Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approves sketchy energy bill

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved of a sketchy energy bill that would open up oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and does not include any mandatory reductions in heat-trapping gases (although another Senate committee is focusing on this aspect).

The bill also calls for utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from wind and solar by 2021--a weaker target than the current House bill.

The New York Times reports:

The energy bill includes money for clean energy technologies and training for workers in new energy-related industries. It calls for expansion of the nation’s stockpiles of petroleum reserves to deal with sudden shortages or steep price increases. It provides federal incentives for projects to capture and store carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, and encourages a solution to the problem of storing nuclear waste. full article

Both Republicans and Democrats are hoping to strengthen the bill, for their respective positions, on the floor.

Not promising.