Issue Position: Assuring Our Energy Needs

Issue Position

We can only achieve our economic, environmental, defense and social goals by assuring the availability of affordable, sustainable and clean energy. Yet our antiquated national energy policy (if it can be called that) is built largely on energy sources that are increasingly unaffordable, unsustainable and unclean. We must collectively invest today in a far better green energy tomorrow to avoid an all-too-predictable decline and to realize the incredible benefits just over the horizon. For your Senator, that means providing strong leadership in DC that can assure our energy needs now and over the next generations and chart Hawaii's special role in that future.

Ten Principles. In doing so, I will be guided by these ten principles:

(1) "Peak Oil" is real, as we move toward a world where the supply of readily accessible and affordable petroleum is exceeded by demand (if we are not there already).
(2) Climate change is real, with a broad scientific consensus that the increasing production of fossil fuel-based energy is altering our atmosphere and harming our world.
(3) The economy of our state, country and world can only grow with the continued availability over generations of affordable and available energy.
(4) Our national defense rests increasingly on assuring to our military available, affordable energy produced in the USA.
(5) International tensions, especially in the Middle East and Asia, result directly in higher energy prices at home.
(6) Our best future all around lies with green energy, and the faster we get there the better.
(7) Fossil fuel-based energy, especially more available and cleaner forms like natural gas, can and must provide a bridge to that future, but can no longer form the foundation of our national energy policy.
(8) A prudent national energy policy cannot reward our continued reliance on fossil fuels but must accelerate the research, development and use of green energy.
(9) We can and should lead the world in the research and development of green energy, growing our economy and creating good jobs in the process.
(10) A Senator matters in assuring that Hawai'i, as a unique laboratory for so many forms of renewable energy and as the most fossil fuel-dependent state in our country, plays a major national role in growing a green energy economy.

Ten specifics. As examples, my agenda on assuring our energy needs will include these ten specifics:

1. Big Oil. End taxpayer subsidies and other special interest treatment of large oil companies.
2. Antitrust. Strengthen antitrust, price fixing and other laws and enforcement on increasingly centralized energy production, distribution and sale and price speculation and assure open competition in research, development and sale of green energy.
3. Diplomacy. Work with world community to reduce tensions in energy producing regions.
4. Clean energy standard. Enact a national clean energy (aka renewable portfolio) standard to require specific percentages of electricity to be generated from green energy sources.
5. Green energy R & D. Expand, extend and tailor the research and development and related tax credits to incentivize long-term green energy R&D and related job creation by U. S. companies at home.
6. Auto fuel standards. Require both increased fuel efficiency and open (alternative) fuel standards for new vehicles.
7. National Infrastructure Bank. Create a National Infrastructure Bank to coordinate development and financing of large-scale public-private green energy projects and smart power grid upgrades.
8. Defense. Fund Department of Defense development of USA-produced alternate energy such as biofuels.
9. Hawai'i R&D. Enact and fund federal efforts to accelerate research and development of renewable energy especially suited to Hawai'i such as solar, wind, geothermal, ocean thermal and tropical agriculture biofuels.
10. Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative. Assure continued federal participation in the Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative to accelerate Hawaii's energy independence.

With strong and effective leadership on these and other initiatives, our country can achieve the energy future we must have and our Hawai'i will benefit tremendously as a result.

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