Natural Resources Defense Council • Sierra Club • League of
Conservation Voters Earthjustice • Environment America • World
Wildlife Fund • Greenpeace US Greenpeace Canada • Public Citizen •
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Friends Committee on National
Legislation• Boreal Songbird Initiative The Pembina Institute •
Council of Canadians • Environmental Defence Canada Corporate
Ethics International • Toxics Watch Society of Alberta •
ForestEthics Oil Change International • Rainforest Action Network •
Earthworks Global Community Monitor • Polaris Institute • Sierra
Club of Canada Western Organization of Research Councils • Friends
of the Earth Indigenous Environmental Network
May 7, 2008
Dear Senator,
On behalf of our millions of members and activists, we urge you
to oppose amendments to the 2008 National Defense Authorization
Bill that would repeal section 526 of the Energy Security and
Independence Act of 2007. We also urge you to oppose the
authorization of long-term contracting authority for unconventional
fuels to the Department of Defense (DoD).
Section 526 was included in the 2007 energy bill to address
concerns about spending taxpayer dollars to develop alternative
fuel sources that make global warming worse. This provision bars
federal agencies from entering into contracts to procure
alternative (including unconventional or synthetic) transportation
fuels with greater lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than
conventional fuel. While section 526 provides an important backstop
to prevent the government from using taxpayer dollars to exacerbate
global warming, it does not address the desperate need to start
significantly reducing global warming emissions. Incentives like
long-term contracting authority should be reserved for those
technologies that will decrease global warming emissions. Even
after huge capital investments in carbon capture and storage,
coal-to-liquid (CTL) and other dirty fuels facilities may still
only manage to reduce their lifecycle emissions to be equal to
those of conventional gasoline. By authorizing 10-year contracts
with such facilities, Congress is encouraging technologies that at
best continue to increase transportation pollution at current rates
thus exacerbating the problem of global warming.
Section 526 protects our nation's national security interests.
High-ranking military officials have already warned Congress that
global warming is a serious national security threat. Any steps
taken by the federal government to address our dependence on oil
must not exacerbate the very real national security risks posed by
global warming. In this regard, section 526 serves an important
national security purpose. Production of unconventional fuels, such
as CTL, tar sands and oil shale emit more than twice the global
warming pollution per barrel as conventional oil at a time when we
must be reducing our CO2 emissions.
Section 526 does not prohibit production or importation of
alternative or unconventional fuels - it simply keeps the U.S.
government from using taxpayer dollars to support development of
fuels such as CTL, tar sands and oil shale as long as their
lifecycle process continues to have higher global warming pollution
emissions than conventional fuels. Furthermore, federal government
procurement of fuel for military purposes will not be significantly
affected by this provision. The Oversight and Government Reform
committee also clarified that with respect to tar sands section 526
does not bar federal agencies from purchasing generally available
fuels that may contain incidental amounts of fuel from tar sands.
The provision does however block a federal agency from using
government contracts specifically to promote or expand the use of
fuel from tar sands. A February 2008 Defense Science Board Task
Force report on Energy Strategy ("More Fight - Less Fuel") stated
that "domestically produced synthetic fuel does not contribute to
DoD's most critical fuel problem - delivering fuel to deployed
forces." Furthermore, long-term contracts with domestic CTL
facilities will, thus, do little to meet DoD's "most critical fuel
problem" as they will not improve DoD's ability to deliver fuel to
deployed forces.
Congress' serious efforts to address the paramount threat global
warming poses to all Americans should not be undermined by allowing
DoD and other Federal agencies to purchase CTL, tar sands and oil
shale with higher lifecycle carbon emissions than conventional
petroleum. The government will make the job of reducing global
warming emissions even more difficult if it chooses to subsidize
the development of high-carbon fuels through long-term contracts.
Furthermore, the considerable economic, social and environmental
drawbacks of CTL, tar sands and oil shale preclude them from being
sound options for achieving greater energy independence. All three
of these unconventional fuels afflict serious harm on the land, the
water, the air, and on local communities. We can have a robust and
effective energy program that meets the needs of our nation and our
common defense by reducing oil dependence without CTL, tar sands,
oil shale or other dirty alternative fuels. We encourage Congress
to take thoughtful action and choose an energy path that enhances
our security, our economy and our environment. Please oppose
amendments to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Bill that
would repeal section 526 of the Energy Security and Independence
Act of 2007 and oppose the authorization of long-term contracting
authority for unconventional fuels to the Department of
Defense.
Sincerely,
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club
League of Conservation Voters
Earthjustice
Environment America
World Wildlife Fund
Greenpeace US
Greenpeace Canada
Public Citizen
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Boreal Songbird Initiative
The Pembina Institute
Council of Canadians
Environmental Defence Canada
Corporate Ethics International
Toxics Watch Society of Alberta
ForestEthics
Oil Change International
Rainforest Action Network
Earthworks
Global Community Monitor
Polaris Institute
Sierra Club of Canada
Western Organization of Research Councils
Friends of the Earth
Indigenous Environmental Network