[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 24, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6009-S6011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IDAHOANS SPEAK OUT ON HIGH ENERGY PRICES

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, earlier this week, I asked Idahoans to 
share with me how high energy prices are affecting their lives, and 
they responded by the hundreds. The stories, numbering over 1,000, are 
heartbreaking and touching. To respect their efforts, I am submitting 
every e-mail sent to me through energy_prices@crapo .senate.gov to the 
Congressional Record. This is not an issue that will be easily 
resolved, but it is one that deserves immediate and serious attention, 
and Idahoans deserve to be heard. Their stories not only detail their 
struggles to meet everyday expenses, but also have suggestions and 
recommendations as to what Congress can do now to tackle this problem 
and find solutions that last beyond today. I ask unanimous consent to 
have today's letters printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

       To whom it may concern: The rising cost of fuel and food 
     are a big concern for us that live in Northern Idaho. We live 
     in a lightly populated area and the trips to ``town'' are 
     right at 100 miles round trip. We are on Social Security and 
     Social Security doesn't allow a lot of flexibility in what a 
     person can spend. Basic items like home heating and food 
     prices have made huge changes in the way we live.
       Recently we had a death in the family in another state 
     (Arizona). After figuring the cost of both driving and flying 
     we determined it would be too much of an expense for us to 
     go. We sent our love and regards--but that doesn't take the 
     place of a hug. The cost of heating our home with heating oil 
     has gone from under a dollar a gallon to 3.97 at the last 
     tank fill up. That is a huge increase for a basic need. Many 
     are worse off then we are and have to choose between being 
     warm and eating. Something must be done.
       Every day we see our government reaching out with aid to 
     other countries. . . .what about those right here in America? 
     I expect the stimulus payment most people received went to 
     catch up on a couple of bills--no one could afford the luxury 
     of just frivolously spending it. We need everyday, down-to-
     earth practical help so basic needs can be met.
       Please stop this ever-increasing price on fuel and food.
           Thank you. . . .sincerely,
     Mr. and Mrs. Ray, Priest River.
                                  ____

       I normally drive our 1999 Chevy Suburban. It gets 14 MPG on 
     average. With gas prices over $4.00 a gallon I just use this 
     simple rule of thumb to calculate how much a trip on the 
     interstate costs me. It's simple. At normal interstate speed 
     of 65 MPH, it costs me $20.00 an hour to drive. 65 divided by 
     14 = 4.65 x $4.10 a gallon = $19.00 not including wear and 
     tear. So $20.00 an hour is my rule of thumb.
       Now if I lived 1 hour from work and I made $12.50 an hour, 
     I would have to work 3.2 hours more to get my 8 hours pay.
       Do the math yourself. This has to be fixed.
       A few things that bother me the most:
       Hearing that the gas companies have made ``record profits'' 
     again while I'm paying for it; the price of a barrel of oil 
     goes up in the morning then by noon the same day the price of 
     gas goes up even though that gas has been in the underground 
     tank for days; the price of a barrel of oil goes down in the 
     morning but the gas prices stay the same until they can go up 
     again later; relying on foreign oil. That is relying on a 
     foreign people who are not necessarily our friends or care 
     about us; we have oil under our own ground but can't get it? 
     Why?
       Here's a question. Since when is not having oil not a 
     national security issue?
     Aaron, Caldwell.
                                  ____

       Senator: Nightly, I listen to a number of pundits and 
     politicos debate the ``solutions'' to our energy problems. 
     One of the more ridiculous ones is mandating people switch to 
     higher fuel efficiency automobiles (i.e., buy a new car). As 
     a small business owner, our health insurance premiums have 
     just gone up (again), the minimum wage has risen, grocery 
     costs are rising and our 401k is diminishing. The very 
     thought of anyone in Congress telling me I have to replace my 
     ``paid for'' cars, and take out a loan to buy a new (more 
     energy efficient) car is ludicrous!! Gasoline would have to 
     be over $10 a gallon to make economic sense to my family, in 
     lieu of absorbing a car payment.
       I support drilling offshore and in ANWAR, as well as shale 
     oil extraction. I think it's time that the world's most 
     technologically-advanced nation illustrate to the world the 
     most technologically advanced means of extracting energy. I'm 
     deeply offended that the United States government, who can't 
     profitably manage Amtrak, the US Postal Service, or even its 
     own Senate cafeteria, has the audacity to pretend to convince 
     me that they know more about ``safe & sound'' energy 
     extraction than the companies that are professionals in this 
     endeavor. I hear people crying about how drilling in the US 
     might ``spoil natural resources''! I'd be willing to wager 
     that if we weren't dependent upon Middle Eastern oil, we 
     could have, most likely, saved about 4,000 US Servicemen and 
     women's lives. That cost of natural resource is infinitely 
     greater than a handful of caribou!
           Respectfully,
     Daniel, Boise.
                                  ____

       My mother-in-law (80 years old) had emergency surgery in 
     Grand Junction, Colorado. With increased fuel prices, the air 
     fare to fly my wife to Grand Junction ONE WAY was almost 
     $900. I drove separately to Grand Junction so our car would 
     be available for our use. The total mileage over a week's 
     time was in excess of 1,500 miles and, at over $4.00/gal, our 
     fuel bill (23 miles/gal) exceeded $260.00. I'd like to buy a 
     more fuel-efficient car, but my down payment was 
     significantly reduced!
       In eastern Idaho, the cost to go camping, fishing, or 
     hunting will average from 50 miles to 150 miles or more round 
     trip. A weekend outing has increased in cost from $5.00 to 
     $16.00 for someone with a small SUV to $7.50-$22.50 when 
     using the standard pickup and pulling a boat or trailer. This 
     is based on $4.00/gal fuel compared to $2.50/gal a year ago. 
     Summertime costs can easily be $100 per month more for fuel 
     in this area just for simple recreation (long distances and 
     not much else to do). Add a few trips to the store for 
     supplies and the costs can be 50% higher. We can't afford 
     these extra costs.
       Some think the answer is E-85 Ethanol from corn, but that 
     does NOT save significant petroleum products and creates 
     additional water pollution in corn-growing states. 
     Additionally, my cost for food for my family has gone up 
     significantly because of the increase in the price of corn. 
     So why, oh why, do you in the government PAY the Midwest 
     ethanol producers $0.51/gal to pollute the water and drive up 
     the cost of food throughout the country, while still using as 
     much oil for tractors in the fields, fuel trucks to transport 
     the ethanol (it can't go in pipelines), fertilizer, fuel the 
     ethanol plants, and other energy costs for something that 
     only has about 68% of the energy content of gasoline? You in 
     the government should get out of the way of the energy 
     industry. They were doing fine before government got 
     involved. Please let the energy sector drill for oil, develop 
     coal and oil shale gasification technologies, mine the off-
     shore methane deposits, and set as a goal that nuclear power 
     plants will be licensed as fast as they can be built. 
     Government reviews should be minimal and should help instead 
     of hinder our progress. Wind power should be developed in 
     areas which have minimal impact (look at the INL site--huge 
     area where the Idaho wind blows all the time). Small solar 
     installations could easily be developed as the solar energy 
     industry grows. The very best thing that government could do 
     is to GET OUT OF THE WAY!! Maybe a few insects and frogs will 
     die as a result, but it is better than running out of energy 
     and then trying to figure out what to do in the dark
     Daryl.
                                  ____

       Senator Crapo: I wanted to briefly share some of the 
     impacts the high fuel prices are having on my family. I drive 
     32 miles one way to work. My car gets about 25 miles per 
     gallon. So it is costing me almost $10 a day just to go to 
     work. My husband is a farmer. We normally purchase 500 
     gallons of fuel at a time for the farm. We have not been 
     financially able to buy it this spring/summer. He has cut 
     back on the water of the crop because the power bills are so 
     high, which will most likely affect the yield. Fertilizer is 
     skyrocketing. Diesel is ridiculous. Our entire food supply is 
     going to be affected as other farmers face these same 
     problems. We are not buying any extras anymore. Groceries 
     have increased, so non-essentials like chips, candy, boxed 
     cereals, etc. are out. We are not eating out like we used to 
     either. We normally ate out once or twice a week. For the 
     past 18 years, I have planted beautiful potted flowers for 
     the entrance of our home, usually spending around $300. I 
     will not be planting flowers like that this year. We are not 
     buying any new clothes for summer. We'll have to make do.
       We live in an area where several years ago BP Petroleum 
     came through and indicated that studies show fuel resources 
     are available, however, nothing that we know of is being done 
     to proceed with any exploration or development.
       You would think that a country as great as ours with as 
     many resources as we have would not allow themselves to be 
     held hostage to foreign fuel resources!!!! We would 
     appreciate any help you can send our way.
           Sincerely,
     Marie.
                                  ____


                   Proposition Fuel Refund and Reform

       Item 1: There shall be a $4.0 billion one-time charge 
     imposed against each Refinery listed in Item 1 that shall be 
     refunded to all California drivers with a valid California 
     drivers license and age 18 and over. This Charge shall be 
     apply to Exxon Mobil, BP (includes ARCO), Texaco, Chevron, 
     Conoco Phillips, Shell, and Citgo. Each Refinery Charged the 
     refund shall pay their amount to the California State 
     Treasury for disbursement within 60 days of the passage of

[[Page S6010]]

     this Proposition. The state shall disburse this money within 
     150 days of the passage of this Proposition. There shall be a 
     daily fine of $10 million a day charged to any Refinery that 
     has not paid its share of the refund in the allotted time 
     payable to the State of California general fund.
       Item 2: All Refineries shall sell off all fuel retail 
     establishments within one year of the passage of this 
     proposition. No Refinery or fuel wholesaler shall be allowed 
     to own or control any fuel retail outlets with the passage of 
     this proposition. The price of these establishments must fall 
     within the current market value within its area. Violation of 
     this item will result in a daily fine of 10 million dollars 
     per day payable to the State of California general fund.
       Item 3: Any present and future contracts between fuel 
     retail outlets shall be hereby banned and null and void. Any 
     fuel retail establishment shall be able to purchase fuel from 
     any Refinery or fuel wholesaler he or she chooses without 
     restriction. Also any retail outlet shall be able to sell 
     multiple brands of fuel without restriction. Violation of 
     this item by any Refinery or fuel wholesaler will result in a 
     daily fine of ten million dollars per day payable to the 
     State of California general fund until corrected.
       Item 4: Each Refinery selling fuel in California shall 
     maintain a stored reserve of fuel within the borders of 
     California equal to 1.5 times the monthly volume of fuel it 
     sells within the State of California. This requirement shall 
     be enforced beginning 1 year from the passage of this 
     proposition by the State of California. Violation of this 
     item by any Refinery or fuel wholesaler will result in a 
     daily fine of 10 million dollars per day payable to the State 
     of California general fund until corrected.
       Item 5: Beginning 10 days after the passage of this 
     Proposition and for a period of 5 years, wholesale prices of 
     gasoline and diesel per gallon sold to retail establishments 
     in the State of California shall not exceed 1.2 percent of 
     the average price of oil per barrel on the world market. 
     Violation of this item will result in a daily fine of 10 
     million dollars per day payable to the State of California 
     general fund.
       Item 6: Beginning 10 days after the passage of this 
     Proposition and for a period of 5 years retail prices of 
     gasoline and diesel per gallon sold in the State of 
     California shall not exceed 2.0 percent of the average price 
     of oil per barrel on the world market. Violation of this item 
     will result in a daily fine of 10 thousand dollars per day 
     payable to the State of California general fund.
       Item 7: The people of California have determined by the 
     passing of this proposition that the Refineries listed in 
     item one meet the definition of a monoply because of the way 
     fuel prices have risen everywhere in the state of California 
     in unison in the past 4 years, because these refineries 
     dominate the market, and by the documented huge increased, 
     sustained and increasing profits made by these oil 
     refineries. The people of California request the United 
     States department of Justice apply antitrust legal action 
     against the refineries listed in item 1.
       Item 8: If any Items listed in this proposition are 
     nullified by court action then all other Items shall remain 
     in effect.
     Unsigned.
                                  ____

       Senator Crapo: Thank you for asking for my opinion. As I 
     interact with my employees as a business executive, with my 
     fellow church members as a church leader, and as a husband 
     and father, I think the real bottom line is this: The great 
     majority of people have no viable alternative to spending 
     additional money on fuel and many other goods and services 
     that also rise with fuel price increases. Most people are 
     just paying more because there is no alternative. This means 
     that bankruptcy, unemployment, and other severe financial 
     strains will be staved off until they cannot be held off 
     anymore, and then it will collapse. The danger signs of 
     energy dependence are so dire, yet congress does not make any 
     moves. I think the future is bleak for individuals on the 
     edge, and a large ``correction'' is due. I also would not be 
     surprised to see your constituents come after congress with 
     pitchforks and torches, but I have doubts that congress will 
     act.
     Aaron, Coeur d'Alene.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: Today, we had to make the difficult 
     choice of putting fuel in the car or grocery shopping. You 
     see, we needed milk, bread, and some other staples and we 
     needed a tank of gas. Each purchase was going to amount to 
     around $80, and we had to choose one or the other. So we 
     gassed up the car and decided to try to make it until payday 
     with the food that we had at home.
       I have never felt so sick or downtrodden at the one or the 
     other kind of option we faced today. I went home and also 
     deduced through some back bills that our housing heating and 
     cooling has doubled since 2002. In only six years our gas has 
     gone from $67 a month to $112 and our electric from $87 to 
     $167, despite my keeping our heating at 65 day and 60 night 
     in the winter and our cooling at 75 in the summer. We are 
     hard pressed to pay those bills in addition to gas. This 
     spiral has got to stop or I do not know how we are going to 
     manage.
           Sincerely,
     D., Boise.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: I commute 52 miles round trip daily to 
     Rexburg from Idaho Falls. Since January I have been car 
     pooling with a co-worker in my department and we are 
     encouraging our employer to let us telecommute at least one 
     day a week. My family has declared two days a week as ``no 
     drive days'' where we don't even turn the key in either of 
     our cars. We save our errands and schedule appointments for 
     other days of the week. This basic routine is helping, but 
     not enough.
       We recently had a daughter in the hospital in Idaho Falls 
     for seven and a half weeks, and for another four and a half 
     weeks at the University of Utah Medical Center. Those 
     expenses were of course offset by health insurance, although 
     out of pocket expenses still amounted to thousands of 
     dollars. However during those 12 weeks we had no choice but 
     to drive to the hospital daily while fuel prices were 
     skyrocketing. This created a sudden and unexpected burden on 
     our family budget. With the added cost of fuel forecasted to 
     stay high into the future, our financial recovery is nowhere 
     in sight.
           Thanks for listening.
     Bob and Beverly, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       Senator Crapo: I own a small retail shop in Salmon, Idaho. 
     Retailers in this area depend on the local economy and on 
     Tourism to make ends. Tourists provide 60% of our sales 
     revenue and the gas prices have dramatically diminished 
     travelers. Whitewater rafting companies are struggling and my 
     retail store is in danger. I am unable to meet my monthly 
     expenses, let alone purchase merchandise to replenish my 
     normal inventory. Consumers cannot afford anything beyond gas 
     and food. Prices have doubled on groceries, shipping and all 
     are related to rising fuel costs. Most of the people I know 
     have no extra from their paychecks and it is killing small 
     businesses all over the Country! Here in the Rocky Mountains 
     we can't drive hybrid cars. The snow, rain and rural homes 
     make cars impossible. We have to have 4 wheel drives and 
     chains just to get out of our driveways and to the grocery 
     store! There is no mass transit and carpooling wouldn't be 
     feasible.
       Congress seems to be at a loss as to what to do and if 
     something doesn't happen soon we will be facing a major 
     depression! The Speculators are driving prices even higher 
     and the oil producing nations are unwilling to cut their 
     profits. Most of us feel that Congress and the Senate are in 
     bed with the oil companies.
       Something has to be done to open oil and gas production in 
     this Country. We have Anwar, the Bakkan oil in the North 
     Central States and off shore oil pockets. It is time that our 
     government look out for the American People and stop bucking 
     under to the Environmentalists.
       Something has to be done quickly. Long-term renewable 
     energy sources will take decades, by that time all the small 
     businesses like mine will be forced to either close or file 
     bankruptcy. Currently my shop is in jeopardy. I am behind on 
     all my bills and my credit has been ruined so I can't even 
     get a loan to get me through the crisis. If our governmental 
     body can't find a solution now, then expect to see small and 
     medium businesses go under. We are the backbone of this land 
     and we need some backbone leadership!!!!
           Sincerely
     Donna, Salmon.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: I would be more than happy to share our 
     story of high energy prices and the toll it is taking on our 
     family and our finances. My husband and I find it outrageous 
     that environmental groups can have SO much pull in this 
     country to put bans on the construction of oil refineries, 
     liquid coal plants and drilling for our own domestic 
     petroleum. At this point, we are dependant on this 
     abundant and efficient fuel. There is no other alternative 
     right now to take the place of petroleum--at least nothing 
     that is practical, efficient and most importantly--
     affordable!!! To ignore our vast reserves of coal and oil 
     in this country to leave us dependent on Middle East Fuel 
     is ludicrous. There is wonderful technology out there that 
     can turn coal into liquid fuel that burns cleaner than 
     gasoline! But because your average environmentalist does 
     not understand how this technology works--they are against 
     it because traditionally burnt coal is filthy. They would 
     rather grow food crops to fill their tanks up while people 
     and animals starve.
       We live in Salmon, Idaho. My husband is a Real Estate 
     Appraiser who frequently travels almost 600 miles in a week 
     simply to reach the properties to do his work. The cost of 
     living necessitates at this point that he take EVERY SINGLE 
     job that crosses his desk--so frequently driving round-trip 
     to Arco and back in a day or over to Missoula, Montana and 
     back in a day is a normal thing. BUT--the drawback is that 
     right now we have an outstanding balance on our Chevron card 
     that is over $1,400 and over limit--so we can't even use the 
     card. We make large payments every month, but with the 
     interest rate we still have not been able to bring the 
     balance low enough to even use the card. So we pay the 
     Chevron bill AND pay for gas out of our regular checking 
     account. The Chevron card went well over limit way back when 
     gas hit $3.50 a gallon, and we have not been able to catch up 
     and bring the balance down. We have a propane bill that is 
     over $1,100 right now that I pay $125 a month on--but this is 
     a balance from an $1,800 fill up of our tank back in November 
     of 2007. I am going to call the gas company this week to see 
     if they will fill the tank now while prices are ``lower''.

[[Page S6011]]

     So we will probably have a bill that is over $3,000 for 
     heating our home basically 6 months out of the year. If gas 
     goes any higher--we are going to have to figure out how to 
     get even deeper in debt to find a cheaper way to heat our 
     home in the winter. As you know--Idaho gets cold. We HAVE to 
     heat our home!!! Living in Salmon, we HAVE to drive over 300 
     miles in a round trip either to Idaho Falls or Missoula 
     Montana for doctors, Costco, clothes shopping etc.--as due to 
     there being a lack of logging or mining anymore there is 
     really no local options for shopping, etc. The very lives of 
     people living here depend on big rig trucks bringing our food 
     etc. For MANY years now, we have been hearing of the Idaho 
     Cobalt Project--but because the environmentalists have such a 
     stranglehold on ALL industries in this country--we are still 
     awaiting word of WHEN or IF this project will start. If it 
     does get clearance, Salmon, Idaho will once again have jobs 
     that pay a living wage for a family. We have a house that we 
     moved out of in downtown Salmon in 2005--it has been sitting 
     empty awaiting a buyer since then. It is in a commercial 
     zone--and commercial is dead in Salmon. We filed paperwork 
     with our mortgage company way back in February to give the 
     house back in a Deed in Lieu--and we are still awaiting 
     word!!! Apparently, the mortgage companies are backlogged 
     about 6 months? We can't afford to visit family in California 
     because we can't afford the gas. My husband's mother and 
     father in California got extremely ill this last year, but he 
     was never able to visit because of the debt load we are 
     carrying and how expensive driving or flying is!! We are 
     working to make payments and catch up on our gas bills that 
     are maxed out right now. We stopped making payments on a 
     house that would not sell for 3 years now--that has left us 
     behind in everything. With fuel costs continuing to rise 
     because we have a Democratic Liberal, Anti-American Congress 
     that continues to ban any sort of domestic drilling for our 
     own petroleum deposits--we don't even have a chance to catch 
     up right now as gas prices continue to rise. We are fortunate 
     though. My husband has a busy and successful business and 
     thankfully at least, we are able to work to make our 
     payments. On Father's Day, we decided against a picnic any 
     further than 5 miles out of town because of the cost of fuel. 
     It is sickening to us that our government cares SO little for 
     the average working American. It is sad that our government 
     has allowed itself to be controlled by secular humanist 
     environmentalists who care more for a spotted owl or a tiny 
     snail than the human family. Just ask anyone here in Salmon 
     how we feel about the forests being shut down to logging--yet 
     it is perfectly fine for the forest that is becoming nothing 
     more than a deadfall tinderbox to burn and choke us with 
     toxic, suffocating smoke for 2 months every summer! Something 
     has to change because if it does not soon--this country is 
     going to enter a depression that makes the Great Depression 
     look like the Good Old Days!!!
           Sincerely,
     Brent and Katie, Salmon.
                                  ____

       It is very hard to understand why the United States, the 
     most powerful Nation on Earth, is begging the Middle East for 
     oil. We need to immediately increase drilling off shore, in 
     Alaska and other States, plus utilize technology available to 
     extract oil from shale deposits in the Rocky Mountains. We 
     have advanced technology sufficiently to be safe for the 
     environment and yet provide for ourselves rather than being 
     dependent upon the Middle East.
       Is it true that China is drilling off the Florida coast, 
     but we can't? In Idaho Falls, the Chamber is bragging about 
     bringing a French company's new uranium enrichment plant and 
     the corresponding jobs to the area to fuel nuclear power for 
     France. WHAT--we have had the capability of generating 
     nuclear power at the INEL for 35 years. My father worked at 
     the INEL for 35 years. You mean to tell me the 
     environmentalists will allow uranium enrichment for France, 
     but we can't utilize an existing US nuclear plant for power 
     for Idaho?
       Bio-fuels are not the whole answer, it puts too much 
     pressure on our farmland that we need to crop food crops. The 
     prices of food are going up enough because of the fuel costs.
       The US has substantial coal deposits, we need to build more 
     coal fired power plants. Combined with the nuclear and wind, 
     we should be able to have more than enough power to re-charge 
     hybrid cars.
       Besides increasing drilling in the US, we need to invest in 
     some updated/additional refineries.
       Then, Congress needs to do something about the speculators 
     driving up the price of crude oil. I don't know if you can 
     make it illegal to speculate on oil futures or restrict it, 
     but news media are reporting that $3.00 of every gallon goes 
     to speculators profits buying and selling.
     Chris, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator: My husband and I own a small business in 
     Lewiston, where we do print advertising and TV/Video 
     productions (among other things). We live close to our 
     business, so although our fuel prices have increased, it's 
     not having a huge impact--YET. However, we frequently have to 
     travel across or out of the state to shoot various jobs, and 
     we are now having to charge such high travel expenses that we 
     are at risk of losing some clients to production companies 
     closer to their location, even though they would prefer to 
     keep working with us. We are bidding on a job right now which 
     falls in that category--a year ago we would have quoted them 
     $200 for mileage, and now we have to quote almost $500. 
     Obviously this will impact our bottom line by the end of the 
     year--something that we really can't afford.
     Bobri, Lewiston.
                                  ____

       Senator Crapo: I would guess that my story is different 
     than the story you were looking for.
       In 1974 I graduated from the University of California with 
     a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
       The height of the first real Oil Crisis created by OPEC.
       Because of the skyrocketing price of gasoline, gas lines, 
     and shortages, I purchased a manual transmission diesel 
     Volkswagen for $7,500. That car on average got 52 miles per 
     gallon. Diesel is a cheap byproduct of gasoline refinement. 
     At that time, it cost \1/2\ the price of gasoline per gallon.
       Tell me why it costs more than gasoline now?
       A few weeks after graduation, I was granted a full 
     scholarship to continue engineering graduate school at UC.
       In 1979 I graduated from UC with a Ph.D. in Mechanical 
     Engineering, my specialty: thermodynamics, energy, and 
     materials science. My thesis was on the extraction of heat 
     energy from hot geothermal brine solutions.
       I started working for a startup company purchased by 
     Weyerhaeuser. My project was researching burning lignite 
     (dirty coal) in a fluidized bed reactor to produce clean coal 
     energy. It included the removal of NOX, 
     SOX, and high temperature particulate down below 
     the submicron size.
       My research burned one train car load of lignite 
     (environmentally the worst coal to burn with the lowest 
     heating value) from West Virginia, in Menlo Park, CA every 
     day 24/7 for nearly 9 months performing experiments under 
     contract with the US DOE. Our work was successful but went no 
     further. During the operation of that combustion system and 
     the associated experiments we passed all EPA combustion gas 
     stream standards. That company years later went bankrupt. I 
     left after 2 years to join Hewlett Packard in their computer 
     systems group. For the past 25 years I've been involved in 
     semiconductor manufacturing.
       Thirty years have passed and sadly our government is no 
     closer to a long term proactive energy policy than it was in 
     1979.
       It is a national disgrace and one day will be a national 
     disaster which will make the Great Depression pale in 
     comparison.
       PLEASE, wait no longer. Turning food stocks into ethanol, 
     waiting for cheap solar, and looking to the wind to solve 
     this global crisis is beyond ridiculous.
       Drill now in ANWR, Drill off the Coasts of Florida, and 
     California, Turn on the clean coal industry and liquefy coal 
     for fuel, build as many nuclear power plants as fast as 
     possible (then maybe we can avoid the energy depression). I 
     don't believe we have another 30 years to gamble away.
           Regards,
     Larry, Eagle.
                                  ____

       Mike, I really believe that we don't need to find 
     alternative fuels. America is set up to burn petroleum based 
     products and there are so many drawbacks to all of the 
     ``bio'' fuels. We have lots of oil right off of our own 
     coasts and in the Gulf on Mexico, ANWR and North and South 
     Dakota with oil shale.
       Our problem to being independent is not supply, Arabs or 
     the environment! It's Congress and the wacko left enviro 
     crowd who would rather see us all on bicycles!
       I'm 62 years old and I DO ride a bicycle. However, like you 
     mentioned in your opening letter, bikes don't work all the 
     time in Idaho. Matter of fact between October and June, they 
     suck! We had 2" of snow in Moscow on June 10th this year.
       Congress needs to just get out of the way and let industry 
     do its thing.
       Mike, I realize you're only one Senator from a little-known 
     state out West that doesn't matter to everybody East of the 
     Mississippi River but some how we have to find the courage to 
     stand up to the liberal Dems before our economy state and 
     country are turned into a Third World European nightmare like 
     B. H. O is designing.
           Sincerely,
     Dave, Moscow.

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