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We’ve got to discover and produce cleaner, renewable sources of energy that also produce less carbon
pollution, which is threatening our climate. And we’ve got to do it quickly.
Now, in terms of new sources of energy, we have a few different options. The first is natural gas. Recent
innovations have given us the opportunity to tap large reserves –- perhaps a century’s worth of reserves, a
hundred years worth of reserves -– in the shale under our feet. But just as is true in terms of us extracting oil
from the ground, we’ve got to make sure that we’re extracting natural gas safely, without polluting our water
supply. That’s why I’ve asked Secretary Chu, my Energy Secretary, to work with other agencies, the natural gas
industry, states, and environmental experts to improve the safety of this process. And Chu is the right guy to do
this. He’s got a Nobel Prize in physics. He actually deserved his Nobel Prize. (Laughter and applause.) And this
is the kind of thing that he likes to do for fun on the weekend. (Laughter.) He goes into his garage and he tinkers
around and figures out how to extract natural gas. (Laughter.) I’m going to embarrass him further. (Laughter.)
Last year, when we were trying to fill — figure out how to close the cap, I sent Chu down to sit in the BP
offices, and he essentially designed the cap that ultimately worked, and he drew up the specs for it and had BP
build it, construct it. So this is somebody who knows what he’s doing. (Applause.) So for those of you who are
studying physics, it may actually pay off someday. (Laughter.) But the potential for natural gas is enormous. And
this is an area where there’s actually been some broad bipartisan agreement. Last year, more than 150 members
of Congress from both sides of the aisle produced legislation providing incentives to use clean-burning natural
gas in our vehicles instead of oil. And that’s a big deal. Getting 150 members of Congress to agree on anything
is a big deal. And they were even joined by T. Boone Pickens, a businessman who made his fortune on oil, but
who is out there making the simple point that we can’t simply drill our way out of our energy problems. So I ask
members of Congress and all the interested parties involved to keep at it, pass a bill that helps us achieve the
goal of extracting natural gas in a safe, environmentally sound way.
Now, another substitute for oil that holds tremendous promise is renewable biofuels – not just ethanol,
but biofuels made from things like switchgrass and wood chips and biomass. If anybody doubts the potential of
these fuels, consider Brazil. As I said, I was just there last week. Half of Brazil’s vehicles can run on biofuels —
half of their fleet of automobiles can run on biofuels instead of petroleum. Just last week, our Air Force — our
own Air Force — used an advanced biofuel blend to fly a Raptor 22 — an F-22 Raptor faster than the speed of
sound. Think about that. I mean, if an F-22 Raptor can fly at the speed of — faster than the speed of sound on
biomass, then I know the old beater that you’ve got, that you’re driving around in — (laughter) — can probably
do so, too. There’s no reason why we can’t have our cars do the same. In fact, the Air Force is aiming to get half
of its domestic jet fuel from alternative sources by 2016. And I’m directing the Navy and the Department of
Energy and Agriculture to work with the private sector to create advanced biofuels that can power not just
fighter jets, but also trucks and commercial airliners. So there’s no reason we shouldn’t be using these
renewable fuels throughout America. And that’s why we’re investing in things like fueling stations and research
into the next generation of biofuels. One of the biggest problems we have with alternative energy is not just
producing the energy, but also distributing it. We’ve got gas stations all around the country, so whenever you
need gas you know you can fill up — it doesn’t matter where you are. Well, we’ve got to have that same kind of
distribution network when it comes to our renewable energy sources so that when you are converting to a
different kind of car that runs on a different kind of energy, you’re going to be able to have that same
convenience. Otherwise, the market won’t work; it won’t grow. Over the next two years, we’ll help
entrepreneurs break ground for four next-generation biorefineries – each with a capacity of more than 20
million gallons per year. And going forward, we should look for ways to reform biofuels incentives to make
sure that they’re meeting today’s challenges and that they’re also saving taxpayers money. So as we replace oil
with fuels like natural gas and biofuels, we can also reduce our dependence by making cars and trucks that use
less oil in the first place. Seventy percent of our petroleum consumption goes to transportation — 70 percent.
And by the way, so does the second biggest chunk of most families’ budgets goes into transportation. And that’s
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