While more recently making strange deals with Congressional Democrats to bail out the UAW, one of George Bush’s most important legacies may be his dedication to alternative fuels and sources of energy:

Domestic Fuel » Archives » US Now Tops in Wind Energy
A record-setting year for American wind power keeps getting better as the United States has become the world’s top wind energy producer.

This story from Environment News Service cites an American Wind Energy Association year-end report that says steady growth has helped the Americans surpass their German counterparts

When Bush took office, hybrids like the Toyota Prius were a novelty, E85 and biodiesel hardly existed, and the U.S. was languishing far behind leaders in alternative energy. Now, that is no longer true.

The work that the U.S. has done under Bush has been impressive. Indeed, it may have played a role in popping the oil bubble, as technologies like ethanol made peak-oil irrelevant.

Besides the direct benefits that wind, E85, and biodiesel have for us, they also strengthen new productive economies like China and India, while weakening parasitical fossil-fuel exporters like Venezuela and Russia.

Presidents cannot do everything, but even if their role is to stand out of the way… President Bush still deserves thanks for how America’s alternative energy technologies advanced during his term.