MOsanthrope

Posted by Chris on May 1, 2006 at 8:57 am.

Compare and contrast:

WALLACE: Question, isn’t the president now playing politics with the strategic reserve?

BOLTEN: No, no. All that we’re doing with the strategic reserve right now is we’re deferring some deposits that were planned to be made in the summer. We were planning to end the deposits in any event this fall, so we’re just at a time when we’ve got especially critical crimps on supply going into the summer driving season.

We just decided to defer the deposits into the — the policies that the president set back then are the ones that still stand.

WALLACE: But halting deposits to the reserve would add 10 million barrels of oil to the U.S. supply. That’s half of what Americans consume in a single day. I mean, isn’t that basically, in terms of dealing with this problem, meaningless?

BOLTEN: Oh, it’s a modest step, and I think when the president announced it, he said it was a small step. What we’ve got to realize here, Chris, is that this is a very large problem. It’s built up over many years — decades, in fact. It’s not going to be solved in the short run by some silver bullet.

There are a lot of policies that need to be put in place over the long run to wean ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil. That’s the only thing that’s going to make a difference in the long run.

WALLACE: In that sense, if everything the president called for this week went through, how much would it lower the price of a gallon of gas at the gas pump this summer?

BOLTEN: Oh, I have no idea, but I expect the effects would be relatively modest. The point of…

WALLACE: Pennies, correct?

BOLTEN: I don’t know what the price — what the exact price would be. But the point is that there are some steps we can take in the short run, like dealing with the strategic petroleum reserve, like loosening up on regulations about the fuel mix that needs to be used in particular localities.

But what the president was also talking about this past week and what he’s been talking about for some time are longer term measures to increase supply and reduce demand in this country.

Now, some of the things can have some effect in the short run — greater encouragement for hybrid vehicles. But others are going to take a long time to have effect, like taking advantage of the supply we have here, shifting over to more alternative fuels.

All of those policies need to come together because we need to leave behind a legacy in which this country is headed toward weaning itself from its dependence on foreign oil. We’ve been going in the wrong direction for years, for decades. We have deepened our addiction to foreign oil. The president is determined to set that back on the right path.

WALLACE: Let me ask you about one other specific point. The president asked this week for authority to be able to raise the fuel economy standards for all cars, not just light trucks and SUVs.

Do you have a plan in place, if you were given that authority, as to how much you would like to raise the fuel efficiency of cars?

BOLTEN: The process itself would take some time for the secretary of transportation to work out. But we have a plan to proceed to arrive at the right kind of number.

Remember, it’s not just raising the corporate average fuel economy. The system needs a reform so that it’s based more on the size and weight of vehicles so that we get the efficiencies without sacrificing safety in our cars.

We ourselves are the same Americans who just ten years ago put a man on the Moon. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process rebuild the unity and confidence of America.

* * *

Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.

In little more than two decades we’ve gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries, at prices that are going through the roof. Our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline. It’s a cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our nation. The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts and we simply must face them.

What I have to say to you now about energy is simple and vitally important.

Point one: I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 — never. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now and then reversed as we move through the 1980s, for I am tonight setting the further goal of cutting our dependence on foreign oil by one-half by the end of the next decade — a saving of over 4-1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day.

Point two: To ensure that we meet these targets, I will use my presidential authority to set import quotas. I’m announcing tonight that for 1979 and 1980, I will forbid the entry into this country of one drop of foreign oil more than these goals allow. These quotas will ensure a reduction in imports even below the ambitious levels we set at the recent Tokyo summit.

Point three: To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation’s history to develop America’s own alternative sources of fuel — from coal, from oil shale, from plant products for gasohol, from unconventional gas, from the sun.

I propose the creation of an energy security corporation to lead this effort to replace 2-1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day by 1990. The corporation I will issue up to $5 billion in energy bonds, and I especially want them to be in small denominations so that average Americans can invest directly in America’s energy security.

Just as a similar synthetic rubber corporation helped us win World War II, so will we mobilize American determination and ability to win the energy war. Moreover, I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this nation’s first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20 percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000.

These efforts will cost money, a lot of money, and that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay. It will be money well spent. Unlike the billions of dollars that we ship to foreign countries to pay for foreign oil, these funds will be paid by Americans to Americans. These funds will go to fight, not to increase, inflation and unemployment.

Point four: I’m asking Congress to mandate, to require as a matter of law, that our nation’s utility companies cut their massive use of oil by 50 percent within the next decade and switch to other fuels, especially coal, our most abundant energy source.

Point five: To make absolutely certain that nothing stands in the way of achieving these goals, I will urge Congress to create an energy mobilization board which, like the War Production Board in World War II, will have the responsibility and authority to cut through the red tape, the delays, and the endless roadblocks to completing key energy projects.

We will protect our environment. But when this nation critically needs a refinery or a pipeline, we will build it.

Point six: I’m proposing a bold conservation program to involve every state, county, and city and every average American in our energy battle. This effort will permit you to build conservation into your homes and your lives at a cost you can afford.

I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. To further conserve energy, I’m proposing tonight an extra $10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems. And I’m asking you for your good and for your nation’s security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense — I tell you it is an act of patriotism.

* * *

I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy. I do not promise a quick way out of our nation’s problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure honesty. And above all, I will act. We can manage the short-term shortages more effectively and we will, but there are no short-term solutions to our long-range problems. There is simply no way to avoid sacrifice.

 
Historians will recall that in response, America cried in a single, unified voice, “How dare that liberal elitist tell us what to do! Maude, git in the truck. Let’s go for a drive listen to that radio guy make fun of small cars and the environment, then we’ll go vote for that actor guy. He says we’re fine!”

Filed under: Politics, U.S., Environment, Economy