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FutureGen was a project to demonstrate capture and sequestration of waste carbon dioxide from a coal-fired electrical generating station. The project (renamed FutureGen 2.0) was retrofitting a shuttered coal-fired power plant in Meredosia, Illinois , with oxy-combustion generators. The waste CO 2 would be piped approximately 30 miles (48 km) to be sequestered in underground saline formations. FutureGen was a partnership between the United States government and an alliance of primarily coal-related corporations. Costs were estimated at US$ 1.65 billion, with $ 1.0 billion provided by the Federal Government.

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143-635: First announced by President George W. Bush in 2003, construction started in 2014 after restructuring, canceling, relocating, and restarting. Citing an inability to commit and spend the funds by deadlines in 2015, the Department of Energy withdrew funds and suspended FutureGen 2.0 in February, 2015. The government also cited the Alliance's inability to raise the requisite amount of private funding. The Meredosia power plant that had been planned for retrofit

286-775: A financial rescue plan to buy back a large portion of the U.S. mortgage market. Vince Reinhardt, a former Federal Reserve economist now at the American Enterprise Institute , said "it would have helped for the Bush administration to empower the folks at Treasury and the Federal Reserve and the comptroller of the currency and the FDIC to look at these issues more closely", and additionally, that it would have helped "for Congress to have held hearings". Bush undertook many educational agendas, such as increasing

429-552: A Bachelor of Arts degree in history. During this time, he was a cheerleader and a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon , serving as the president of the fraternity during his senior year. Bush became a member of the Skull and Bones society as a senior. Bush was a rugby union player and was on Yale's 1st XV. He characterized himself as an average student. His grade point average during his first three years at Yale

572-529: A brief suspension of his Maine driver's license. Bush said that his wife has had a stabilizing effect on his life, and he attributes his decision to give up alcohol in 1986, to her influence. While governor of Texas, Bush said of his wife, "I saw an elegant, beautiful woman who turned out not only to be elegant and beautiful, but very smart and willing to put up with my rough edges, and I must confess has smoothed them off over time." Bush also says that his faith in God

715-622: A budget surplus to push through Texas's largest tax cut , $ 2   billion. He extended government funding for organizations providing education on the dangers of alcohol and drug use and abuse , and helping to reduce domestic violence . His administration lowered the age at which juveniles can be sent to adult court for serious crimes to 14. Bush presided over 152 executions, more than any previous governor in modern American history; critics such as Helen Prejean argue that he failed to give serious consideration to clemency requests. Critics also contended that during his tenure, Texas ranked near

858-545: A campaign advisor. The previous month, his father had asked him to tell White House chief of staff John H. Sununu to resign. Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election at the same time his brother Jeb sought the governorship in Florida . His campaign focused on four themes: welfare reform, tort reform , crime reduction, and education improvement. Bush's campaign advisers were Karen Hughes , Joe Allbaugh , and Karl Rove . After easily winning

1001-624: A carbon-rich material) can be incorporated into construction or a range of other durable products, thus sequestering its carbon over years or even centuries. In industrial production, engineers typically capture carbon dioxide from emissions from power plants or factories. For example in the United States , the Executive Order 13990 (officially titled "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle

1144-429: A gas and a steam turbine – to produce electric power more efficiently than pulverized coal plants. IGCC plants also make it easier to capture carbon dioxide for carbon sequestration. FutureGen was to capture carbon dioxide produced during the gasification process and pump it into deep rock formations thousands of feet under ground. FutureGen specifically targeted rock formations containing saline water, as these are one of

1287-522: A group of investors to purchase a controlling interest of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers for $ 89   million and invested $ 500,000 himself to start. He then was managing general partner for five years. He actively led the team's projects and regularly attended its games, often choosing to sit in the open stands with fans. Bush's sale of his shares in the Rangers in 1998 brought him over $ 15   million from his initial $ 800,000 investment. In

1430-464: A large role in carbon sequestration (high confidence) with high resilience to disturbances and additional benefits such as enhanced biodiversity." Impacts on temperature are affected by the location of the forest. For example, reforestation in boreal or subarctic regions has less impact on climate. This is because it substitutes a high- albedo , snow-dominated region with a lower-albedo forest canopy. By contrast, tropical reforestation projects lead to

1573-678: A lawsuit from Illinois Electric utility ComEd, which challenged the state's ability to impose a surcharge on all customers to pay for FutureGen electricity. According to critics, including the Illinois Policy Institute , the plan presents major environmental and fiscal pitfalls. The Department of Energy ordered suspension of FutureGen 2.0 in February, 2015. The funds, appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , needed to be committed by July 1 and spent by Sept 30, 2015. The government also cited

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1716-482: A letter to the Department of Energy’s Under Secretary C.H. “Bud” Albright Jr. stating that overall inflation and the rising cost of raw materials and engineering services are driving costs up on energy projects around the world. According to James L. Connaughton , chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality , the market for steel, concrete and power plant components has “just gone through

1859-682: A major tax-cut program and an education-reform bill, the No Child Left Behind Act . He pushed for socially conservative efforts such as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and faith-based initiatives . He also initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief , in 2003, to address the AIDS epidemic . The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 decisively reshaped his administration, resulting in

2002-540: A period of economic recession in the wake of the bursting of the dot-com bubble . The September 11 terrorist attacks also impacted the economy . His administration increased federal government spending from $ 1.789   trillion to $ 2.983   trillion (66 percent), while revenues increased from $ 2.025   trillion to $ 2.524   trillion (from 2000 to 2008). Individual income tax revenues increased by 14 percent, corporate tax revenues by 50 percent, and customs and duties by 40 percent. Discretionary defense spending

2145-431: A portion of the carbon removed from logged forests ends up as durable goods and buildings. The remainder ends up as sawmill by-products such as pulp, paper, and pallets. If all new construction globally utilized 90% wood products, largely via adoption of mass timber in low rise construction, this could sequester 700 million net tons of carbon per year. This is in addition to the elimination of carbon emissions from

2288-426: A positive change such as the formation of clouds . These clouds then reflect the sunlight , lowering temperatures. Planting trees in tropical climates with wet seasons has another advantage. In such a setting, trees grow more quickly (fixing more carbon) because they can grow year-round. Trees in tropical climates have, on average, larger, brighter, and more abundant leaves than non-tropical climates. A study of

2431-499: A record 68 percent of the vote. He became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to two consecutive four-year terms. During his second term, Bush promoted faith-based organizations and enjoyed high approval ratings , which ranged between 62 and 81 percent. He proclaimed June 10, 2000, to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day on which he urged all Texans to "answer the call to serve those in need". Throughout Bush's first term, he

2574-504: A scheduled physical exam. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force Reserve on November 21, 1974. Bush remains the most recent president to have served in the military. In 1977, Bush established Arbusto Energy , a small oil exploration company, which began operations in 1978. He later changed the name to Bush Exploration. In 1984, his company merged with the larger Spectrum 7 , and Bush became chairman. The company

2717-501: A set of environmental, technical, regulatory, and financial criteria with input from external technical advisors on power plant design and carbon sequestration . In July 2006, four candidate sites were selected for further review, including an environmental impact analysis as required by NEPA. DOE issued its Final Environmental impact statement (EIS) on November 8, 2007, which concluded that all four sites were acceptable from an environmental impact standpoint and all would move forward in

2860-405: A sink to a source. With rising temperatures comes an increase in greenhouse gasses from wetlands especially locations with permafrost . When this permafrost melts it increases the available oxygen and water in the soil. Because of this, bacteria in the soil would create large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane to be released into the atmosphere. The link between climate change and wetlands

3003-577: A staunch liberal who would raise taxes and increase the size of government. The Bush campaign continuously criticized Kerry's seemingly contradictory statements on the war in Iraq, and argued that Kerry lacked the decisiveness and vision necessary for success in the War on Terror. Following the resignation of CIA director George Tenet in 2004, Bush nominated Porter Goss to head the agency. The White House ordered Goss to purge agency officers who were disloyal to

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3146-438: A tactic's making it into the public record – when a regional chairman of the Bush campaign allowed himself, perhaps inadvertently, to be quoted criticizing Richards for 'appointing avowed homosexual activists ' to state jobs". The Atlantic , and others, connected the lesbian rumor to Karl Rove, but Rove denied being involved. Bush won the general election with 53.5 percent of the vote against Richards' 45.9 percent. Bush used

3289-561: A third count, and stopped an ordered statewide hand recount based on the argument that the use of different standards among Florida's counties violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment . The machine recount showed that Bush had won the Florida vote by a margin of 537 votes out of six million casts. Although he had received 543,895 fewer individual nationwide votes than Gore, Bush won

3432-532: A tree plantation. Therefore, the farming of bamboo timber may have significant carbon sequestration potential. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that: "The total carbon stock in forests decreased from 668 gigatonnes in 1990 to 662 gigatonnes in 2020". In Canada's boreal forests as much as 80% of the total carbon is stored in the soils as dead organic matter. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report says: "Secondary forest regrowth and restoration of degraded forests and non-forest ecosystems can play

3575-746: A “Record of Decision”) by the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. FutureGen was to be designed, developed and operated by the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, a non-profit consortium of coal mining and electric utility companies formed to partner with the DOE on the FutureGen project. The project was still in the development stage when its funding

3718-411: Is carbon sequestration . The overall goal of carbon farming is to create a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere. This is done by increasing the rate at which carbon is sequestered into soil and plant material. One option is to increase the soil's organic matter content. This can also aid plant growth, improve soil water retention capacity and reduce fertilizer use. Sustainable forest management

3861-521: Is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass waste. The resulting material is added to a landfill or used as a soil improver to create terra preta . Adding biochar may increase the soil-C stock for the long term and so mitigate global warming by offsetting the atmospheric C (up to 9.5 Gigatons C annually). In the soil, the biochar carbon is unavailable for oxidation to CO 2 and consequential atmospheric release. However concerns have been raised about biochar potentially accelerating release of

4004-404: Is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural , commercial, or residential development. The primary aim is to return areas and ecosystems to their previous state before their depletion. The mass of SOC able to be stored in these restored plots is typically greater than the previous crop, acting as a more effective carbon sink. Biochar

4147-552: Is a consortium of 10 power producers and electric utilities from around the globe. Four companies initially a part of the FutureGen Industrial Alliance have since dropped out of the project. George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and Republican Party , he

4290-433: Is an important carbon sink ; 14.5% of the world's soil carbon is found in wetlands, while only 5.5% of the world's land is composed of wetlands. Not only are wetlands a great carbon sink, they have many other benefits like collecting floodwater, filtering out air and water pollutants, and creating a home for numerous birds, fish, insects, and plants. Climate change could alter wetland soil carbon storage, changing it from

4433-487: Is another tool that is used in carbon farming. Carbon farming is one component of climate-smart agriculture . It is also one way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere . Agricultural methods for carbon farming include adjusting how tillage and livestock grazing is done, using organic mulch or compost , working with biochar and terra preta , and changing the crop types. Methods used in forestry include reforestation and bamboo farming . Prairie restoration

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4576-575: Is converted from natural land or semi-natural land, such as forests, woodlands, grasslands, steppes, and savannas, the SOC content in the soil reduces by about 30–40%. This loss is due to harvesting , as plants contain carbon. When land use changes , the carbon in the soil will either increase or decrease, and this change will continue until the soil reaches a new equilibrium. Deviations from this equilibrium can also be affected by variated climate. The decreasing of SOC content can be counteracted by increasing

4719-433: Is disturbed the carbon stored in the plants and sediments will be released back into the atmosphere, and the ecosystem will no longer function as a carbon sink. Additionally, some wetlands can release non-CO 2 greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide which could offset potential climate benefits. The amounts of carbon sequestered via blue carbon by wetlands can also be difficult to measure. Wetland soil

4862-467: Is likely to delay the project as other members seek the additional funds that the DOE was to provide. The sudden concern over cost after an Illinois site was chosen over those in Texas raised questions about the motives for the cancellation. Local and state officials in Illinois, including then Governor Rod Blagojevich , expressed frustration at the move, especially in light of the money and resources that

5005-451: Is much lower than carbon capture from e.g. power plant emissions. CO 2 fixation into woody biomass is a natural process carried out through photosynthesis . This is a nature-based solution and methods being trialled include the use of "wood vaults" to store the wood-containing carbon under oxygen-free conditions. In 2022 a certification organization published methodologies for biomass burial. Other biomass storage proposals have included

5148-432: Is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These processes can be accelerated for example through changes in land use and agricultural practices, called carbon farming . Artificial processes have also been devised to produce similar effects. This approach is called carbon capture and storage . It involves using technology to capture and sequester (store) CO 2 that

5291-506: Is not the government's money. The surplus is the people's money." Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned of a recession and Bush stated that a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill , opposed some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security . O'Neill disputes the claim, made in Bush's book Decision Points , that he never openly disagreed with him on planned tax cuts. By 2003,

5434-664: Is part of the natural carbon cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere , pedosphere (soil), geosphere , hydrosphere , and atmosphere of Earth . Carbon dioxide is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, or physical processes, and stored in long-term reservoirs. Plants, such as forests and kelp beds , absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, and bind it into biomass . However, these biological stores are considered volatile carbon sinks as long-term sequestration cannot be guaranteed. Events such as wildfires or disease, economic pressures, and changing political priorities can result in

5577-422: Is produced from human activities underground or under the sea bed. Plants, such as forests and kelp beds , absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, and bind it into biomass. However, these biological stores may be temporary carbon sinks , as long-term sequestration cannot be guaranteed. Wildfires , disease, economic pressures, and changing political priorities may release the sequestered carbon back into

5720-459: Is still not fully known. It is also not clear how restored wetlands manage carbon while still being a contributing source of methane. However, preserving these areas would help prevent further release of carbon into the atmosphere. Despite occupying only 3% of the global land area, peatlands hold approximately 30% of the carbon in our ecosystem - twice the amount stored in the world's forests. Most peatlands are situated in high latitude areas of

5863-424: Is that forests can turn from sinks to carbon sources. In 2019 forests took up a third less carbon than they did in the 1990s, due to higher temperatures, droughts and deforestation . The typical tropical forest may become a carbon source by the 2060s. Researchers have found that, in terms of environmental services, it is better to avoid deforestation than to allow for deforestation to subsequently reforest, as

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6006-449: Is the capture and storage of the atmospheric greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by continual or enhanced biological processes. This form of carbon sequestration occurs through increased rates of photosynthesis via land-use practices such as reforestation and sustainable forest management . Land-use changes that enhance natural carbon capture have the potential to capture and store large amounts of carbon dioxide each year. These include

6149-429: Is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide." Therefore, the difference between carbon sequestration and carbon capture and storage (CCS) is sometimes blurred in the media. The IPCC, however, defines CCS as "a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from industrial sources is separated, treated and transported to a long-term storage location". Carbon sequestration

6292-477: Is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool . It plays a crucial role in limiting climate change by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere . There are two main types of carbon sequestration: biologic (also called biosequestration ) and geologic. Biologic carbon sequestration is a naturally occurring process as part of the carbon cycle . Humans can enhance it through deliberate actions and use of technology. Carbon dioxide ( CO 2 )

6435-492: Is used in different ways in the literature and media. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report defines it as "The process of storing carbon in a carbon pool". Subsequently, a pool is defined as "a reservoir in the Earth system where elements, such as carbon and nitrogen, reside in various chemical forms for a period of time". The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines carbon sequestration as follows: "Carbon sequestration

6578-642: The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), saying that the FutureGen Alliance would "Make a concerted effort in the Obama administration to reinstate the project and get this built as originally planned." On June 12, 2009, the DOE announced a restart of design work for the FutureGen project. "Following the completion of the detailed cost estimate and fundraising activities," the press release states, "the Department of Energy and

6721-632: The Medicare Modernization Act , which created Medicare Part D . In 2004, Bush was re-elected president in a close race, beating Democratic opponent John Kerry and winning the popular vote. During his second term, Bush made free trade agreements . He appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. He sought major changes to Social Security and immigration laws, but both efforts failed in Congress. Bush

6864-578: The September 11 attacks . Wars were begun in Afghanistan and Iraq, and there were significant domestic debates regarding immigration, healthcare, Social Security, economic policy, and treatment of terrorist detainees. Over an eight-year period, Bush's once-high approval ratings steadily declined, while his disapproval numbers increased significantly. In 2007, the United States entered the longest post- World War II recession. Bush took office during

7007-465: The South Carolina primary , which according to The Boston Globe made history for his campaign's negativity. The New York Times described it as a smear campaign . On July 25, 2000, Bush surprised some observers when he selected Dick Cheney  – a former White House chief of staff , U.S. representative, and secretary of defense – to be his running mate. At

7150-436: The girth of 70,000 trees across Africa has shown that tropical forests fix more carbon dioxide pollution than previously realized. The research suggested almost one-fifth of fossil fuel emissions are absorbed by forests across Africa, Amazonia and Asia . Simon Lewis stated, "Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18% of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels, substantially buffering

7293-500: The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air, forests function as terrestrial carbon sinks , meaning they store large amounts of carbon in the form of biomass, encompassing roots, stems, branches, and leaves. Throughout their lifespan, trees continue to sequester carbon, storing atmospheric CO 2 long-term. Sustainable forest management , afforestation , reforestation are therefore important contributions to climate change mitigation. An important consideration in such efforts

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7436-428: The national debt had risen to $ 11.3   trillion, more than doubling it since 2000. Most debt was accumulated as a result of what became known as the " Bush tax cuts " and increased national security spending. In March 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama said when he voted against raising the debt ceiling : "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure." By

7579-466: The Alliance's inability to raise the requisite amount of private funding. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz explained at a press conference “If you look between now and July 1, without them having closed their financing, and try as we might, we just don’t see how it gets over the finish line.” At the time of suspension the power plant part of the project had spent $ 116.5 million and the sequestration part had spent $ 86 million. The FutureGen Industrial Alliance

7722-595: The Climate Crisis") from 2021, includes several mentions of carbon sequestration via conservation and restoration of carbon sink ecosystems, such as wetlands and forests. The document emphasizes the importance of farmers, landowners, and coastal communities in carbon sequestration. It directs the Treasury Department to promote conservation of carbon sinks through market based mechanisms. Biological carbon sequestration (also called biosequestration )

7865-496: The Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally funded healthcare benefits and plans to children of some low-income families. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax. Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward socialized health care , and asserted that the program could benefit families making as much as $ 83,000 per year who did not need

8008-507: The Department of Defense released all the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives. In late 1972 and early 1973, he drilled with the 187th Fighter Wing of the Alabama Air National Guard . He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama , to work on the unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of Republican Winton M. Blount . In 1972, Bush was suspended from flying for failure to take

8151-614: The FutureGen Alliance will make a decision either to move forward or to discontinue the project early in 2010." On August 5, 2010, the DOE announced a retooling of the FutureGen project, dubbed FutureGen 2.0. The revised plan includes retrofitting a shuttered coal-fired power plant in Meredosia, Illinois to demonstrate advanced oxy-combustion technology, and piping the carbon dioxide 175 miles to Mattoon for underground storage. Due to these changes, leaders in Mattoon decided to drop out of

8294-520: The FutureGen Industrial Alliance and the Department of Energy. This means that the FutureGen project has government support as it moves into its third phase, deployment of the project. Site selection for the FutureGen facility was based on a competitive process which began in May 2006. Seven states responded to the Site Request for Proposals with a total of 12 proposals. Proposals were reviewed against

8437-424: The FutureGen project, DOE plans "to equip multiple new clean-coal power plants with advanced CCS technology, instead of one demonstration plant. That will provide more electricity from multiple clean-coal plants, sequestering at least twice as much CO 2 and providing for wider use and more rapid commercialization." Despite the cancellation of funding by the DOE, the FutureGen Alliance continued to move forward with

8580-758: The FutureGen project. The Illinois sites vying for the underground storage portion of the project were in Christian, Douglas, Fayette, and Morgan counties, after sites in Adams and Pike counties were cut in December 2010. In February 2011, Morgan County was chosen for the sequestration site. In Sept, 2014 FutureGen received the first-ever EPA permits for four class VI carbon dioxide sequestration wells in Morgan County, with plans to store 1.1 million metric tons per year for 20 years. Also in 2014 FutureGen survived

8723-544: The Homeland Security Council in May 2006. After being re-elected, Bush signed into law a Medicare drug benefit program that, according to Jan Crawford , resulted in "the greatest expansion in America's welfare state in forty years" – the bill's costs approached $ 7   trillion. In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, which was added by

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8866-763: The Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed Ken Mehlman as campaign manager, and Karl Rove devised a political strategy. Bush and the Republican platform emphasized a strong commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for the USA PATRIOT Act , a renewed shift in policy for constitutional amendments banning abortion and same-sex marriage , reforming Social Security to create private investment accounts, creation of an ownership society , and opposing mandatory carbon emissions controls. Bush also called for

9009-415: The Republican primary, Bush faced popular Democratic incumbent Governor Ann Richards . In the course of the campaign, Bush pledged to sign a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons . Richards had vetoed the bill, but Bush signed it into law after he became governor. According to The Atlantic , the race "featured a rumor that she was a lesbian, along with a rare instance of such

9152-584: The United States in 34 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in the last four months of 2008, 1.9 million jobs were lost. By the end of 2008, the U.S. had lost 2.6 million jobs. To aid with the situation, Bush signed a $ 170   billion economic stimulus package which was intended to improve the economic situation by sending tax rebate checks to many Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses. The Bush administration pushed for significantly increased regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003, and after two years,

9295-583: The White House, increasing the size of the military, cutting taxes, improving education, and aiding minorities. By early 2000, the race had centered on Bush and Arizona Senator John McCain . Bush won the Iowa caucuses and, although heavily favored to win the New Hampshire primary , trailed McCain by 19 percent and lost. Despite this, he regained momentum and effectively became the front runner after

9438-537: The administration. After Goss' appointment, many of the CIA's senior agents were fired or quit. The CIA has been accused of deliberately leaking classified information to undermine the 2004 election. In the election, Bush carried 31 of 50 states, receiving 286 electoral votes. He won an absolute majority of the popular vote (50.7 percent to Kerry's 48.3 percent). Bush had originally outlined an ambitious domestic agenda, but his priorities were significantly altered following

9581-415: The amount in the atmosphere and much more than in vegetation. Researchers have found that rising temperatures can lead to population booms in soil microbes, converting stored carbon into carbon dioxide. In laboratory experiments heating soil, fungi-rich soils released less carbon dioxide than other soils. Following carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) absorption from the atmosphere, plants deposit organic matter into

9724-467: The atmosphere's carbon pool in 2019. Life expectancy of forests varies throughout the world, influenced by tree species, site conditions, and natural disturbance patterns. In some forests, carbon may be stored for centuries, while in other forests, carbon is released with frequent stand replacing fires. Forests that are harvested prior to stand replacing events allow for the retention of carbon in manufactured forest products such as lumber . However, only

9867-402: The atmosphere. Carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere can also be stored in the Earth's crust by injecting it underground, or in the form of insoluble carbonate salts. The latter process is called mineral sequestration . These methods are considered non-volatile because they not only remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also sequester it indefinitely. This means

10010-422: The bottom in environmental evaluations. Supporters pointed to his efforts to raise the salaries of teachers and improve educational test scores. In 1999, Bush signed a law that required electric retailers to buy a certain amount of energy from renewable sources (RPS), which helped Texas eventually become the leading producer of wind powered electricity in the U.S. In 1998 , Bush won re-election with

10153-421: The carbon already present in the soil. Terra preta , an anthropogenic , high-carbon soil, is also being investigated as a sequestration mechanism. By pyrolysing biomass, about half of its carbon can be reduced to charcoal , which can persist in the soil for centuries, and makes a useful soil amendment, especially in tropical soils ( biochar or agrichar ). Burying biomass (such as trees) directly mimics

10296-419: The carbon capture and storage approaches, carbon sequestration refers to the storage component. Artificial carbon storage technologies can be applied, such as gaseous storage in deep geological formations (including saline formations and exhausted gas fields), and solid storage by reaction of CO 2 with metal oxides to produce stable carbonates . For carbon to be sequestered artificially (i.e. not using

10439-410: The carbon found in the atmosphere and 4-fold of that found in living plants and animals. About 70% of the global soil organic carbon in non-permafrost areas is found in the deeper soil within the upper metre and is stabilized by mineral-organic associations. Carbon farming is a set of agricultural methods that aim to store carbon in the soil , crop roots, wood and leaves. The technical term for this

10582-496: The carbon input. This can be done with several strategies, e.g. leave harvest residues on the field, use manure as fertilizer, or include perennial crops in the rotation. Perennial crops have a larger below-ground biomass fraction, which increases the SOC content. Perennial crops reduce the need for tillage and thus help mitigate soil erosion, and may help increase soil organic matter. Globally, soils are estimated to contain >8,580 gigatons of organic carbon, about ten times

10725-419: The carbon is "locked away" for thousands to millions of years. To enhance carbon sequestration processes in oceans the following chemical or physical technologies have been proposed: ocean fertilization , artificial upwelling , basalt storage, mineralization and deep-sea sediments, and adding bases to neutralize acids. However, none have achieved large scale application so far. Large-scale seaweed farming on

10868-482: The carbon must not return to the atmosphere from biomass burning or rotting when the trees die. To this end, land allotted to the trees must not be converted to other uses. Alternatively, the wood from them must itself be sequestered, e.g., via biochar , bioenergy with carbon capture and storage , landfill or stored by use in construction. Earth offers enough room to plant an additional 0.9 billion ha of tree canopy cover, although this estimate has been criticized, and

11011-484: The collapse of Lehman Brothers and a federal bailout of American International Group for $ 85   billion. Many economists and world governments determined that the situation had become the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression . Additional regulation over the housing market would have been beneficial, according to former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan . Bush, meanwhile, proposed

11154-513: The conservation, management, and restoration of ecosystems such as forests, peatlands , wetlands , and grasslands , in addition to carbon sequestration methods in agriculture. Methods and practices exist to enhance soil carbon sequestration in both agriculture and forestry . Forests are an important part of the global carbon cycle because trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis . Therefore, they play an important role in climate change mitigation . By removing

11297-539: The country's financial system, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program . After his second term, Bush returned to Texas, where he has maintained a low public profile. At various points in his presidency, he was among both the most popular and the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history. He received the highest recorded approval ratings in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and one of

11440-418: The criminal justice system. He also helped make Texas the leading producer of wind-generated electricity in the United States. In the 2000 presidential election , he won over Democratic incumbent Vice President Al Gore , while losing the popular vote after a narrow and contested Electoral College win, which involved a Supreme Court decision to stop a recount in Florida . In his first term, Bush signed

11583-412: The displaced construction material such as steel or concrete, which are carbon-intense to produce. A meta-analysis found that mixed species plantations would increase carbon storage alongside other benefits of diversifying planted forests. Although a bamboo forest stores less total carbon than a mature forest of trees, a bamboo plantation sequesters carbon at a much faster rate than a mature forest or

11726-565: The early or mid 1990s, before his gubernatorial campaign, Bush briefly considered a candidacy to become the Commissioner of Baseball . In 1978 , Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 19th congressional district . The retiring member, George H. Mahon , had held the district for the Democratic Party since 1935. Bush's opponent, Kent Hance , portrayed him as out of touch with rural Texans, and Bush lost

11869-554: The economy showed signs of improvement, though job growth remained stagnant. Another tax cut was passed that year. Between 2001 and 2008, GDP grew at an average annual rate of 2.125 percent, less than for past business cycles. Bush entered office with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 10,587, and the average peaked in October 2007 at over 14,000. When Bush left office, the average was at 7,949, one of

12012-482: The election returns were tallied on November 7, Bush had won 29 states, including Florida. The closeness of the Florida outcome led to a recount . The initial recount also went to Bush, but the outcome was tied up in lower courts for a month until eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court . On December 9, in the controversial Bush v. Gore ruling, the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court decision that had ordered

12155-521: The election, receiving 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 (Gore had actually been awarded 267 votes by the states pledged to him plus the District of Columbia, but one D.C. elector abstained). Bush was the first person to win a U.S. presidential election with fewer popular votes than another candidate since Benjamin Harrison in 1888. In his 2004 bid for re-election, Bush commanded broad support in

12298-436: The election, receiving 46.8 percent of the vote to Hance's 53.2 percent. Bush and his family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1988 to work on his father's campaign for the U.S. presidency . He was a campaign advisor and liaison to the media, and assisted his father by campaigning across the country. In December 1991, Bush was one of seven people named by his father to run his father's 1992 presidential re-election campaign as

12441-476: The end of Bush's presidency, unemployment climbed to 7.2 percent. In December 2007, the United States entered the longest post– World War II recession, caused by a housing market correction , a subprime mortgage crisis , soaring oil prices , and other factors. In February 2008, 63,000 jobs were lost, a five-year record, and in November, over 500,000 jobs were lost, which marked the largest loss of jobs in

12584-432: The fact that students in the U.S. have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since Bush signed "No Child Left Behind" into law. Critics argue that it is underfunded and that NCLBA's focus on "high-stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive. On November 1, 2005, Bush launched a National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza , which culminated in an implementation plan published by

12727-537: The family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School , a college-preparatory school in Piney Point Village, Texas . Bush later attended Phillips Academy , a boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts , where he played baseball and was the head cheerleader during his senior year. He attended Yale University from 1964 to 1968, graduating with

12870-583: The funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office and creating education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. Funding for the NIH was cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years, due to rising inflation. One of the administration's early major initiatives was the No Child Left Behind Act , which aimed to measure and close

13013-614: The future than keeping existing forests intact. It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the same carbon sequestration benefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation. Therefore, scientists consider "the protection and recovery of carbon-rich and long-lived ecosystems, especially natural forests" to be "the major climate solution ". The planting of trees on marginal crop and pasture lands helps to incorporate carbon from atmospheric CO 2 into biomass . For this carbon sequestration process to succeed

13156-418: The gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. This landmark education initiative passed with broad bipartisan support, including that of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. It was signed into law by Bush in early 2002. Many contend that the initiative has been successful, as cited by

13299-530: The help. On May 21, 2008, Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act , aimed to protect Americans against health insurance and employment discrimination based on a person's genetic information. The issue had been debated for 13 years before it finally became law. The measure is designed to protect citizens without hindering genetic research. Carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration

13442-472: The implementation of a guest worker program for immigrants, which was criticized by conservatives. The Bush campaign advertised across the U.S. against Democratic candidates, including Bush's emerging opponent, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry . Kerry and other Democrats attacked Bush on the Iraq War , and accused him of failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Bush campaign portrayed Kerry as

13585-425: The latter leads to irreversible effects in terms of biodiversity loss and soil degradation . Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forest. Global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may have been substantially underestimated until around 2019. Additionally, the effects of afforestation and reforestation will be farther in

13728-824: The lowest levels of his presidency. Only four other U.S. presidents have left office with the stock market lower than when they began. Unemployment originally rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, but subsequently dropped to 4.5 percent in July 2007. Adjusted for inflation, median household income dropped by $ 1,175 between 2000 and 2007, while Professor Ken Homa of Georgetown University noted that "Median real after-tax household income went up two percent". The poverty rate increased from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2006 after peaking at 12.7 percent in 2004. By October 2008, due to increases in spending,

13871-497: The lowest ratings during the 2007–2008 financial crisis . Bush initially left office as one of the most unpopular U.S. presidents, but public opinion of him has improved since then. Scholars and historians rank Bush in the lower half of presidents. George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut . He was the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce . He

14014-536: The most abundant types of geologic formations that can be used to store carbon dioxide worldwide. A study by the Global Energy Technology Strategy Program estimates the storage capacity of these saline rock formations in the U.S. to be 2,970 gigatons of carbon dioxide, compared to a capacity of 77 gigatons of carbon dioxide for all other types of reservoirs, such as depleted gas fields. Focusing on rock formations with saline water

14157-493: The motivation of the Department of Energy which was ready to move forward with the project until a site other than Texas was chosen." In March 2009, Congressional auditors determined that the DOE had miscalculated the government portion of the project's cost, overstating the amount by a half billion dollars. As a result, the Bush administration cited the project as having nearly doubled in cost when, in reality, it had increased by 39% Secretary Bodman stated that with restructuring

14300-446: The natural processes of the carbon cycle) it must first be captured, or it must be significantly delayed or prevented from being re-released into the atmosphere (by combustion, decay, etc.) from an existing carbon-rich material, by being incorporated into an enduring usage (such as in construction). Thereafter it can be passively stored or remain productively utilized over time in a variety of ways. For instance, upon harvesting, wood (as

14443-556: The natural processes that created fossil fuels . The global potential for carbon sequestration using wood burial is estimated to be 10 ± 5 GtC/yr and largest rates in tropical forests (4.2 GtC/yr), followed by temperate (3.7 GtC/yr) and boreal forests (2.1 GtC/yr). In 2008, Ning Zeng of the University of Maryland estimated 65 GtC lying on the floor of the world's forests as coarse woody material which could be buried and costs for wood burial carbon sequestration run at 50 USD/tC which

14586-468: The northern hemisphere, with most of their growth occurring since the last ice age , but they are also found in tropical regions, such as the Amazon and Congo Basin. Peatlands grow steadily over thousands of years, accumulating dead plant material – and the carbon contained within it – due to waterlogged conditions which greatly slow rates of decay. If peatlands are drained, for farmland or development,

14729-471: The other hand is a biological process and could sequester significant amounts of carbon. The potential growth of seaweed for carbon farming would see the harvested seaweed transported to the deep ocean for long-term burial. The IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate recommends "further research attention" on seaweed farming as a mitigation tactic. The term carbon sequestration

14872-584: The plant material stored within them decomposes rapidly, releasing stored carbon. These degraded peatlands account for 5-10% of global carbon emissions from human activities. The loss of one peatland could potentially produce more carbon than 175–500 years of methane emissions . Peatland protection and restoration are therefore important measures to mitigate carbon emissions, and also provides benefits for biodiversity, freshwater provision, and flood risk reduction. Compared to natural vegetation, cropland soils are depleted in soil organic carbon (SOC). When soil

15015-467: The project using stimulus funds (after some changes that have not yet been specified) and making it a part of a larger portfolio of research plants developed in collaboration with other countries. Following the successful completion of the first phase, in February 2013, the Energy Department announced the beginning of Phase II of the project development with a new cooperative agreement between

15158-503: The project, opening an office in Mattoon and planning to buy the land for the plant in August 2008, in partnership with a local group. During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaigns, Sen. Barack Obama pledged his support to clean coal technologies , with plans to develop five commercial-scale coal plants equipped with CCS technology. In November 2008, Fred Palmer, senior vice president at Peabody Energy shared his outlook on FutureGen with

15301-589: The project’s financial arrangement has brought the project to a halt. In December 2007, the DOE Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy James Slutz stated that projected cost overruns for the project "require a reassessment of FutureGen's design." And that "This will require restructuring FutureGen to maximize the role of private-sector innovation, facilitate the most productive public-private partnership, and prevent further cost escalation." The FutureGen Alliance wrote

15444-434: The rate of change." Wetland restoration involves restoring a wetland's natural biological, geological, and chemical functions through re-establishment or rehabilitation. It is a good way to reduce climate change. Wetland soil, particularly in coastal wetlands such as mangroves , sea grasses , and salt marshes , is an important carbon reservoir; 20–30% of the world's soil carbon is found in wetlands, while only 5–8% of

15587-576: The regulations passed the House but died in the Senate. Many Republican senators, as well as influential members of the Bush Administration, feared that the agency created by these regulations would merely be mimicking the private sector's risky practices. In September 2008, the crisis became much more serious beginning with the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac followed by

15730-527: The risen Lord", how he began to read the Bible daily, "surrendering" to the "Almighty", that "faith is a walk" and that he was "moved by God 's love". Before his marriage, Bush repeatedly abused alcohol . On September 4, 1976, he was pulled over near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine , for driving under the influence of alcohol . He was arrested for DUI , was fined $ 150, and received

15873-494: The roof globally”, and much of the reason is the construction of hundreds of new conventional coal plants. On January 11, 2008, the FutureGen Alliance sent a letter to the DOE offering to lower the government's portion of the project's costs. The initial plans had called for DOE to pay based on a percentage of the total cost, and their portion had risen from about $ 620 million to about $ 1.33 billion. The letter indicated that DOE's portion would now be $ 800 million. Risk management

16016-479: The selection of Mattoon, Illinois as the host site on December 18, 2007. According to the EIS, Mattoon, IL the site is located about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northwest of downtown Mattoon in the eastern part of Mattoon township section 8 on 1.8 km (440 acres) of former farm land. The carbon sequestration area is about 8,000 feet (2.4 km) below the ground. In July 2007, Illinois Public Act 095-0018 became law giving

16159-562: The sequestered carbon being released back into the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration - when acting as a carbon sink - helps to mitigate climate change and thus reduce harmful effects of climate change . It helps to slow the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases , which is mainly carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels . Carbon sequestration, when applied for climate change mitigation, can either build on enhancing naturally occurring carbon sequestration or use technology for carbon sequestration processes. Within

16302-608: The site evaluation process. EPA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the EIS in the Federal Register on November 16, 2007. The DOE is required by federal law to wait at least 30 days after the NOA release before issuing its final Record of Decision (ROD). The waiting period legally closed on December 17, 2007. DOE chose not to issue the ROD and advised the FutureGen Alliance to delay the final site selection announcement, which

16445-414: The soil slows down the decomposition of organic material, leading to the accumulation of carbon-rich sediments, acting as a long-term carbon sink . Also, anaerobic conditions in waterlogged soils hinder the complete breakdown of organic matter, promoting the conversion of carbon into more stable forms. As with forests, for the sequestration process to succeed, the wetland must remain undisturbed. If it

16588-419: The soil. This organic matter, derived from decaying plant material and root systems, is rich in carbon compounds. Microorganisms in the soil break down this organic matter, and in the process, some of the carbon becomes further stabilized in the soil as humus - a process known as humification . On a global basis, it is estimated that soil contains about 2,500 gigatons of carbon. This is greater than 3-fold

16731-671: The start of the war on terror and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security . Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan in an effort to overthrow the Taliban , destroy al-Qaeda , and capture Osama bin Laden . He signed the Patriot Act to authorize surveillance of suspected terrorists. He also ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein 's regime on the false belief that they possessed weapons of mass destruction and had ties with al-Qaeda . Bush later signed

16874-470: The state had spent to attract the project. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois accused Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman of "cruel deception" of Illinoisans by "creating false hope in a FutureGen project which he has no intention of funding or supporting." Durbin claimed that "when the city of Mattoon, Illinois, was chosen over possible locations in Texas, the secretary of energy set out to kill FutureGen." Mattoon mayor David Cline said "one could question

17017-459: The state of Illinois ownership of and liability for the sequestered gases. Original FutureGen project was intended to combine and test several new technologies in a single location, including coal gasification , emissions controls, hydrogen production , electricity generation, and carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) was the core technology behind FutureGen. IGCC power plants use two turbines –

17160-472: The successful large-scale demonstration of the technical, economic, and environmental performance of the technologies that make up all of the major components of a large-scale integrated CCS system — capture, transportation and storage.” An injection field test similar to this was done in Norway. In March 2009 Washington Post reported that U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu expressed support for continuing

17303-439: The time, Cheney was serving as head of Bush's vice presidential search committee. Soon after at the 2000 Republican National Convention , Bush and Cheney were officially nominated by the Republican Party. Bush continued to campaign across the country and touted his record as Governor of Texas. During his campaign, Bush criticized his Democratic opponent, incumbent Vice President Al Gore , over gun control and taxation. When

17446-442: The true area that has a net cooling effect on the climate when accounting for biophysical feedbacks like albedo is 20-80% lower. Planting and protecting these trees would sequester 205 billion tons of carbon if the trees survive future climate stress to reach maturity. To put this number into perspective, this is about 20 years of current global carbon emissions (as of 2019) . This level of sequestration would represent about 25% of

17589-458: The world's land is composed of wetlands. Studies have shown that restored wetlands can become productive CO 2 sinks and many are being restored. Aside from climate benefits, wetland restoration and conservation can help preserve biodiversity, improve water quality , and aid with flood control . The plants that makeup wetlands absorb carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere and convert it into organic matter. The waterlogged nature of

17732-499: Was $ 1.65 billion. The project was governed by a legally binding cooperative agreement between DOE and the Alliance. Under the agreement, DOE was to provide 74% of the project’s cost, with private industry contributing the other 26%. The DOE also planned to solicit the financial support and participation of international governments in the FutureGen project, since by 2020 more than 60% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions are expected to come from developing countries. Foreign financial support

17875-523: Was $ 237   billion – the third consecutive surplus and the largest surplus ever. In 2001, Bush's budget estimated that there would be a $ 5.6   trillion surplus over the next ten years. Facing congressional opposition, Bush held town hall-style meetings across the U.S. to increase public support for his plan for a $ 1.35   trillion tax cut program , one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. Bush argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers, saying "the surplus

18018-421: Was 77, and he had a similar average under a nonnumerical rating system in his final year. In the fall of 1973, Bush entered Harvard Business School . He graduated in 1975 with an MBA degree, and is the only U.S. president to have earned an MBA. Bush was engaged to Cathryn Lee Wolfman in 1967, but the engagement did not last. Bush and Wolfman remained on good terms after the end of the relationship. While Bush

18161-579: Was a Texas oilman. Other activities include cigar smoking and golf. Bush has also painted many paintings. One of his best-known projects is a collection of 43 paintings of immigrants, titled Out of Many, One . Another painting project was Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief's Tribute to America's Warrior . In May 1968, Bush was commissioned into the Texas Air National Guard . After two years of training in active-duty service, he

18304-435: Was a significant portion of the cost of the first FutureGen experimental implementation. FutureGen involved many complex never-before-solved technology problems. The risks also included significant health risks, if the untested-technology systems failed to work correctly. On January 29, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would pull its funding for the project, mostly due to higher than expected costs. The move

18447-518: Was as a public-private partnership to build the world's first near zero-emissions coal-fueled power plant. The 275- megawatt plant would be intended to prove the feasibility of producing electricity and hydrogen from coal while capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide underground. The Alliance intended to build the plant in Mattoon Township, Coles County, Illinois northwest of Mattoon, Illinois, subject to necessary approvals (issuing

18590-471: Was assigned to Houston , flying Convair F-102s with the 147th Reconnaissance Wing out of Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base . Critics, including former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe , have alleged that Bush was favorably treated due to his father's political standing as a member of the House of Representatives , citing his selection as a pilot despite his low pilot aptitude test scores and his irregular attendance. In June 2005,

18733-644: Was at a backyard barbecue in 1977, friends introduced him to Laura Welch , a schoolteacher and librarian. After a three-month courtship, she accepted his marriage proposal and they wed on November   5 of that year. The couple settled in Midland, Texas . Bush left his family's Episcopal Church to join his wife's United Methodist Church . On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna . Bush describes being challenged by Billy Graham to consider faith in Jesus "Christ as

18876-423: Was cancelled in January 2008. The Alliance decision of the location of the host site, subject to DOE's completing NEPA environmental reviews, was announced in December 2007 after a two-year bidding and review process. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2009, with full-scale plant operations to begin in 2012. The estimated gross project cost, including construction and operations, and excluding offsetting revenue,

19019-601: Was critical in abstaining. "I believe that God helped open my eyes, which were closing because of booze". Bush has been an avid reader throughout his adult life, preferring biographies and histories. During his presidency, Bush read the Bible daily, though at the end of his second term he said on television that he is "not a literalist" about Bible interpretation. Walt Harrington , a journalist, recalled seeing "books by John Fowles , F. Scott Fitzgerald , James Joyce , and Gore Vidal lying about, as well as biographies of Willa Cather and Queen Victoria " in his home when Bush

19162-432: Was demolished around 2021. FutureGen 2.0 would have been the most comprehensive Department of Energy Carbon Capture and Storage demonstration project, involving all phases from combustion to sequestration. FutureGen's initial plan involved integrated gasification combined cycle technology to produce both electricity and hydrogen. Early in the project it was to be sited in Mattoon, IL. The original incarnation of FutureGen

19305-419: Was hurt by decreased oil prices, and it folded into Harken Energy Corporation , with Bush becoming a member of Harken's board of directors. Questions of possible insider trading involving Harken arose, but a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation concluded that the information Bush had at the time of his stock sale was not sufficient to constitute insider trading. In April 1989, Bush arranged for

19448-466: Was increased by 107 percent, discretionary domestic spending by 62 percent, Medicare spending by 131 percent, social security by 51 percent, and income security spending by 130 percent. Cyclically adjusted, revenues rose by 35 percent and spending by 65 percent. The increase in spending was more than under any predecessor since Lyndon B. Johnson . The number of economic regulation governmental workers increased by 91,196. The surplus in fiscal year 2000

19591-416: Was intended to help ensure that the lessons learned from the project are broadly transferable throughout the U.S. and around the world. Maintaining the project schedule and keeping costs down were two major challenges with which the DOE and the FutureGen Alliance grappled. The project had remained on schedule with the announcement of the host site before the end of 2007; however, a desire by DOE to restructure

19734-621: Was raised in Midland and Houston , Texas with four siblings: Jeb , Neil , Marvin and Dorothy . Another younger sister, Robin , died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His paternal grandfather, Prescott Bush , was a U.S. senator from Connecticut . His father was Ronald Reagan 's vice president from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch , Welsh , Irish , French , and Scottish roots. Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until

19877-463: Was scheduled to occur at the end of the 30-day waiting period. The Alliance chose to move ahead with the announcement, citing time, money, and a commitment to proposers to select the final site by year-end. "Every month of delay can add $ 10 million to the project's cost, solely due to inflation," said Michael Mudd, the Alliance's chief executive. The Michael Mudd, the CEO of the FutureGen Alliance, announced

20020-596: Was the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush , he flew warplanes in the Texas Air National Guard in his twenties. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1975, he worked in the oil industry. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers , of Major League Baseball , before being elected governor of Texas in 1994 . As governor , Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed

20163-404: Was the focus of national attention as a potential future presidential candidate. Following his re-election, speculation soared, and within a year he decided to seek the 2000 Republican presidential nomination. Bush portrayed himself as a compassionate conservative , implying he was more centrist than other Republicans. He campaigned on a platform that included bringing integrity and honor back to

20306-553: Was to offset a portion of DOE’s cost-share. As of January 2008, the foreign governments of China , India , Australia , South Korea , and Japan had expressed interest in participating and sharing the cost of the project. FutureGen was to sequester carbon dioxide emissions at a rate of one million metric tons per year for four years, which is the scale a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report cites as appropriate for proving sequestration. The MIT report also states that “the priority objective with respect to coal should be

20449-556: Was widely criticized for his administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and revelations of torture against detainees at Abu Ghraib . Amid his unpopularity, the Democrats regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections . The Afghanistan and Iraq wars continued; in January 2007, Bush launched a surge of troops in Iraq . By December, the U.S. entered the Great Recession , prompting the Bush administration to get congressional approval for economic programs intended to preserve

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