State of the Union, Pt. I: George W. Bush, Environmental Crusader?

Tomorrow night is the annual State of the Union address from President Bush.

The AP previews one focus of the speech- Bush Speech to Outline Energy Alternatives

Energy alternatives, eh? Shhhh, don't tell Exxon!

If the President truly cared about salvaging a legacy, this should be issue #1.

Shall I hold my breath?

The articles notes that 'In Bush's vision, drivers will stop at hydrogen stations and fill their fuel-cell cars with the pollution-free fuel. Or they would power their engines with ethanol made from trash or corn. More Americans would run their lights at home on solar power'. That sounds like hippie stuff to me! [*pats SUV*] Of course, many Americans have been utilizing these technologies (solar panels, ethanol-based fuel alternatives) for their own uses for many years and the government has never shown much/any enthusiasm for stepping in to mainstream it. In many cases, it has been quite the opposite.

The article also features a quote where the President states he agrees "with Americans who understand being hooked on foreign oil as an economic problem and a national security problem". He does? This is news to me.

So color me positively intriqued, but skeptical. This is a good issue to focus on, but given their record on environmental and energy issues, I can't imagine much being done besides a lot of talking. The article does note that "Bush has been talking about these ideas since his first year in office"... and I note again that he hasn't done much else beside that. I also remember that as Vice President, Al Gore often brought up the need to reduce our oil dependence and look to alternative energies (and proposed timelines to make it possible)- and was smacked down by the GOP Congress and special interests. One would have to be naive to expect better results (or even sincerity) at this point from President Bush.

If I'm powering my car with corn in a year or two, I'll apologize.