NEWS

Richardson Presses Oil Independence Plan

03/14/2007

Richardson Presses Oil Independence Plan

By BETH FOUHY

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Democrat Bill Richardson told oil and gas investors Wednesday how he'd wean the United States off foreign sources of their product if elected president in 2008.

Calling dependence on foreign oil America's ``Achilles heel,'' the New Mexico governor outlined a broad plan for promoting energy independence in a keynote address at an oil and gas conference in New York sponsored by investment banking giant Bear Stearns.

In prepared remarks, Richardson set a goal of reducing oil imports by 40 percent and replacing liquid fuels with biofuels by 2025, and called for a 75 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.

Richardson, who served as energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, warned that U.S. foreign policy was too dependent on maintaining access to oil resources, and said oil consumption was hastening the effects of global warming.

``Our ability to drain the swamps of terrorism depends in part on our political will to change how we produce, distribute and consume energy,'' Richardson said. ``In the West, it's not just liberal college kids who ask what we are doing about global warming - it's the conservative farmers and ranchers whose way of living is at risk.''

Richardson, who trails front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in the presidential field, said he would promote tax breaks for the construction of energy efficient buildings, offer tax credits for hybrid cars and public transportation, and create a system of tradable energy credits to encourage private investment in alternative energy technologies.