SOTU Preview

The has a good preview on how energy is likely to dominate Bush's State of the Union address.

When it comes to energy, of course, Bush is a servant to the lords of yesterday, embracing the myth of "clean coal" (as though an industry that won't put sweepers on old chimneys will put infinitely more-expensive sequestration devices on new ones) and the dead-from-the-neck-up fantasy of nuclear power.

So what's left? Mostly hot air or dirty air:

The energy law passed in 2005 authorized $3.8 billion worth of renewable energy and conservation programs. But a vast majority of those programs are without funds, neither requested by the administration nor approved by Congress.

Callahan points to a $450 million consumer education and outreach campaign on energy efficiency in that law, but says "not one penny has been appropriated" nor has the money been sought by the administration....

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says the administration over the years has spent nearly $12 billion in developing new energy technologies. He cited the president's $2.1 billion "advanced energy initiative" in the State of the Union a year ago.

But most of that program goes for nuclear research and clean coal technology that generally has little impact on the country's dependence on oil, 70 percent of which is used in transportation.

For that, Bush told a renewable fuels conference last year in St. Louis, "we need to change how we power our automobiles. ... I like the idea of promoting a fuel that relies upon our farmers."

Why not just burn the bullshit that so many politicians toss around when they talk about energy? We could motor happily into infinity on that abundant resource.