Obama short speech on energy....
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Campaign 2008: Obama offers plan to secure our energy future
fosters.com
Article Date: Friday, January 4, 2008
There are few issues that impact our lives in as many ways as energy. Because of our addiction to foreign oil and gas, we are funding both sides of the war on terror, we are paying more and more at the pump, and we are putting the future of our planet in peril. But the size of our energy crisis is eclipsed only by the opportunity for progress. If we have the courage to embrace change, we can secure our country, lift up our economy, and save our planet.
Back in October, I stood in the Portsmouth Public Library to unveil a comprehensive plan for a clean energy future. My plan starts with setting a hard cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary to curb global warming — an 80 percent reduction by 2050. And polluters will have to pay based on the amount of pollution they release into the sky, because businesses don't own the sky — the public does.
Once we make dirty energy expensive, the second step will be to invest $150 billion over the next decade to ensure the development and deployment of clean, affordable energy — including the next generation of biofuels, and clean energy technology like solar and wind power. By 2025, America can meet a new standard that will require 25 percent of all our electricity to come from renewable sources. In the process, we can make the American economy a leader in developing 21st century.
The third step in my plan is to call on businesses, government, and the American people to make America 50 percent more energy efficient by 2030. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to curb our emissions and save money at the same time.
And there is one step I will take as soon as possible. From the moment I take office, I will invite the world back to Washington and let it be known that the United States of America is ready to lead again; that we are ready to rejoin the community of nations in taking on the greatest challenge of this generation.
Now, with just over a week before you go to the polls, I ask you to consider something even more important than the plan itself: Who can bring people together and stand up to the special interests to make the plan a reality?
For decades, we've failed to reform our energy policy not for lack of good plans but for lack of leadership in Washington. We've heard promises about energy independence from every president since Richard Nixon. Back then we imported about a third of our oil. Now we import over half. Back then global warming was just the theory of a few scientists. Now it is a fact that threatens our very existence.
Some of these policies are difficult politically. The special interests in Washington have counted on that difficulty to block progress year after year, and decade after decade. But being President of the United States isn't about doing what's easy. It's about doing what's right. Leadership isn't about telling people what they want to hear — it's about telling them what they need to hear.
That's why, when I gave a speech about my plan to raise fuel standards, I went to Detroit. I stood in front of a group of automakers, and I told them that when I am president, there will be no more excuses — we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil. Now I have to admit — the room was pretty quiet after that. But I said what I did because I believe America has had enough of politicians who just tell everyone what they want to hear.
I'm not running to conform to the conventional thinking that says we can't come together and solve our biggest problems; I'm running to challenge it. When I am president, we will stop just talking a good game about bold energy reforms and start acting. We'll bring Democrats and Republicans together. We'll stand up to the oil companies and the automakers. And we'll finally enact the bold policy we need to halt global warming, break our dependence on foreign oil, and make America a global leader on energy.
@Letters name:Barack Obama
@Letters town:D-Illinois
Barack Obama is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. |
