Saturday, April 2, 2011 Hello, everybody.I’m speaking to you today from a UPS customer center in Landover, Maryland, where I came to talk about an iue that’s affecting families and businees just like this one – the rising price of gas, and what we can do as a country to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.This week, I released a Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future.It’s a strategy to reduce the oil we import from around the world, and to make our economy stronger at home.Part of this strategy involves increasing our oil exploration right here in America.In fact, our oil production last year reached its highest level since 2003, and we want to encourage more safe, responsible drilling where we can. But the truth is, drilling alone is not a real strategy to replace our dependence on foreign oil.And that’s because even though America uses 25 percent of the world’s oil, we currently have only about 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves.Even if we used every last drop of all the oil we have, it wouldn’t be enough to meet our long-term energy needs.So, real energy security can only come if we find ways to use le oil – if we invest in cleaner fuels and greater efficiency. That’s what we’ve been doing since I took office.For example, we secured an agreement from all the major auto companies to raise the fuel efficiency of their cars and trucks.So if you buy a new car, the better gas mileage is going to save you about $3,000.Altogether, this will save us about 1.8 billion barrels of oil as a country. We need to build on this progre.As we make our cars and trucks more efficient, we’ve got to harne new technologies to fuel our vehicles with everything from biofuels to natural gas to advanced batteries.And the good news is, these technologies aren’t science fiction anymore.They exist today.Already, American car companies are producing electric vehicles that use little or no gas.And innovators acro America are testing new products that hold incredible promise not just for new vehicles, but for countle new jobs. To help jumpstart this market, the federal government has doubled the number of clean energy vehicles that we have in our fleet.In the next few years, we’re going to switch the entire fleet over.And I’m here at UPS because it’s not just the government getting in on the action.Companies like UPS, FedEx, AT&T, Verizon, and PepsiCo – firms with some of the largest fleets in the country – are switching to more efficient vehicles.And through our Clean Fleets Partnership, driven not by government, but by busine, more companies are going to be switching to electric and alternative vehicles, too – not out of the goodne of their hearts, but because it’s good for their bottom lines.
The goal is simple.When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day.Through these and other steps, by a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one third.And by doing so, we’re going to make our economy le vulnerable to wild swings in oil prices.We’re going to use cleaner sources of energy that don’t imperil our climate.And we’re going to spark new products and businees all over the country by tapping America’s greatest renewable resource: our ingenuity. We know how important that is.This week, we learned that the economy added 230,000 private sector jobs last month.That makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last thirteen months.That’s a good sign.But we have to keep up the momentum, and transitioning to a clean energy economy will help us do that.It will ensure that the United States of America is home to the jobs and industries of tomorrow.That’s how we’ll win the future.And that’s how we’ll leave our children an America that is more secure and prosperous than before. Thanks, and have a great weekend.
Saturday, March 26, 2011 Last week, when I ordered our armed forces to help protect the Libyan people from the brutality of Moammar Qaddafi, I pledged to keep the American people fully informed.Since then, I’ve spoken about the limited scope and specific purpose of this miion.Today, I can report that thanks to our brave men and women in uniform, we’ve made important progre.
As Commander in Chief, I face no greater decision than sending our military men and women into harm’s way.And the United States should not—and cannot—intervene every time there’s a crisis somewhere in the world.But I firmly believe that when innocent people are being brutalized; when someone like Qaddafi threatens a bloodbath that could destabilize an entire region; and when the international community is prepared to come together to save many thousands of lives—then it’s in our national interest to act.And it’s our responsibility.This is one of those times.Our military miion in Libya is clear and focused.Along with our allies and partners, we’re enforcing the mandate of the United Nations Security Council.We’re protecting the Libyan people from Qaddafi’s forces.And we’ve put in place a no fly zone and other measures to prevent further atrocities.We’re succeeding in our miion.We’ve taken out Libya’s air defenses.Qaddafi’s forces are no longer advancing acro Libya.In places like Benghazi, a city of some 700,000 that Qaddafi threatened to show ―no mercy,‖ his forces have been pushed back.So make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countle civilians—innocent men, women and children—have been saved.As I pledged at the outset, the role of American forces has been limited.We are not putting any ground forces into Libya.Our military has provided unique capabilities at the beginning, but this is now a broad, international effort.Our allies and partners are enforcing the no fly zone over Libya and the arms embargo at sea.Key Arab partners like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have committed aircraft.And as agreed this week, responsibility for this operation is being transferred from the United States to our NATO allies and partners.This is how the international community should work—more nations, not just the United States, bearing the responsibility and cost of upholding peace and security.This military effort is part of our larger strategy to support the Libyan people and hold the Qaddafi regime accountable.Together with the international community, we’re delivering urgent humanitarian aistance.We’re offering support to the Libyan opposition.We’ve frozen tens of billions of dollars of Qaddafi’s aets that can help meet the needs and aspirations of the Libyan people.And every day, the preure on Qaddafi and his regime is increasing.Our meage is clear and unwavering.Qaddafi’s attacks against civilians must stop.His forces must pull back.Humanitarian aistance must be allowed to reach those in need.Those responsible for 2
violence must be held accountable.Moammar Qaddafi has lost the confidence of his people and the legitimacy to rule, and the aspirations of the Libyan people must be realized.In recent days, we’ve heard the voices of Libyans expreing their gratitude for this miion.―You saved our lives,‖ said one Libyan.Said another, ―Today, there is hope.‖
Every American can be proud of the lives we’ve saved in Libya and of the service of our men and women in uniform who once again have stood up for our interests and our ideals.And people in Libya and around the world are seeing that the United States of America stands with those who hope for a future where they can determine their own destiny.Hello, Chicago.If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are poible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.It\'s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.It\'s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.Americans who sent a meage to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.We are, and always will be, the United States of America.It\'s the answer that led those who\'ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.您好，芝加哥。
如果还有人仍在怀疑美国是否是一个一切皆有可能的国度的话，如果还有人仍在疑虑我们美国的缔造者的梦想是否还存在于我们这个时代的话，如果还有人仍在质疑我们民主的力量的话，今晚你就可以得到答案。它的答案告诉延伸线，围绕学校和教堂的人数这个民族从未见过的，等待三个小时，四个小时的人们，许多第一次在他们的生活，因为他们认为，这次一定是不同的，他们的声音可能是不同的。不管你是年轻人还是老年人，是富人还是穷人，是民主党人还是共和党人，是黑人还是白人，也不管你是拉丁美洲人或亚洲人还是本土美国人，更无论你是否为同性变者、是否是残疾人，这是美国人共同的答案。美国人向全世界传递一个声音，那就是我们的选举从不分红州或蓝州。我们属于，而且永远只属于美利坚合众国。 它的答案，导致这些谁一直在说这么长时间这么多的是玩世不恭和恐惧和怀疑是我们能够实现把他们手中的弧的历史和弯曲再次向希望一个更美好的一天。
