America's LargestPosts Tagged Obama
Obama Gives Nod to Importance of Ghana’s Oil Reserves in Speech
Last week, President Barack Obama delivered a well-received speech in Accra, the capital of Ghana. In his remarks, Obama discussed many issues, ranging from the importance of democracy to the tragedy of the continent’s HIV/AIDS crisis, the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday.
Obama’s speech totaled close to 4,000 words. But it’s one [...]
Pending Energy Bill Does Little to Reduce US Foreign Oil Dependence
The Obama administration has announced, broadly speaking, two main goals for their energy policy:
• Fighting climate change
• Reducing our dependence on often-unfriendly states for oil
There are other worthy goals also behind the Administration’s policy, such as creating new jobs in the green energy sector, but the two main thrusts are fighting global warming and improving [...]
Obama Admin Ready to Put Limits on Oil Speculation
The Obama administration has taken steps to limit oil speculation as part of its overhaul of the financial system in the wake of 2008’s financial meltdown, the McClatchy Company reported yesterday. While some of the administration’s plans will require legislation, and so are a work in progress, other steps can be taken immediately by executive [...]
Read More »Editors at Richmond Times Dispatch Give Tough Analysis Obama’s Energy Speech
The Heat Zone took an cautiously optimistic position on President Obama’s Earth Day talk about energy initiatives, especially his promise that if we pull together, we can look forward to a cleaner country, a stronger economy and lower prices for petroleum products like gasoline and heating oil.
Obama’s plan, of course, hangs on reducing demand for [...]
On Earth Day, Obama Focuses on Cutting Oil Consumption, Which Could Mean Lower Long-Term Prices
At an Earth Day appearance at an Iowa plant that manufactures wind turbine towers, President Obama reiterated his Administration’s commitment to reducing US oil consumption through support of alternative technologies. If the administration’s bold new energy policies are successful, we can look forward to a cleaner country and a stronger economy as well as [...]
Read More »Green Roof Technology Gaining Ground Nationally and Locally
President Obama recently tapped California author and activist Van Jones for the newly created post of Special Advisor for Green Jobs. The goal is to create jobs in new green industries that will contribute to energy savings and improve the environment. One of Jones’ top priorities is the promotion of “green roof” technology, whereby [...]
Read More »Oil Prices Dive on Stronger Dollar, Slow Economic Recovery
Oil prices fell further and faster than they had in more than a week this morning, driven down by a stronger US dollar and comments from the Obama Administration that limited hopes of a speedy economic recovery. Top economic adviser to the President, Paul Volcker, said yesterday that America’s recovery from the current economic recession [...]
Read More »Obama Moves Toward Energy Goals and Supports US Auto Industry with Plan to Buy 17,000 Fuel-Eficient Vehicles
During the presidential campaign, candidate Obama expressed his hope to convert the White House fleet to battery-powered vehicles within the year. Last week President Obama took a step towards that goal: he announced that the government will buy 17,600 fuel-efficient, American-made cars and hybrids for the government fleet. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, [...]
Read More »Obama Renews Commitment to Electric Vehicle Development with New $2.4 Billion Grant Plan
President Obama visited an electric vehicle testing facility in Southern California yesterday, where he announced a $2.4 billion competitive grant program aimed at getting electric vehicles on American roads as soon as possible. Obama visited the Edison International electric vehicle testing center in Pomona, CA as part of his town hall style tour of [...]
Read More »The Daily Show Reports on the Tricky Political Issue of Offshore Drilling
On Wednesday, The HEAT Zone reported on the Obama Administration’s challenge of how much (if any) new offshore oil drilling to include in its energy plan.
Last summer, while oil prices were in the stratosphere and before the US economy imploded, the issue of domestic oil supplies was a hot political topic (remember “drill, baby, drill”?), [...]
Chu Defends Administration’s Energy Spending
In an opinion piece written for USA Today last week, Energy Secretary defends the spending on renewable energy advancements that are part of President Obama’s economic recovery plan.
Chu frames the energy spending as a crucial investment “to lift our economy and put Americans back to work.” He asserts that the $15 billion per year dedicated [...]
UPDATE: New Details on Bill to Unfairly Tax Heating Oil Consumers in Connecticut
On Wednesday, The HEAT Zone reported on a bill that had been introduced in the Connecticut Legislature that proposed a tax on heating fuels that would disproportionately tax heating oil users. The initial post incorrectly stated that the public hearing on the bill would take place next Monday, March 9th. In fact, the [...]
Read More »Obama’s Energy Plans and What They Mean
The big news story of last week was President Obama’s address to Congress on his plans for economic recovery. In his speech, Obama focused on three main areas that he deemed “critical to our economic future”: education, health care, and energy.
His comments on energy policy were consistent with positions he staked out during his [...]
ANALYSIS: Obama is Serious About the Energy Revolution
While speaking to reporters on a conference call last week, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar prophesied, “you are literally going to see an energy revolution.”
That’s a bold statement, but not a surprising one from an Obama appointee, considering the strong rhetoric in favor of energy reform that the President utilized countless times during his campaign. But [...]
Obama Sets Ambitious Green Energy Goals, Ties them to Economic Recovery in Address to Congress
President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last night to promote his plan for U.S. economic recovery. His speech included several statements linking the growth of clean energy and energy efficiency to economic recovery and future prosperity. He set two specific energy goals that would receive funding from the recently-passed stimulus bill: to double [...]
Read More »Newly-Appointed Secretaries Emphasize Importance of Energy Grid Update
Now that the stimulus bill is officially law, it is just a matter of time until some of those recovery dollars make their way into the energy sector. But where exactly will the first progress be made? Wind turbine construction? Solar panel construction? Geothermal exploration? If the words of the freshmen secretaries of energy and [...]
Read More »Stimulus Package Provides Boon to Green Energy
Yesterday in Denver, President Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law.
This historic moment took place at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, a public building that uses solar panels installed in the roof to generate green energy. The location choice was no accident–by selecting the museum, Obama made a [...]
Pickens Cites Progress on ‘Pickens’ Plan,’ Supports Obama Stimulus Efforts
T. Boone Pickens appeared on CNBC today and offered more encouraging words about his Plan to reduce American dependence of foreign oil. He also mentioned that he is encouraged by the part of the stimulus plan that deals with the energy sector and applauded President for having a plan to ween the U.S. off of [...]
Read More »Obama Faces Tar-Sands Oil Quandary in First Head-of-State Meeting in Canada
President Obama will meet with a foreign head of state for the first time this week when he sits down with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa. The two leaders will discuss many issues, one of which will be energy resources. On that subject, president Obama faces a tough choice: where does [...]
Read More »Crude Prices Up on Stimulus Hopes, OPEC Demand Forecast Cut, Contract Sell-Off; Heating Oil Down
The price of crude posted big gains today, feeding off of optimism that the final version of the stimulus package that passed the House today will succeed in kick-starting the American economy. The price of heating oil declined moderately as the end of the heating season drew nearer.
OPEC’s substantial reduction of its 2009 oil [...]
