I can’t say I’ve ever “looked forward” to watching Bush speak, but tomorrow’s State of the Union address should be quite interesting for a couple of reasons:

1. It will be the first address to a Democratic-controlled Congress in 13 years.
2. It will be the first time a WOMAN will sit up on the podium with the President. (Hello, Nancy Pelosi, Madam Speaker!)

I’m also looking forward to Bush talking about his Advanced Energy Initiative. Hrm … $239 million in 2007 for hydrogen fuel research, while only $30 million to advanced battery research. Sounds fishy to me, especially if you’ve seen “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Why? There’s a general belief that focus and funding should be placed on current and existing technologies — like hybrid vehicles — that not only WORK, but are WORKING RIGHT NOW. What’s funny (or sad) is that this is nothing new.

But in the past year, two reports, one from the National Academy of Sciences and another in the journal “Science,” plus a recently published book have all argued that placing such focus on hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles may be counterproductive. A better, more viable solution could lie in a technology that is already catching on — the hybrid vehicle.

And that’s from an article in November 2004.

Finally, what will Mr. Bush say (if anything) about CEOs call for action against climate change? With 10 bigwigs from major corporations (including BP, DuPont, Caterpillar, and GE, among others) calling for a cap-and-trade bill, will Bush finally concede that his belief in a voluntary system is just not enough?

Filed by Maria in environment, politics