Davis also urged Bush to impose temporary caps on electricity prices, a move the administration opposes, saying it would discourage investment to boost energy production at a time of escalating demand. The unlimited energy sources of wind and solar power cost more than others, for now. With all due respect, I urge you to stand up to your friends in the energy business and exercise the federal government's exclusive responsibility to ensure energy prices are reasonable. The truth is, energy production and environmental protection are not competing priorities. Both can be achieved with new technology and a new vision.
Blackouts disrupt businesses and put public health and safety at risk.
We need to act to reduce our reliance on foreign crude oil. Since Bush unveiled his energy plan, environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers have held almost daily news conferences, accusing the president of rewarding the oil and gas industries, and paying lip service only to conservation. On Friday, environmentalists began running a new television ad appearing in about 12 states. The president, for his part, has been choosing environmentally friendly locations to sell his plan. Friday, he visited a hydroelectric dam along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.