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| Time | Text |
|---|---|
| In the middle of one of the coldest winters in a century, Congress is trying to sneak | |
| through a provision in the Farm Bill that will tack a fee on home heating oil. | |
| The fee will last for nearly 20 years, and then supposedly will siphon the money to the National Oil Heat Research Alliance to develop equipment that is cheaper, more efficient, and safer, and to encourage consumers to update their equipment. | |
| The bill prohibits oil companies from passing the fee on to consumers, but taxpayer advocates say that's a sham. | |
| Congress established NORA in 2000 to improve energy efficiency and lower heating bills at no cost to the U.S. | |
| taxpayer. | |
| But Representative Henry A. Waxman of California said, in the past, NORA has used the funds it's collected to primarily run public relations campaigns. | |
| Campaigns such as convincing the public that going green is vital to saving the planet. | |
| Now tell that to folks in Washington State. | |
| They're being taxed for going green. | |
| Lawmakers there edging closer to implementing the motor fuel tax, a new system that will monitor and tax drivers based on miles driven. | |
| Drivers could be charged three ways, either with a flat fee by having odometers checked, or with an electronic device installed in cars to measure how many miles are driven. | |
| In a dizzying twist of logic, the Commission and DOT blame the prevalence of fuel-efficient cars as the reason the state now needs a per-mile tax, arguing that the move to cleaner, smarter vehicles must be accompanied by a change in the way we pay for our roads. | |
| The incentive for states to pursue this kind of program could build as cars become more fuel efficient. | |
| And especially considering President Obama wants new vehicles to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. | |
| So as these new technologies are created to burn less gasoline and save the environment. | |
| The states are now concerned about the loss in revenue. | |
| The black boxes installed in cars are one major privacy concern because you're being constantly tracked. | |
| But there are also other ways this push for efficiency is leaving us incredibly vulnerable to hackers, advertisers, and the NSA, as well as soaring fee hikes. | |
| Smart meters are being touted as the innovative and advanced technology that will help conserve energy and, in exchange, lower energy bills. | |
| Right, because energy companies really want to help you cut into their profits so they can save Mother Earth. | |
| A recent poll revealed that about one-third of people who had smart meters installed had experienced bill increases, and one-quarter of those had had bills doubled, tripled, or more. | |
| They're complete lies. | |
| The grid is not saving energy. | |
| It's using more energy, in fact. | |
| No pilot programs have been done where smart grids are saving any energy. | |
| Also, it's creating a huge hacking vulnerability. | |
| Even the former CIA director of the United States, James Woolsey, said, you know, what we think of, what we're being told is a smart grid is actually a really, really stupid grid. | |
| And in addition to that, it's not giving us more control. | |
| It's actually giving the control to big corporations to |
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