Oil Companies Are More Progressive Than Bush On Renewable Energy

President Sluggo, he of the jutting jaw and relentless swagger, had his Jimmy Carter moment on Monday when he called for reduced oil consumption. But as Dan Froomkin in the Washington Post cautions, "don't expect cardigans or thermostat-lowering in this White House." Left unsaid was how his recently passed energy bill extravaganza would actually do anything to ease the situation.

Reuters reports that China is way ahead in promoting renewable energy:

"China is already big in renewables. In 5 years time we see them as a world leader in this department," Chistopher Flavin, president of the U.S.-based Worldwatch Institute, told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Johannesburg.

"Already, 35 million homes in China get their hot water from solar collectors. That is more than the rest of the world combined," he said.The Worldwatch Institute's REN 21 project has issued a report on energy alternatives:

Through 26 case studies, the report cites biogas, small hydro, solar, wind, ethanol, and biodiesel, among other technologies, as viable options for poverty alleviation in developing countries.How backwards is our government's energy policy? Oil companies like Shell are more imaginative when it comes to renewable energy sources:

"We believe that 25 to 30 percent of world energy needs will come from renewables by 2050," Jeremy Bentham, the Chief Executive Officer of Shell Hydrogen, told reporters on the sidelines of a global oil conference in Johannesburg.

"We are looking at taking a meaningful stake in that market," he said.Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has started a blog, Give Em' Hell Harry. In his first post, he urges the Republicans in Congress to take up the Democratic plan for energy independence.