Carter calls for sacrifices, economic incentives
Energy conservation suddenly top priority
By S. JEFF FOREMAN
Of the Emerald
Pres. Jimmy Carter calls for
sacrifices. Gov. Bob Straub sig
nals an era of conservation, local
officials warn consumers of im
pending water shortages — what
does it all mean?
Previously scoffed at by indus
trial giants as a campy cause for
counter-culture comrades, energy
conservation looms ominously as
the single most restraining force in
the heretofore prodigal American
lifestyle.
Economic incentives, in the
form of tax breaks for using less
and costly penalties for using
more, accent Carter's proposed
energy policy before Congress If
a new car is in the offing, a wise
buyer should consider a possible
$449 tax on gas-guzzling 1978
autos before deciding on the "rich
Corinthian leather" with the
turbo-charged 400 cubic inch en
gine.
Automobiles may down alcohol
as gas additive or replacement
CHICAGO (AP) — Alcohol is a possible — but
not yet practical — substitute for automobile fuel,
says a government energy official.
The technical problems in the use of such a
substitute might be overcome But alcohol costs
three to four times as much to produce and twice the
amount is required to provide the same amount of
energy, said E Eugene Ecklund, wno neads the
alternative fuels program for the federal Energy Re
search and Development Administration
Because alcohol — ethanol and methanol —
can be manufactured from abundant matenals, it has
been considered as a possible solution to the prob
lem of dwindling supplies and high cost of gasoline
Research is being done on this possibility in the
United States and other countnes. Ecklund said in a
recent telephone interview.
He said alcohol has been used in the past in
E urope as a fuel additive to extend gasoline supplies
and improve octane.
American researchers are seriously studying
the use of up to 10 per cent alcohol in gasoline, while
German and Swedish researchers are studying
the addition of as much as 15 or 20 per cent, he said
To use alcohol as the only fuel, extensive mod
ification of automobile engines would be required.
Ecklund said
Once the use is feasible, extensive manufactur
ing facilities would have to be developed to produce
alcohol in large quantities for fuel, he pointed out
Ethanol can be made from such agncultural
crops as grains and from crop residues Methanol
can be made from wood, coal and waste products.
Tanks twice as large as those now used on cars
would be required to get the same mileage if alcohol
were substituted entirely for gasoline, Ecklund said
Total energy plan greets Senate
Uy IUM J AUK SUN
Of the Emerald
SALEM — State Senators
Stephen Kafoury, D-Portland, and
Jan Wyers, D-Portland, an
nounced a plan for a comprehen
sive energy conservation pack
age for the state last week — a
plan they said will augment the
proposals made by Pres Jimmy
Carter Wednesday
Wyers said the conservatior
bills — some 90 of them — now
before the Legislature are a
“piecemeal' approach to the
energy conservation question.
The Kafoury-Wyers plan call:
for what will probably become one
of the most extensive — and con
troversial — conservation plans
so far introduced The bill they
have penned, which is as yet un
numbered, calls for a tax on retai
users of electricity, heating oil anc
natural gas. Wyers says the \a>
will vary with the type of energy
used, but may reach 7 per cent or
electncal use He adds that the
cost of the tax will be offset by
energy savings due to conserva
tion.
The $90 million revenue gener
ated from this tax would, accord
ing to the plan, be used to provide
direct grants to individual home
owners for weatherization.
4—1
i ne Legislature to aaie nas naa
some difficulty defining weath
erization, ' but Wyers said the
grants could be used for home in
sulation in walls, floors and ceil
ings. Another target of the bill is
insulation of home water heaters.
The use of energy for space heat
ing and water heating are the
largest uses of energy in homes
'One of the main reasons for
the rise in utility costs is the in
creasing rise in the cost of genera
tion of new electrical energy,"
Kafoury said in a press confer
ence. "The utility companies tell
us that new generating plants are
necessary to keep up with increas
ing demand for new electricity Yet
half of the energy we are purchas
ing to heat our homes is being
wasted because it is escaping
through inadequate insulation and
weathenzation
In addition to insulation, storm
windows, weatherstripping, caulk
ing and timed thermostats would
also be included in the plan.
The weathenzation program in
cluded in the bill is aimed at older
homes which are below standards
of energy efficiency Homes built
after a state building code change
in 1975 are more energy efficient.
But the Kafoury-Wyers plan would
also aim at energy conservation in
these newer homes by making
grams avaiiaoie lor persons wnu
wish to install solar or other alter
native power sources
According to Wyers, the bill will
be introduced by the House Com
mittee on Revenue and School
Finance, where it has received the
support of the committee chairer.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Port
land
The grants would extend up to
$ 1,000 for either weatherization or
alternative power sources, but the
first priority, according to the au
thors of the bill, is weatherization
Wyers said one fact working in
favor of the bill is that it does not
require the use of General Fund
money, which is a stumbling block
for virtually every bill before the
Legislature.
But the bill may run into trouble
due to the tax imposed on retail
users. Historically, the consumer
has been leary of taxes, a notable
example is the increase on gas
taxes.
Asked if the bill may be referred
to the voters, Wyers said no such
move would have to take place
unless a group of legislators be
lieves it is necessary. Wyers adds
he would go along with such a
proposal, because he believes
voters "have a right to have a say
in new taxes "
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t KAN’S
Most controversial among
Carter's plans is the seven cent
tax per gallon ot gas which would
serve as a deterrent to habitual
wastefulness and encourage
frugal car usage Hitting perhaps
too close to home, these taxes
would hurt automobile manufac
turers and. in turn, alter the Ameri
can concept of a car as something
more than transportation
With interest rates bordering
the loan shark category and
the idea of owning a home fast
becoming a luxury known only to
an opulent few. the once-in-a
lifetime investment now should be
approached from an energy
saving standpoint
Proper insulation, weather
stripping windows and doors, in
stalling a heat pump and even
solar collector panels top the list of
“musts when prudently planning
a future home The Carter Ad
ministration is urging Congress to
recognize these costly additions
as necessities and to reimburse
the consumer in investment tax
credits
To insure that such promising
energy savers as fuel cells, heat
pumps and 22,000-hour fluores
cent light bulbs eventually get to
the market, the Energy Research
and Development Administration
(ERDA) is entering into coopera
tive research agreements with
private industry
Being prepared for whatever
comes of the Carter energy plan
the consumer should begin to
re-evaluate everyday energy con
sumption and look for ways of
trimming waste
Automobiles burn 14 per cent of
all energy consumed in the United
States, so conservation efforts
like limiting usage and car pooling
could reduce national consump
NEW YORK (AP) — In two tele
vision appearances last week,
Pres Carter convinced 54 per
cent ot the public that there really
was an energy crisis, according to
a Gallup poll in the current issue of
Newsweek Magazine
Newsweek, for whom the poll of
50/ adults was conducted last
Wednesday night, said that previ
ously only 43 per cent thought the
situation was serious
Gallup said 40 per cent of those
questioned were more favorably
disposed toward Carter because
of his program, 39 per cent said
they still felt the same about him
and 13 per cent said they were
now less favorably disposed to
ward the President
The Gallup Poll, like a Harris
Poll released by ABC News last
Friday, showed widespread sup
port for most of Carter s energy
proposals.
ELECT
GARY
FELDMAN
for
ASUO PRESIDENT
•Emphasis on university affairs
* Pin pointing Real Student (on
cer ns
I ^Student Advocacy
* Responsive and OPEN leadership
I ‘Experience
p«1 »*> Mudrnl for Krldmun
tion considerably — while also
saving money Eliminating jack
rabbil starts and Starsky and
Hutch dnvmg techniques along
with observing 55-mile-per-hour
speed limits will cut gasoline use
by more than 21 per cent
In the home, the hot-water heat
er (or what George Carlin more
aptly relers to as the cold-water
heater) accounts tor 15 per cent of
the fuel used Turr. down the
temperature of the heater from
150 degrees to 120 degrees and
save nine per cent in the fuel bill
Wash laundry in warm or cold
water and take showers, not
baths
This summer, set air condition
ing thermostats at 78 degrees in
stead of 72 degrees and cut cool
ing oosts by 47 per cent
The pilot light on a gas range
accounts for up to 50 per cent of
the gas used by the appliance and
should be replaced with electric
igniters
A nice toasty fireplace lets more
heat escape than it generates, so
it should be looked upon as a lux
ury for special occasions and not a
viable energy-producing device
The water shower restrictor a
discount store item, hooks^fcv
the pipe and the shower i^Bin
and saves both heating costs (as
much as $30 a year) and water
waste
These are but a few energy sav
ing tips, but the Eugene Water and
Electric Board has literature and
consumer consultants if the pa
triotic desire to pitch in is present
However, for the rest — it Pres
Carter s plan is adopted and made
law by Congress — a serious sort
mg of individual pnonties will re
move some aspects of choice now
enjoyed in the American lifestyle
Carter convincing public
of energy crisis severity^
However, Gallup said l^per
cent of those queried fell the
nation's economy would sutler if
the program were adopted and 82
per cent felt increased energy
costs would result in personal fi
nancial hardship In the Harris
Poll, 70 per cent felt that although
they approved most of it. they
didn't feel it would work
Gallup said 59 per cent of those
questioned felt Carter s program
placed too much emphasis on
conservation of existing re
sources and not enough on the
development of new supplies
On specific proposals:
• Five per cent of those ques
tioned favored increased gas
taxes, 47 per cent were against
and eight per cent were unde
cided,
• Fifty-four per cent approved
of Carter s proposal for a tax on
big cars and a rebate for small
ones. 38 per cent were against
and eight per cent were unde
cided.
• The tax credit for persons in
sulating their homes garnered
support from 84 per cent. Only 12
per cent were opposed and four
per cent were undecided.
• Sixty-three per cent sup
ported the tax credit for solar
energy equipment in homes.
Another 24 per cent were op
posed and 13 per cent were unde
cided