Aug 28: As Democratic Presidential candidate Barak Obama accepted his party's nomination before some 84,000 in attendance at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High stadium he said, "And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East." He continued with more comments on the energy issue saying, "Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
"Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
"As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.
"America, now is not the time for small plans."
Climate change received only a brief mention when Obama said, "I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. . . " Interestingly, the word "environment" did not appear in the speech.
Access the complete Obama acceptance speech (click here). Access the Obama campaign website on energy and environment issues (click here). Access links to the Obama "Blueprint for Change" and individual issue positions (click here). Access an overview of the Democratic Party Platform and link to the 94-page 2008 Platform (click here). [*Energy]
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