Link Uniqueness

The bailout included some RE subsidies, so it will be important for the next few tournaments that you have some link uniqueness updates. Here is a good example

http://priceofoil.org/2008/10/06/bailout-bull-energy-earmarks-are-mixed-bag/

The bill that passed in Congress 263-171 and that was signed into law Friday did more than just bail out Wall Street; it also contained several porky provisions for both renewable energy and the fossil fuel industry. Mixed signals, anyone?

Aimed at members who needed an added incentive to support the bailout, these earmarks come in the form of tax extensions, or continuing tax credits to various producers of both renewable and non-renewable energy that would have expired at the end of the year. The extensions bring to an end a year’s worth of congressional bickering over who gets what credits, and how much.

On the renewable side, these extensions have been granted to producers of wind and solar energy, plug-in hybrids and incentives for users of biodiesel. In particular, an eight-year extension was set for home- and business owners who install solar energy equipment. Leaders in the solar industry cheered the bill’s passage as “the most significant federal policy ever enacted for the solar industry.

Good news, right? So why are there similar extensions for tar sand- and coal-based energy companies? Indeed, the bill gives $900 million to refineries who process dirty oils from shales and tar sands, and adds another $2.55 billion for so-called “clean coal.”

The tar sands industry contributes to global warming not only in the costly and polluting process of extracting the oil, but also in feeding an addiction to dirty fossil fuels. Furthermore, it will have no significant effect on U.S. petroleum reserves.Likewise, coal-to-liquids technology is another false solution under the greenwashed banner of “clean coal.”

In short, the bailout bill is a mixed bag from any perspective. While the renewable energy credits have gotten top billing in the press, these fossil fuel subsidies have passed largely under the radar. Clearly, despite some progress in clean energy, Congress has voted to continue subsidizing practices that pull us even farther away from our goal of converting to clean, renewable energy. This is more evidence that its members’ loyalties lie with corporations, not constituents.