George W. Bush's position on

Renewables: The United States is highly dependent on other countries to meet our energy needs, especially for oil, as we consume 2.5 million barrels of oil per day (Kerry website link: http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/energy/. One possible alternative to consuming so much oil is to develop programs in our country to use renewable sources such as ethanol or biodiesel instead.

Description of candidate's position: In addition to promoting ethanol and biodiesel, President Bush supports developing hydrogen technology which is a $1.7 billion, five-year initiative to develop these technologies. His plan also includes dedicating research and development funding to increase our energy security, including promoting renewable sources like wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. Bush website.

Quotation from the candidate: "Ethanol and biofuels are fuels of the future for this country. Since the beginning of my administration, I have strongly supported ethanol and biofuels. And the energy plan I sent to Congress back in the spring supports biofuels." Link.

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The Heritage Foundation, a research and educational institute, agrees with the principles of President Bush's plans for using renewable forms of energy, but feels that by the time bills make it through Congress they are weighed down by regional interests and are no longer effective. "In short, the President was right to call for an energy policy that will provide affordable, reliable energy and protect the nation's economy by decreasing our dependence on foreign sources." Link.

Negative: The CATO Institute, a non-profit public policy research foundation, does not feel that President Bush's plan for hydrogen-powered fuel cells is a good policy because it does not require Detroit to actually make any vehicles with these engines. The bill also forces the restructuring of the electricity sector by requiring utilities to fully integrate into a centralized, interstate system. "In sum, this bill will not substantially increase energy supplies, will not reduce dependence on foreign oil and will not accelerate the development of viable new technologies. It will, however, provide a politically useful but ultimately dishonest symbolic action while dispensing a stunning amount of pork for the well-connected at taxpayer expense."

Comparison: Both candidates state that they want to increase the amounts of renewable fuels by 5 billon gallons by 2012, but Bush also has plan for hydro-fueled cars and he claims that Kerry has voted against the same sorts of incentives for ethanol that he now says he supports. Link.

Link to Kerry's issue page