Pres. Bush Press Conference .. Energy Comments ..
Q Mr. President, the price of oil is at record levels, well above the $28 price point that you would prefer. The price of gasoline is projected to go above $2.50 this spring. How concerned are you that this could start to -- (inaudible) -- the American economy? Is there more you could do to talk with oil-producing nations to get the price at the wellhead down? And is there more you could do, since part of the problem is refining capacity, to encourage oil companies who haven't built a new refinery in 20 years to start increasing their capacity domestically?
PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I am concerned about the price of energy. I'm concerned about what it means to the average American family when they see the price of gasoline going up. I'm concerned what it means to small businesses. I'm worried about the price of natural gas, particularly given the sense that -- because a lot of utilities now rely upon natural gas to provide electricity for their consumers. And I have been worried about this since 2001 when I first showed up in Washington, D.C.
I'm concerned about the relationship between the demand for oil, our growing economy's demand for oil, but more particularly the demand for oil from -- or energy in general from countries like China, fast- growing countries that are consuming a lot of raw materials and natural resources.
And it is of concern, John.
And that's why I went to the Congress and asked them to join in a comprehensive energy plan, which they have yet to do. I would hope that when members go back to their districts and hear the complaints of -- of people about the rising price of gasoline or complaints from small business owners about the cost of energy, that they will come back and in the spirit of -- in a proper spirit, get a bill to my desk that encourages conservation and continue to find alternative sources of energy.
The -- the -- and by the way, the modernization of electricity grid is an important part of the energy bill. I frankly don't think we need a lot of incentives for energy companies in the energy bill. The incentive is price. (Chuckles.) There's plenty of incentive for people to go out and find additional resources.
I hope Congress passes ANWR. There's a way to get some additional reserves here at home on the books.
In terms of world supply, it's -- I think if you look at all the statistics, demand is outracing supply, and supplies are getting tight. And that's why you're seeing the price reflect it. And hopefully there will be more conservation around the world, better conservation around the world, as well as additional supplies of energy.
One thing is for certain: we've got to use our technology to over time evolve away from reliance upon oil and gas, and at the same time use our technologies to make sure we can use our plentiful resources, like coal, in an environmentally-friendly way.
I went to Columbus, Ohio the other day and I talked to the person responsible for the FutureGen plant, which is an innovative use of technology for there to be emissions-free coal-burning plants. That will not only be helpful to the United States, it will be helpful for the world and developing nations to be able to use this technology.
This is going to be a subject, by the way -- was a subject of interest in my trip to Europe -- councils of the EU, we talked about how we can work together on technological developments to change habits, change supply of the energy mix for the world, so it will be a topic at the G-8 as well.
Triff ..@I'm-concerned.com |
