A balanced energy policy must create real incentives for energy conservation in our homes, our offices, our factories, and our infrastructure, saving money and improving security even as it creates good jobs
and rebuilds our communities.
Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.15
Jul 10, 2004
Energy independence to avoid dealing with repressive regimes
Today, the American economy depends on oil controlled by some of the world's most repressive regimes. This leaves our economy dangerously vulnerable to nations that do not share our interests. America too often is silent about the practices of some
governments because we depend on oil they control. John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe a strong America must no longer rely on the cooperation of regimes that do not share our values. We believe a strong America must move toward
energy independence. In the Bush Administration, energy independence doesn't get a thought. Their energy policy is simple: government by big oil, of big oil, and for big oil. This Administration let oil industry lobbyists and executives write our
nation's energy policy in secret. They even went to the Supreme Court to stop the public from learning what they were doing. This President's approach to energy policy leaves America shackled to foreign oil, dependent, vulnerable, and exposed.
Harnessing American ingenuity to create renewable energy. Our plan begins with commonsense investments to harness the natural world around us-the sun, wind, water, geothermal and biomass sources, and a rich array of crops-to create a new
generation of affordable energy for the 21st century. We support tax credits for private sector investment in clean, renewable sources of energy, and we will make ethanol credits work better for farmers. Creating the energy-efficient vehicles of
tomorrow. We support improving fuel standards, and because of the challenges this poses, we will offer needed incentives for consumers to buy efficient vehicles, and for manufacturers to build them. We are also committed to developing hydrogen as a
clean, reliable domestic source of energy. Our economy cannot convert to hydrogen overnight, so we will fund research to overcome the obstacles to hydrogen fuel and continue our other efforts to achieve energy independence.
Invest in technology & transportation friendly to earth
We must give incentives to invest in fuel-efficient cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles; energy-efficient homes. We need to clean up power plants. We should invest in roads, bridges, light rail systems, cleaner buses, the aviation system, our
national passenger railroad, Amtrak, and trains that would give Americans choices-freeing them from traffic, smog-choked cities, and being held hostage to foreign oil. With the right investments, environmentally-friendly technologies can create new jobs.
Source: Democratic National Platform
Aug 15, 2000
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