Progressive Talking Points 1/24/06

The State of…Energy and Environment

The President’s State of the Union address is a week away. Over the course of the next 7 days, American Progress will be taking a look at the true state of our union, focusing on key issues that affect the health, security and economic vitality of our nation.

In 2003, the president vowed to promote energy independence, and free our nation of its dependency on foreign energy sources. As we start 2006, Americans realize that these are just empty promises.

• The Bush Administration failure to alleviate our dependency on foreign sources of energy has made Americans less safe and caused further economic hardship. Since President Bush took office, our dependence on foreign oil has increased and has hurt Americans at the pump and the pocketbook. Sixty-five percent of oil consumed in the United States comes from foreign sources, up from fifty-eight percent in 2000. Each year, more than $25 billion for oil imports goes to Persian Gulf states. This dependence also makes us beholden to countries that do not have the best interests of the United States in mind. America spends $200,000 a minute on foreign oil making it clear that the administration has not taken the steps to seriously invest in alternative energy sources. American Progress has a plan to move us forward, make us less dependent on foreign oil and invest in our future.
  
  
• The President has ignored the existence of Climate Change despite countless warnings. Throughout his term, President Bush has doubted the existence of global warming, despite repeated warnings from past heads of the EPA - including Republicans. The facts make climate change impossible to ignore. NOAA placed 2005 at or near the warmest year on record, continuing a clear trend of abnormally warm years; the arctic shelf is melting and polar bears are drowning; and 2005 marked the busiest hurricane season on record, with 27 named storms and the devastating storms of Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
  
  
• The Bush Administration refuses to enforce pollution laws that help save lives. Since taking office, the Bush administration has done little to solve the growing problem of pollution. In fact, they have taken steps that are harming the American people, from not enforcing the Clean Air Act, to weakening existing protections. The consequences are great - 600,000 children are born each year at risk for developmental problems and learning disabilities; 24,000 Americans die an average of 14 years early because of exposure to power plant pollution; at least one in five Americans will die of some form of cancer, partly because state and federal governments allowed polluters to dump more than 175 million pounds of cancer-causing chemicals into the air and water in 1996.