As GM-Volt readers know, this week’s Volt news was about politics and GM’s efforts to rebuild its falsely maligned image. But even as certain congressional Republicans targeted GM, the Volt, and President Obama, the president said he is doubling down on his agenda for energy security.
The president’s Blueprint to Make The Most of America’s Energy Resources – delivered Wednesday during the last State of the Union Address for his term in office – focused on initiatives Obama hopes will lead to clean sources comprising 80 percent of U.S. energy by 2035.
In a fact sheet released by the White House, Obama’s plan calls for transitioning to cleaner sources of energy to “enhance national security, protect the environment and public health, and grow our economy and create new jobs.”
The White House said U.S. renewable energy use has nearly doubled over the past few years, and in 2011, the U.S. again became the “world’s leading investor in clean energy – but staying on top will depend on smart, aggressive action moving forward.”
Actually, the White House began by also calling for reliance on non-renewable and fossil fuels.
“This commitment includes the safe and responsible production of our oil and natural gas resources,” the White House said, echoing thoughts the president had already spoken:
“Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now—right now—American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right—eight years. Not only that—last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough.”
Following are the fact sheet points in their entirety:
President Obama’s Plan to Advance Safe Production of Oil and Gas Resources To Create Jobs, Enhance Energy Security, and Cut Pollution
Make a new lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico to move forward on our national commitment to safe and responsible oil and gas development: In his State of the Union Address, the President directed the Department of Interior to finalize a national offshore energy plan that makes 75 percent of our potential offshore resources available for development by opening new areas for drilling in the Gulf and Alaska. On Thursday, the President will take a concrete step forward to develop our oil and gas resources, announcing that the Department of Interior will hold a new lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. This lease sale will make approximately 38 million acres available, and could result in the production of 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Promote safe, responsible development of the near 100-year supply of natural gas, supporting more than 600,000 jobs while ensuring public health and safety: In 2009, we became the world’s leading producer of natural gas. In the State of the Union, the President directed the Administration to ensure safe shale gas development that, according to independent estimates, will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. These actions will include moving forward with common-sense new rules to require disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking operations on public lands.
Reducing our dependence on oil by encouraging greater use of natural gas in transportation: The President’s plan includes: proposing new incentives for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that run on natural gas or other alternative fuels; launching a competitive grant program to support communities to overcome the barriers to natural gas vehicle deployment; developing transportation corridors that allow trucks fueled by liquefied natural gas to transport goods; and supporting programs to convert municipal buses and trucks to run on natural gas and to find new ways to convert and store natural gas.
Harnessing American ingenuity to catalyze breakthrough technologies for natural gas: The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) will announce a new research competition in the coming months that will engage our country’s brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to find ways to harness our abundant supplies of domestic natural gas to lessen our dependence of foreign oil for vehicles. The breakthrough technologies they will develop, whether they are for new ways to fuel our cars with natural gas or a method to turn that gas into liquid fuel, promise to break our dependence on foreign oil for our cars and trucks, allow us to breathe cleaner air, and ultimately save consumers at the pump. To date ARPA-E has hosted four rounds of competitions and attracted over 5000 applications from research teams, which has resulted in approximately 180 cutting edge projects.
The President’s Commitment to Clean Energy
Doubling the share of electricity from clean energy sources by 2035: The centerpiece of the Administration’s strategy is a Clean Energy Standard, or “CES” – a flexible approach that harnesses American ingenuity and innovation, and channels it toward a clean energy future. By creating a market here at home for innovative clean energy technologies, we will unleash the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs and ensure that America leads the world in clean energy.
Supporting clean energy with targeted tax incentives: The President supports renewing and extending a number of proven and successful provisions that are crucial to the continued growth of the domestic clean energy sector. This includes tax incentives for clean energy manufacturing, which could create up to 100,000 jobs, and the Production Tax Credit to support investment in the deployment of clean energy technologies like wind and solar.
Opening public lands for private investments in clean energy: To enhance energy security and create new jobs, the Department of the Interior is committed to issuing permits for 10 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity – enough to power 3 million homes – from new projects on our public lands by the end of 2012.
Securing renewable energy for the U.S. Navy: Securing a safe, clean and reliable energy supply for our nation’s defense forces is essential to carrying out missions vital to the security of the United States. The Department of Navy has committed to adding 1 gigawatt of renewable energy produced from sources like solar, wind, and geothermal to its energy portfolio for shore-side installations – enough to power 250,000 homes. Using existing authorities such as power purchase agreements, the Navy will ensure these energy projects are cost neutral and require no up-front investments by the government.
Energy and politics
It would appear everything in the country where it has been said “United we stand, divided we fall,” has political ramifications about which various factions rally around or oppose.
With regard to energy, in which billions of dollars, millions of lives, and the future of this society depend on how it is managed, political considerations are quite explicit.
But what do you think? Is the president’s outline feasible?
His call for clean energy is harmonious with the Volt, as his opponents have more than pointed out, and his agenda naturally goes far beyond the automotive sector.
We’ve seen for decades how presidents have championed energy issues, made poignant statements, observed critical facts, warned the hand writing is on the wall …
Will facts finally sink home, and will positive “change” really take place soon enough?
Looking at the points above, would you amend the president’s focus in any way?
If the thought of “politics” turns you off, fine. You can alternately think about this as being about life as we know it.
So what are truths, policies, or directions that more people need to agree upon?
At this stage, the one truth we can all see, if nothing else, is that solutions are needed.
Source: GM-Volt.com
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