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• Provide federal risk insurance for nuclear plant builders, so that they don't bear the costs of delays in licensing new plants.
• Encourage building of new refineries on closed military bases and ease regulatory "burdens" to speed construction.
• Drill for more oil and gas at home, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
• Spend $1.7 billion over five years to develop hydrogen-powered cars.
• Expand the tax credits for hybrid cars to clean-diesel vehicles as well.
Give the feds more power to site new liquefied natural gas terminals (LNG).
Promote clean coal and nuclear power around the world.
Nothing is wrong with any of these ideas, although there's widespread -- and legitimate -- opposition to drilling in the ANWR. Even many environmental groups now reluctantly agree that clean-coal plants and advanced nuclear reactors are part of the solution to tomorrow's energy problems. Additional refining capacity would prevent the spot shortages that, in the past, have sent gasoline prices soaring in parts of the country.
REALITY AVOIDANCE
More LNG ports would bring additional natural gas to the nation. Clean-diesel cars would increase the average mileage of America's cars. And if anyone ever figures out how to actually produce enough hydrogen, fuel-cell cars do offer advantages.
But while the speech's rhetoric was lofty and inspiring, the President's proposals don't match up with the problems they purport to solve. They carefully avoid the politically difficult steps that actually would take America farther down the path of energy independence.
Take nuclear power. Safer new designs promise a reliable, relatively inexpensive source of electricity that doesn't contribute to global warming. But potential licensing delays aren't the big hurdle. In fact, the industry is already preparing applications seeking approval for new designs, so that when a good business case for new plants exists, utilities will be ready to go.
MORE MILEAGE NEEDED
A much bigger problem: not having a place to put the radioactive waste. "We won't have a new generation of nuclear plants unless the government keeps its 50-year old promise of waste disposal," said John W. Rowe, chairman and CEO of Exelon (EXC ), a major nuclear utility, in a recent speech. But the waste issue is a political hot potato, so Bush steered clear of it. The truth is, what he did propose will do little to spur the development of new nuclear plants.
Similarly, Bush avoided the politically difficult -- but crucial -- steps on all the other issues, too. For example, energy experts agree the single-most effective way to cut oil dependency is to make cars and trucks -- which account for more than 60% of America's oil consumption -- more fuel-efficient. "You have to start with higher miles per gallon," says Robert E. Ebel, chairman of the energy program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Washington (D.C.) think tank. That means mandating higher fuel economy standards or taking similar politically courageous steps.
Extending tax credits for diesel cars is mere tinkering around the edges. And hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars are largely a pipedream for now.
FOLLOWING A SCRIPT?
Want to take a real step to prevent gasoline shortages and keep a lid on energy prices? Easing regulations on refineries may sound good. But the Administration could make things truly easier for refineries by requiring that the nation use just one blend of fuel, instead of the current dozens that various states require. Of course, that wouldn't be a hit in many of the red states, which currently don't use the cleanest-burning fuels. It would be a bold step that would make a real difference, however.
Want to increase supplies of oil and gas? Instead of drilling in the ANWR or adding a few LNG ports, Bush could open up areas like the Gulf coast of Florida or the Rocky Mountains, which has a 60-year supply of natural gas, to exploration and drilling. But that wouldn't be popular in Florida, where his brother Jeb is governor, or in some of the Western states that are strong Bush country.
The President's failure to propose any meaningful solutions, while claiming to "do the right thing for America" makes it hard not to conclude that the Administration's main goal is not energy independence, but rather improving its standing the polls. Indeed, what's most striking about Bush's Apr. 27 speech is how closely it follows the script
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