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Welcome to "Ask the White House" -- an online interactive forum where you can submit questions to Administration officials and friends of the White House. Visit the "Ask the White House" archives to read other discussions with White House officials.
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March 27, 2007
Andy Karsner
Thanks for having me. This is my first time on Ask the White House. Im eager to chat with you today and to talk about the Administration's bold energy initiatives. For the past two days, the President has been viewing demonstrations of Alternative and Flexible-Fuel Vehicles that have emerged from Department of Energy-funded technologies and programs. Just today the President visited a local postal facility in Washington, DC, to look at some of the newest and most efficient alternative fuel vehicles which are required to make up approximately 75 percent of our federal fleet. We can and we must succeed in bringing Americans together around this great national cause with the sense of urgency it merits. I appreciate your interest and I'm happy to answer any questions you have. Jeffrey, from Westfield, MA
writes: Andy Karsner Just last month, DOE selected teams for up to $168 million to help reduce the cost of solar energy. And in February, we announced up to $385 million for development of cellulosic ethanol biorefineries. We are eager to engage in even more work with the private sector and universities to continue supporting the Presidents Advanced Energy Initiative.
It is important to point out that in his 2007 State of the Union, the President laid out bold new initiatives for energy. His Initiative aimed at displace 20 percent of U.S. gasoline usage with alternative fuels by 2017. What makes this goal so ambitious and distinct is that it comes with a policy that asks Congress to mandate our national aspiration into law. Seeking 20 percent reduction of our gas consumption is historic and unprecedented in its ambitious size, scope and timetable and a worthy goal for a great nation to mobilize itself to achieve. The President broke through tired, outdated ideas about one party being for efficiency and the other for supply and called on Congress to address both on a bipartisan basis. We will work with Congress to return legislation to the President that boost the growth of clean, renewable sources and modernize and increase CAFÉ standards to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Cliff, from Brimfield Ohio
writes: Andy Karsner You mentioned a concern over the cost of food. Until now, most ethanol has been produced from corn. But President Bushs Biofuels Initiative provides leadership and funding for developing what we call cellulosic ethanol - ethanol produced from non-edible portions of food and agricultural waste. The Presidents Biofuels Initiative aims to make cellulosic ethanol cost competitive with gasoline by 2012 and this isnt just pie in the sky; were funding major projects that will help get us there. Just last month, I joined the Secretary of Energy as he announced DOE will fund up to $385 million for the construction of biorefineries, which produce cellulosic ethanol. Extremely promising groups were selected for this work and were eager to see how theyll play a critical role in helping to bring cellulosic ethanol to market, in addition to teaching us how we can produce it in a more cost effective manner. And we need to keep in mind that as cellulosic ethanol becomes cost-competitive with traditional ethanol and the cost of gasoline, the market will find a natural ceiling for corn-based ethanol. I should point out though, that multiple studies by the USDA show that growth in ethanol will have little long-term impact on food prices additionally, a joint USDA-DOE study found that enough biomass feedstock could be sustainably produced to replace 30% of transportation fuel.
We are making a substantial impact today, with enormous and unprecedented rates growth and have every reason to be confident that renewable sources will contribute significantly to our clean, secure energy future.
Marcus, from Princeton, New Jersey
writes: Andy Karsner
And yes, you'll be happy to know there are numerous tax credits and incentives that the President signed into law with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Everything from adding insulation to your attic, to purchasing a solar rooftop or a hybrid or alternative vehicle may qualify you to save valuable tax dollars off your bottom line. Most of these incentives are incorporated into popular tax preparation software packages and most accounting professionals as well as the IRS website hold very useful and detailed information about available incentives. For more information on tax credits, visit www.energysavers.gov.
. Rob, from Nashville writes: Andy Karsner The President has also put a premium on energy efficiency efforts. In January of this year, just one day after he announced his Twenty In Ten Initiative which seeks to reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by twenty percent in ten years he signed an historic Executive Order aimed at increasing efficiency in federal facilities, at least 30 percent above what is required by law! Energy Secretary Bodman has also made clear that energy efficiency is part and parcel of the Advanced Energy Initiative and it is a priority. This week marks my one year anniversary at DOE and in my sworn testimony before congress a year ago, I made it a point to note that efficiency is more than just intelligent economics, it is a moral imperative. I feel strongly about acting upon that principle. To this end, the Administration is presently strengthening our efficiency portfolio through technology, regulation, communication, education, and outreach. On the technology side, DOEs track record is extraordinary with some of the greatest returns per tax dollar of any federal government spending. For example, a refrigerator manufactured in 2001 uses 63% less energy than a similar 1980 model. Were working with all major lighting manufacturers not just to increase usage of Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb, but also to move beyond them to ultra-efficient Solid State/LED lighting. On the regulatory side, Secretary Bodman and I have an ambitious roadmap and timetable to clear a 30-year backlog on rulemakings for appliance standards. In DOEs Vehicle Technologies program, were helping increase efficiency of trucks and cars through lighter weight materials, battery storage technologies, and high-efficiency engines. In fact, some of the most modern and efficient clean diesel engines that will hit the market in 2009 were developed by DOE. Much of the hybrid vehicle technologies you see today include electronic systems and batteries were also developed by DOE. DOE is also conducting energy savings assessments through our Save Energy Now campaign. DOE sends in experts who can identify potential energy-saving opportunities at some of most energy-intensive facilities around the nation. Were proud that in just 200 ESAs, DOE has identified 50 trillion British Thermal Units (Btus) of natural gas that could be saved - roughly equivalent to the natural gas used in 700,000 American homes! These are just some of the ways we are elevating the priority of conservation and efficiency. Josh, from San Diego
writes: Andy Karsner
The recent unprecedented growth in wind and solar technologies allows us to project substantial displacement of carbon emissions at utility scale and lower the carbon footprint of the build environment which accounts for approximately 40 percent of all emissions. Solar and wind energy are both clean and emissions-free sources of power, but so is nuclear power. As Ive said before, there is no silver bullet. No single source of energy is the key to reducing our dependence on oil. With electricity demand projected to increase by nearly 50 percent over the next 25 years, we need to be both strategic and sensible about durable policies that enable market to meet this demand.
Amanda, from Baltimore writes: Andy Karsner You point out the concern over the price of corn. Corn and grain-based ethanol so far have provided the vast majority of ethanol. But corn-based ethanol will likely have a natural volume limit. Therefore, we are pursuing the development of fuels from non-food agricultural waste. According to a DOE-USDA study, 30 percent of transportation fuel could be derived from biomass in a sustainable manner. Tammy, from Baton Rouge
writes: Andy Karsner For those of you who don't know about the outstanding outreach efforts that folks like Tammy undertake every day to make America more secure, competitive and environmentally friendly, their mission supports local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption. For example, they have been a leading force for proliferation of alternative fueling stations and E-85 pumps, as well as highly efficient mass transit fleets. As a measure of our confidence, we have proposed nearly doubling the Program's budget for the coming year, and I am hopeful that we can get Baton Rouge, and other cities and regions of the country to unite behind the President's historic and unprecedented targets to mandate reductions in gasoline consumption. Thanks for all you do! Nathan, from Lancaster, CA
writes: Andy Karsner
Our focus is on building new forms of domestic, clean, and affordable energy, so that we can maximize our national security, environmental well-being, and economic competitiveness. Its essential that we diversify our global energy sources and continuously engage in evolving relationships with friendly energy trading partners. While we may likely continue to import energy for the foreseeable future, our ultimate goal is to have far greater leverage by growing domestic energy supply and increasing efficiency. In this way, we can assure that this great nation is less vulnerable to those who seek to harm us and our economy and whose interests are hostile to our free and democratic way of life. Of course, increasingly the world is flat economically, irreversibly globalized, and becoming more interdependent, and we must continue to invest in and employ energy technology to accommodate our growth and quality of living, as global competition increases.
Samuel, from Nairobi writes: Andy Karsner According to the constitution the Senate has responsibility for ratifying treaties, such as the Kyoto Protocol. A straw poll of the Senate was conducted in the mid-90s and was roundly defeated, which led to a formal vote never transpiring. There has never been particularly unified and strong support for the Kyoto Treaty in the United States Congress due to its lack of enforcement and applicability for some of the world's fastest growing emitters, like China, India, and Brazil. Part of the problem with an inequitable approach to global climate change conventions is that rather than reduce global emissions, it may have the unintended consequence of moving the emissions elsewhere. For example, when it becomes unprofitable for a highly regulated aluminum smelter to close down in Europe and reopen with cheaper costs and more lenient environmental and air quality standards in a developing nation, the atmosphere does not truly benefit. Wed just be moving the problem elsewhere. We take the position that whatever regulatory and/or voluntary regime may be negotiated or agreed to, we will need to accelerate the market penetration of clean, green, emissions-free and low emission sources of energy to accommodate the growth in energy demand we project. That is why we have invested in excess of 29 billion dollars, over the last six years, in climate change science and technologies, and are world leaders in producing much of the necessary solutions that will be applied to lowering greenhouse gas emissions as a top line priority. Many publications have pointed to the irony that United States has been at least as effective and in many cases more effective than many of our European counterparts who signed the Kyoto Protocol. As noted in his State of the Union address, the President is committed to addressing the serious challenge of global climate change and we are actively engaged in an evolving dialogue with our European partners and the world's largest and fastest growing economies, including India and China (through the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate) on steps we can agree on to address the concerns in our respective countries with immediacy, as well as when Kyoto expires in 2012.
Andy Karsner You can find more information on DOE programs at www.energy.gov. To sign up for our weekly newsletter, go to www.eere.energy.gov. I hope all of you will continue to support America's clean energy future by helping rally bipartisan support for the President's goal of reducing gasoline consumption by 20 percent within the decade. Cheers. |
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