Yesterday, the President delivered these words to the American public:
"I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy – because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.
So I am happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party – as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels
...the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is too big and too difficult to meet.'
If the President "will not accept... inaction", and plans on actually delivering on this message, then why the heck is it mid-June already and we're still without the extension of the biodiesel tax credit?
Hey Obama, the first step to enacting a bold new energy future is to support the alternatives to fossil fuels that exist today. Now get in there and fight for us!
(Because Harry Reid and the Senate aren't getting it done)
This was crossposted at my blog, Fueled for Thought. I operate Yokayo Biofuels, a small-scale, sustainability-driven manufacturer of local biodiesel made from local, recycled sources in Mendocino County, CA.
For those who would argue that biodiesel is categorically evil, here are some of our sustainability credentials. I served for a time on the National Biodiesel Board's Sustainability Taskforce, and care deeply about advancing this industry far beyond the dominant paradigm.
It blows my mind that in the wake of the BP disaster, while I do what I've done for the last 10 years, displacing petroleum usage and driving to work in a high fuel economy non-petroleum-fueled vehicle, our industry still suffers, and the politicians still bloviate.