Obama’s Plan to Reduce Foreign Oil Dependence
As Americans spend $41 million in foreign oil an hour and are left broke at the pump, what plan does Obama have to solve this problem?
Oil is destined to be a heated issue in this upcoming presidential election and Barack Obama’s opposition to the gas tax “holiday” has already been a hot topic. Obama has made it clear that national energy policy needs to be taken in a new direction.
“We send a billion dollars to foreign nations every single day and we are melting the polar ice caps in the bargain,” said Obama. “That has to change.”
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Here are some of the key elements of Obama’s energy plan:
Fuel Economy Standards
Doubling fuel economy standards within the next 18 years is a priority to Obama. Research in engines and advanced lightweight materials will help meet this goal. He also wants to assist auto makers in increasing fuel economy standards through loan guarantees and tax credits for domestic auto manufacturers.
“We are going to raise fuel efficiency standards on cars because that is the only way that we can actually lower gas prices over the long-term and I know you need that,” said Obama.
Next Generation Biofuels
Obama’s goal is to have two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol in use by 2013. He plans to use tax incentives, government contracts and cash prizes to help this industry mature and specifically wants to encourage farmer-owned refineries. He would like renewable fuel standards to increase, such that 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels are in the fuel supply by 2030.
A National Low Carbon Fuel Standard is a mechanism that Obama plans to use that requires fuel suppliers to decrease carbon emissions from fuels by 10% by 2020 and he specifically wants to encourage non-petroleum fuels to reach this target.
“The only way we are going to seriously reduce the price of gas is if we actually start investing in alternative fuels and we raise fuel standards on cars,” said Obama.
Renewable Energy
By 2025, Obama would like 25% of U.S. electricity to be generated from clean, renewable sources including wind, solar and geothermal with a Renewable Portfolio Standard. Obama calls for $150 billion to be invested over 10 years in clean energy and infrastructure to support it. Investment in a national digital electric grid would allow greater amounts of renewable energy to be utilized and make plug-in hybrids more environmentally sound.
“For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time,” said Obama.
Related Posts on Renewable Energy:
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Image credit: Radiospike Photography at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
Lower Image Credit: Compliments of Solar Service Inc.
*laughs*
Yes, four American dollars per 4.55L, how very expensive. Cry some more. Some of us are more used to two American dollars per litre. You know how much that is per gallon? Nine American dollars per gallon.
Aww, you want it to cost two dollars? The mean oil companies are being nasty again?
I really expected more from Obama. At least he’s not advocating cutting the gas tax.
I would like to see tax credits for people who can prove they cut their consumption (i.e. moved closer to work, took public transit or took their bikes).
Also, what about a public (rather than private) sponsored X-prize challenge for the team who can do the most to improve fuel economy.
Also, how about more grants/tax credits to people and municipalities that switch to more fuel efficient cars.
Plus, let’s lead by example. Ground Air Force One and take the train across country more often. Hell, if Bush can take entire months off from the Presidency to go and hide in Crawford, Obama could run the country from a train car.
Ok, I was listening to what the above post had to say, until the very end. I do not believe that this guy is a mathematician at all. If he were he would surely know that his whole method for reaching 300 million people is totally flawed. A little something called the birthday paradox applies to situations like this, and I don’t believe any mathematician worth listening to would forget about it long enough to propose such a plan.
Hey Karl, cellulosic ethanol doesn’t have to come from corn or soybeans anymore. Straw and plant wastes can be used to create the same quality of fuel. Good times.
That’s it? Seriously?
Hey Pete,
Before you jabber on more about not buying gas, you should spend your time learning about economics first.
Because gas is such a need based item for our economy it is inelastic demand. Even not buying gas for a day wont help longterm gas prices when supply continues to decrease, maybe save you a penny at most.
Karl is right.. using food is not a good idea.. thats why %^&*( chicken is expensive now….. have you seen the price for a gallon of milk too?
and MeToo… i have a 6 cylinder car.. and my mom has a 8 cylinder lexus that get gets 23-28 miles a gallon depending on how you drive. I have a v6 02 maxima..i get 26 miles a gallon.. i would easily get 30+ if i had more than 4 gears. Although engine size is a large factor in mileage, i believe the way its tuned and your gears have a MUCH MORE significant impact.
i want an Audi R8 next.. outlaw v8s!? that car is soo sexy and it gets decent mileage…. thats an unamerican statement … outlaw v8s!? vroooooom vrooom! you terrorist!
Who killed the electric car?
Let the market sort it out:
Let’s try to focus this on one problem: fueling the transportation of goods and people, over shipping lines, railways, trucks and commuter vehicles. We need cheap fuel so we can afford to drive to work, and can afford the goods we buy. Duh.
Obviously, we’re not going to put nuclear reactors in our cars and trucks, so let’s set that aside for now.
We’ve all pretty much figured out that ethanol is unsustainable in a global market. There just isn’t enough arable land on Earth to host both our energy and food supplies for 6 billion people, even if we push crop engineering to its limits to get the highest of yields. We’re already straining our fresh water supplies. The global food shortage isn’t due entirely (or even mostly) to growing ethanol-producing crops instead of food — droughts in southeast Asia and Australia have played a major factor — but let’s not digress.
Bio-engineering firms like Synthetic Genomics and Amyris Biotech are experimenting with ways to produce fuel from animal waste. Amyris, for example, is engineering bugs that produce jet fuel. Great, sounds cool and renewable, but that technology is 10 years away. The good news is that we can use existing infrastructures to transport, store and distribute such fuels if they ever become profitable to manufacture.
Hydrogen cars are already in the market. The Honda Clarity is available for lease in the Santa Monica area, where hydrogen fuel pumps have already been added to a few Shell stations. GM and the Department of Energy are conducting tests of how to expand on that. Current research suggests producing and storing hydrogen is way more expensive, and way less efficient than anyone previously thought, meaning oil companies and automakers won’t pursue it if it’s not profitable. Again, it’s a test case, and a decade away. But if you live in Santa Monica (and surrounding cities) and can afford a $600/month lease for a Honda, try it out. The car’s pretty slick looking, if you like sci-fi movie props.
The conclusion: look at the Department of Energy’s statistics on global oil production for the past 20 years. We’ve plateaued. We are at peak oil right now. The supply of oil will never increase significantly again. The price of gas is rising because OPEC’s members need to extend that supply for as many years as possible to: 1) stay in business, 2) collect the funds to find new fields (which are multi-billion-dollar operations), and 3) research alternatives for the long term. Of course, the oil money goes elsewhere. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also thinks he needs a few hundred more skyscrapers in his little economic zone project called Dubai, for some reason — when I went there in 2005 half the hotel rooms and condo buildings were empty — but again, I digress.
We’re going to be paying higher prices for at least another decade. Cheap oil for America is over — remember that Europe has been suffering prices far higher than $4/gallon for a long time. They’ve survived, albeit with a lot of economic assistance from us over the past 70 years. A new infrastructure — whether it’s biofuel, hydrogen or another miracle as plentiful and accessible as oil — will take at least a decade to develop and become profitable. But humanity’s progress in technology accelerates exponentially, so you may be driving a fairy-dust-powered car to the grocery store before you know it.
Transport is the largest infrastructure in the world and won’t change overnight, so what we need is patience and incentives for research. As a libertarian, I believe the market will figure it out for itself. Believe it or not, you can trust the automakers and oil companies to find a new solution and implement it on a global scale. They may delay as long as possible, but they know better than we do how long the supply will last, and they want to stay in business for decades to come. They have to prove their viability to their investors, shareholders, etc. in the long term to maintain their value, and of course, stay stinking, filthy rich. Trust that they will do just that. The unfortunate part is that this shift from an oil-based economy to a renewables-based economy will be the most expensive transition in history, because its funding will come straight from our (the middle class) pockets. If you can’t wait that long, I suggest you go back to school, get a PhD in bioengineering or something, and get to work. Meanwhile, I’ll be living closer to work, avoiding driving, and eagerly awaiting your answers.
Trust the market, and the answers will come. The President of the United States, whoever he will be, will have a lot less power in this issue than most think. And I’d personally like to keep it that way. To put so much faith and power in a single federal representative is both dangerous and a philosophical violation of the Constitution — but again, I digress. Trust the market, not your emperor or king.
I love Obama, but he’s going to have to increase his energy goals:
Two interesting people to follow on this topic:
Michael Klare (outlines the magnitude of the problem)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3_Kl6xkQIA
Amory Lovins (outlines the solutions)
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/51
US is starving for OIL because the US Congress has prohibited drilling / new refinerys. It’s an artificial ‘Peak Oil’ crisis. The earth is constantly producing oil. We will never consume more oil than the earth produces. Governments and politicians limit the amount of Crude available by articially controlling where and when drilling/refining can happen.