STRONG Plan Could Reduce Oil Dependency By Millions Of Gallons Per Day

by Miles Wolf Tamboli
Talk Radio News Service

Director of New America Foundation's Energy Initiative Lisa Margonelli recently released a new energy initiative that aims to "reduce US oil demand by more than 3 million barrels a day by 2020."

Secure Transportation Reducing Oil Needs Gradually, or STRONG America 2020, hopes to reduce American dependence on oil without new technology, vehicles or fuels.

"[STRONG America 2020] doesn't use any alternative fuels or alternative vehicles ... we have some perverse incentives built into our system for using energy and for purchasing energy in the US, and it addresses those, and it also encourages energy efficiency," Margonelli told Talk Radio News in an interview.

Margonelli said that Americans do not pay the true price of gasoline at the pumps, but through taxing, which goes toward oil subsidies, military costs of maintaining shipping lanes and health care.

The energy expert told Talk Radio News that she supports the controversial "behavior change legislation."

"It would give people a clear reason and a sense that they can plan and be empowered to actually do something about the amount of gasoline and oil that we use as a country," said Margonelli. She explained that the STRONG tax, which will add three cents per gallon to the cost of gasoline at the pump each year, reaching 30 cents by 2020, could save 450 million barrels of oil each year and raise $5.5 billion for improving the transportation sector.

Margonelli hopes for the improvement of existing transportation options for optimum efficiency, and for increased incentives for carpooling and ride-sharing. She believes that reassigning oil subsidies into secured loans will directly benefit many Americans.

"What we need to do is to move $5 to $10 billion [from oil subsidies] away from the oil industry and make those subsidies into secured loans or loans to middle-income Americans to get more efficient cars," Margonelli said.

According to the New America Foundation executive, the eventual saving of 3 million barrels of oil a day will liberate a great deal of American capital, which can then be recycled into the economy.

House Debates Removing BP's $75 Million Liability Cap

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

As the crisis in the Gulf Coast continues, lawmakers are debating either raising oil companies' $75 million dollar liability cap - some say as high as $10 billion dollars - or removing the cap altogether.

"It is clear that the liability caps must be adjusted, and in some instances lifted altogether," U.S. Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during a hearing on the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Wednesday.

OPA 90, as the act is commonly called, requires responsible oil companies to pay for all cleanup costs in the event of a spill. However, the law provides that entities such as BP may only be billed up to $75 million dollars to remunerate private parties for losses incurred, in addition to cleanup costs.

Some lawmakers expressed a fear that removing the liability cap could make insurance unaffordable for smaller companies; however, many advocate a tiered approach to financial liability that would base the cap rate on the risk of each company's operations, and not on the size of the company itself.

Perelli did not agree with many in Washington who believe that new legislation reducing or deleting liability caps should apply retroactively, so as to apply to BP's still gushing Deepwater Horizon leak.

OPA 90 left room for interpretation in asserting that the liability cap will not apply in the case of "gross negligence or willful misconduct," and failed to define these terms. Lawmakers, including Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) pushed for a clearer definition of these terms in developing new legislation.

Taylor questioned Acting Minerals Management Service Director Bob Abbey on the MMS' history of negligence in monitoring and evaluating drilling operations and granting of "categorical exemptions," presenting information that the MMS failed to conduct 16 "monthly" inspections of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the past four years.

Abbey responded to questioning by saying that he was not there "to defend past practices of the Minerals Management Service."

Despite Effects Of Spill, Deceased Workers' Wives Say Keep Drilling

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

Natalie Roshto and Courtney Kemp, wives of workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20th, told a Congressional panel Monday that the U.S. should continue to allow off-shore drilling, despite the impact of the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast.

"While we realize we are suffering from economic impacts resulting from the leaking oil, it would be even more devastating if you allow drilling in the Gulf to cease," Kemp of Jonesville, Louisiana said. "The trickle-down effect would be devastating not only to the coastal states, but eventually the entire country."

"Many men depend on offshore drilling. That is our way of life," added Roshto of Liberty, Mississippi.

The widows' remarks came during a field hearing of a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee in Chalmette, Louisiana.

The opinions of both were echoed by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who sits on the subcommittee.

"The ban on drilling threatens to pose an economic disaster on [Louisiana]," said Scalise. "You don't hold an entire industry accountable for the failures of one [company]."

Salazar Details Inner-Workings Of Interior Department Amid Oil Spill

By Miles Wolf Tamboli-Talk Radio News Service

In Wednesday's hearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extrapolated on his plan, released last week, to split the controversial Minerals Management Service into three distinct entities with the ultimate goal of increasing transparency, accountability, and effectiveness through specialization. Salazar announced that he hopes to "strengthen oversight of offshore energy operations, improve the structure for revenue and royalty collections on behalf of the American people, and help our country build the clean energy future we need," by establishing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue.

Much of the impetus behind the restructuring is the result of recently released information about relationships between the MMS and the private oil industry. In a recent report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Inspector General Mary Kendall affirmed that members of the MMS accepted gifts, meals, and sports game tickets from oil executives. During the hearing, Salazar admitted that, in the past, accepting gifts from oil executives had become a "part of the culture," not just in the Obama administration, but among previous ones as well.

Another highly debated issue raised in the hearing was the particular drilling operation in question being granted a special exemption from the usual safety requirements demanded by the MMS. Salazar said Wednesday that this exemption was due to government legislation requiring the agency to complete the review of a drilling project in 30 days or less, limiting the MMS' ability to thoroughly investigate the situation. Termed the "use-it or lose-it" tax at the hearing, the legislation was originally intended to uphold efficiency in the energy resources industry, and government officials today implied that the bypassing of safety measures was an unintended side effect of the law.

House Natural Resources Committee member George Miller (D-Calif.) grilled Salazar on the MMS' lack of safety regulations, citing the fact that the oil industry's drilling technology has far outpaced the ability to prevent or clean up after accidents. Exclaiming that the MMS, "went to hell in a hand-basket," Miller expressed his discontent that, in his eyes, the MMS is irresponsible for allowing the oil industry to drill when their capacity to avoid a disaster such as this lags so far behind.

U.S. To "Lead The World In Clean Car Development," Says Granholm

By Miles Wolf Tamboli
Talk Radio News Service

"I believe we need to seize the momentum following last month's historic new fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, and I believe President Obama's announcement today does just that," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Friday, following the President's announcement and signing of a memorandum pledging to place stricter regulations on auto emissions for medium and large-size trucks.

During a conference call with reporters, LaHood and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson advocated last year's National Fuel Efficiency Policy, which requires that cars and light trucks reach an average fuel economy of 35.5 gallons per mile by 2016. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D), who joined in the call, called the policy a "win-win-win" agreement, and attributed the recent economic recovery of her state - whose unemployment rates were, she said, "spiraling out of control" in 2008 - to the legislation which was just finally passed this April. The policy put forth by the administration one year ago is designed to potentially save the nation 1.8 billion barrels of oil in coming years.

Granholm applauded the President's endeavors to create a "national standard," by which she hopes that Michigan may, "produce the best fuel efficient vehicles in the world." Jackson asserted that the President's new memorandum, "sets our nation on the path to lead the world in the development of clean cars."

Added LaHood, "We are laying the foundation for a cleaner, greener transportation sector. This new and improved transportation sector will provide greater environmental benefits, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and enhance America's competitiveness with a new generation of advanced electric vehicles."