In a speech at Georgetown University yesterday morning, the president said the US cannot go on consuming one- quarter of the world’s oil production while possessing only two percent of global reserves.
With that, he called for a one-third reduction in oil imports over the next decade, and blamed decades-long political bickering for the US not being closer to that goal today.
In light of that delay, he said the move toward bio-fuels and other renewables needs to pick up pace immediately. Toward that end the White House released a 44-page Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future to coincide with the president’s remarks
But President Obama took a jab at the Republican-controlled Congress, which has responded to the spreading unrest in the Middle East by calling for expanded domestic oil and gas production.
“Now here’s the thing — we’ve been down this road before,” the president said. “Remember, it was just three years ago that gas prices topped $4 a gallon. I remember because I was in the middle of a presidential campaign.”
“Because it was also the height of political season, you had a lot of slogans and gimmicks and outraged politicians, they were waving their three-point-plans for two-dollar-a-gallon gas. You remember that: ‘Drill, baby, drill’ and all of that. And none of it would really do anything to solve the problem,” he continued.
The truth is, none of these gimmicks, none of these slogans made a bit of difference,” he continued. “When gas prices finally did fall, it was mostly because the global recession had led to less demand for oil. Companies were producing less; the demand for petroleum went down; prices went down. Now that the economy is recovering, demand is back up.
In that context, Obama reiterated his call for a fuel-saving strategy of producing more electric cars, converting trucks to run on natural gas, setting new fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles, and promoting the development of new bio-fuels production facilities across the country.
“The only way for America’s energy supply to be truly secure is by permanently reducing our dependence on oil,” he said. “We’re going to have to find ways to boost our efficiency so that we use less oil. We’ve got to discover and produce cleaner, renewable sources of energy that also produce less carbon pollution that is threatening our climate. And we have to do it quickly.”
“We cannot keep going from shock when gas prices go up to trance when gas prices go back down,” the president continued. “We can’t rush to propose action when prices are high then push the snooze button when they go down again. We can’t keep doing that. The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out.”
As he has repeatedly since the earthquake in Japan and the ensuing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor, Obama continued to stand by his contention that nuclear needs to be part of a comprehensive, future energy mix. Currently nuclear power accounts for only one-fifth of the domestic energy supply in the US.
“It’s important to recognize that nuclear energy doesn’t emit carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Obama said. “Those of us concerned about climate change know that nuclear power, if it’s safe, can make a significant contribution to the climate change question. And I’m determined to ensure that it’s safe.”
So here’s the bottom line,” the president said. “There are no quick fixes. Anybody who tells you otherwise isn’t telling you the truth. And we will keep on being a victim to shifts in the oil market until we finally get serious about a long-term policy for a secure, affordable energy future.
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