tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post3007937029567334932..comments2007-06-26T10:09:55.581-07:00Jesse Jenkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-90988254525733027792007-06-26T10:09:00.000-07:002007-06-26T10:09:00.000-07:00Thanks for the link Heiko. As far as Geoffrey's take on the tax package proposal that would shift subsidies from the oil and gas industry to support clean energy, I disagree with his fundamental assumption: that we're talking about <I>taxing</I> the oil industry for the sake of clean energy industries.<BR/><BR/>The proposals are not about <I>taxing</I> the oil industry, but about removing <I>unnecessary tax breaks</I> current lavished upon the oil industry. No one (at least outside of California!) is proposing a 'severance tax' on the oil industry. <BR/><BR/>Even President Bush has publicly stated that when oil prices are over ~$55/bbl, the subsidies currently provided to the oil industry are not necessary to incent oil exploration and production - the profit motive is strong enough already! Oil industry execs have also testified before the Senate to that effect (albeit reluctantly), at least according to my Senator, Ron Wyden (D-OR). <BR/><BR/>The subsidies given to the oil industry - tax breaks, depreciation, loans, cheap royalty fees for production on public lands, etc. - are a relic of another time, a time when incenting oil production was necessary and in the nation's best interests. In the current age of <A HREF="http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/" REL="nofollow">$65/bbl oil</A>, these subsidies are no longer necessary, and we should think about where our money could be better spent.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, there is a growing consensus that it is time to end America's oil addiction and get a handle on the climate crisis, and it's time to recognize that we can't drill our way out of these problems. While expanding domestic oil production - something that the market should incent on its own, given current oil prices - would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil in the short term, it will only continue a pattern of addiction to depleting fossil fuels that exacerbate the climate crisis. <BR/>Instead, we should focus on solving these problems through an investment in clean, renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and other clean energy technologies which offer a sustainable, long-term solution to both our oil addiction and the climate crisis. <BR/><BR/>I would certainly support funding the clean energy tax package through a couple cent/gallon gasoline tax, as Geoffrey proposes, or another funding source, but it also makes perfect sense to me to reflect our shifting priorities and the changing times by shifting existing federal subsidies that go to the fossil fuel industries to support developing clean energy industries instead.<BR/><BR/>Why raise taxes when we have a readily available and no longer necessary pot of money already in our energy budget?<BR/><BR/>Geoffrey writes, "Getting oil companies to pay for alternative energy sounds like a smart and popular notion," before calling into question this notion. But noone's talking about making oil companies pay for alternative energy. The subsidies we currently give the oil industry is <I>our money</I>, taxpaying citizens' money, and if it no longer makes sense to give it to the oil industry, or it now makes more sense to give it to clean energy industries, then that is our - or Congress' - prerogative. <BR/><BR/>In the end, Exxon won't miss the money that much!WattHeadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297127385884430247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-87631314560875608362007-06-26T07:40:00.000-07:002007-06-26T07:40:00.000-07:00http://energyoutlook.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>You might be interested in Geoffrey Styles' take on it. <BR/><BR/>Basically, he's saying that if the renewable incentives are such a good idea, why do we need to finance them by taxing oil companies? <BR/><BR/>He thinks an extra 2 cents per gallon in gasoline taxes would be a much better idea.Heikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06839810379331430109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15306282.post-79208141231426426932007-06-24T12:45:00.000-07:002007-06-24T12:45:00.000-07:00Great, comprehensive report on this important stepping stone in Congress. Keep up the good work. I check your blog often, as I am sure many other people do to. <BR/><BR/>By the way, I am not sure if you have been to my site recently, but I decided to start a blog myself, completely motivated by you. I also started on a new article on easy ways people can take big action with the Government.<BR/><BR/>Keep up the good work.Stevewww.missionenvironment.comnoreply@blogger.com