Entries in Federal Government (3)
DOE Announces $30.5 Billion in Loan Guarantees, Mostly for Nukes
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 03:48PM 
The U.S.Department of Energy announced Monday that it intends to provide more than $30 billion dollars in loan guarantees for projects that can reduce or sequester air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.
The DOE has structured the new program in a way that ensures that more than two thirds of the support will go to nuclear power facilities and nuclear fuels facilities. Less than one third of the DOE program is devoted to renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The video newscast containing this story is posted here.
Ethanol: DOE Weighs in on "Food Versus Fuel"
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 08:11PM 
The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a response to an inquiry by the Senate Energy Committee on the effect of increased biofuel production on world food prices. The DOE response admits that the food versus fuel issues are complex, and cautions against “hasty judgments” driven by what it calls “agenda driven calculations”. Their report claims that biofuels are responsible for only 8 percent of the 168 percent rise in grain prices since 2004, and cites other factors that can be blamed for the majority of the rise in global food prices, including increased cost of petroleum-based fertilizers, and the use of high-cost petroleum in the harvesting and transportation of food. The DOE contends that without biofuels, the cost of gas would be higher by 25 to 35 cents a gallon, and that biofuels are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and America’s dependence, on foreign oil.
Senate to Debate Lieberman-Warner Bill on Carbon Cap-and-Trade
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 09:24PM 
The U.S. Senate voted Monday to begin debate on a bill that would cap the allowable level of greenhouse gas emissions by electric power producers and other large emitters, then reduce the allowable level of emissions gradually through the year 2050.
The cap-and-trade system for carbon being proposed by the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act is supported by some environmental groups including the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, but anti-nuclear groups are warning that the bill will push the U.S. to develop nuclear power.
The Nuclear Information and Resource Service and several other groups cite a statement made by a staffer from Senator Joe Lieberman’s office, who said the bill represents, “the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States.”
