May 2012 Archives

What are the policy and political implications of declining gasoline prices?

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline has been steadily dropping from a high of $3.90 in April to $3.68 last week. Throughout the first part of the year, as prices were rising, congressional Republicans and conservative interest groups were blaming President Obama for the pain at the pump, and polling showed that Obama was taking the brunt of voters' disgruntlement. Indeed, the president focused many of his speeches and trips around the country, such as his controversial visit to Oklahoma, on touting domestic oil and natural-gas production.

With prices now dropping, Obama has shifted his focus to clean energy. But congressional Republicans remain undeterred: They continue to lambast the president for what they say is a war on fossil fuels, and they point out that gasoline prices are still significantly higher than they were when Obama took office.

How will lower gasoline prices affect the presidential and congressional elections? Will cheaper gas enable Congress to act on a range of energy policies, such as extending expiring tax credits for wind or domestic oil and natural-gas drilling? Or will the urgency for Washington to act on energy policy diminish as prices retreat?

10 responses: Brigham McCown, Tim Greeff, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Matthew Garrington, Catrina Rorke, Allen Schaeffer, David Holt, Michael Bromwich, William O'Keefe, Bernard L. Weinstein

How does clean energy fit into the military's mission? And what role should the military play in fulfilling President Obama's goal of creating an economy based on cleaner-energy sources?

The U.S. military is the single-largest industrial consumer of oil in the world. The Pentagon sees the goal of reducing its oil consumption as a national-security concern. The Obama administration has continuously touted the military's use of renewable energy, especially biofuels. Some Republicans in Congress have charged that the military should not spend money on expensive alternative fuels at a time when the nation needs to cut its trillion-dollar deficit.

In what ways--if at all--should the military fund its clean-energy initiatives? What specific types of alternative-energy sources would be best suited for the military's needs? Should Congress intervene? Will the military be a catalyst for the country to dramatically shift to cleaner-energy sources?

25 responses: Scott Sklar, Scott Sklar, Cal Dooley, Phyllis Cuttino, Tim Greeff, Margo Thorning, Peter Lehner, Tom Buis, Keith Crane, Kathleen Sgamma, Michael McAdams, Tim Peckinpaugh, Benjamin Lowe, Bernard L. Weinstein, William O'Keefe, Mark Udall, Bill Dickenson, Josh Freed, David Kreutzer, Will Rogers, Brent Erickson, Sharon Burke, Amy Harder, Armond Cohen, Amy Harder

Could the recent boom in U.S. renewable energy go bust?

That's what a recent report warns might happen given the state of current policy. Without a national energy policy providing certainty for renewable sources like wind and solar, the nascent industries could go bust after a few strong years as beneficiaries of the Obama administration's $90-billion injection of stimulus, suggests the report, conducted by researchers at the Brookings Institution and the World Resources and Breakthrough Institutes.

Indeed, renewable-energy policy at the federal level is lagging. The wind industry's production tax credit is set to expire at year's end, and a popular grant program for all types of renewable energy expired last year. Cognizant of this, President Obama last week called on Congress to renew the wind industry's incentive and a manufacturing tax credit created as part of the stimulus. But lawmakers don't seem poised to tackle comprehensive policy providing long-term incentives for renewable energy anytime soon, and any action on temporary tax credits probably won't happen until year's end.

And another recent report by the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way warns that without a national energy policy, the U.S. will lose any edge it has in the renewable-energy space to other countries like China and India that provide more stable federal support.

Is it too late to for certain parts of the renewable industry to recover from the repercussions of unstable federal policy? What should President Obama do right now to ensure renewable energy can survive after the one-time injection of stimulus money in 2009? What should Congress do in terms of long-term energy policy and both already-expired and soon-to-be expired tax incentives?

20 responses: Matthew Haskins, Jacqueline Savitz, Richard L. Kauffman, Kate Offringa, Brent Erickson, Phyllis Cuttino, Scott Sklar, Eli Hinckley, Rhone Resch, Bernard L. Weinstein, David Holt, Denise Bode, Alex Trembath, Lewis Milford, Matthew Stepp, Mark Muro, Amy Harder, William O'Keefe, Josh Freed, Tom Buis

What role should biofuels fill in U.S. energy policy? And how would that role impact agricultural demands?

Farm legislation marked up by the Senate Agriculture Committee last month is now awaiting floor action in the upper chamber. That measure provides $800 million for rural energy programs, including loan guarantees and research and development incentives. That quick action by the committee has prompted a national debate over biofuels, including the role corn-based ethanol should have in the transportation sector. Last week Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged petroleum companies to increase how much ethanol they blend with gasoline to help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

Should Congress provide more or less than $800 million in funding to rural energy programs? What considerations, including those of the environment, economy, and energy security, should policymakers keep in mind when crafting biofuels policy?

15 responses: Scott Sklar, Amy Harder, Brian Murray, Jim Collins, Tim Peckinpaugh, Amy Harder, Bernard L. Weinstein, William O'Keefe, Tom Buis, Anne Steckel, Brent Erickson, Sarah Bittleman, Bob Dinneen, Conrad Schneider, Charles Drevna