http://www.newsmax.com/politics/McCain_oil__Energy_/2008/06/18/105554.html
McCain Pushes Energy Conservation, Oil Exploration
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
HOUSTON -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain called
on Tuesday for energy conservation and an end to a ban on U.S.
offshore oil and natural gas exploration to help curb the nation's
"dangerous" dependence on foreign oil.
Rising oil and gasoline prices have put energy concerns at the center
of the contest between McCain and presumptive Democratic nominee
Barack Obama to succeed President George W. Bush in the November
election.
McCain has proposed tem****arily lifting a tax on gasoline over the
summer, but other than that, neither candidate has a quick fix for
bringing fuel prices down.
The Arizona senator promised to lay out a specific plan for reaching
energy independence in the coming days.
"The straightest, swiftest path to energy security is to produce more,
use less, and find new sources of power," McCain said to applause from
an enthusiastic crowd in Texas.
One component of a long-term plan will be efficiency. Cutting back on
energy usage -- a key strategy of Europe's efforts to fight global
warming -- was critical in the United States, McCain said.
"In the face of climate change and other serious challenges, energy
conservation is no longer just a moral luxury or a personal virtue,"
he said. "Conservation serves a critical national goal."
In a proposal that critics say clashes with his environmental
credentials, McCain said the United States should tap some 21 billion
barrels of proven oil reserves which are left untouched because of a
federal moratorium on offshore exploration and production.
"I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these
restrictions and to put our own reserves to use," he said. "We can do
this in ways that are consistent with sensible standards of
environmental protection."
TRADING BARBS WITH OBAMA
Democrats, including Obama, slammed McCain, who has sought to distance
himself from Bush on environmental issues, for calling for offshore
drilling.
"I think this is another example of where John McCain has taken the
politically expedient way out," Obama told re****ters on his campaign
plane, saying offshore drilling would not lower gasoline prices in the
short term.
"At best you're looking at five years or more down the road and even
the most optimistic assumptions indicate that offshore drilling might
reduce the overall world price of oil by a few cents."
Environmental group Sierra Club said in a statement: "Senator McCain's
plan would merely pad Big Oil's bottom line while putting thousands of
miles of pristine beaches and coastline at risk."
McCain has sought to differentiate himself with Bush by pu****ng a plan
to fight global warming. On Tuesday his campaign released a television
ad saying McCain "stood up" to the president on climate change.
Obama has also made energy policy and the fight against global warming
a key part of his campaign, criticizing the proposal on gas taxes as
ineffective and saying his plan to cut emissions is more aggressive
than McCain's.
McCain criticized Obama for promising a "windfall profits" tax on oil
companies if the Democrat wins the White House.
"All a windfall profits tax will accomplish is to increase our
dependence on foreign oil, and hinder exactly the kind of domestic
exploration and production we need," he said. "I'm all for recycling
-- but it's better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed
policies of the 1970s."
McCain said energy prices will continue to rise, citing oil ministers
and investment firms that have predicted $200-a-barrel oil and
$7-a-gallon gasoline.
McCain has previously said he would break with Bush and previous
administrations over energy. He also called for a reform of laws and
regulations that govern the oil futures markets to make the rules more
effective.
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