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.”
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.
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Image credit: Radiospike Photography at Flickr under a Creative Commons license
Lower Image Credit: Compliments of Solar Service Inc.
The margin for Exxon for retail gas is about 10-15% and it is about three times that amount for crude oil production.
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN1238193020080612?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Please Pete, get real. Quit buying from ExxonMobil? They don’t care, they’ll just sell to China or India. I was just informed that gas in Taiwan is $10/liter. I’m sure they’d love to buy more. Besides, Exxon is offloading their service stations because the margin for gasoline at the retail level is so little. All you do is hurt the independent business owner.
Yes, we need to do a lot of things and do them quickly. The first is for every American to put pressure on his or her representatives in Washington and their respective states to do everything they can “for the American people” to reduce energy costs by exploring and producing energy sources here in the US. That includes oil, clean coal, nuclear, solar, wind.
If the car dealers can change from trucks to hybrids in less than two years on the assembly line then they can change from 20mpg vehicles to 50mpg vehicles in five years.
And don’t forget common sense transit systems that are driven by need and not special interests. Goes back to those elected officials.
Oh, and last, who is making the most from all of this? The government of the US in your taxes. And why don’t they change? Special interests. You as a citizen are not putting pressure on them yet to represent you. It doesn’t matter what party they’re in, once they’re in office most stop representing you and me. Didn’t they just decide to end debate on extending tax credits for renewable energy research and development????? Why? Could the answer lie with those special interests, who ar non American, who hold the purse strings of our national debt?
I know, there’s a lot here, but nothing can be done unless it starts with each citizen and their individual representatives in their state capital and Washington DC. Get personal with them on a regular basis and let them know they won’t be there unless they represent you!
Sarah,
I like your review on both of the presidential candidates energy policy.
Each of the plans have pluses and minus, but neither of them matter if they don’t execute, actually implement their plan, and see them through while their in office.
I think the bigger question to ask is which president will better execute their plan?
Damon
Well karl things like this cant change over night otherwise you would crash the whole economy (for the U.S. we need oil for our economy to work)
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It is not clear enough what the plan is by Barack Obama. Today Barack Obama committed himself in Berlin to stand as one on Climate Change and he said he wants to save the planet. How?www.lamarguerite.wordpress.com . The comments on this blog echo my thoughts. What is the plan for weaning us off our dependence on oil and will car manufacturers start making vehicles that use alternative fuels? How does that dove-tail in with his plans for the middle-east?The world community needs to know what is Barack Obama’s plan.
Andy Grove of Harvard Business School and former head of Intel Corp is unimpressed with the energy policies of the leading presidential candidates, Republican Senator John McCain and Barack Obama. Grove maintains the most important issue is getting away from the dependence on oil, not moving to renewable energy by 2018, as recommended by Al Gore which `is addressing the second most important problem,” Grove said.
Carmakers should adopt open-source policies to share technology and commit to honoring warranties when consumers do such modifications. Grove says he is encouraged by conversions of pickups and other autos that have been done by individuals and small shops for years. Batteries and motors are installed to add all- electric range and reduce vehicle’s gasoline use.
“I would love to give a lot of light and limelight to these people who have been doing this in their garages because there are a lot of them,” Grove said. “This is how the computer industry became a very large industry.” http://www.bloomberg.com
Grove is calling for the U.S. to offer tax credits or interest-free loans to retrofit vehicles. Grove maintains, “All these objections are absolutely valid in a peace state,” said Grove, such as high costs, a lack of batteries sturdy enough for daily use, no recharging infrastructure, and harmful environmental effects if coal-fired plants are the main energy source are not valid in these times.
In Silicon Valley, Grove is prodding venture capitalists to fund electric vehicle technologies and he is aiming to tap the entrepreneurial drive that led the region to dominate software and Internet businesses.
find out more at: http://www.ghgblog.com
The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.WilliamHazlittWilliam Hazlitt
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