REVIEW: Richardson’s energy book
Posted: Friday, November 16, 2007 4:29 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
With energy becoming a big topic on the campaign trail, a book by Bill Richardson on the topic hit shelves last week. Although he emphasizes this issue needs presidential leadership from whomever wins, Richardson attacks his fellow candidates right off the bat.
"I don't provide much fluffy rhetoric in this book," Richardson writes in "Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution." "I leave that to other candidates. This one is about real issues facing the country, issues that desperately demand forceful and focused attention. I am willing to gore some oxen, because I know there can be no sacred cows. I try to provide solutions, not just descriptions of problems."
While the New Mexico Governor complains about the lack of action, his book is bursting full with optimism for the future. In a book that is easy to read for people not well versed with energy issues, his laid-back yet direct personality shines through the book, as he alternates between personal anecdotes about his experience in New Mexico and specific policy proposals. Richardson relates how energy issues affect middle and lower class Americans and compares his ambition to that of Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy, promising to rally the Congress in a bipartisan manner.
After establishing his credentials as he has often does on the stump and in campaign ads (Congressman, Ambassador to the UN where he was "on the front lines of the international global warming debate," Energy Secretary, and Governor of New Mexico which is an "energy-producing state," specifically oil and gas), Richardson lays out his overarching goals: "a 50% reduction in petroleum use by 2020, and an 80% reduction in global warming emissions by 2040."
Like Sen. Clinton, the New Mexico Governor calls for an Apollo-like project, but he makes a slight jab at Clinton for her analogy. "I say the analogy to a man-on-the-moon energy policy project is cheap unless it's based on a commitment to act fast."
In the last chapter of the book, Richardson outlines his vision for the future. Together, his five goals become a "set of strategic programs that work together to reduce oil demand and our carbon emissions" by 2020. The five goals are to reduce oil dependence by as much as 50%; to have better efficiency and more renewables in the electricity and natural gas markets; to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2020, 50% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 90% by 2050; to invest in science and technology; and to lead by example by working with other nations.
Richardson writes the United States must lead "a confused world" and learn from other countries that create innovative programs. He calls for more expensive programs like investing in alternative fuels as well as smaller things individual Americans can do, like children riding their bikes to school instead of being driven in their parents' SUVs. "'Oh,' the right wing will say. 'Richardson thinks we can solve global warming by riding a bike! Ha!' No, I don't think that. But I do think it should be a small but significant step not only in reducing our emissions but also in creating more livable, healthier, and les expensive lifestyles, cities, and energy habits."
"I think we need to expand our investment in new technologies, but the concept of a $10 or $15 billion annual research fund, or a $50 billion/year carbon tax on corporations that produce a bunch of revenue for a government-directed technology fund, is a mistake waiting to happen," Richardson writes. "We might not get a 'bridge to nowhere' from this process, but we'll definitely get research projects and investments to nowhere. No! A thousand times no! How about a private-public investment partnership – run by a mixed board of directors – with the mission of partnering on projects that pay back within ten years, and create new funding for further investment? That sounds a lot better."
Throughout the book, Richardson also criticizes both the Bush administration and current congress for too much inaction and for "allowing the country to drive itself into an energy and climate ditch."
"The oil companies and unfortunately the United States, at this moment, have virtually no credibility when they call for cooperation and engagement, for peaceful resolution of differences so that energy and investment may freely flow," Richardson writes. "The Bush administration, with the support of a compliant Congress, has wasted the credibility this nation once commanded and deserved. It has failed to create the energy diversity, technology, and alternatives that will reduce our almost singular dependence on petroleum for liquid transportation fuel."
And the New Mexico Governor also points a finger at a Republican senator. "Maybe instead of saying 'we' could learn from our European allies, I should instead say America's conservatives – people like Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe who still deny the science of global warming."
But Richardson admits he himself is not perfect -- he drives in a SUV because he's "a big guy" who doesn't "really fit well in smaller cars," as well as to fit his security agents and staff. Instead of banning the vehicles, Richardson calls for lighter materials and better fuel efficiency/alternative fuel-saving technologies.
Overall, Richardson promises to use the bully pulpit for an issue he sees as a top priority. "Unlike the current residents of the White House, I won't set small goals," Richardson writes. "I won't prefer oil and gas production, and I won't scoff at or undermine efforts to address climate changes. I will jaw-bone automakers, labor, members of Congress. I know how it's done. I know many of the players very well. I expect results."
ADDITIONAL INFO: The first goal is to reduce oil dependence by as much as 50% with: plug-in cars; 50 mpg fuel standards for conventional cars; 30% reduction in the carbon impact of liquid fuels and 10% low-carbon renewable fuels in the liquid fuels supply; and improving mass transit.
The second goal is to have better efficiency and more renewables in the electricity and natural gas markets by: using 30% renewable electricity by 2020; improve energy efficiency by 20%; and require carbon clean investments for new power generation.
The third goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by 2020, 50% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. Richardson plans to do this by implementing a market-based cap and trade system.
The fourth goal is to invest in science and technology by making a one-time multibillion-dollar investment in a new Energy and Climate Investment Trust Fund and funding ongoing energy and climate research at universities and agencies.
The fifth and last goal is to lead by example by negotiating with other countries for mandatory international emissions limits; invigorating and motivating the North American Energy Council; financing for developing nations to adopt low-carbon technologies; and stabilizing the defense of international oil and gas transportation routes.
