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Published just a few days ago, this 150 page report is intentionally apolitical. As the diverse panel says, they are "REJECTING MYTHS ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT". AEman finds AE getting shrift here, but otherwise generally likes their attempt to bolster fuel efficiency, energy security and greenhouse gas amelioration. Below find an excerpt from the executive summary.
Commissioners found ...
common ground in rejecting certain persistent myths —
on the left and on the right — that have often served to
polarize and paralyze the national energy debate. These
include, for example, the notion that energy
independence can be readily achieved through
conservation measures and renewable energy sources
alone, or that limiting greenhouse gas emissions is either
costless or so costly as to wreck the economy if it were
tried at all. Most of all, Commissioners rejected the
proposition that uncertainty justifies inaction in the face
of significant risks.
Given current trends, the consequences of
inaction are all too clear. Under business-as-usual
assumptions, the United States will consume 43 percent
more oil and emit 42 percent more greenhouse gas
emissions by 2025. At the global level, oil consumption
and emissions will grow 57 and 55 percent respectively
over the same timeframe2 and the Earth will be heading
rapidly — perhaps inexorably — past a doubling and
toward a tripling of atmospheric greenhouse gas
concentrations. In the Commission’s view, this is not a
scenario that should inspire complacency, nor is it
consistent with the goal of reducing the nation’s
exposure to potentially serious economic,
environmental, and security risks.
Ah yes, the polite and circumspect language of the bureaucrat, "not a scenario that should inspire complacency" = in regular folk vernacular: "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Iceberg ahead off the starboard bow. Initiate evasive maneuvers. Fire retro rockets!"
posted by Andy Bochman at 7:39 AM
 
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