SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - President George W. Bush marked Earth Day on Saturday by highlighting technology that could reduce U.S. dependence on oil, while Democrats used a spike in gas prices to criticize White House energy policy.
Bush, a former Texas oilman, has called for the United States to kick its "addiction" to oil, but there is little he can do to bring the cost of gas down in the short term.
In Sacramento on Saturday, Bush will tour the California Fuel Cell Partnership and promote technology with the potential to revolutionize the way cars are powered, including vehicles run on hydrogen fuel cells that would emit no pollution and be more efficient than gas-powered cars.
Many experts say it is unlikely fuel-cell vehicles will be ready for widespread use for two or three decades.
Bush is also funding research into a new generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles that could be recharged in electrical outlets, allowing many drivers to make their daily commute using no gas.
"By developing these and other new sources of clean renewable energy like ethanol, we will continue growing our economy, reduce energy prices and protect our environment, and make America less dependent on foreign oil," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Yes, it is the Earth Day political spin from the Bush White House. And what a slick PR moment the Bush spin-meisters can make, but to have the president tour a fuel cell technology center--to show the American people how much he cares about the high energy costs and the environmental pollution.
While we're at it, in a previous post, consider yesterday's Bush quote:
SAN JOSE, Calif. - As oil prices hit a record, drivers worried about $3-a-gallon gas and politicians feared the impact on elections,
President Bush on Friday acknowledged the pain but seemed resigned to being able to do little about it.
"I know the folks here are suffering at the gas pump," the president said while promoting his competitiveness initiative at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Internet networking company Cisco Systems Inc. "Rising gasoline prices is like taking a — is like a tax, particularly on the working people and the small-business people."
But to address the immediate problem, Bush offered only a pledge that "if we find any price gouging it will be dealt with firmly."
Or how about this lovely post on April 18, on a story where President Bush had to respond to price gouging:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Tuesday he is "concerned" about high gasoline prices, and pledged that the U.S. government will keep a close watch out for profiteering.
"I'm concerned about higher gasoline prices," Bush said at a Rose Garden news conference to name new staff appointments.
"The government has the responsibility to make sure that we watch very carefully and investigate possible price-gouging, and we will do just that," Bush said in unprompted remarks about energy prices.
Bush said high crude oil prices, rising summer driving demand and a switch to new motor gasoline standards is keeping prices high.
"It's tight supply worldwide and we've got increasing demand from countries like India and China, which means that any disruption of supply ... (is) going to cause the price of crude to go up," Bush said.
More drivers will take to the road this summer, which will also boost demand, he said.
"At this time of year people are beginning to drive more, getting out on the highways, taking a little time off," Bush said. "That increasing demand is also part of the reason the price of gasoline is going up."
And while we're at it, let's look at the compensation package for Exxon CEO Lee R. Raymond and Exxon's profits. From The New York Times:
For 13 years as chairman and chief executive, Lee R. Raymond propelled Exxon, the successor to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, to the pinnacle of the oil world.
Under Mr. Raymond, the company's market value increased fourfold to $375 billion, overtaking BP as the largest oil company and General Electric as the largest American corporation. Net income soared from $4.8 billion in 1992 to last year's record-setting $36.13 billion.
Shareholders benefited handsomely on Mr. Raymond's watch. The price of Exxon's shares rose an average of 13 percent a year. The company, now known as Exxon Mobil, paid $67 billion in total dividends.
For his efforts, Mr. Raymond, who retired in December, was compensated more than $686 million from 1993 to 2005, according to an analysis done for The New York Times by Brian Foley, an independent compensation consultant. That is $144,573 for each day he spent leading Exxon's "God pod," as the executive suite at the company's headquarters in Irving, Tex., is known.
Despite the company's performance, some Exxon shareholders, academics, corporate governance experts and consumer groups were taken aback this week when they learned the details of Mr. Raymond's total compensation package, including the more than $400 million he received in his final year at the company.
Of course, other oil executives haven't been sitting in the poorhouse. Consider this from the Times story:
Other oil executives have also benefited from the doubling of oil prices over the last two years. For example, Ray R. Irani, the chief executive of Occidental Petroleum, received about $63 million in total compensation last year, an increase of more than 50 percent over 2004. Over the last three years, Mr. Irani has reaped more than $135 million, mostly in options and restricted stock.
David J. O'Reilly, the chief executive of Chevron, received nearly $37 million in salary, bonus, stock and stock options last year. The stock and options vest over multiple years. Mr. O'Reilly already owns stock options valued at $34 million.
Still, Mr. Raymond's package for 2005 stands out, even stripping the $98 million lump-sum value of his pension plan. He received $19.9 million in salary, bonus and other incentives for 2005. He made $21.2 million on options he exercised last year. And he was awarded 550,000 restricted shares, bringing the total he owns to 3.26 million, with a value of $199 million, at $61 a share, an average of Exxon's share price since March 1. Some of the restricted shares vest in 5 and 10 years. He owns more options that hold a value of $69.6 million.
Yes, Mr. President, we salute you for "feeling our pain" at the gas pumps, while stressing the need for creating newer alternative fuels that will help kick the U.S. addiction to foreign oil--never mind the fact that those "alternative fuels" will take about twenty to thirty years to be fully developed. And we salute you Mr. President for being vigilant against the collusion and price gouging in high gas prices by the evil oil companies, who demand even greater profits and greater compensation from their greedy CEOs. We understand it is all a part of business--it's all about supply and demand.
You're doing a heckuva job Georgie.
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