The Bush/Cheney Task Force's National Energy Policy

-No efforts to cut the nation's global warming pollution

-Massive electric power plant construction - 1,300 new polluting fossil fuel and nuclear power plants are proposed

-New oil extraction in ecologically sensitive areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Rocky Mountains

-More oil refineries, pipelines and electric transmission lines

-Additional U.S. taxpayer subsidies for the fossil fuel and nuclear industries

President Bush's plan focuses on energy production and energy infrastructure instead of energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy. It would like us to believe that solar and wind power are "pie in the sky" technologies and costs too much to be a central focus of U.S. national energy policy. However, renewable energy is the fastest growing energy market in the world. Wind, for example, is already cost competitive with fossil fuels and uniformly outperforms nuclear.

President Bush insists that drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will decrease U.S. reliance on countries in the Persian Gulf. But, according to the Department of Energy, the best place to drill for oil is under Detroit. Improving the 19 miles per gallon of the average car by just three miles per gallon could replace all oil import needs from Iraq and Kuwait.

President Bush is trying to keep the dying nuclear energy industry alive, suggesting that nuclear energy could be the answer to all our energy problems. The truth is that nuclear power cannot economically compete with either efficiency or renewables. It has unsolvable waste problems and a history of unavoidable health and safety problems.

President Bush believes that efficiency measures will make Americans suffer. In reality, energy efficiency means using advanced technologies that cut waste and provide improved services at lower costs to the consumer. It means improving the U.S. standard of living, saving money and protecting the environment at the same time.

For more information, including Bush Energy Plan Reality Check: Top Ten Ripoffs, Sellouts And Industry Paybacks In The Bush Energy Plan, visit Greenpeace's website in the US.

Bush v. the Climate