What policies should the new President make to reduce our oil consumption?

Question

Since oil now is $100 a barrel, it's apparent that the fluctuations in oil prices will hurt the U.S. economy in the next few years. What are some specific things that the new President, and Congress, can do to decrease our need for oil. We want specific ideas here.

http://news.yahoo.com/i/2365;_ylt=Aq5kVYAd6rFG6p0gChC9qnEPLBIF

Answer 1

Start drilling off shore wells.  Nuke rods are too hard to get rid of .

Answer 2

Reset the national highway speed limit to 55 MPH.

Answer 3

Increase funding for alternative fuel and to a lesser extent, nuclear power plants.

Don't allow any more coal power plants to be built.

Assign an EPA head who will not prevent individual states from imposing stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards.

Engage in and even lead international talks with the goal of setting concrete greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, rather than being the main country to undermine such progress.

Improve public transportation infrastructure.

Enact and increase subsidies for purchasing hybrids and EVs.

Stop censoring global warming science.

Increase funding to public schools and particularly science classes so that people learn about these issues at an early age.

Answer 4

She could streamline the procedure for licensing the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants, whose duration I understand is on the order of 15 years.  (!!!)

Answer 5

Give tax credits to people who purchase fuel efficient vehicles, instead of those that purchase gas-guzzlers under the disguise of a business. Let's be realistic. We've all seen the part time real estate agent driving alone in a suburban. I know one who bought a king cab F-150 just to get the tax break. I live in an area where gas-guzzlers are as plentiful as indoor plumbing.

Now, I understand I will get the "choice" argument, but before I get hit with it, please understand this. When someones "choice" affects the way others live, it becomes a problem. But, instead of punishing those who waste, we should reward those who choose wisely.

Inefficiency today is fast becoming the "second-hand smoke" issue of yesterday, but instead of health worries, it's the environment and affordability issues we now face.

Answer 6

First and most important, change the auto emission laws so that ethanol powered cars can pass smog. As ethanol does not release sequestered carbon, those limits are irrelevant to clean air. Also, we should encourage ethanol from cornstalks/switchgrass instead of corn.

Next, require oil companies to include E85 and E100 fuel choices alongside gasoline and E10.

We can't expect to fuel our entire diesel fleet on restaurant grease. We need to increase soybean and other fuel crops using standard farm subsidies.

Roofs need to be made green, preferably with energy recovery systems on all new construction. [solar, wind, etc.]

Nuclear will NEVER be safe. How can our descendents be safe from nuclear waste 15 000 years from now? Especially if our civilization self destructs between now and then???

Answer 7

Build more nuclear plants NOW !!!

Build some additional tax incentives into investments, and R&D into alternative sources NOW !!!!!

Inform the oil producing countries that for every dollar a barrel of oil goes up, the price they will pay for a ton of US wheat & grain will go up $5.00

Answer 8

make hemp legal to be used for fuel,no people you cant get high from hemp,and its has many other uses,paper,rope,oils,cloth,etc.it could be the new cash crop for the farmers of the usa.

Answer 9

First let us give the democrats credit for raising fuel efficiency standards.  Second let us recognize that ethanol is not the way to go.  Ethanol from corn has been pushed only because Iowa grows most of our corn.  Iowa is the first presidential election primary state.  If you cross the corn lobby you  will not do well in the Iowa primary.  There have been great strides in batteries lately from cell phones to cordless power tools to autos. That is the best bet for the immediate future.  However if you go home and plug your car in and the electricity comes from a oil fired plant what have you accomplished.  If it is a coal fired plant you are saving oil but still polluting the air.  The answer is non polluting battery cars charged at home with electricity from non polluting nuclear power plants.  We have not built a nuke plant in thirty years because the democrats have kept them in the court system.  Further the left wing news media has given people the impression that the mile island was almost a disaster when in fact the safeguards worked just fine an a miniscule amount of radiation was released.  The Russian disaster was caused by a faulty design with no safeguards.  Ironicaly the left wing French lead the world in nuclear power having started with an American design.  Not one Frenchman has died from nukes yet.

Answer 10

None, governement attempts to manipulate the market place always result in more problems than they solve.  As an example consider the massive increase in food prices resulting from the governments attempts to push ethanol into the fuel system.