Enlightening

Do you know that Exxon made 40 billion dollars in profit last year?

The Exxon profit, and the megamoney raked in by other oil companies, is the backdrop for the current debate over tax credits for investment in solar and wind energy. These tax credits would cost around 6 million dollars.

The House, which believes in "pay as you go" (a good idea if you look at our enormous budget deficit) wants to transfer this tax burden to the oil companies. The Senate (mostly Republicans in the Senate) does not. Thus it's possible that these tax credits simply won't be renewed-and the oil companies will get to keep their enormous profits.

Right now renewable energy is more of a mirage than it is a concrete option for us average joes and janes. If we really believe that we won't be able, or heck, don't WANT to, rely on big oil forever, then we need to carefully examine why these interests are driving our energy policy-and figure out what, if anything, we are going to do about it.