Although Bush proposed a fiscal-year 2007 budget that would have increased funding for some renewable-energy resources, including solar and biomass, as well as for research into hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, the budget was not passed. Instead, Congress passed a stop-gap continuing resolution that will keep the budget at 2006 levels, which, because of inflation, amounts to a cut in funding, and it specifically decreases funding in some cases.
[...]
Romm says the budget "for all energy efficiency and all renewable energy is something like a billion. Given [that] the scale of the problem with global warming and our oil imports is so humongous, we're hardly addressing the issue at all."
Perhaps the private sector will pick up the slack, even if some of the incentives go away? Or even if there may be a slowing down of research due to a lack of federal funding?
Wal-Mart has had a few experimental stores that used green energy. This link here shows a row of their solar panels at one store. The text states that Wal-Mart may start pushing green solutions to other stores. With how many stores they have, the impact could be quite impressive.
Farm Futures ran the article, Firms Double Investments in Energy Ventures, today and in it they state that:
Venture capital firms more than doubled their investments in biofuels and other energy ventures in 2006, and even more is expected in 2007.
Maybe we might have a better idea after the Wall Street Green Trading Summit VI which has been announced for April 16th and 17th of 2007.
| technorati tags: alternative energy, energy, Wal-mart, United States, politics, economy |
