For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 12, 2001
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
Listen to the President's Remarks
THE PRESIDENT: Good
morning. I wish every mother listening a happy Mothers Day,
including my own. And I want to remind every daughter and
every son to tell mom first thing tomorrow how much you love her.
Today, I want to talk about how we can meet
some of our energy needs through a new kind of conservation, a 21st
century conservation that saves power through technological
innovation. We are near the beginning of the summer driving
and air conditioning season, the months of the year when energy use
rises and energy prices jump. This year, like last year,
gasoline and electricity prices are rising sharply, squeezing family
budgets and disrupting the lives and work of our fellow Americans.
Energy is a problem that my administration
will address. This week, we will introduce a comprehensive
energy plan to help bring new supplies of energy to the market, and we
will be encouraging Americans to use more wisely the energy supplies
that exist today.
I am very concerned about the possibility of
blackouts in California this summer. My administration will
do our part to help by cutting peak hour energy use at federal
facilities in California. Military installations will reduce
their peak hour use by 10 percent. Civilian buildings will
raise their thermostats and turn off escalators and other nonessential
equipment. These are immediate measures to help with an
immediate problem, and I applaud the many Californians and Americans
who are finding their own ways to use less energy this summer.
Over the long term, the most effective way to
conserve energy is by using energy more efficiently. For
example, a new refrigerator uses 65 percent less power than a
refrigerator built in 1972. Overall, we use 40 percent less
energy to produce new goods and services than we did in 1973.
Some think that conservation means doing
without. That does not have to be the case. It
can mean building sensors into new buildings to shut the lights off as
soon as people leave a room. It can mean upgrading the
transmission lines that deliver electricity to your home so less is
wasted on the way. It can mean encouraging homeowners to
invest in energy improvements.
Twenty-first century conservation harnesses
new technology to squeeze as much out of a barrel of oil as we have
learned to squeeze out of a computer chip. We can raise our
standard of living wisely and in harmony with our environment.
Pushing conservation forward will require
investment in new energy technology, and that will be a part of my
administration's energy plan. Conservation will require
improving appliance standards. That will also be a part of
the plan. And conservation will require new incentives to
encourage industry to replace outdated equipment. That will
be a part of the plan as well.
But conservation will require one more thing,
something that cannot be written into any plan: The
problem-solving spirit of the American scientist and the American
entrepreneur. My administration will take their side as they
conserve and expand our energy supply for the benefit of all
Americans.
Thank you very much for listening.
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