Obama takes tough line on energy; U.S. president calls for reduction in oil imports as well as co-operation with Canada
Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press
Copyright (c) 2011 Kitchener-Waterloo Record.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama called Wednesday for a one-third reduction in American oil imports by 2025, describing Canada as one of his country's energy partners as he tackled an issue that has dogged the United States since the 1970s.
"We cannot keep going from shock to trance on the issue of energy security, rushing to propose action when gas prices rise, then hitting the snooze button when they fall again," Obama said in a speech delivered as a cascade of uprisings in the Arab world wreak havoc on global energy prices and prices at the gas pumps.
"It is time to do what we can to secure our energy future. . . . We will keep on being a victim to shifts in the oil market until we finally get serious about a long-term policy for secure, affordable energy."
The president added he knows the United States will still need foreign oil, giving a nod to U.S. friends in the Western Hemisphere, including Canada.
"I set this goal knowing that imported oil will remain an important part of our energy portfolio for quite some time," he said.
"And when it comes to the oil we import from other nations, we can partner with neighbours like Canada, Mexico and Brazil, which recently discovered significant new oil reserves, and with whom we can share American technology and know-how," Obama said.
One Canadian oil industry official called that remark encouraging.
"The very specific mention of Canada makes absolutely clear that the president views Canada as part of the solution and not part of the problem," said Tom Huffaker, the vice-president of policy and the environment for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
He added: "Even if the U.S. is largely successful in achieving its goals, we still believe there is still going to be a very good market for growing exports of Canadian oil to the United States."
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach agreed, saying Obama's tip of the hat to Canada "makes me feel good."
Canada and Mexico are the United States' biggest suppliers of oil, providing almost 75 per cent of the energy source to the U.S.
At a White House background briefing earlier this week, a senior official was asked to clarify what Obama's oil objectives meant to his North American neighbours.
Many Democrats concerned about climate change, however - most notably congress member Henry Waxman of California - have expressed serious misgivings about Alberta's oilsands.
They've branded it "dirty oil" because mining the oilsands requires more energy than conventional oil operations, resulting in higher greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental groups have warned that as the planet continues to heat up, it's foolhardy for the U.S. to rely on the world's most carbon-intensive fuel, even if it's coming from the United States' friendly neighbour to the north.
The State Department is currently deciding whether to approve Transcanada's Keystone XL pipeline, which will transport Alberta oilsands crude through the Midwest to Texas.
Of nuclear power, currently at the centre of controversy again as tsunami-stricken Japan deals with an ongoing nuclear crisis, Obama said: "We can't simply take it off the table."
The president wants Americans to be using non-oil energy sources for 80 per cent of their
electricity use by the year 2035. He stressed the need to tap "one critical, renewable resource . . . American ingenuity."