Nice. President Obama used the State of the Union to call for the Senate to pass a comprehensive climate and energy bill. During the early part of his speech he said “This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate,” and:
“[P]roviding incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future — because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation.”
Obama specifically gave a nod to building a new generation of nuclear power plants, “making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development,” (that will no doubt get boos from environmentalists), and more investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. Phoenix-based electric vehicle charging company ECOtality says they were referenced in the speech. Some will see the mentions of nuclear and offshore oil as “Republican talking points,” but I am heartened that Obama took the opportunity to back the energy bill, despite the recent disappointment in Copenhagen.
See the tag cloud of the speech below – clean and energy front and center:
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