Restore the Café standards and make them apply to all cars, trucks and SUVs.
Establish new targets for increased miles per gallon for each type of vehicle over the next 10 years.
Establish tax credits for car manufacturers who achieve the established standards.
Establish tax surcharges to car manufacturers who fail to meet the new mileage standards.
Utilize the additional tax revenue from surcharges to help fund the tax credits to corporations who achieve the new Café standards.
Provide federal subsidies to more fully utilize available coal supplies to create the energy needed wherever possible. Subsidies should be used to help provide for clean air equipment and to research new methods of utilizing coal in a non polluting way. Tax credits should also be used to convert existing oil and gas fired generators to coal and with the cost of transporting coal from the source to the user.
Provide subsidies to help car manufacturers develop cars and trucks using alternate propulsion systems such as fuel cells and hybrid/electric vehicles.
Provide subsidies to develop long-term renewable energy supplies including geothermal, wind, direct solar conversion, cold fusion, fuel cells etc. The objective would be to reduce our dependence on foreign oil as well as provide for the sale of the new technology and equipment to other countries. This would have the obvious advantage of not only solving our energy problem but eliminating many of the political entanglements that our dependence on Middle East oil creates. In addition, a reduction in the purchase of foreign oil would help our balance of trade as would selling the new technology and equipment to other countries. Thus this strategy would be a win-win-win-win situation for our countries by enhancing employment, corporate profits, reduce our trade deficit as well as simplifying some of our political entanglements.
Encourage the development of natural gas in areas controlled by the United States
Encourage the development of additional oil supplies that are under the control of the United States and do not endanger the environment.
Carefully evaluate any new or renewed agreements to provide United States produced energy to other nations. Our objective should be to first provide for energy independence before pledging our assets, especially oil and gas, to other countries.