Porky's II: Back to the Energy?
From the Green Car Congress, the recent Republican refinery bill will blow money on this:
To their credit, it also addresses these problems:
They do realize that these steps may lead to a decrease in the price of fuel, completely undermining the attempt to encourage car- and van-pooling, don't they? These guys do.
Finally, they had to add on these proofs of their own stupidity:
And could someone please define "gouging" to me in a way that is specific enough that not everyone would be guilty, and also in a way that everyone would be guilty if they were actually doing it? One definition I heard proposed was that anyone lifting their price more than 10% about the regional average is a gouger. Under that definition, if everyone tripled their prices, nobody would be guilty of gouging.
Meanwhile, not to be outdone on the pork barrel spending, or perhaps complete lack of math appreciation, Sen. Lieberman proposes that we require 30% of all cars sold be hybrids or "alternative fuels" models within 3 years. Um, Sen. Lieberman, the best anyone is predicting they can do by 2010 is between 3% and 7% (for a roundup of forecasts, see here). That includes the ability to design, test, troubleshoot, and fabricate cars, their assessment of fuel prices between now and then, and their ability to do these things as Totoya increases its market share. Meanwhile, Toyota is building them just as fast as they can, but you idiots think that incentives will make them come out faster. Furthermore, the faster you introduce hybrids, the faster we drop the price of oil.
Look, fellas. Leave it alone. We have the more expensive gasoline that every good environmentalist always wanted (not as expensive as they wanted it, but at least more expensive). This will encourage the steps everyone wanted. SUV sales have cratered. Toyota, Honda, and Ford are all selling hybrids. VW and Mercedes are selling turbodiesels. Biodiesel is competitive. Heck, bicycle sales are up. The market works; please don't screw it up.
Directs the DOE secretary to establish and to carry out a program to encourage the use of carpooling and vanpooling to reduce the consumption of gasoline.
To their credit, it also addresses these problems:
- Cuts the number of "boutique fuels"--i.e., different blends mandated by regional regulation or sold to specific markets--from 19 to 6.
- Encourages the construction of new refineries to increase supply by streamlining siting procedures; providing regulatory risk insurance for refiners; mandating the siting of three refineries on designated federal lands; authorizing the president to enter into a contact to have a refinery permitted, constructed and operated to make petroleum products for military consumption; and removing a number of regulatory barriers.
- Promotes new pipelines by altering siting requirements for pipelines and for pipeline expansions.
They do realize that these steps may lead to a decrease in the price of fuel, completely undermining the attempt to encourage car- and van-pooling, don't they? These guys do.
Finally, they had to add on these proofs of their own stupidity:
-
Outlaws price gouging in gasoline or diesel sales.
-
Permits the DOE secretary to sell petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to finance construction of the additional capacity needed to fill the SPR to 1 billion barrels.
And could someone please define "gouging" to me in a way that is specific enough that not everyone would be guilty, and also in a way that everyone would be guilty if they were actually doing it? One definition I heard proposed was that anyone lifting their price more than 10% about the regional average is a gouger. Under that definition, if everyone tripled their prices, nobody would be guilty of gouging.
Meanwhile, not to be outdone on the pork barrel spending, or perhaps complete lack of math appreciation, Sen. Lieberman proposes that we require 30% of all cars sold be hybrids or "alternative fuels" models within 3 years. Um, Sen. Lieberman, the best anyone is predicting they can do by 2010 is between 3% and 7% (for a roundup of forecasts, see here). That includes the ability to design, test, troubleshoot, and fabricate cars, their assessment of fuel prices between now and then, and their ability to do these things as Totoya increases its market share. Meanwhile, Toyota is building them just as fast as they can, but you idiots think that incentives will make them come out faster. Furthermore, the faster you introduce hybrids, the faster we drop the price of oil.
Look, fellas. Leave it alone. We have the more expensive gasoline that every good environmentalist always wanted (not as expensive as they wanted it, but at least more expensive). This will encourage the steps everyone wanted. SUV sales have cratered. Toyota, Honda, and Ford are all selling hybrids. VW and Mercedes are selling turbodiesels. Biodiesel is competitive. Heck, bicycle sales are up. The market works; please don't screw it up.
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