44th US President Barack Obama and His Energy Policy

Barack Obama will be sworn in tomorrow as the 44th President of the United States amidst a gargantuan amount of hoopla. Apparently, Obama will be a saviour to the masses and everyone will live happily ever after. Obama is being hailed as a great choice for our country because he is black. Or is he? Actually, he is more caucasian than anything, due to his mother, and then he is Arab, due to his father.

Which brings me to the point of this post, namely what will be Obama's energy policy, considering his heritage? Will he set up a real policy that begins the process of weaning this country from foreign oil, or will he continue to feed OPEC and other oil producing countries? His campaign was based on change and he has stated he wants a change in energy policy, but will he deliver? I sincerely hope so. George Bush and Dick Cheney did not want any change in the oil policy, which was very evident by our increasing dependence on foreign oil. But will Obama break our addiction?

Obama said he is in favor of tax credits for those who purchase battery electric vehicles, when they become available. Already, Congress has passed legislation allowing up to $7500 in tax credits on car puchases with a certain sized battery. The battery must be greater than 4 kWh's energy density. For comparison, the Toyota Prius' battery is 1.3 kWh's. Will Obama push to have this tax credit increased? It needs to be $10,000 minimum in my opinion. Chevy is going to price their Volt around 40K MSRP and without the 10 grand in credits, the masses simply will not be able to afford it.

What about alternative energy? Will Obama push for the Pickens Plan, or push for solar or wind? Is he going to allow more oil drilling here in the States? Along with the current economic crisis, our energy crisis should be his primary focus as this nation cannot continue to give our money away to nations that hate us. We need to completely transform the transportation sector and utilize alternative energy, mostly in the form of electricity, and do it fast.