The Energy and Climate Week Show: Gore wants to get out of the fossil fuels in ten years, Bush still quickly grab a few environmental protection barriers and enjoy the local energy companies for the gas price at a high level.
If the process has operated such a lousy policy, such as the still-reigning US Prassident George Bush in the last eight years, then it is not surprising that expectations are high. Only right when the new is charismatic like Barack Hussein Obama, who seems to be the personalized correlation for many US and other worldburger.
About the miles to-do list, which Obama will work out, hundreds of articles have been written in the last week, and never lacked a reference to the enormous problems of energy supply and greenhouse gas emissions. In this area, as no other country has sabotaged the international negotiation process in the last 18 years and at the same time further enhanced the already high emissions.
Al Gores Apollo program
One of the Item is the former Vice Prasident Al Gore, who had been involved in the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in the Japanese City of the same name in 1997 in 1997. To give prospect of the approval of the congress dominated at the time of republicans for ratification, he had clearly scraped the contract. It still did not use anything. The US is the only rough industrialization that has not yet deposited a ratification certificate at the UN in New York today.
Meanwhile, Al Gore is again private man, freed from the forefront of the political machine and can travel as a climate missionary through the country. As such, he has gross expectations of the new US prasident. After a report by the Guardian he called on Friday on the "Web 2.0 Summit" In San Francisco, that Obama as one of his first official acts should lead the transition to a 100% supply by renewable energy carriers in the way.
Obama had promised in the election campaign to invest 150 billion US dollars in renewable energy operators in the next ten years. Like Gore on his speech on Friday he speaks of one "Apollo program" and wants to create fun millions of new workplaces in the next few years. In his program, among other things, support for building renovation and the expansion of the renewable energy carrier, but in a pace, which is clearly behind Gores influences ambitious demands.
Gore got for his reputation for the conversion of energy supply jerking from the tips of the US IT industry, which had gathered on the congress. On the topics, which was discussed, obedience also the aspirations to make computer and internet industry gruner and use more alternative energy.
In the New York Times Gore has concretized his ideas on Sunday: the funds for the solution of the climate crisis are also the same, with which the economic crisis can be fixed and the problem of safe energy supply can be solved. At the time of John F. Kennedy Integrated Apollo Program, he demonstrates that the enthusiastic momentum of the Obama election campaign in a huge effort surrendered, which converts the US supply to 100 percent renewable energy carrier in ten years.
Graphic: NRL
Gore suggests the following 5-point program:
- Prasident and Congress introduce a rough program that creates incentives for the construction of solar thermal carves in the sudwest of the West States and wind farms in a strap of Texas to Dakota. Also Erdarm power plants are on Gores Wishlist. At the beginning of the year, in the US magazine Scientific American, three authors sketched a plan, as the US could overfore a solar age.
- The electric network is balkanced and electricity trap causes the company’s elevation losses of $ 120 billion. For 400 billion US dollars, however, could "Intelligent network" to be created, which was able to transport the electricity from the rural regions where he is generated into the city consumption centers and, on the other hand, supplies the consumer with the information for a possible efficient use of energy. Gore obviously thinks of DC voltage earth cable, which can transport electricity over long distances with comparatively low loss.
- Hybrid cars, which also have an electric motor in addition to the combustion, should help stabilize the network in which they serve as a power store during parking and charged low power consumption at times. The automotive industry, including innovative new companies, should get aid to develop these cars.
- Around 40 percent of CO2 emissions in the US, so Gore, from the area of building air conditioning. A renovation program can therefore avoid significant amounts of greenhouse gases and could be coupled at the same time with a utility for imprisonment of mortgage owners.
- The US should import emissions trading and use that the next year in Copenhagen a new climate protection agreement is signed. This should set a global highest limit for greenhouse gas emissions, and create incentives for rapid reduction, including the fast reduction of deforestation.
Ancien regime
Meanwhile, the Bush government wants to let out the Saute in the last few weeks of its term of office, if you can believe a report of the Seattle Times. Accordingly, the degradation of a whole series of restrictions is planned for power plants, coal degradation as well as ol- and gas requirement. However, hurry is commanded, because in some cases, a 60-day period is valid before the new regulations come into force.
Due to the general raw material boom, there are alone in the neighborhood of the Grand Canyon "thousands" Induction on raid, writes the newspaper. Some of it may not be pursued for the time being for the time being for the time being, but probably one should not rely on it. In any case, the Bush government also liked in a three-miles zone in a three-miles zone around the natural monument to the degradation of uranium. Environmental groups fired, radioactive material can be reached in the Colorado, which serves Riverwarts as a drinking water supplier.
Even in another case, it’s about mining. In the appalaches, coal companies have reached to go to the search for the black stone no longer battles and digsts into the mountains, but simply blow them away. Accordingly, resistance to this form of massive environmental destruction has been formed in the mountainous region. Now Bush’s Ministry of Interior plans to eliminate one of the longest restrictions. So far, no open pit may be operated at a distance of 100 FUB (30.48 meters) of natural water running unless it can be ensured that the water quality is preserved. This rule from the responance time should be deleted. She had no longer been considered since the 1990s. In the future, companies have only been justified, which is why pollution had not been avoided.
Two ordinances that are due to change affect power plants. Thus, the limits for old power plants were changed from ordinary emissions to commitment, whereby they could run more days a year. In addition, the construction of power plants should be facilitated near nature reserves. In the US, more coal-fired power plants are in planning than in Germany. But there is also a lot of resistance in the population in the population. Obama, however, seems to prepare for it, immediately after taking office, many of Bush’s maws are again rapidly. Of up to 200 regulations is the speech. The Prasident Konne has a whole series of things without consent to lead, says Obama consultant John Podesta. "And I think the prasident would make use of it to restore the feelings that the country works for the common good." It obviously also has that Obama prepares itself to re-comply with restrictions on olf demand in nature reserves, which Bush could relax in the last few months.
Gas prices are still high
Meanwhile, consumers continue to stood in this country under high energy prices. Gasoline and diesel have become cheaper, Heineol has climbed down from his annual high of almost a Euro per liter back to a good 70 cents / liters and thus returned to the (high) level of last winter, but the gas price seems to be completely unused.
From 1995 to 2006, the gas price has risen by around 100 percent, but that was far from conclusion. In September 2008, he was another 30.9 percent of the previous year’s level, can be found in the youngest monthly report of the Federal Statistical Office. This has not changed so far. Last week, various companies have explored the gas again for January or February again.
The reason for the rapid increase in prices is partly in the development in the Erdol market. In the delivery coating with the Russian and Norwegian companies that provide Germany, the gas price is coupled to the Roholkreis, on a six months averaged average value. Accordingly, however, the natural gas has already been cheaper, because the Roholpreis has set a rapid descent since the summer. Although the black gold with $ 60 per barrel for the variety WTi (around 57 USD for Brent) is still not really cheap, but has more than halved to the summer highest stands more than halved.
For Hans-Kurt Hill, Energy Political Speaker of the Left Faction in the Bundestag, the pricing is therefore a case for the Bundeskartellamt. He ames that natural gas in Germany is over-controlled by about 20 percent, he exults against Telepolis.