Pres Obama's Energy Speech & Blueprint Re-Affirms Nuclear

[johnkarls]

.
Reading Liberally Editorial Note:

The following White House mass e-mail is a “heads up” about President Obama’s energy speech on Wed Mar 30 and the President’s Energy-Blueprint report. However, if you follow the cross-link in the e-mail, you just have to wade through a repetitive White House Blog (which is, though, also reproduced below). At the end of the blog is a cross-link to President Obama’s 44-page Energy Blueprint Report itself. Since it is an Adobe.pdf file, here is your cross link –

RL-w330-ObamaEnergyBlueprint-Text.pdf

(1.04 MiB) Downloaded 145 times

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Gas Prices
From: "David Plouffe, The White House" <info@messages.whitehouse.gov>
Date: Thu, March 31, 2011 10:08 am
To: John Karls
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good afternoon,

Surprised at how much it cost last time you filled up your gas tank? You're not alone. Millions of families and businesses across the country are feeling the pinch of rising gas prices.

Here's the thing: as long as our economy relies on oil and as demand in countries like China and India continues to grow, we'll be subject to these kinds of spikes in gas prices.Â

We've been down this road before -- just three years ago, gas prices rose to their highest level ever. There was no quick fix to lower prices then, just as there isn't one now.

For decades, politicians here in Washington have talked a lot about the dangers of our dependence on foreign oil, but this talk hasn't always been met with action. And today, Americans pay a price for that inaction every time they fill up their tanks.

Yesterday, we unveiled a Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future that sets a goal of reducing our imports of foreign oil. By 2025 -- a little more than a decade from now -- we will have cut that reliance by one-third.Â

Learn more about the Blueprint and watch President Obama's speech on energy security:

[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/ ... ign=energy]

In his speech yesterday, President Obama outlined his plan to secure our energy future by developing and securing America's energy resources, bringing energy costs down for consumers, and innovating our way to a clean energy future.Â

* Increase domestic energy production. Last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003. And, because we can't just drill our way out of this crisis, we're reducing our dependence on oil by increasing fuel efficiency and increasing our production of natural gas and biofuels.

* Reduce demand for oil. Transportation is responsible for 70 percent of our petroleum consumption, so one of the quickest and easiest ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to make transportation more efficient. That's why, in April of last year, the Obama Administration established a groundbreaking national fuel efficiency standard for cars and trucks that will save us 1.8 billion barrels of oil and save consumers thousands of dollars. We're also making investments in electric vehicles and the advanced batteries that power them to ensure that high-quality, fuel-efficient cars and trucks are built right here in America.

* Increase production of clean energy. In his State of the Union address, President Obama set a goal that by 2035, 80 percent of our electricity should come from clean energy sources including renewables like wind and solar, nuclear energy, efficient natural gas, and clean coal.

The concepts are straightforward, but the execution will be challenging. In order to make this happen, Republicans and Democrats in Congress must find common ground for a responsible and effective energy policy.

But no matter your views on this issue, I think we can all agree that the United States simply can't afford to leave this challenge for future generations to solve.

Sincerely,

David Plouffe
Senior Advisor to the President

P.S. Check out our new Advise the Advisor video featuring Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and give us your feedback on how we can meet the President's goal of reducing imports of oil by one-third in a little over a decade:

http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/Advise [http://www.whitehouse.gov/advise?utm_so ... ign=energy]

[http://www.whitehouse.gov?utm_source=em ... ign=energy]


This email was sent to John Karls.
Unsubscribe John Karls [https://messages.whitehouse.gov/account ... nkarls.com] | Privacy Policy [http://www.whitehouse.gov/privacy?utm_s ... ign=energy]
Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House [http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact?utm_s ... ign=energy]

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111.

***********************************************************

The White House Blog

The Obama Administration’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future
Posted by Heather Zichal on March 30, 2011 at 04:20 PM EDT

“Today, my Administration is releasing a Blueprint for A Secure Energy Future that outlines the comprehensive national energy policy we’ve pursued since the day I took office. And here at Georgetown, I’d like to talk in broad strokes about how we will secure that future."

Rising prices at the pump affect everybody – workers and farmers; truck drivers and restaurant owners. Businesses see it impact their bottom line. Families feel the pinch when they fill up their tank. For Americans already struggling to get by, it makes life that much harder. Demand for oil in countries like China and India is only growing, and the price of oil will continue to rise with it. That’s why we need to make ourselves more secure and control our energy future by harnessing all of the resources that we have available and embracing a diverse energy portfolio.

Every president since Richard Nixon has called for America’s independence from oil, but Washington gridlock has prevented action again and again. If we want to create a more secure energy future, and protect consumers at the pump, that has to change. When President Obama took office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. Today, he pledged that by a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third, and put forward a plan to secure America’s energy future by producing more oil at home and reducing our dependence on oil by leveraging cleaner, alternative fuels and greater efficiency.

We’ve already made progress toward this goal – last year, America produced more oil than we had in the last seven years. And we’re taking steps to encourage more offshore oil exploration and production – as long as it’s safe and responsible. And, because we know we can’t just drill our way out of our energy challenge, we’re reducing our dependence on oil by increasing our production of natural gas and biofuels, and increasing our fuel efficiency. Last year, we announced ground-breaking fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks that will save consumers thousands of dollars and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

And beyond our efforts to reduce our dependence on oil, we must focus on expanding cleaner sources of electricity, including renewables like wind and solar, as well as clean coal, natural gas, and nuclear power – keeping America on the cutting edge of clean energy technology so that we can build a 21st century clean energy economy and win the future.

To help us reach these goals, the Obama Administration is releasing a Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future (pdf) – which outlines the comprehensive national energy policy that this Administration has pursued since day one, and the which we will build upon to secure our energy future. The Blueprint is aimed to:

A. Develop and secure America’s energy supplies: We need to deploy American assets, innovation, and technology so that we can safely and responsibly develop more energy here at home and be a leader in the global energy economy. To get there, we need to:

A-1. Expand Safe and Responsible Domestic Oil and Gas Development and Production

A-2. Lead the World Toward Safer and More Secure Energy Supplies

B. Provide consumers with choices to reduce costs and save energy: Volatile gasoline prices reinforce the need for innovation that will make it easier and more affordable for consumers to buy more advanced and fuel-efficient vehicles, use alternative means of transportation, weatherize their homes and workplaces, and in doing so, save money and protect the environment. These measures help families’ pocketbooks, reduce our dependence on finite energy sources and help create good jobs here in the United States. So, we’re implementing policies that:

B-1. Reduce Consumers Costs at the Pump with More Efficient Cars and Trucks

B-2. Cut Energy Bills with More Efficient Homes and Buildings

C. Innovate our way to a clean energy future: Leading the world in clean energy is critical to strengthening the American economy and winning the future. We can get there by creating markets for innovative clean technologies that are ready to deploy, and by funding cutting-edge research to produce the next generation of technologies. And as new, better, and more efficient technologies hit the market, the Federal government needs to put words into action and lead by example. That’s why we need to:

C-1. Harness America’s Clean Energy Potential so that 80 percent of electricity will come from clean energy sources by 2035

C-2. Win the future through Clean Energy Research and Development

C-3. Lead by Example so that the Federal Government models best practices and clean energy technologies

Read the full Blueprint (pdf).

Heather Zichal is Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change