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Newt Gingrich on Energy & Oil
Former Republican Representative (GA-6) and Speaker of the House
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2008 petition drive: Drill here, Drill now, Pay less
For the last thirty years we've had the worst possible national security policy in energy and it's time we've stopped it, and it's times we've an passed aggressively pro-American jobs, aggressively pro-American energy.In 2008 when gasoline was at
$4 a gallon, [my policy organization] American Solutions launched a petition drive: Drill here, Drill now, Pay less.
The Left couldn't survive in a world where we had the courage to say, "Why don't we find American oil and why don't we find
American gas, and why don't we have the next building boom in the United States, not in Dubai. And why don't we make sure that the terrorists run out of money?" And that ought to be our approach to this, so let's do it now.
First of all: Reopen off of
Louisiana. The people of Louisiana want it to happen. So let's reopen the areas off only those states that want to reopen them, but if a state wants to go and find oil and gas and wants to create more jobs in that state, let's let them do it now.
Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 11, 2011
New nuclear plants would reduce 2 billion tons of CO2 a year
I always say to my environmental friends, "If you really wanted to get carbon out of the atmosphere and if we produced as much electricity from nuclear power as France, you would take 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year out of the atmosphere."
And they'd say "Well, that's not the right solution." Because there's never a right solution if it's a solution because then our economy would grow, free enterprise would work, and that would be wrong. There are two things about nuclear power.
One, we should dramatically go through and streamline the regulatory process for the big plants, but two, there's a whole new generation of very small nuclear power plants, that are very, very safe, that should not come under the certain kind of
regulatory design for a huge, giant multi-million dollar plant. And we could go to a much more effective nuclear power, very fast and have a very big job creation technology.
Source: Speech at 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 11, 2011
2008 book: Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less
In 2008, American Solutions launched an online petition drive to demand Congress lift the 25-year-old moratorium on new offshore drilling. We collected 1.5 million signatures. Our effort sparked a nationwide grassroots rebellion that resulted in Congress
allowing the moratorium to expire.I wrote a book in fall 2008 called "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less," describing America's vast energy potential and explain how misguided government policies have prevented us from becoming an energy powerhouse.
Source: Real Change, by Newt Gingrich, p.205-206
Dec 18, 2007
Billion-dollar prize for first mass-produced hydrogen car
The America that works focuses on inventing a better future and knows that customers will rapidly switch to a better solution. The same will be true for a new energy strategy. We need very large prizes for fundamental breakthroughs.
There ought to be a billion-dollar tax-free prize for the first hydrogen car that can be mass-produced for a reasonable price. Hydrogen has to be the ultimate basis for a truly bold energy program because it has no environmental impact and it is
universally available as a natural resource. Therefore it would have huge appeal to China and India if it were commercially competitive in price. American technologies for hydrogen vehicles might be one of the biggest economic winners of the next
generation.There should be a substantial tax break for investing in both ethanol and hydrogen supply stations and hydrogen pipelines so the fuel can be delivered when the automobiles are available at a reasonable cost.
Source: Real Change, by Newt Gingrich, p.203
Dec 18, 2007
Kyoto treaty is bad for the environment and bad for America
Kyoto is a bad treaty. It is bad for the environment and it is bad for America. It sets standards that will require massive investments by the US but virtually no investments by other countries. The Senate was right when it voted unanimously against the
treaty. We should insist on revisiting the entire Kyoto process and resolutely reject efforts to force us into an anti-American, environmentally failed treaty.The US should support substantial research into climate science, managing the response to
climate change, & in developing new non-carbon energy systems. It is astounding to watch people blithely propose trillions of dollars in spending on a topic on which we have failed to spend modest amounts to better understand.
It is astounding to have
people focus myopically on carbon as the sole source of climate change. The world’s climate has changed in the past with sudden speed and dramatic impact. Global warming may happen. On the other hand it is possible Europe will experience another ice age.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org
Dec 1, 2006
Focus on incentives for conservation & renewable resources
A sound American energy policy would focus on four areas: basic research to create a new energy system that has few environmental side effects, incentives for conservation, more renewable resources, and environmentally sound development of fossil fuels.
The Bush administration has approached energy environmentalism the right way, including using public-private partnerships that balance economic costs and environmental gain.Hydrogen has the potential to provide energy that has no environmental
downside. Conservation is the second great opportunity in energy. A tax credit to subsidize energy efficient cars (including a tax credit for turning in old and heavily polluting cars) is another idea we should support. Renewable resources are gradually
evolving to meet their potential: from wind generator farms to solar power to biomass conversion. Continued tax credits and other advantages for renewable resources are a must.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org
Dec 1, 2006
Stop scare tactics about drilling in Alaska
It is time for an honest debate about drilling and producing in places like Alaska, our national forests, and off the coast of scenic areas. The Left uses scare tactics from a different era to block environmentally sound production of raw materials.
Three standards should break through this deadlock. - Scientists of impeccable background should help set the standards for sustaining the environment in sensitive areas, and any company entering the areas should be bonded to meet those standards.
- The public should be informed about new methods of production that can meet the environmental standards, and any development should be only with those new methods.
- A percentage of the revenues from resources generated in environmentally
sensitive areas should be dedicated to environmental activities including biodiversity sustainment, land acquisition, and environmental cleanups in places where there are no private resources that can be used to clean up past problems.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org
Dec 1, 2006
Gas tax sounds OK in DC, but not outside Beltway
When the Bush Administration tried to convince me that a gasoline tax increase would be okay and would barely be noticed, I tested the theory with two phone calls. First I called my mother-in-law in Leetonia, Ohio, and then I called my older daughter in
Greensboro, North Carolina. My mother-in-law is retired, at the time, aged 75. She has a lot of friends who live on limited incomes, and driving happens to be one of their pleasures. She was personally against the idea of a gas tax increase, and she
thought the idea would go down very badly with her friends. Then I called my daughter Kathy. She runs a small business, and her husband is the tennis coach at the university. Her reaction was, to put it mildly, scathing. “What planet do they live on?”
she asked. She thought such a tax increase was the very antithesis of why people had elected the Republicans. After those two conversations, any doubts I may have had simply vanished, and I opposed the tax increase.
Source: Lessons Learned the Hard Way, by Newt Gingrich, p. 29-30
Jul 2, 1998
Cap-and-trade has no impact on global temperatures.
Gingrich signed the Contract From America
The Contract from America, clause 2. Reject Cap & Trade:
Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation's global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures.
Source: The Contract From America 10-CFA02 on Jul 8, 2010
Explore proven energy reserves & keep energy prices low.
Gingrich signed the Contract From America
The Contract from America, clause 8. Pass an 'All-of-the-Above' Energy Policy:
Authorize the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other fo
Source: The Contract From America 10-CFA08 on Jul 8, 2010
Page last updated: May 28, 2011