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Bush: US on verge of energy breakthrough
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-21 08:13
Saying the nation is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that would
"startle" most Americans, US President Bush on Monday outlined his energy
proposals to help wean the country off foreign oil.
US President Bush
delivers remarks about energy before a group at Johnson Controls, Inc.
Monday, Feb. 20, 2006 in Milwaukee. [AP] | Less
than half the crude oil used by refineries is produced in the United States,
while 60 percent comes from foreign nations, Bush said during the first stop on
a two-day trip to talk about energy.
Some of these foreign suppliers have "unstable" governments that have
fundamental differences with America, he said.
"It creates a national security issue and we're held hostage for energy by
foreign nations that may not like us," Bush said.
Bush is focusing on energy at a time when Americans are paying high power
bills to heat their homes this winter and have only recently seen a decrease in
gasoline prices.
One of Bush's proposals would expand research into smaller, longer-lasting
batteries for electric-gas hybrid cars, including plug-ins. He highlighted that
initiative with a visit Monday to the battery center at Milwaukee-based
auto-parts supplier Johnson Controls Inc.
During his trip, Bush is also focusing on a proposal to increase investment
in development of clean electric power sources, and proposals to speed the
development of biofuels such as "cellulosic" ethanol made from wood chips or
sawgrass.
Energy conservation groups and environmentalists say they're pleased that the
president, a former oil man in Texas, is stressing alternative sources of
energy, but they contend his proposals don't go far enough. They say the
administration must consider greater fuel-efficiency standards for cars, and
some economists believe it's best to increase the gas tax to force consumers to
change their driving habits.
During his visit to Johnson Controls' new hybrid battery laboratory, Bush
checked out two Ford Escapes — one with a nickel-metal-hybrid battery, the kind
that powers most hybrid-electric vehicles, and one with a lithium-ion battery,
which Johnson Controls believes are the wave of the future. The lithium-ion
battery was about half the size of the older-model battery. In 2004, Johnson
Controls received a government contract to develop the lithium-ion batteries.
While Bush is highlighting his budget proposals to help wean America from
foreign oil, the lab he visited is meeting a $28 million shortfall by cutting
its staff by 32 people, including eight researchers.
"Our nation is on the threshold of new energy technology that I think will
startle the American people," Bush said. "We're on the edge of some amazing
breakthroughs — breakthroughs all aimed at enhancing our national security and
our economic security and the quality of life of the folks who live here in the
United States."
Later Monday, Bush visited the United Solar Ovonics Plant, which makes solar
panels, in Auburn Hills, Mich., outside Detroit. "This technology right here is
going to help us change the way we live in our homes," Bush told reporters.
Bush said he was impressed with the growing commercial uses of solar energy.
"Roof makers will one day be able to make a solar roof that protects you from
the elements and at the same time, powers your house," Bush said. "The vision is
this — that technology will become so efficient that you'll become a little
power generator in your home, and if you don't use the energy you generate
you'll be able to feed it back into the electricity grid."
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., questioned Bush's energy policies Monday, saying the
administration also supports subsidies for luxury SUVs.
"This single tax subsidy dwarfs anything being done for hybrid batteries,"
Markey said in a news release.
On Tuesday, Bush plans to visit the Energy Department's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., to talk about speeding the development of
biofuels.
As a complement to Bush's travels, six Cabinet officials are crisscrossing
the nation this week, appearing at more than two dozen energy events in more
than a dozen states.
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