Reaction to Gore speech on renewable electricity

Reaction to the July 17 speech by former Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore on climate change, a carbon tax on oil and coal, and switching US electricity generation to 100 percent renewable sources by 2018:

Robbie Diamond, president of Securing America’s Future Energy, a bipartisan think tank: “The country is not going to be able to go cold turkey. We have hundreds of years of infrastructure with trillions of dollars of investment that is not simply going to be made obsolete.”

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate: “I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as president.”

Arizona Sen. John McCain, Republican presidential candidate: “There may be some aspects of climate change that he and I are in disagreement (on),” but “if the vice president says it’s doable, I believe it’s doable.”

T. Boone Pickens, Texas oilman and wind-power booster: “Former Vice President Al Gore put forward a framework of a plan that is focused on global warming and climate issues. … My plan is aimed squarely at breaking the stranglehold that foreign oil has on our country. We import 70 percent of our oil, and that number is growing larger every year. Vice President Gore’s plan does not address this enormous problem.”

Jim Owen, spokesman for Edison Electric Institute: “We cannot do the job with renewables and energy efficiency alone. We have to have a balanced energy portfolio that includes all those things in even higher percentages, but also has to include nuclear. And we frankly think that nuclear should be increased.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA).: “The vice president’s main effort is to mobilize the American people behind meaningful action and less talk about global warming.”

Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters president: “It’s a very aggressive, bold, comprehensive proposal, and it’s great to challenge the politicians to go where they need to go.”

Former Rep. Bob Barr, Libertarian presidential candidate: “None of us can walk away from this issue without agreeing with him that we do have a very serious problem, and it’s only going to get worse unless we do something about it. … I hope to be a part of that, and I would like to see the free market take the lead, not the government.”

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA): “It pointed out that the only way we have a chance to drive down oil prices is if we become free of the slavery of oil. If we can give Americans choices of electrical cars or … biodiesel cars, then and only then do we have a chance of dealing with this cost issue. That is why $4-a-gallon gas is not an enemy of action, it’s an ally of action.”

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