In energy speech, Obama exchanges the ambitious for the politically possible
President Obama called Wednesday for a one-third cut in oil imports, to be achieved by increased domestic production, alternative energies, and higher fuel efficiency.
President Obama greets audience members after speaking about his plan for America's energy security, March 30, at Georgetown University in Washington.
Carolyn Kaster / AP
Washington
Amid multiple pressures on US energy security, President Obama set a goal Wednesday of reducing oil imports by one-third in the next decade.
Mr. Obama, speaking at Georgetown University, set out a multi-pronged approach to reaching that goal: finding and producing more oil in the United States, boosting fuel efficiency, and turning to cleaner alternative fuels. And while he is not as open to domestic oil drilling as some Republicans would like, he did try to reposition himself as a drilling-friendly president, even as he pushed for more electric cars, more use of natural gas and biofuels, and higher fuel efficiency standards.
The president stressed that nuclear energy will remain an important source of electricity in the US, even as Japan grapples with a crisis at a nuclear reactor complex.
He also called for an end to the nation’s decades-long pattern of “shock and trance” over energy – shock when oil prices spike, followed by trance when prices go down.
