STUDY: U.S. subsidises fossil fuels 2.5 times more than renewables
Fossil fuels were given about $72 billion during the seven years, while renewable fuels got just $29 billion. The money the U.S. spends on renewables isn’t all that great, either. Of the $29 billion, $16.8 billion went to producing corn-based ethanol. Just two tax credits – the Foreign Tax Credit and the Credit for Production of Nonconventional Fuels – account for about $30 billion.
To be fair, normalized to the amount of energy, renewables probably win, but this still seems backwards. Weaning ourselves from foreign oil and reducing CO2 emissions isn’t going to be painless. I think it’s time that we recognize that, stop being like children afraid of getting a shot at the doctor’s office, and suck it up a little bit.
The US dumped $100 billion into subsidized fuel production? That is as obscene as Federal subsidies of addictive drugs. Do Afghani poppy growers, Mexican marijuana growers, Columbian coca growers, or San Berdoo crystal meth cookers require massive Federal subsidies to stay in business? Now tell us how tobacco growers need Federal $billions/year shoved down their gasping gullets to keep the cancer sticks coming.