A few comments by Glenn Schleede on DOE's newly released report:
"Scenarios of U.S. Carbon Reductions: Potential Impacts of Energy Technologies by 2010 and Beyond," September 25, 1997

Key Reasons Why You Should Not Accept or Believe DOE's New Report:

1. Numerous unrealistic assumptions -- piled on each other; e.g. that:

a. Technologies will be successfully developed when DOE estimates, and will be as cheap and environmentally benign as DOE hopes.

b. Governments will adopt the laws, taxes and "tax incentives" necessary to force adoption of the technologies.

c. Individuals and families will be able to afford the technologies and still have money left to pay for food, shelter, clothing, medical care, education and taxes.

d. Business and industry will be able to afford the technologies while still paying employees and staying in business.

e. The economy will be able to stand the displacement and transfer payments envisioned by DOE.

2. DOE and its predecessor agencies have a sad history of:

a. Unsuccessful R&D efforts and failed technology promises.

b. Spending over $100 billion on energy R&D -- while nearly all energy R&D success have been produced by the private sector or defense R&D spinoffs.

c. False claims about energy and energy cost savings from its R&D and regulatory programs.

What is the DOE Report?

A cleverly written bit of propaganda designed to garner public, media and Congressional support for pouring more tax dollars into DOE, its "national laboratories" and other contractors for "energy R&D."
 
 

Note that:

1. It was written by the DOE National Labs.

2. Virtually all the so-called "peer reviewers" are present or former employees of DOE and its contractors, grantees and subcontractors.

3. The report doesn't tell how many tax dollars DOE wants for its "vigorous commitment: to develop and deploy new technologies.

4. Its release was timed to support the President's recent unrealistic statement that greenhouse gas reductions could be achieved without cost -- and the upcoming (October 6th) "White House Conference" on "global warming."

5. DOE seems incapable of objective analysis, preferring to be a propaganda machine to produce more tax dollars for its spending programs.
 
 

Count on:

• DOE, its labs and other contractors, their Washington reps, trade associations and advocacy groups (some supported by tax dollars flowing through DOE) to tout the report as the reason to throw more tax $ at "energy R&D."

This page was last updated October 8, 1997.