Senators back clean energy

[img1]Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) shared a podium Friday with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to criticize President Bush's "back to the future energy policy" and call for a Manhattan Project-scale move to develop alternative energy technology.

"We can't wait on Washington," Clinton said. "We know what will happen. We will strangle our economy."

As secret service agents loomed nearby, Clinton and Cantwell held a press conference at Seattle Biodiesel, a commercial clean-fuel technology company, to campaign for alternative energy technology.

"We need to break our addiction to foreign oil," said Clinton. "We should be on the fast track to eliminate ... that dependency because we know what it will do to our country and our security."

Cantwell warned that the United States is already 50 percent dependent on foreign oil, but that this dependency will soon increase to 60 percent.

"The economy can't sustain that threat," she said. "[We need to] look at every avenue possible to secure the future of the nation."

Cantwell suggested developing glycerin biotechnology, which proved successful in Brazil, and praised Boeing's fuel efficiency and use of lightweight building materials. Clinton spoke of cellulosic ways to transform fuel base.

UW College Republicans (UWCR) president Brent Ludeman remains critical of Cantwell's stance.

"Anything we can do to reduce our reliance on foreign oil is a step in the right direction," he said. "It's unfortunate that Senator Cantwell voted against our interests by opposing [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling]."

While the two senators were optimistic about alternatives to oil, they too were critical of the government "not keeping up" with current demands.

[img2]"The ball's not rolling in Congress," Clinton said. "We're trying to kick it down the field. We're trying to get it off an absolute dead-end stop."

The senators are joint sponsors of the Advanced Research Projects Energy Act, which would fund groundbreaking research and development in alternative fuel systems in the Department of Energy.

Shortly before Cantwell and Clinton toured the biodiesel plant, a handful of UW students eagerly awaited the senators' appearance at a luncheon at Qwest Field.

Touting signs with slogans like "Maria Cantwell: Washington's Do Nothing Senator" and "Too extreme for America? Clinton: bad for country," five UWCRs staked out the entrance to Qwest Field in hopes of attracting the attention of the senators.

"By associating herself with Hillary Clinton, Maria Cantwell is too extreme for Washington State," said Ludeman. "Her policies don't represent the mainstream voters of Washington."

The UWCRs bantered with anti-war activists -- also protesting the senators' policies at Qwest Field -- and were able to watch the event from outside.