The Glover Report

Pres. Obama yesterday speaking at Georgetown University (3.30.11), Wash., D.C.

By Doni Morton Glover, www.bmorenews.com

(WASHINGTON – March 31, 2011) – First, a few thoughts. This being my second visit to Georgetown University, I felt sort of like a veteran tourist. The first time was because of the kindness of a great mentor, Mr. Charles Robinson. Charles had me do a backpack journalism workshop at a National Association of Black Journalists conference there a couple of years ago. To say the least, it was indeed an honor to grace such a profound campus – filled with some of America’s brightest minds.

Secondly, as I peered the walls at the McDonough Arena – I noticed a NCAA ’84 Champs banner among the many on the wall. That was a beautiful year for some folks I know, namely the Class of ‘83. And for those of us who were Dunbar basketball fans, it will forever be remembered when our beloved Reggie Williams helped lead Georgetown to the very top. 

Thirdly, given yesterday’s theme of “Winning the Future” – has Charlie Sheen’s “WINNING!” crept into the fold once again?   

Now, on to the substance of yesterday’s speech by the President at Georgetown on energy …

Going to see the President yesterday, in retrospect, was like going to the doctor to hear him tell you how long you’ve got left to live.

For instance, he noted that America consumes one-fourth of the world’s oil. He also mentioned India and China, both with a billion plus people, and what will happen when they start driving and becoming oil-dependent … like us. I’m no mathematician, although I do have a couple of years of good, ol’ Baltimore Polytechnic under my belt. Bottom line: Not pretty! … Unless we can develop alternative energy sources that are more friendly to the environment.

Electric cars, he suggested to the ever-attentive Georgetown University students, must become en vogue. Academic study of green industries is imperative to the future of business. Scientific study of how to best amass other sources of energy is more critical now than ever before.

The problem, clearly, is that America is addicted to oil. And, like an addict, we’ll ultimately do anything to soothe that Jones. Another problem: Like an addict, we then bring other people into the equation, like people who have oil a.k.a the dealers. And we cannot forget those other addicted nations, i.e. the UK, France.

Add in the nuclear holocaust creeping onto the international scene from Ground Zero in Japan and the fight for freedom all across the North African and Arab world … including Libya – and one might quickly conclude that being President of the United States is not the easiest thing in the world right now.

Here are some of the talking points from yesterday: Pres. Obama said that if we find solutions now, it will cost us less in the future. He said we must “cut what we don’t need to invest in what we do need.”

He said that China and Germany are now exporting energy, an area where the US once led back in the ’80s. Hence, since “we already have the technology,” now is the time to make technology work for America and for mankind.

As for electric cars, he said at issue is the creation of a lighter, safer battery. He also mentioned creating incentives for consumers to make electric cars more appealing. Electric cars, he said, require safer, more efficient ways to manage electricity. Pres. Obama’s goal: one million electric cars by 2015. This is where he pulled in students and encouraged them to boost the demand for green vehicles.

He praised Detroit, also. He pointed to the new combustion engine cars “coming off the assembly lines” that get some 50 miles per gallon.

He highlighted the need to review fuel standards for trucks coming this summer. He also noted that the fuel efficiency standards in this country haven’t changed in 3 decades. “That means 30 years of lost time,” he said. Last year, he proudly reported, new standards were made.

So, despite America’s voracious appetite for oil, the President suggested that it is time to look at renewable bio fuels, like those in Brazil (a country he recently visited). He also listed the need to safely explore natural gas reserves.

Still, he cautioned, “We can’t drill our way out of dependence.” At the end of the day, Obama encourages safe and responsible off shore drilling and more of a dependence on good, ‘ol fashioned “American ingenuity.”

In the midst of immediate dangers, the President nonetheless placed attention on the future as it relates to energy … and what we’re going to do. In short, ‘change we must or die we will.’ Die to what? Our own selfishness and greed. I mean, c’mon – we are a nation of 300 million and we consume one-fourth of the world’s oil. Hello! It doesn’t take a scholar to figure out that eventually, we’re going to be in a serious pickle.

Futuristic movies have stolen my attention for years. I think they provide a glimpse of what’s to come. Typically, there’s an underlying theme in them – like that man has used up all of the earth’s resources and has caused the sky to be blacked out. No water. No gasoline. Lawlessness. A class struggle that typically ends in violence.

‘If we ever needed’ leadership in this country before, Lord knows ‘we sure do need it now!’

Thank you, Mr. President, for keeping our challenges before us, but also helping to inspire and find solutions to those threats and dangers – foreign and domestic – immediate and future.

BTV Video Reports

Pres. Obama on Energy at Georgetown University, 3.30.11, Pt. 2:
Connecting the situations in Japan and the Middle East with our need for energy, oil. Impact of energy on everyday person, businesses, the country overall. “We have been down this road before!” $4/gallon for gas

Pres. Obama on Energy at Georgetown University, 3.30.11, Pt. 1:
America consumes 1/4th of the world’s oil: Fact!

BMORENEWS’ Doni Glover Reports on Pres. Obama’s Energy Speech, 3.30.11:
President spoke of American ingenuity at Georgetown University’s McDonough Arena, Washington, D.C.