Published on Thursday, October 18, 2001 by the Inter Press Service 
More Than 100 Environmental Organizations Propose ''Clean Energy Blueprint''
Fight Over Arctic Refuge Intensifies
by Danielle Knight 
 
WASHINGTON - Political maneuvering in the Senate is intensifying over U.S.
administration plans to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
President George W. Bush and labor organizations are casting the issue as
important to national security in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks.

Bush's energy plan - of which the arctic drilling proposal is a part, along
with increased investment in fossil fuels and nuclear energy - aims to reduce
U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

In early August, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved
a broad energy bill that would allow some oil drilling in the refuge, a move
strongly opposed by environmentalists and most Democrats in the Senate.

Last week, Bush urged the Senate to pass his energy strategy and open the
refuge to oil drilling, casting the legislation as important to domestic
security. Supported by Republicans in Congress, Bush said drilling in Alaska
would reduce U.S. reliance on Middle East oil. The United States imports 60
percent of its daily oil consumption, up from 47 percent a decade ago.

''The less dependent we are on foreign sources of crude oil, the more secure
we are at home,'' said Bush.

Organized labor is generally considered aligned with Congressional Democrats
but its support for drilling in the refuge has complicated the already
delicate balance of power between Senate Democrats and Republicans.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters strongly supports drilling in the
refuge, arguing this would create hundreds of thousands of jobs while
reducing energy costs and dependence on foreign oil.

''In light of the terrorist attacks of September 11, we must act immediately
to reduce our dependence on oil from politically unstable parts of the world,
especially the Persian Gulf,'' said Jerry Hood, special assistant on energy
to Teamsters General President James Hoffa.

The Teamsters helped push the measure through the House. Drilling proponents
hope that labor unions will now win over Democratic Senators, who are under
pressure from environmentalists to vote against it.

Senator Frank Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska who strongly supports
drilling in the refuge, has accused Democrats of not wanting to raise the
bill in committee because they would lose. Republican lawmakers, backed by
the administration, are pressing for a straight majority vote, which
Republicans have said they would win.

In response to Bush, Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader in the Senate, has
offered to allow a vote on the Senate floor regarding drilling in the refuge.
His office says he is willing to allow the vote because he is confident that
Republicans do not have the 60 votes needed to break an expected Democratic
filibuster.

While he opposes drilling in the refuge, Daschle says he would support
construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope. Proponents
say this project would produce 400,000 jobs. Billions of cubic meters of
natural gas accompany the oil currently extracted in Alaska but it is
reinserted into the ground because no pipeline exists to transport it.

''If we need to tap into the resources of Alaska, let's do it with this
pipeline,'' Daschle said Friday.

Critics of drilling in the refuge argue that, according to government
estimates, opening up the preserve to exploitation would not yield oil for at
least seven years and then yield enough for only 140 days.

''Giving oil companies a green light to drill a national treasure has nothing
to do with addressing the crisis at hand,'' says Jamie Rappaport Clark,
senior vice president for conservation programs at the National Wildlife
Federation.

Established in 1960 by President Dwight Eisenhower, the arctic refuge is home
to more than 180 species of birds and numerous mammals including polar bears,
caribou, musk ox, wolves, wolverine, moose, arctic and red foxes, black
bears, brown bears, and the white Dall sheep. Indigenous communities live,
hunt, and fish on the refuge.

Environmentalists argue that even if drilling is allowed in Alaska, the
Department of Energy projects a 25-30 percent increase in U.S. oil imports
from the Middle East and Caspian Sea over the next 20 years.

The public ''should look skeptically at a plan that, in the name of
addressing terrorism, will lock the United States into an increasingly
vulnerable fossil fuel and nuclear dependent future,'' says John
Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace-U.S.

More than a hundred environmental organizations are urging Senators to
consider an alternative energy strategy that aims to reduce dependence on
imported oil through investments in renewable energy sources such as wind,
biomass, and solar power.

Released by the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) on
Monday, the plan, known as the ''Clean Energy Blueprint'' already has the
support of Senator James Jeffords, an Independent from the northeastern state
of Vermont who chairs the environment committee.

The alternative strategy promotes energy efficiency policies and the adoption
of a federal renewable energy standard that would require electric utility
companies to increase use of non- hydropower renewable sources by 20 percent
by the year 2020.

''If there is truly a commitment to creating energy security in the United
States, enacting federal renewable standards will reduce the vulnerability of
our energy system to disruption,'' says Alan Nogee, director of the clean
energy program at UCS.

Copyright 2001 Inter Press Service - IPS
Bush again urges Senate to pass broad energy bill
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USA: October 18, 2001
 

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday again urged the Senate to pass
comprehensive energy legislation that would reduce U.S. oil imports by
allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
 

"Our country needs greater energy independence ... I ask Congress to now act
on an energy bill," Bush said in a speech in Sacramento to California
business groups.
"This issue is a matter of national security and I hope the Senate acts
quickly," Bush said.

The House of Representatives approved a broad energy bill in August that
included language opening the refuge.

Senate Republicans have been pushing for an immediate vote in their chamber
on a similar bill and claim a majority of senators would favor drilling in
the refuge.

But Senate Democratic Majority Leader Tom Daschle says Republicans must get
60 votes, not just a simple 51 majority, to end a threatened filibuster from
Democratic lawmakers who oppose giving energy firms access to the refuge.

The United States must import almost 60 percent of the 20 million barrels of
oil it consumes each day, with most of that crude coming from OPEC.

"Too much of our energy comes from the Middle East," Bush said.

Indeed, the administration has warned that the U.S. economy and nation's
security is at risk from depending too much on oil shipments from volatile
middle eastern countries.

Iraq alone is currently the sixth largest foreign supplier of oil to the
United States, according to the Energy Department.

Government estimates put the amount of oil in the refuge at 16 billion
barrels, enough to replace the amount of crude the United States imports from
Iraq for 70 years.

Environmentalists strongly oppose drilling in the Arctic refuge, arguing that
caribou, polar bears and other wildlife would be harmed.

In addition to increasing oil supplies, Bush said he also favors energy
conservation measures.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE 

Unique hybrid car in the works

Thursday, October 18, 2001
By Environmental News Network

Analyst at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL)
 

Ford Motor Company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are working
together to develop a unique hybrid, high-efficiency vehicle that uses
hydraulic fluid to store and provide energy to power the car. The technology
could be used to dramatically improve the fuel economy of sport utility
vehicles and light trucks.
"This is the first-ever cooperative agreement with an automobile company
targeted to develop EPA patented automotive technology," said Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman. "I am very excited about
the potential for this technology to make a major and cost-effective
contribution toward achieving the president's long-term energy and
environmental goals."

The basic technology was originally developed and patented by the EPA's
National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., and
refined under a cooperative agreement with Ford. The advanced power train
features a high-efficiency engine and a new hydraulic hybrid propulsion
system.

The hybrid system uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to store
energy in the place of electric motors and batteries used in electrical
hybrid vehicles. As with other hybrid systems, energy saved when applying the
brakes is used to help power the vehicle. This hydraulic power system could
have cost and power advantages over electric hybrid systems, the developers
believe.

"The hydraulic hybrid research project complements Ford Motor Company's
commitment to develop and implement technologies providing high volume
solutions to address societal concerns," said William Clay Ford Jr., Ford
Motor Company chair.

The technology to be developed and tested under this agreement has the
potential to boost the fuel economy of light-duty trucks and sport utility
vehicles, which could reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil, reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, and save consumers money at the pump.

While it will take time for this technology to be introduced into the
marketplace, Ford is committed to spending significant resources to further
develop this technology for commercial production. Ford will aim toward
putting a pilot fleet of vehicles on the road by the end of the decade.

Ford and the EPA will be working with FEV Engine Technology Inc., an advanced
automotive engine and power train research and development firm, and Eaton, a
major supplier to the worldwide auto industry, to build and test the new
technology.

"Recognizing that significant hurdles remain in development and prove out,
hydraulic hybrid technology holds great promise for our customers and for our
society," said Gerhard Schmidt, Ford Motor Company vice president for
research.

Ford said, "While we are working hard to implement proven technologies on our
vehicles today, we must at the same time push forward with advanced research
that holds a bright promise for tomorrow."

The National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory was established in 1971,
shortly after the creation of the EPA. The lab assists in the development of
automotive technology to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions,
produce a cleaner diesel engine, and explore alternative fuel technologies.

Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network
All Rights Reserved

###
 

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