Senate deals good hand to our region

Southwest Nebraska is poised to play a strong hand in America's energy future. Thanks to the Senate's passage of an energy bill Thursday night, President Bush may be ready to sign a compromise bill by the end of the year which will play into the strong suit of the Golden Plains.

With construction under way on one ethanol plant near Trenton, and an effort to bring another plant to a site near McCook, local farmers could benefit from the Senate's passage of a bill calling for greater use of corn-based ethanol.

The bill will now go to a House-Senate conference committee before becoming part of legislation to be sent to the president.

In addition, the energy bill bans the use of ethanol's main competitor, MTBE, which after being required for use in California, found its way into drinking water supplies.

The bill spurs production of a natural gas pipeline to Alaska, provides $16 billion in tax breaks and incentives to promote energy production and conservation, and rescinds a Depression-era law that restricts mergers by utility holding companies.

The late Sen. George W. Norris of McCook might have been proud of his successors, especially the Republican senators who resurrected an energy bill passed by a Democrat-controlled Senate, in the interest of progress, conservation and energy independence.

But ethanol is not the only card in Southwest Nebraska's hand. Soybean-based diesel and crude oil pumped out of the ground right here in the Golden Plains can be just as important to the reduction of dependence on foreign oil.

And, sites near Imperial are high on a list of potential locations for wind farms. Wind power is already pumping electricity into Nebraska's distribution system, and windmills are bound to become a more common sight as we drive across the loess hills, prairies, valleys and sandhills of the state.

Also important to rural residents like us is conservation, as much a way of life for traditional Nebraskans as for those who find themselves commuting an hour or more to work. Incentives to save fuel nearly always pay for themselves many times over.

As part of the bill, Sen. Chuck Hagel's Renewable Fuels Standard "will triple the amount of renewable fuel we now use, and have a positive impact on our agricultural economy, our national security and our environment," Hagel said.

He said the increased use of renewable fuels would enhance air and water quality, reduce supply and distribution challenges in the gasoline market, and increase energy security.

The new standard will replace 66 billion gallons of foreign crude oil by 2012, reduce foreign oil purchases by $34 billion; create more than 200,000 jobs nationwide and boost U.S. farm income by more than $6 billion a year. If we play our hands right, Southwest Nebraska will receive more than its share of the pot.