Energy Policies of Barack Obama - Essay Example

Obama has proposed a plan under which the oil consumption by the US will be reduced to 35% and he aims to achieve this by 2030. This is a very good decision in order to reduce the excessive dependency of the US on Oil. Another major step will be to "Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future." (Barack Obama and Joe Biden, 21 October 2008). This is an excellent decision; the creation of new jobs will help a lot of Americans who are out of work.

Within the next ten years, Obama aims to save as much Oil as imported from countries like Venezuela and the countries in the Middle East. He aims at saving and wants to avoid misuse of energy where ever possible. He also aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% within the next 40 years. Pros and cons "Obama makes a big deal about how he unveiled his new fuel efficiency standards for vehicles in Detroit in front of the carmakers "and the room went really quiet". What he does not say is that Americans are going to need to make personal changes too, including moving to smaller cars, more public transport, and a much bigger commitment to energy efficiency.

" (Candidates are not coming clean on energy, 21 October 2008). Obama demands efficient use of energy and in doing so there must be good coordination from the people of America. The positive aspect here is that loads of energy will be saved and can be utilized to make the economy stronger but the negative aspect is that in doing so the people of America will have to switch to public transport in order to make sure that the energy is efficiently utilized in the country. "Obama's energy policy promises to tackle building codes and to mandate low-energy light bulbs throughout America by 2014, to save 88 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

But what he is not telling the people is that his plan for a carbon price to make renewable more competitive and to subsidize their development is going to see electricity costs rise sharply. The other part of the energy equation that is still a sleeper is nuclear power. Obama and McCain say they will allow new nuclear reactors to be built. Neither is saying where." (Candidates are not coming clean on energy, 21 October 2008). In an attempt to save electricity the present rules on the consumption of electricity are going to be altered, the negative aspect here is that the prices of electricity will be increase and this will not be a welcomed change by the people of America.