Obama's Energy Policy

Not many people outside of Lansing, Michigan listened to Barack Obama’s speech yesterday, and obviously the media did not, because the candidate outlined an energy policy that makes perfect sense and offers real relief in the near term and the long term. Here is the 30 minute video, or just read my synopsis.



So the media and others focus on “inflating your tires,” a real conservation measure that actually would help, but is presented in a critical fashion. Truth of the matter is that conservation should be a part of any energy plan, and Obama was right to mention it.

But in the address in Lansing, Obama agrees with McCain:
“(McCain) said, and I quote, “Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making, and was caused by the failure of the politicians in Washington to think long term about the future of the country.” He also mentioned that the republican neglected to mention that “during the 30 years he (McCain) was in Washington for 26 of them.”

McCain voted against increased fuel efficiency standards, opposed legislation for tax credits for fuel efficient cars, voted against renewable energy sources, against clean bio-fuels, against solar power, against wind power.

McCain’s answer, to a country that is addicted to oil, if to feed the addiction, and drill for more oil. McCain knows his plan will not provide any relief for at least 7-10 years, and admits it will just give “psychological relief.” Just what we need to go along with the mental recession we are experiencing.

Obama quotes T. Boone Pickens in the speech, “This is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of.”

Here are Obama’s Short Term Steps that the media is all but ignoring.

• $1000 energy rebate to every family paid for by profits of oil companies.
• Increase domestic production, first by drilling on the 6 million acres the oil companies already have access to.
• Invest in technology to recover oil from existing oil fields and from shale.
• Release 70 million barrels of crude from strategic petroleum reserve and replace later with heavier crude.
• Over 5 years, lease more of the national petroleum reserve in Alaska.

Long Term
Obama has set a goal of eliminating the need for oil from the Middle East and Venezuela over the next 10 years by spending $150 billion over 10 years to ($15 billion a year):

• Help America build fuel efficient hybrid cars that get 150 miles per gallon, and have 1 million of these on the road in 6 years.
• Have 10% of energy coming from renewable sources by the end of his first term. Wind, solar, next generation bio-fuels, solar were mentioned along with safer nuclear power and addressing nuclear waste, and cleaner coal plants.
• Call on American business, people and government to reduce the need for electricity by 15% over the next decade. He says this is the easiest, fastest and cheapest measure to reduce energy consumption. Utilities profits should depend on energy saved, not energy used.

McCain's energy policy, on the other hand, consists of the following:

• Drill
• Nuke
• Give more tax breaks to the oil companies