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Alan Keyes on Energy & OilAmerican Independent nominee for President; 2004 Republican challenger for IL Senate |
KEYES: We need to develop proper alternative fuels. We need to develop ethanol. We need to push on the research, where breakthroughs are occurring, to get hydrogen from ethanol. By pushing on that kind of research we’ll be able to have a win for our farmers, in the agricultural sector, to improve the profitability of their product. We’ll be able to have a win on the environment, because hydrogen, for instance, is more clean-burning.
OBAMA: We could save as much, in terms of our fuel, if we increased our fuel efficiency standards, as much as we would from getting Alaska drilling going immediately. And that’s been the Bush strategy increasing production for oil and gas companies, subsidizing them to the tune of 20 billion dollars, as opposed to thinking about how, not only, we can develop alternative fuels, but also how can we conserve energy and increase efficiencies available right now but have not been invested in.
KEYES: Yes, I would. We’re going to have to try to take advantage of our energy reserves. We want to do it in a way that’s responsible-respecting ecological requirements and at the same time exploiting God’s precious resources for the good of our people. It’s also important because if we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it buys us time in order to make use of our ingenuity to develop alternative energy resources. So I would support that and I think that it’s a good way to go, provided we do it in a way that is responsible and that harnesses our scientific know-how to make sure we respect environmental requirements.
FORBES: The environmental technology is there to do the job right and you’re right, we should do it right now.