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Obama Rips Bush Policies on Environment

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 21:00 CDT

CHICAGO _ 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 potential devastation if it doesn't address worsening climate changes.

Speaking at the annual luncheon of The Associated Press in Chicago, the Illinois Democrat said the U.S. government must invest more in renewable fuels, encourage advancements in the coal industry to reduce carbon emissions and place stricter restrictions on oil imports.

Obama said he was initially hopeful when Bush said during his State of the Union address that the United States 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 then half of the energy bill that he himself signed into law _ leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in under-funded 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."

He said the Bush administration has practiced a "stubborn refusal" to admit a need for change.

Officials with the Republican National Committee said Obama's criticisms are misguided.

"Sen. Obama seems to be advocating a policy enacted by President Bush and is now using it to attack Republicans," said Ann Marie Hauser, a committee spokeswoman. "Obama's `stubborn refusal' to acknowledge the facts about the energy bill the president signed into law is disturbing, in particular those that focus on energy-efficient vehicles, renewable energy sources and less reliance on foreign sources of fuel."

Obama's comments came as part of a series of policy addresses he has made in recent months in attempts to show the breadth of his interests in his second year as a senator.

In recent months, he has called for the U.S. to begin a gradual withdrawal of troops from Iraq and for major reforms on ethics. He also has given several talks on the environment, saying the nation's reliance on oil is having a negative impact on the economy and oil imports are jeopardizing national security by keeping America tied to the world's most dangerous and unstable regimes.

"And when it comes to climate change, it's the fossil fuels we insist on burning _ particularly oil _ that are the single greatest cause of global warming and the damaging weather patterns that have been its result," he said Monday.

Citing a series of environmental concerns, from experiencing 19 of the 20 hottest years on record to the steady melting of polar ice caps, Obama said, "Climate change may be unleashing the forces of nature, but we can't forget that this has been accelerated by man and can be slowed by man too."

Obama called for $100 per vehicle government tax credit to cover automakers' costs of installing flexible-fuel tanks. He also called for giving consumers a 35-cent tax credit for every gallon of E85, a blended fuel, they use. Obama also pushed for the passage of legislation he has introduced in Congress, including his proposed "Health Care for Hybrids" legislation that calls for the federal government to help pay for some retiree health care costs for U.S. automakers in exchange for those companies promising to spend those savings on building more environmental friendly vehicles.

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(c) 2006, Chicago Tribune.

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Source: Chicago Tribune

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