how bad does it have to get, again

sheer, utter, blind folly. shame, shame, shame.

Curbs on fossil fuel consumption killed
Action in Congress on energy measure

Carl Hulse, New York Times

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Washington -- Working furiously to try to strike a deal on broad energy legislation, congressional negotiators Monday killed two major provisions intended to curb consumption of traditional fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal.

House members rejected an effort to incorporate a plan passed by the Senate to require utilities to use more renewable energy such as wind and solar power to generate electricity. They also defeated a bid to direct the president to find ways to cut the nation's appetite for oil by a million barrels a day.

Backers of the initiative to identify the oil savings said it was an alternative to the politically difficult approach of increasing automotive gas mileage standards and would demonstrate that Congress was serious about cutting the nation's dependence on oil imports.
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