4.04.2006
Obama Scolds Bush on Environment, Energy Proposals (ChicagoTribune.com)
Senator calls plans 'not a serious effort'
By John Chase
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 3, 2006, 10:27 PM CDT
Sen. Barack Obama delivered a blistering attack on President Bush's environmental policies Monday, saying the president's recent plan to end the nation's reliance on oil was "not a serious effort" and that the world faces devastation if it doesn't address worsening climate changes.
Speaking in Chicago at a luncheon of The Associated Press, Obama (D-Ill.) said the U.S. government must invest more in renewable fuels, encourage advancements in the coal industry to reduce carbon emissions and place tighter restrictions on oil imports.
Obama said he initially was hopeful when Bush said during his State of the Union address in January that the U.S. must end its reliance on oil, "but then I saw the plan."
"His funding for renewable fuels is at the same level it was the day he took office. He refuses to call for even a modest increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars. And his latest budget funds less than half of the energy bill that he himself signed into law—leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in underfunded energy proposals," Obama said.
"This is not a serious effort. Saying that America is addicted to oil without following a real plan for energy independence is like admitting alcoholism and then skipping the 12-step program."
(More ... Chicago Tribune | Obama scolds Bush on environment, energy proposals) ¶ 22:11
By John Chase
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 3, 2006, 10:27 PM CDT
Sen. Barack Obama delivered a blistering attack on President Bush's environmental policies Monday, saying the president's recent plan to end the nation's reliance on oil was "not a serious effort" and that the world faces devastation if it doesn't address worsening climate changes.
Speaking in Chicago at a luncheon of The Associated Press, Obama (D-Ill.) said the U.S. government must invest more in renewable fuels, encourage advancements in the coal industry to reduce carbon emissions and place tighter restrictions on oil imports.
Obama said he initially was hopeful when Bush said during his State of the Union address in January that the U.S. must end its reliance on oil, "but then I saw the plan."
"His funding for renewable fuels is at the same level it was the day he took office. He refuses to call for even a modest increase in fuel-efficiency standards for cars. And his latest budget funds less than half of the energy bill that he himself signed into law—leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in underfunded energy proposals," Obama said.
"This is not a serious effort. Saying that America is addicted to oil without following a real plan for energy independence is like admitting alcoholism and then skipping the 12-step program."
(More ... Chicago Tribune | Obama scolds Bush on environment, energy proposals) ¶ 22:11
