Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, the 34th annual Earth Day is a time to reflect on our stewardship of the environment: where we have been, and where we are going. We should use this opportunity to rethink our current direction. America's status-quo energy policy is untenable. Our dependence on fossil fuels is polluting our air and water, overheating our planet, and tying up our foreign policy. Yet a sustainable, energy-efficient future lies before us--if we are willing to reach for its.
The consequences of fossil fuel use are everywhere. The Environmental Protection Agency determined that almost 500 counties across the country suffer from unhealthy levels of smog that must be reduced. Gas prices have hit record highs, which bites into the cost of living for ordinary Americans and threatens economic growth. Our dependence on oil limits our foreign policy and makes us rely on other nations for survival. And behind it all looms global warming.
The biggest lost opportunity of the current Administration has been the failure to set a goal for this country of halving our dependence on fossil fuels in the next decade. I believe in the American entrepreneur and our ability to develop technologies that will dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Many of those technologies already exist. Many are on our roads. But they must be nurtured if they are to develop further.
The first step is to encourage the use of hybrid gas-electric cars. These cars have double the gas mileage of standard cars and dramatically lower emissions. Moreover, unlike other clean car technologies, they are also available now in meaningful numbers. With a small encouragement, we can bring about the widespread adoption of this exciting new technology.
Hybrids are only the first step. We should draw on our technological prowess to solve our energy challenges with renewable sources of energy that reduce pollution, such as solar, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, and fusion. I have great confidence in America's technological know-how in solving these challenges; our national public policy should aim to create research and development incentives for the public sector to partner with the private sector in bringing promising technologies to market. As a nation, we must reduce pollution and help leave a sustainable energy future for our children.
Together, we can turn our country away from its current unhealthy practices and toward a cleaner, more sustainable tomorrow. It will not be easy, but it must be done.