It looks like our old friend Henry "Nostrilitis" Waxman is at it again, this time assisted by Virginia's own Tom Davis (R-11). The two sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates demanding to know to what extent the Defense Department is -- Are you sitting down? This is shocking! -- experimenting with coal-to-liquid fuels! The letter cites a new law called "The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007" (which means President Bush must have signed it) a 310-page law (at least in PDF form) which is larded up with all kinds of interesting provisions. The one of interest today is here, according to Waxman and Davis:
No Federal agency shall enter into a contract for procurement of an alternative or
synthetic fuel, including a fuel produced from nonconventional petroleum sources, for
any mobility-related use, other than for research or testing, unless the contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production
and combustion of the fuel supplied under the contract must, on an ongoing basis, be less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel produced from conventional petroleum sources.
Ain't that grand? So given all the hoopla about getting rid of our dependence on foreign energy sources, placing blame for high energy prices, or complaining about military readiness, or whining about the economy and loss of jobs, the global warming junk science is of paramount importance! It all goes to show you how for the leftists, any declarations about their caring for the military are crocodile tears.
Now an argument can be made that the Federal government already funds too much research, and the private sector can do it all more cheaply and effectively. However, this is a case in which the government is also picking its winning technologies. Did it occur to these people that the economy will be able to sort this out? My guess is that even our Defense Department labs will figure out all this fuel effectiveness much better than the corn-ethanol boosters who have ruled the roost on Capitol Hill for oh, the past three decades or more.
I knew that the Democrats are into all kinds of rationing, but I presumed that it was just to be at the expense of poor peons like you and me. Who knew that they would go this far? The bigger question is, why do Republicans go along with all this?
