February 7, 2006

Addicted to Oil: Ten Questions for President Bush

Will the administration’s actions match its rhetoric on America’s energy policy?

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Article created by the Center for American Progress.

“Here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil.”
— President George W. Bush, State of the Union, January 31, 2006

1. INVESTING IN RESEARCH:  Does the President commit enough new investment into R&D to shift our nation to biofuels?

2. GETTING BIOFUELS TO THE PUMP: Does the President’s plan build the infrastructure needed for the biofuels transition?

3. DEPLOYING A NEW GENERATION OF CARS: Will the President’s plan really put new cars that use less gas on the road?

4. AVERTING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: Is  the President facing the reality of global warming?

5. USING CLEAN AND SMART ALTERNATIVES: Does the President commit to renewables and efficiency before more costly and polluting technology?

6. LOOKING OUT FOR FAMILY FARMS: Does the President’s proposal create jobs and strengthen rural communities?

7. PROMOTING TRANSPORTATION CHOICE:  Does the President’s budget support real transportation alternatives like rail and transit?

8. TRANSFORMING MARKETS: Does the President’s budget use federal purchasing power to jump-start new markets?

9. GUARANTEEING REAL OIL SAVINGS:  Is the President willing to require this transition by enforcing new rules?

10. EMPOWERING CONSUMERS:  Does the President’s plan create more consumer choice and promote public education and innovation?

You can read the Center for American Progress’s report, America is Addicted to Oil, here (PDF).

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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