And one more compromise appears to have been struck as Congress sought to close the books on 2007. From the New York Times:
The bill, which passed on a bipartisan vote of 314 to 100, sets higher fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks for the first time in 22 years and requires the annual production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, a fivefold increase from current ethanol production levels.
The measure, the Energy Independence and Security Act, also establishes new efficiency requirements for household appliances and government buildings, and aims to phase out the incandescent light bulb within the next decade.
Its passage is one of the largest steps on energy the nation has taken since the oil crises of the 1970s. But its full costs will not be known for years. Critics say it will make cars and trucks less safe and more expensive, divert farmland to costly production of feedstock for ethanol and other synthetic fuels, and raise the price of food because of competition for corn and grain between food producers and fuel refiners.
I love seeing conservation being pressed in new building design…especially in government building design, since “leading by example” can be a potent tool in changing how we think of energy consumption. However, I’m still disappointed that folks in Washington are listening too much to the corporate farm lobby to be aware of the downsides of ethanol production. (For example, the amount of water required to distill ethanol in parts of the country where a declining water table is an issue.)