I am looking over the so-called Gang of 10 bipartisan senators and I like what I am seeing. Here is a breakdown of their plan from Instapundit.
1. The "gang of 10" bill unilaterally opens up drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, with no state veto. The GOP bill didn't do that, because Mel Martinez and Charlie Crist didn't want it. Non-Gulf states Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas can opt-in if they like; the old GOP bill was opt-in everywhere, allowing Florida to block drilling in the Gulf off of its shores.
This is where their plan falls a bit short but I can accept it. It misses the California Coast and ANWR but I'm pretty sure those areas would be too hard to get Democrats to drill in anyway. They can fight those battles once gas goes to $5.50 or something. Expanding drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will allow US companies to use the oil off of our own coasts instead of Chinese and Cuban companies.
2. The bill also allows for seismic exploration along the entire continental shelf.
Why this hasn't been mentioned is a wonder to me. We need to know exactly how much oil wealth there is off of our shores in order to make an argument to go after it. If there is a Tupi Oil Field out there then there is no way that California Dems can go against drilling it.
3. The ban on drilling within 50 miles of the coast was also in the GOP bill.
This is a sop to anyone that has expensive coastal land whose views will be "wrecked" by off shore rigs. I have never had this view because modern offshore rigs are cool looking to me. I think all the pipes and stuff coming out of the ground look like something out of Star Wars.
4. Contrary to many commentators' claims, the "gang of ten" bill is not a lifeline for Obama: "What a bunch of C-R-A-P. " (Yes, he spelled it out like that) "If Obama embraced this, he would be the biggest flipflopper ever." A lot of the opposition to the bill is really a case of trying to keep drilling as an election issue instead of getting more drilling.
If this is the energy issue is not solved before October and is instead turned into election fodder then Congress needs to be shown the door. This is our a matter of national security at stake. Iran and Venezuela should never again be allowed to control our economy to the extent that they do.
5. The bill includes a Zubrin-like flex-fuel provision, requiring that 75% of cars by 2015 and 85% by 2020 be capable of running on something besides gasoline.
This seems like a pretty good idea to put a kick in the pants of the car industry. The technology is there but the financial incentive to change is not. I think 2020 is too long to wait for 85% of cars to be running on electricity or some other kind of fuel.
6. "Our bill also opens up coal-to-liquids. We couldn't have gotten 44 Republicans for that."
That seems pretty reasonable. If we can find a way to power our cars with coal, natural gas, or even cow turds then we should give the scientists some research money to see if it is feasible.
7. The bill is "incredibly aggressive" on nuclear power, including accelerated-depreciation provisions like those for solar and wind power, more NRC resources to speed licensing, and an end to the Carter-era ban on nuclear fuel reprocessing. "We couldn't have gotten 44 Republicans on this."
This is the red meat of this bill IMO. Electric cars like the Ford Volt will be worthless unless we can power them with a clean, renewable, form of energy like nuclear. Wind and Solar should be pursued but nuclear is the stopgap until those technologies can get cheaper and more efficient. France and Japan have been going nuclear since the 70s.
Also if ending that asinine Carter-era ban on fuel reprocessing is the only thing Congress does this session then I would be happy. That is an absolutely idiotic ban that shows how bad Carter was at just about everything he touched as President. Reprocessing might reduce nuclear waste by 90% by some estimates and actually allows France to store all of the nuclear waste under 500 meters underground in one town called Bure.
8. The bill also promotes cellulosic ethanol.
I think this should be pushed too. I think no technology should go without research when it comes to weening ourselves off of foreign oil. This is a national security problem as big as the war on terror. Closing the Gulf of Hormuz should never lead the US into economic ruin.
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