He forgot to mention that this funding was actually authorized in the energy bill that he signed six months ago, at levels far greater than any spending proposed in his new budget.
Requested funding for alternative fuels, for instance, is roughly $50 million less than that earlier legislation authorizes. And increased spending on some renewable energy programs comes at the expense of others, as the president completely eliminated funding for geothermal energy, which the Department of Energy calls "one of the cleanest sources of electricity available."
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