October 8th, 2007
Oil and water and politics do mix. But don't drink it, or put it in your car.
Today one Democrat running for President captured some headlines by calling for taxation of polluters. Not a new idea, but one that gets little specific endorsement from other Presidential wannabes in either party. A quick survey of other candidates’ websites found some interest in alternative fuels, lots of support for spending big bucks on research. That should be music to ears of any green tech company in line for a subsidy or a research grant.
Interestingly, of the candidates who get the most media attention right now, the only one with no explicit mention online of an energy or global warming policy seems to be Ruby Giuliani. Maybe all those years in New York City, he thinks everybody just hails a cab? Here are some sites where you can see for yourself what some of the polling front-runners have to say on the subject of energy and global warming:
Clinton (D)
Edwards (D)
McCain (R)
Obama (D) on energy (he has separate section of his site on environment)
Romney (R)
Thompson (R)
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Meanwhile a U.S. Senate subcommittee today took action to continue the tax incentives for biodiesel fuel. That’s got ‘em smiling in the Corn Belt. Currently the incentives run out next year, and nobody expects Congress to be able to pass even a nerf football during the ‘08 Presidential campaign.
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Finally, the most volatile mix of all: oil, water and politics, is playing out in Sacramento, California, home of the second largest government in North America. There the battle over water is nasty and brutish, but never short. The usual Northern California vs. Southern jealousies are made more severe by this year’s water shortages, a recurring theme in this huge state where the people live in the desert and the rain falls mainly on the empty north shore.
To add a filip of economic agony, the water shortages this year mean less for agriculture which uses much of the water and needs a solid 20% or more of the state’s energy just to move that water from where it is to where it’ll be used. And there’ll be higher water rates for all customers in Los Angeles.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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