Special Photo Report: President Bush’s Effort to foster petroleum alternatives!
With Obama’s latest utterings taking up the headline portion of the daily news, readers may have overlooked President Bush’s efforts to encourage Congress to open vast federal lands and offshore sites to oil exploration and recovery.
In his radio address on Saturday (full text here), The President reiterated the four main points he discussed on Wednesday:
- Again, he asked Congress to lift the ban on offshore drilling. ” Experts believe that the OCS could produce enough oil to match America’s current production for almost ten years.”
- Congress should remove the ban on leasing federal lands for oil shale production. “One major deposit in the Rocky Mountain West alone would equal current annual oil imports for more than a hundred years. Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress are standing in the way of further development.”
- Drill in ANWR. “Scientists have developed innovative techniques to reach this oil with virtually no impact on the land or local wildlife. With a drilling footprint that covers just a tiny fraction of this vast terrain, America could produce an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil. That is roughly the equivalent of two decades of imported oil from Saudi Arabia. “
- Expand refining capacity. “Lawsuits and red tape have made it extremely costly to expand or modify existing refineries. The result is that America now imports millions of barrels of fully refined gasoline from abroad. This imposes needless costs on American families and drivers. It deprives American workers of good jobs. “
For years, congressional opposition has prevented the safe, economical recovery of U.S. petroleum resources that might have prevented this current crisis. Only Congress can fix the problem by acting NOW before the situation gets far worse.
Special Photo Report: President Bush Highlights Energy Alternatives!
President Bush didn’t wait until gas prices hit $4 a gallon to act on the problem of energy. For years he has been highlighting petroleum alternatives and new technology that America needs to develop for our energy needs in the 21st Century.
The following is just a small sampling of his activity on this issue:

President George W. Bush tours the Virginia Biodiesel Refinery in West Point, Va., Monday, May 16, 2005.

President George W. Bush and Dr. Subhendu Guha, President of United Solar Ovonic LLC, tour the company’s solar cell production area in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Monday, Feb. 20, 2006.

President George W. Bush views a hybrid vehicle powered by Lithium-ion batteries during a tour by Johnson Controls’ CEO John Barth, far right, and employee Mike Andrew at the Johnson Controls’ Battery Technology Center in Glendale, Wisconsin, Monday, Feb. 20, 2006.

President George W. Bush listens to AC Transit Employee Jamie Levin while standing in the doorway of a bus powered by fuel cell technology during a tour of the California Fuel Cell Partnership in West Sacramento, California, Saturday, April 22, 2006.

President George W. Bush gestures as he addresses an audience at the Limerick Generating Station in Limerick, Pa., Wednesday, May 24, 2006 , urging the the advancement of nuclear energy as part of a diversified U.S. energy policy that will make America less dependent on foreign sources of oil and more dependent on renewable sources of energy.
Download the Advanced Energy Initiative here.

President George W. Bush greets audience members after his remarks on energy initiatives at Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007.

President George W. Bush talks about energy issues and the importance of developing and using alternative fuels Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, during a visit to the Hoover Public Safety Center in Hoover, Ala. The city has just opened an alternative fueling station to provide E85 (ethanol) and biodiesel fuels for public agency vehicles.

President George W. Bush holds a jar of spruce wood chips during a tour of the labs at Novozymes North America, Inc., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 in Franklinton, N.C., during a demonstration on how cellulosic ethanol can be produced from bio mass materials.

President George W. Bush talks to the media after a demonstration Monday, March 26, 2007, of alternative fuel vehicles on the South Lawn drive of the White House. Standing with him from left, are: Rick Wagoner, Chairman and CEO, General Motors Corporation; Alan Mulally, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company; Tom LaSorda, President and CEO, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, and Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters.

President George W. Bush delivers his remarks on energy initiatives following his tour of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala., Thursday, June 21, 2007. Speaking about the energy needs of the nation President Bush said, “Nuclear power is America’s third leading source of electricity. It provides nearly 20 percent of our country’s electricity. Nuclear power is clean. It’s clean, domestic energy.”

President George W. Bush is shown alternative fuel development technology Tuesday, July 10, 2007, during his visit to GrafTech International, Ltd. in Parma, Ohio. GrafTech is developing new fuel cell components from natural graphite to increase efficiency and reliability.

President George W. Bush stops to talk to the manufacturers of a converted plug-in hybrid electric vehicle during his tour of the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
More Information
There is a great deal of substance that accompanies these photo-ops and demonstrations. The White House has several key documents and presidential speeches with the details of an energy plan for America’s future.
The time to act is NOW! Further delay means nothing but needless financial strain on every American family!











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