- Share This Post
- submit
- 6
-
Sparkle (0)
When it came to light that I would need to write about energy this week, the idea appealed to me about as much as going forward with the presidential debate tomorrow night seems to appeal to John McCain. But one thing I love about blogging, and BlogHer, is that I expose myself to and others expose me to notions and topics out of my comfort zone.
That said, before anyone tries to compare me to lipstick or a pig (especially just a few days before Rosh Hashana no less), I hope you'll give this post, and Barack Obama's comprehensive energy proposal a fair shake, because frankly, despite the importance of the presidential foreign policy debate scheduled for tomorrow night and the fiscal emergencies that our country is now owning up to at the federal level (living in Ohio, I can assure you we've been living fiscal emergencies of this nature for literally months if not years now between payday loansharks, predatory mortgage lenders, foreclosure proceedings, job losses and corporate HQ departures), energy is now arguably at the center of foreign policy, energy and pretty much every other concern we have. More on that toward the bottom of the post.
The Obama/Biden website provides us with a written explanation of his energy plan, a link to the plan itself (a pdf) and a video of his 30 minute speech about energy which he gave in Lansing, Michigan on August 4. The essentials of the plan, as outlined, are:
- Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
- Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years
to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. - Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela
combined. - Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150
miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make
sure are built here in America. - Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by
2025. - Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
If the general topic of "Energy" seems like too high a wattage to face in one glance at the very thorough campaign website page, check out Science Debate 2008. They asked Obama and GOP presidential candidate John McCain to respond to 14 science-oriented questions - and respond they did (Obama on 8/30/08 and McCain on 9/15/08). You can read all of Obama's answers here, including one on climate change, but here's his response to the question about energy:
[Science Debate 2008 question] Energy. Many policymakers and scientists say energy security and sustainability are major problems facing the United States this century. What policies would you support to meet demand for energy while ensuring an economically and environmentally sustainable future?
[Obama response] America's challenges in providing secure, affordable energy while addressing climate change mean that we must make much more efficient use of energy and begin to rely on new energy sources that eliminate or greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. My programs focus both on a greatly expanded program of federally funded energy research and development and on policies designed to speed the adoption of innovative energy technologies and stimulate private innovation.
First, I have proposed programs that, taken together, will increase federal investment in the clean energy research, development, and deployment by $150 billion over ten years. This research will cover:
• Basic research to develop alternative fuels and chemicals;
• Equipment and designs that can greatly reduce energy use in residential and commercial buildings - both new and existing;
• New vehicle technologies capable of significantly reducing our oil consumption;
• Advanced energy storage and transmission that would greatly help the economics of new electric-generating technologies and plug-in hybrids;
• Technologies for capturing and sequestering greenhouse gases produced by coal plants; and
• A new generation of nuclear electric technologies that address cost, safety, waste disposal, and proliferation risks.
I will also work closely with utilities to introduce a digital smart grid that can optimize the overall efficiency of the nation's electric utility system, by managing demand and making effective use of renewable energy and energy storage.
Second, it is essential that we create a strong, predictable market for energy innovations with concrete goals that speed introduction of innovative products and
