President Barack Obama called on Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars currently give to oil companies and support record investment into renewable energy and electric cars as part of his State of the Union address yesterday.
The US President intends to ask Congress to approve a budget which would include huge investment into research and development of alternative fuels and better consumer rebates for cleaner vehicles such as electric or biofuelled cars. Resisting Republican pressure for big budget cuts, the President made it clear he wanted to increase investment to make the US more competitive against new economic powers such as China, as he made his annual address.
His aim is to see a million electric cars on America’s roads by 2015 while he also announced a target to produce 80 per cent of the country’s electricity from clean sources by 2035.
The President said: “Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all — and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.”
Speaking of the misguided policy of subsidising oil firm, Mr Obama, said of the oil giants: ” I don’t know if — I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own.
“So instead of subsidising yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”
America’s love affair with oil is coming unstuck as energy prices and supplies become less certain. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill last summer at a BP-owned oil rig has also lessened US lust for black gold.
Calling it this generation’s ‘Sputnik moment’, Barack Obama, added: “Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race.
“And in a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology — (applause) — an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.”
