Politics of energy and autos
Two more leaked cabinet choices from the incoming Obama Administration. Both will have influence on energy, land use and green tech subsidies.
Interior Secretary nominee: Sen. Ken Salazar (Colorado-D). Here's what his official website says about his enviornmental credo: "He has made sure that the federal government keeps its promise to protect our land and water and is working to find ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil through sensible exploration and drilling, increased innovation and investment in renewable energy."
Did you notice the federal government keeping any promises of any kind recently? Which agency acronym now represents the biggest failure, would you guess? SEC, FEMA, CIA, POTUS, SCOTUS, DOJ...the list is nauseatingly long right now.
Agriculture Secretary nominee: former Iowa governor Thomas J. Vilsack (D). This guy'll be right in the middle of the on-going debate and scuffling over ethanol and corn subsidies. Here's what Vilsack's myspace site says about Iowa and energy: "Iowa’s become a leader in alternative energies with bio-fuel and ethanol production." I don't think he's known for pushing switchgrass production, do you? ARE WE THERE YET?
Not quite, but it appears the U.S. Treasury Department is going to open our coffers to GM and Chrysler. Probably $8 billion to keep giant GM from doing a Goliath and falling over backwards before there's a new President. Another four big bills to keep Chrysler fuelled through Q1, 2009. Nothing confirmed but negotiations between the two periled, broke, broken, begging, beleaguered automakers and our federal moneybags continue.
How much money will the Detroit Shrinking Three need if they are to survive 2009. A whole lot if one auto PARTS maker is right. This firm predicts auto sales in the U.S. of under 9.5 million vehicles next year. That's way down from this year and peaked compared to the sixteen million cars sold in the U.S. in 2006. The record is still the 18 million sold back in 1999, cheap gas and the tech bubble still inflating. Those were the days, my friend.