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Renewable Energy Politics

By Solar energy | December 11, 2008

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Renewable Energy Politics

What governments do affect us. It’s true.

The Incentive Tax Credits (ITC) recently passed can reduce your cost for home solar energy up to 30 percent. This is a better deal than the expiring tax credits which limited tax credits to $2000.

But we – the folks concerned about the environment and our energy bills – cannot sit and wait for the government to take care of the world’s energy ills.

Today’s article in the New York Times gives evidence of just how slowly the government machine works.

So far Mr. Obama has outlined a number of broad policies but provided few specifics or a timetable for implementing his ideas. He could propose a climate bill, but the kind of cap-and-trade system preferred by Mr. Obama for greenhouse gases would, by many estimates, take at least a year or two to hash out even with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
The fear is this could become a Clinton health plan, trying to do too much too soon, and ending up with nothing,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House staff member who is now with the National Commission on Energy Policy.

And Energy Business Daily shines light on OPEC’s part in this little energy party.

“There is total confusion”among OPEC’s 13 members,” said Fadel Gheit, managing director of oil and gas research at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. “These people … really have no business model. They basically thrive when oil prices go up, and now they are crying uncle when prices go down.

This article from the Associated Press says more about OPEC and oil prices. Some predict oil prices are about as low as they will get.

Oil prices have fallen 70 percent since peaking at $147.27 in July. After hitting $40.50 a barrel last week, some oil traders believe that if the market has not bottomed out, it is close to doing so.
“While we maintain our bearish bias, we are of the opinion the market has found a range in between the low $40s on the bottom and the mid $50s on the high end,” said The Schork Report edited by oil trader and analyst Stephen Schork.

The upshot of this little post is that governments cannot save us.

We cannot wait for Mr. Obama, our congressmen and senators, or OPEC to take action to save our planet or make reasonable energy decisions.

It is up to you and me.

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