Top energy scientists agree, Bush wrong on alternative fuels

At an all-day Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee conference on "renewable biofuels," witnesses from three of America's premier energy research institutions cast grave doubt on the feasibility of reaching President Bush's State of the Union goal of manufacturing 35 billion gallons a year of alternative fuels by 2017.

Bush's State of the Union announcement was a major boost for the alternative fuels industry. But if the president has thrown out a number that is not supported by the best researchers in the field, the resulting loss of credibility could undercut investor confidence in the industry.

Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), the most senior Republican on the committee and its previous chairman, brought this damaging testimony to light in the last session of an all-day, all-biofuels marathon with some 33 witnesses in six panels. Domenici asked why would Bush have used the 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels goal for 2017 "when you're telling us you don't know how to do it."

So where did Bush's number come from? It remains to be seen whether the Energy Committee will follow through to find out how the president established one of the country's most important energy goals. In the meantime, the country just spent another $1 billion on energy today.

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