In the Pipeline: 6/15/11

The line in the sand has been drawn — 40 Senators took a stand against ethanol subsidiesThe Hill (6/14/11) reports: Thirty-four Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to advance a proposal eliminating a $6 billion ethanol tax break, which one GOP leader said struck a blow against the Taxpayer Protection Pledge…But the measure fell 20 votes short, 40-59, as most Democrats voted against proceeding… The vote came on an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to eliminate a 45-cent tax break given to refiners for every gallon of ethanol they blend with gasoline…The proposal did not offset the cost of the increase, an apparent violation of Americans for Tax Reform’s (ATR) tax pledge requiring signatories to oppose “any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”… The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated Tuesday that Coburn’s amendment would raise $2.4 billion in tax revenue over the rest of this year.

Whoops! Turns out greenies haven’t done the math on electric cars and as it turns out, those battery powered vehicles are horrible for the environment The Australian (6/14/11) reports: An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime because they typically have a range of less than 145km on a single charge and are unsuitable for long trips. Even those driven 160,000km would save only about a tonne of CO2 over their lifetimes…The British study, which is the first analysis of the full lifetime emissions of electric cars covering manufacturing, driving and disposal, undermines the case for tackling climate change by the rapid introduction of electric cars…The Committee on Climate Change, the UK government watchdog, has called for the number of electric cars on Britain’s roads to increase from a few hundred now to 1.7 million by 2020.

Oh yeah, and people don’t have the proper outlets at home to charge electric vehicles eitherCNBC (6/15/11) reports: Few U.S. homeowners who are interested in owning electrical vehicles live in houses equipped to charge them quickly, a survey found Tuesday… More than three-quarters, 78 percent, of potential buyers of electric cars like the Chevy Volt do not have the high-voltage electrical outlets in their garages that can quickly charge such vehicles, according to a survey by diversified U.S. manufacturer SPX Corp, which makes equipment to charge electric vehicles…However, 99 percent of respondents lived in homes that could have the necessary 240-volt outlets — also commonly used for heavy appliances like electric dryers — installed…The survey highlights an obstacle to wider adoption of electric cars, which are gaining in popularity but still account for a small portion of overall U.S. car sales.

Time to come clean you anti-coal folks and just admit you hate human progress and the poorNew York Times (6/14/11) reports: The six massive silos standing beside this industrial port in northeastern China hold seemingly contradictory promises: They could help improve the quality of China’s polluted air, but they might also contribute to faster global warming… The silos, which are scheduled to start operation in July, are designed to blend cleaner-burning imported coal with China’s own high-polluting domestic coal, which is contaminated with sulfur and dust…Coal blending will produce a mixture that will help electric utilities meet China’s steadily tightening environmental regulations. It will also increase the efficiency of coal-fired plants by slightly reducing the quantity of coal needed. Burning less coal means less greenhouse gases emitted…But critics argue there is a darker side to cleaner coal…“Anything that makes coal more cost effective, like blending, which is only enabling China to burn more coal, is bad news for the global struggle against carbon emissions,” said Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society in New York.

Hey greenies, stop recording Rachael Maddow every night — your DVR is destroying the world CNET News (6/15/11) reports: The Natural Resources Defense Council has ranked the biggest energy hogs in the home, and the thing that’s gobbling up the most is probably not what you think: the pairing of your digital video recorder and set-top box…The environmental monitoring group released a study today that says that a high-definition cable or satellite set-top box when combined with a high-definition DVR uses up 446 kilowatt hours per year. That’s more than a new Energy Star rated 21 cubic-foot refrigerator, which uses 415 kWh per year, according to the NRDC’s data…The combination of an HD DVR and an HD cable or satellite box in a house wastes many hours of energy even when not in use, the group found. The study reports that it costs American consumers more in electricity bills per year when they’re not using their DVR and set-top box than when they are: $2 billion a year versus $1 billion a year collectively…The group estimates that there are 160 million set top boxes currently installed in U.S. homes, and together they emit 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year…Among the different types of set-tops the NRDC tested, streaming only devices (Roku, Apple TV), and standard-definition receivers consumed much less power than HD receivers and HD DVRs.