Today, President Bush has signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This long-awaited bill spearheaded by Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL) passed the House 314 to 100 and includes three major parts including the Bright Energy Savings Act, the H-Prize and new CAFE standards.
The Bright Energy Savings Act calls for all government offices to replace their standard light bulbs with energy saving CFL bulbs. The conversion to CFL’s is expected to save 75-percent on energy costs.
The H-Prize will give incentives worth $50 million to companies that create breakthrough hydrogen technology. Areas such as hydrogen production, storage, delivery and transportation technology will be considered for the awards.
CAFE standards will also be increased from the 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.5 for light duty trucks to 35 mpg average for both by the year 2020. This will save families up to $1,000 per year in fuel costs.
In past State of the Union Addresses, President Bush has talked about promoting hydrogen cars, ethanol vehicles and the need to get off our “addiction to oil.” Signing the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is a sorely needed step in this direction.
Here’s a vote for July 10 being National U. S. Energy Independence Day http://www.usenergyindependenceday.com/