Barack held a discussion on strengthening rural economies and investing in green jobs at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio this morning. Hocking College, a two-year technical college that offers degrees in natural resources and alternative energy, prepares students for work in the green economy.
A flex fuel car at the event harnessed solar energy, which provided the power for the event.Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia introduced Barack, praising his judgment and intelligence. He said:
[Barack's] calm, but don't misinterpret that to mean he's calm without toughness. He's unflappable because of his calm and his brilliance and his belief in doing the right thing for America.
Green jobs are the jobs of the future, not just because they pay well and can't be outsourced, but because they reduce our dependence on foreign oil and may just save the planet. I'm going to invest $150 billion dollars into creating a green energy sector. There's no "silver bullet" energy source. We need to invest in clean energies like solar, biodiesel, and the equipment to help us capture windpower and make clean coal....If we truly want to strength our rural economy, we're going to have to make broader investments in rural America. I will launch an initiative to create job growth in rural economies, and provide the kind of technology that companies need to provide wireless and broadband service in rural areas. It's time that the people in Appalachia had a partner in the White House.
I have been a big supporter of corn based ethanol, but corn based ethanol is not as efficient as we need it to be. We need to continue to set goals on making corn based ethanol more efficient. Where the real future lies is going to be in areas like cellulosic ethanol -- using fuels that don't impact our food prices and are also more efficient energy producers....The question is if the federal government is approaching this in the same way that Kennedy approached going to the moon...if we can aim to do something like that, that scientifically isn't yet proven. If we set a goal that we can reduce our foreign oil consumption by quantum leaps, there's no reason we can't do it.
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