U.S. to Push Energy, Environment Issues

The Bush Administration said today that it is getting very serious about energy conservation and environmental issues and suggested that the programs were given short shrift under President Ronald Reagan.

Secretary of Energy James D. Watkins made the assessment as he released an interim report on an energy strategy his department plans to submit to President Bush in December.

The 230-page report summarized views expressed in 12,000 pages of testimony taken at 15 public hearings that began in August.

The report draws no conclusions, but presents an array of possibilities and lists potential obstacles, including objections of industry groups.

“The loudest single message was to increase energy efficiency in every sector of energy use,” Watkins said. “Energy efficiency was seen as a way to reduce pollution, reduce dependence on oil imports and reduce the cost of energy.”

In response to a question, Watkins said environmental concerns will be a significant factor in shaping the final report.

‘I don’t think the department has been that forthcoming in those areas in the past and we are getting very serious about it at the direction of the President,” he said.

The report calls for examination of strict conservation requirements and government-financed development of renewable alternative energy sources such as hydroelectric dams and geothermal power.

Reagan stoutly opposed such measures, arguing that energy issues should be left to the marketplace. He even advocated doing away with the Energy Department.

Bush, in asking for the energy strategy, said, “A keystone of this strategy is going to be the continuation of the successful policy of market reliance.”