Obama on Energy

Obama On Energy. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
Is the energy bill a good thing or bad? That really depends on who you talk to and for the most part, which particular party affiliation you are posing the question to. For the most part Republicans view it as a job killing bill while Democrats see the opposite. The President recently lavished praise for this bold step.

OBAMA: Thanks to broad coalitions ranging from business to labor; investors to entrepreneurs; Democrats and Republicans from coal states and coastal states; and all who are willing to take on this challenge -- we've come together to achieve more in the past few months to create a new, clean energy economy than we have in decades.

The President says that the Recovery Act was just the beginning.

OBAMA: We began with historic investments in the Recovery Act and the federal budget that will help create hundreds of thousands of jobs doing the work of doubling our country's supply of renewable energy. We're talking about jobs building wind turbines and solar panels; jobs developing next-generation solutions for next-generation cars; jobs upgrading our outdated power grid so it can carry clean, renewable energy from the far-flung areas that harness it to the big cities that use it.

President Barak Obama is pleased that it has passed the House.

OBAMA: Just last Friday, the House of Representatives came together to pass an extraordinary piece of legislation that will finally open the door to decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, preventing the worst consequences of climate change, and making clean energy the profitable kind of energy.

One of the first steps according to the President is something as simple as changing out light bulbs which he notes will be happening in the White House shortly.

OBAMA: Now I know light bulbs may not seem sexy, but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and our businesses. Between 2012 and 2042, these new standards will save consumers up to $4 billion a year, conserve enough electricity to power every home in America for 10 months, reduce emissions equal to the amount produced by 166 million cars each year, and eliminate the need for as many as 14 coal-fired power plants.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.