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Energy bill H.R.6 was passed and signed into law by president Bush in December 2007. The bill seeks to establish a comprehensive energy plan for the United States. The bill is aimed at addressing multiple problems facing the country.

• The dependence on foreign sources for our energy needs which puts the country in a vulnerable position where national security is concerned.
• The global problem of climate change, of which the United States is one of the largest contributors.
• The depletion of world energy resources.
• The U.S. consumes approximately 25% of the worlds oil production yet estimates are that only 2 to 4 percent of the remaining oil reserves are located within the United States.
• The bill also addresses green job creation.

H.R.6 stresses conservation as an important part of the energy plan. It also contains tax incentives and funding for studies and research and development in many areas.

Those areas of R&D include:

• increasing vehicle fuel economy
• improved vehicle technologies
• increasing production of bio fuels
• improved appliance and lighting efficiency
• energy efficiency in buildings and industry
• concentrating solar power
• geothermal energy
• marine and hydro kinetic energy
• carbon capture and sequestration
• training and creation of green jobs
• and support for foreign countries in developing and implementing clean energy

A year later what has it accomplished?

On the surface it doesn’t appear that much has been accomplish over the past year. We have to hope that much has taken place behind the scenes and that at the very least a ground work has been established for the future.

The recent economic melt down and the presidential election have completely over shadowed most other events. For the bill to be successful it requires the leadership and involvement of the president. We must now wait until the new administration takes office to see how involved President Obama will be.

With all the problems facing us we have to hope that the president and congress will look beyond the economic crisis and see that the H.R.6 can be part of the solution.

What is the positive and negative fallout of this bill?

The attempt of the bill is to improve the nations security and improve the lives of the citizens of the U.S. and the by addressing climate change and promoting sustainability. On the positive side some groups such as Greenpeace have come out in favor of the bill. Surprisingly a large group of auto workers and dealers split from the industry and supported the 35 mpg by 2020 fuel efficiency standard.

However there are those that stand to lose from the bills passage.

The auto industry argued the fuel efficiency standards were too high and would be difficult or impossible to meet. Do the electric power companies, the oil companies, and coal companies really want to sell less of their products? Of course not!

Others applaud the effort but don’t feel that the bill goes far enough.

How could we change or improve upon this bill to better prepare the US for a switch to alternative energy?

H.R.6 has the possibility to address all areas of concern.

Solar Energy

One of the best possible renewable energy sources, concentrated solar, was addresses in the bill. The down side to concentrated solar is the need to not only produce enough energy during the day, but also to store enough energy for night time generation. This is also addressed in the bill.

Algae Fuel

Fuel from algae, another very promising technology, received little or no mention in the bill. It needs to have major attention put on it.

Research has shown that the oil derived from the algae is practically identical to the crude oil currently being pumped. Under the right conditions algae grows at a phenomenal rate. It can then be made into all the products we currently use including diesel and gasoline.

Algae fuel is carbon neutral or actually carbon negative because the carbon put into the fuel is taken from the air. Since 100% of the carbon can not be extracted into the fuel some of it remains locked up in the byproducts of the process. All fuel produced in this way, and stored for future use, is sequestering that carbon until used.

Change Requires a Large Scale Effort

The effort we need to put towards environmental protection and utilizing renewable energy, is enormous. This effort would create thousands of green jobs. There is no one single answer, but with conservation, more efficient vehicles, and other technologies, this could be a major part of the answer.

The next year could very well be a historic one. We will either begin to do the right things and begin creating a sustainable world or we will fail to do so. We are now facing what some believe to be the largest crisis ever to face mankind.

Please be a part of the good cause by doing what you can do to be renewable and sustainable. Pick up all manner of fluorescent lighting today at your Energy Superstore.

Written by Fluorescent Efficiency
Energy Efficient Compact Fluorescent Lighting
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