On August 4th the Obama campaign released a comprehensive program for reform of the U.S. energy system. This article is a critical analysis of that program.

Following an introduction, there are seven separate sections.

The Introduction

Obama frames his program as primarily a response to “our dependence on oil.” He calls this dependence “a threat to our national security, our planet and our economy.”

Comment: It is striking that in this introduction, and nowhere else in the 8-page, single-spaced document, does Obama identify our fossil fuel addiction, or the carbon pollution from the burning of oil, coal and natural gas, as the, or even a, problem.

He does say in the concluding paragraph of the introduction that “the nation (needs) to face one of the great challenges of our time: confronting our dependence on foreign oil, addressing the moral, economic and environmental challenge of global climate change, and building a clean energy future that benefits all Americans.”

He lists in a prominent box six things his program will do:

1. Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
2. 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
3. Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined
4. Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars

   Section 1: Short-Term Solutions: Immediate Relief From Pain at the Pump

   Specifics: A windfall tax on oil company profits to fund an “emergency energy rebate,” $500 for an individual and $1000 for a married couple.” Proposes “a second round of fiscal stimulus for home heating and weatherization assistance.” “Close loopholes in Commodity Future Trading Commission regulations” to discourage speculation. “Release light oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”

   Section 2: Mid- To Long-Term Solutions

   Specifics: “economy-wide cap-and-trade system to reduce emissions 80% by 2050