Karshkovia
08-10-2008, 22:03
ooc: open to all. Feel free to issue statements, comments (ooc or IC) or play off of this as your country would like. THIS IS NOT FOR THE CASUAL READER or the TL;DR crowd. Fair warning that it is long and reads like a politician's speech....like it was meant to be.
In a well-lit room with dozens of reporters from around the world, minor dignitaries and local officials, the din of lowered voices talking quietly amounst themselves reverberates softly off of the off-white painted walls. A podium in the front of the room proudly displays the Presidential Seal and is flanked by two Karshkovian flags.
Conversations around the room come to an end as the overhead lights in the room dim breifly a few times to let the audiance know to take their seats.
After a rustle of fabric, a few muttered comments and the clank of metal chairs bumping together, the room lights are lowered and a woman steps up to the podium.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you attending this press conference today. The President will address you, the nation and the world this afternoon, however we please ask that you keep any questions you have during the speech. Our press liason will be happy to answer the questions you have after the President has completed his statement."
Looking over her shoulder at an aide for the signal, she turns back to the audiance and camera that are now recording or broadcasting the press conference.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the President of Karshkovia, Vladimir Radchenko"
President Radchenko slowly strolls from a side room into the press room and takes the podium after shaking hands and exchanging greatings with the announcer.
THE PRESIDENT:
Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Thank you for such a warm welcome here in Miniski.
I'm excited to be here to talk about the crossroads at which our country stands today and I thank Regional Director Petri Conrad for inviting me here and introducing me to some of our fellow countrymen who are really putting this country on the leading edge of technological change. And I want to spend a little time talking about this change as it affects all citizens of Karshkovia.
Among its other distinctions, this great city is known as the oil capital of Karshkovia. But people in Miniski and all of Karshkovia understand as well as anyone that the high price of oil and gas today is causing great harm all across our economy. People are hurting, small farmers, truckers, and taxi drivers unable to cover their costs, small business owners struggling to meet payroll, the cost of living rising and the value of paychecks falling. All of this, in large part, because the price of oil is too high, and the supply of oil too uncertain. These citizens believe their government has a duty to finally assure the energy security of this country, and they are right.
I have meet with some of the greatest scientific minds in our country and even the world, and I have met with my science advisor and he also agrees that if we as a nation, as united people, do not change our ways and change them soon, we will leave our children with a dirty and polluted nation on the verge of economic collapse. Yes, our economy was stabilized after many, many years of turmoil however our families are now struggling with rising costs of fuel on incomes which are not rising as quickly; and for too long, our former leaders in Zostar have been unwilling or unable to do anything about it. Well this needs to change and it changes with me. I am the President, I was chosen - by you - to care for this great nation, and the buck rightfully stops here.
Without a doubt, our new addiction to oil is the most dangerous and urgent threat our nation faces. I know it is an addiction as many of the previous Presidents and my fellow statesmen have and are saying still that the solution to our problems would to build our own refineries and refine all of our own oil, however I disagree. I do not believe that is the solution this nation needs. If we did build enough refineries to meet just our own demand, gas prices would still rise, and faster than before as we would need to offset the cost of those refineries we have built. This issue also goes to the very heart of who we are as a nation, and who we will become. Will historians look back to say that we were the generation that left our children a polluted nation dependent on others or will we be the generation that left them a nation which is clean, safe, and thriving? Will we allow ourselves and our children to be held hostage to the whims of tyrants and dictators like Griffencrest Oil who control the refineries? Or will we say NO! No more! No Further! Not one more Rubal spent on foreign oil! We will control our own energy and our own destiny!
My friends, I do not want to watch Karshkovia continue on the path it is on. I want Karshkovia to join countries that have clean energy jobs and industries which do not pollute their environments. We can create that great country I am speaking of right here, today.
I want you to know that we cannot sustain a future powered by a fuel that is rapidly disappearing from our own vast reserves. Yes, I acknowledge that we have enough oil in our own reserves, adjusted to projected growth, to power our nation for another thirty years; however this isn't the time to sit back and relax. We must not let this lull us into a sense of complacency. Not when we pay $700 million Universal Standard Dollars every single day to have our oil refined from some the world's most unstable and hostile nations. Not when we blacken our skies with smog and spend our children's futures for our own personal conveniences today. Not when there are solutions to set our nation on the correct path to energy independence.
Now many of you also know that we've been talking about this issue for decades, even prior to our independence. Over the last few years we have heard promises about energy solutions from every single President since independence. We've heard talk about curbing the use of fossil fuels in State of the Union addresses since the oil shortages of 2000. I will admit that even I have talked on this subject during my State of the Union address; however the difference between me and the others is that I have a plan and have put together a team of the most intelligent people our nation has to solve this issue.
Back in 2000 we refined about half of our own oil. Now, we refine less than a sixteenth. Back then, global warming was the theory of a few scientists. Now, it is a fact that is melting our glaciers and setting off dangerous weather patterns as we speak. Then, the technology and innovation to create new sources of clean, affordable, renewable energy was a generation away. Today, you can find it in the research labs of universities and in the design centers of auto industries world wide. It's in the chemistry labs that are laying the building blocks for cheaper, more efficient solar panels, and it's in the re-born factories that are churning out more wind turbines every day all across this country. Now despite all this, here we are still talking about our oil addiction and we are more dependent than ever.
Why you ask? Well I agree with what Senator Ivan Horvitz said the other night on a national political talk-show, "It is because of the failure of politicians in Zostar to think about the long-term future of our country which has driven this country deeper into the pockets of foreign dictators and fascists. The politicians have failed you. They talked of what they were going to do for you and the country; but it was just lip-service. They said what they thought you wanted to hear, and would get them elected."
I agree with this statement as it is the truth. What Senator Horvitz failed to mention, however, was that during all the years he has been in Zostar prior to and after our bid for independence, he did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil refineries, even during his term as President. In-point-of-fact, I have Senator Horvitz's voting record right here in my hand. (shakes paper above his head) In 2001, he voted against increased fuel efficiency standards. In 2002, he opposed legislation that forced auto makers to design more efficient cars. In 2004, he voted against research for renewable sources of energy. In 2005 he was the leading voice against clean bio-fuel research. In 2005, he also fought against legislation that I personally had introduced that would refurbish abandoned factories and create low-cost wind turbines. In 2007, he voted against a bill that would allow researchers to lease one hundred acres of government land for solar power research. So when Senator Horvitz goes on national television and talks about the failure of politicians in Zostar to do anything about our energy crisis, I want you to remember his record and the fact that he's been a part of that failure. I also want to point out that Senator Horvitz's biggest contributor to his political campaigns has always been The Griffincrest Corporation. Take all these facts into account, now we can see why the only energy proposal he's really promoting is more offshore drilling -- a position that will not make any dent in current gas prices or meet the long-term challenge of energy independence. By Senator Horvitz's own admission, even if we opened up new areas to drilling today, we wouldn't see a single drop of oil from them for several years.
I saw this issue before I even took office as your President and it is time we do something about it. Government has got to be more than just talkers; we have got to be problem-solvers. That's what the Karshkovian people expect us in Zostar to do. That's why I said at the last State of the Union address "It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum we sit on or what beliefs we hold; what the Karshkovian people expect is for their representatives to come together and solve problems." As such, this is a problem and I will work with all who wish to get it solved.
Now, I know some may believe that it isn't so bad the way we are living currently and don't see the danger in our position. I feel I need to explain to the Karshkovian people what it truly means to be dependent on oil refineries from overseas. If demand goes up for a service in other countries relative to supply, the price of product is going to go up here. We're in a global economy. And so when the Forensatha economy grows, or the Vetalia economy grows -- which we want it to do, by the way -- when their economies grow, it provides markets for your products. For Karshkovian goods. It's in our interests that we trade, but we've got to also understand that when the globe becomes interconnected economically and other countries develop and grown, the demand for oil and refinery time increases in other countries. This causes the price of oil to go up here, and it has an economic effect on our own economy. The more dependent we are on oil refineries from overseas, the more likely it is that somebody else's demand is going to affect what you pay at the pump for gasoline. Senator Horvitz knows this which is why he admitted during the last session of Congress that his plan would only provide "psychological" relief to you, the Karshkovian people. It is not the solution. It is a political answer of the sort politicians like Senator Horvitz has given us for decades, and it must stop.
I want to point out that if we are dependent on oil refineries overseas, it means that a regime hostile to Karshkovia could be refining that oil. We become vulnerable to the activities of that hostile regime. In other words, somebody doesn't like us, they produce the refined oil and they can decide to do something about it, they can affect us. They decide to refine our oil in small amounts or at higher prices than others. When I talk about the national security risks, that's what I mean. Dependence on refined oil, as well, means that if the foreign refineries were attacked by a warring nation with those we get our refined oil from, it's going to affect what you pay for at the gasoline pump. A war between two nations in which we have voiced no support for either side, will in fact affect us.
Also, I do not see nuclear power as any solution to our problems. First, it is not completely safe and there are many documented issues that have happened just in our single nuclear reactor alone in the past seven years. Secondly, I do not consider the use of nuclear fuel to be cost effective nor morally right. Yes, our reactor has run for thirty years without a major problem but look at the money spent to keep it running and producing energy, not to mention safe and secure. The used fuel is extremely radioactive and caustic. How can we even look at ourselves and say it is ok to use nuclear power when in 10,000 years our great grandchildren many times over will still be storing the waste from our reactor? For a little bit of comfort today, we inconvenience thousands of generations of Karshkovians? No, I do not believe we are that selfish.
Finally, if we chose to do nothing, then where does that leave our nation in 30 years when the final drop of our own oil has been pumped from the earth? We will be where we are now, except our air will be nearly unbreathable in the cities. Foreign powers will sell us their oil at prices that they can arbitrarily set, and they can use that oil to dictate our own foreign -- and even domestic -- policies. I will not allow Karshkovia to fall into that trap.
Before I go into what plans I have for our nation, I want to thank the nation of Stoklomolvi for assisting us with this initiative. If it wasn't for Stoklomolvi, this transition would take many more years and be much more painful to you, the people. As the Secretary of Energy, Ivan Tupolev, told me when I took office -- he said, when he -- see, he's like a graduate from the Zostar Institute of Higher Learning and Technology, so he's a smart guy and I'm just the President, but anyway -- (laughter.) It's the way it works sometimes, you know. Ivan said about a week after I took office and at our first meeting, when he went to ZIHLT, they looked at our nation as a case study on how to make sure science and practical applications came together for the betterment of all our citizens. I took the time to review his ideas and created a brain farm of the brightest and most innovative minds in our nation and then gave them the task of reviewing those ideas and create practical solutions for our nation. I believe, after reviewing those ideas, that they have created a roadmap which will guide us to a better tomorrow for not only our children or grand-children, but for ourselves as well.
I made the case to the Karshkovian people when I was elected that we have got to do something about our dependence on oil for two reasons. One, dependence on oil creates a growing pollution problem in our entire country that not only affects our lives but the lives of all future generations. Over the last few years our cities have found their air growing gray with smog and our commitment to be the stewards of the environment in our country is being compromised by our growing need for oil. Second, our dependence on other nations to refine our locally produced oil provides economic and national security risks which I am no longer willing to take.
I am your President and as such, I immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal -- in two years, we will eliminate the need for oil in our country. To do this, we will invest $2 Trillion Universal Standard Dollars in Federal funds over the next two years and leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that harnesses Karshkovian energy and creates new jobs.
First, our power grid must be completely overhauled as our towers are rusting and our power lines are falling off of their mountings. By working around the clock and through the winter, I expect our nation to have a new state-of-the-art power distribution network -- that will last well into the next century -- completed and online by the spring of 2009.
We have a lot of wind -- particularly in Zostar. (Laughter and applause.) That's what Mrs. Borofski was saying last night, after listening to me rehearse this speech. (Laughter.) Wind energy is a viable alternative. I strongly believe that if we're that interested in reducing greenhouse gases and researching renewable fuels, this country has got to be aggressive about establishing safe, clean power. In this frame of mind, I have set aside many plots of public land scattered all throughout Karshkovia and on these plots of land, we are going to build a total of 4000 Hectares of wind farms. Even as I speak, workers are erecting the first wind turbines on these plots of land and by November 1st we will start have our first wind farms working for the people.
Building on this start, by the end of 2009 ten Geo-thermal stations that are already under construction -- and now nearing completion -- will be producing power for our citizens. These will tap the heat from the earth and use it to power our nation. This is clean, consistent power no subject to any adverse weather conditions.
I will not see anymore stories of families scrapping together whatever they can find to burn during our harsh winters to stay warm. For those remote towns and hamlets far away from the major power distribution centers, we have purchased 4,000 Beaufort Wind-turbines. Each has the capability to power up to 100 homes and with our current plan to extend the power grid itself, no one will be without clean, consistent, and free power.
Every home will be inspected and remodeled if needed. By this plan, everyone will have energy efficient windows, doors, and insulation in their homes and apartments. All families will have heaters in their homes and no one will spend a winter wondering if they will have to choose between spending money on food or wood to stay warm. Inefficient heating or cooling systems will also be replaced with new energy efficient models. To offset the costs involved, Grants covering nearly the entire amount needed for the change-over will be given to the people. No one will need to pay more than $500 total, for these upgrades to their homes.
After countless ecological studies and working closely with CCS engineers, we have designed eighteen "Boundary" Hydroelectric dams which will have minimal impact on the biology of our rivers. Fish 'ramps' will be installed to allow fish to continue their yearly migration to spawning pools located up-river of the dams.
Griffencrest Oil, Dexeon Oil, and Clamshel Oil are the companies who are making the biggest profits from Karshkovia's people by pumping the oil reserves in our country, sending it off to be refined and keeping a percentage of the crude oil for themselves as a condition for pumping and refining our oil for us.
They also charge for transportation of our oil both from the oil fields to the refineries, and then back from the refineries to Karshkovian ports. Overall, we are paying over $700 Million Universal Standard Dollars a day for this service and for every twenty barrels of oil pumped, the oil companies are keeping six for payment over and above what cash we pay to them. This is going to stop.
We are going to invest federal resources, including tax incentives and government contracts, into developing next generation biofuels. By 2010, I will make it a goal to have all of our fuel come from sustainable, affordable biofuels and we'll make sure that we have the infrastructure to deliver that fuel in place. Here in Miniski, you're actually a step ahead of the game with your first-ever commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, which will lead the way by turning wood into clean-burning fuel. It's estimated that each new advanced biofuels plant can add up to 120 jobs, expand a local town's tax base by $70 million per year, and boost local household income index by $6.7 million annually.
We will convert our two fossil-fuel refineries into bio-refineries which will produce Hydrogen gas, ethanol, alcohol and other bio-fuels. We also plan on building ten more refineries, three of which are already in the process of being built, and having them online by 2010. These plants will allow us to supply all of our nations needs well into the next century, and we will be able to export our surpluses to other nations. As these refineries go online, we will slowly wean ourselves from gasoline and oil so by 2010, we will no longer be a customer to Griffencrest or any of the others. Instead, the oil companies will no longer be supplying us with oil, nor will they be taking any 'cut' of the oil. We will charge them for every barrel pumped and this will be pure, 100% profit for the Karshkovian people. After 2010, no one single Karshkovian cent will be given to these companies
Our 220 coal, natural gas, and oil burning stations will not be shut down, but instead overhauled and converted into running on hydrogen gas. No jobs will be lost and the plants themselves will be able to produce more power than they currently do in a cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient way.
I know oil is not just used to power our homes but also to power our cars and provide the plastics we use in our daily lives. In this, we are currently building ten biorefineries which will take our landfill waste and convert it into usable bio-plastics and hydrogen gas for our hydrogen power stations
To produce needed elements for our biorefineries, Ten GM Algae Plants are being built to produce the needed chemicals for our bio-refineries and bio-plastics factories.
As of now, I have only spoke on the nation's power grid and what we are doing to convert it to a green alternative to fossil-fuels. I am sure there is more than one who asks "what about my personal vehicle"? All private and public vehicles have been painstakingly accounted for, and over the next year letters will be sent out randomly to owners of fossil-fuel burning vehicles. These letters contain information on where to take your vehicle to be converted over to a Biofuel/electric engine for free. The same will be expected of the 30,000 Biofuel/electric boat conversions for our civilian craft and 5,000 Biofuel aircraft modifications for private and state-owned aircraft. By 2010, no fossil-fuel burning vehicle will be allowed on Karshkovian roads. We will get one million 150 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrids on our roads by year's end and for those who can not afford to purchase a new vehicle, we will convert your current gasoline burning vehicle over to a hybrid.
Included in this call for conversion to bio-fuel for our vehicles, I am stating right now that there are no exceptions allowed, beyond military vehicles and foreign dignitary vehicles. Those vehicles used in motor sports such as World Rally Cup, Formula 1, KART, and NASCAR -- just to name a few -- will only be allowed to continue running in Karshkovia if all vehicles used follow the mandate of no fossil-fuel burning engines.
Any civilian, business, or airline aircraft entering Karshkovian airspace must have Bio-fuel engines. No fossil fuels will be available for sale in Karshkovia, nor will any be allowed to be stored by airlines for their aircraft. We are working foreign airline companies to equip the aircraft they will use for air service in and out of Karshkovia. The outlook is good and the few who have resisted efforts to convert are looking into other alternatives, including purchasing jets specifically designed to our emission specifications.
As it stands, by the end of 2009, all service stations and convenience stores will no long offer gasoline or oil-based Diesel in any form. Bio-Diesel and Ethanol/Alcohol fuels will be sold instead. Vehicles without the conversion kits will not be able to utilize these fuels. Convenience stores and service stations will be given the equipment needed for this change over and all costs involved will be covered by the Government. We project a $3 drop in the cost of fuel when this change over takes place and a slow drop in costs to a final price of around $1.70 per gallon of bio-fuel by the winter of 2010.
Now these fuels will still produce smog but at thousandths of a percent of the levels currently produced. However because smog will still be produced, 100 Anti-Smog Air Processors are being installed across the nation in the largest cities. These will clean the air quickly once online and we expect with-in two years a reduction in smog levels by 90%. With-in three years, we expect the air in our cities would be cleaner than the air currently found in the prairies and plains of our nation.
On factories and stores nationwide, new outlet filters will be placed to remove any airborne byproduct from the air before it leaves the factory or store. This also applies to smoke stacks and other waste-air venting systems.
To clean up our Sewerage plants and we have purchased new, advanced plants. These plants use much less power than our current supply does; they are more efficient and are more ecologically sound.
As we do have an issue with landfills, 500 hectares of landfill cleanup is being undertaken and the land is being reclaimed and cleansed. 100 Hectares of this currently unusable ground will be converted into Wetlands, once cleaned of all toxins, to bolster our wildlife numbers and put back into nature what we have taken.
As you all are aware, we are about to boldly step into space and thus I believe this will be a boon for Karshkovians. To this, we have purchased four SOL satellites and three earth-bound receiving stations. These satellites will collect the sun's power through massive solar panels then transmit the power, via microwaves, back to the earth-bound receiving stations. We plan on two satellites in orbit within the next year and use a receiving station to service each satellite. A third receiving station would be used as a back up facility due to damage or maintenance of one or both of the other stations, then in the future be used full time if a third satellite is needed. The fourth SOL satellite will be on reserve in case of permanent failure of one of our main satellites.
While I know these are major strides to do away with our addiction to oil, we need to provide relief for families now, between the times we start converting and to when the conversion is nearly complete. I believe there are genuine ways in which we can provide some short-term relief from high gas prices to Karshkovian families. In this, I am signing an order to immediately give every working family in Karshkovia a $1,000 energy check, paid for by in-part by the record profits that the oil companies are making right now.
I call on businesses, government, and the Karshkovian people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15% by the end of the decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption -- and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills. We are currently working with community leaders on ways to help citizens reduce their energy usage, and we are providing tax breaks to businesses that follow certain guidelines we have established to reduce energy waste.
I will not lie to you. Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our country will ever face. It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy and our way of thinking. This transformation will not be easy, and given the fiscal disaster we have inherited from the last Administration it will not be cheap.
I need to point out that this is a transformation which will require more than just a few government programs. Energy independence will require an all-hands-on-deck effort from all Karshkovians -- effort from our scientists and entrepreneurs; from businesses and from every Karshkovian citizen. Yes, factories will have to re-tool and re-design. Businesses will need to find ways to emit less carbon dioxide. All of us will need to buy more of the fuel-efficient cars built right here at home, and find new ways to improve efficiency and save energy in our own homes and businesses.
This will not be easy. There will be growing pains. It will not happen overnight, and if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they are either fooling themselves or trying to fool you.
Senator Horvitz would not, and has not taken the steps or achieve the goals that I outlined today. His plan invests very little in renewable sources of energy and he's opposed helping Karshkovia achieve energy independence. Like others before him, he sees oil the answer to all of our energy problems and he's found a receptive audience in the very same oil companies that have blocked our progress for so long. In fact, he raised more than one million dollars from big oil just last month, most of which came after he announced his plan for new offshore drilling sites in a room full of cheering oil executives. His initial reaction to any energy compromise is to reject it because it takes away money for oil companies. Now even though he doesn't want to spend much on renewable energy, he's actually proposed giving $4 billion more in tax breaks to the biggest oil companies that drill in Karshkovia -- including $1.2 billion to Griffencrest Oil.
Griffencrest Oil. This is a corporation that just recorded the largest profit in the history of Karshkovia. This is the company that, last quarter, made $1,500 every second. That's more than $300,000 in the time it takes you to fill up a tank with gas that's costing you more than $5-a-gallon. And Senator Horvitz not only wants them to keep every dime of that money, he wants to give them more.
So make no mistake -- the oil companies have placed their bet on Senator Horvitz's plan. A plan that allows them to continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy. Well that's not the future I see for Karshkovia.
I will not pretend the goals I laid out today aren't ambitious. They are. I will not pretend we can achieve them without cost, or without sacrifice, or without the contribution of almost every Karshkovian citizen. But I will say that these goals are possible. And I will say that achieving them is absolutely necessary if we want to keep Karshkovia safe and prosperous in the 21st century. I know we, as a united people, can do this. We can do this because we are a strong people. History proves we do the improbable and we have beat great odds when pushed. We rally together to meet whatever challenge stands in our way.
It is something that we've always done and it's what we must do now. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our Nation, we must end the age of oil in Karshkovia.
In just a few years, we will watch cars that run on a plug-in battery come off the same assembly lines that once produced gas burning cars. We will see shuttered factories open their doors to manufacturers that sell wind turbines and solar panels that will power our homes and our businesses. We will watch as millions of new jobs with good pay and good benefits are created for Karshkovian workers, and we can take pride as the technologies, and discoveries, and industries of the future flourish in our Great Nation. We can and will lead the world in a new energy revolution, secure our nation, and meet our moral obligations to future generations.
This will require great ingenuity and resolve of the Karshkovian people, and these are not in short supply. I believe this about our country. I know this about our country. And now it is time to show those qualities once again.
Thank you.
In a well-lit room with dozens of reporters from around the world, minor dignitaries and local officials, the din of lowered voices talking quietly amounst themselves reverberates softly off of the off-white painted walls. A podium in the front of the room proudly displays the Presidential Seal and is flanked by two Karshkovian flags.
Conversations around the room come to an end as the overhead lights in the room dim breifly a few times to let the audiance know to take their seats.
After a rustle of fabric, a few muttered comments and the clank of metal chairs bumping together, the room lights are lowered and a woman steps up to the podium.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you attending this press conference today. The President will address you, the nation and the world this afternoon, however we please ask that you keep any questions you have during the speech. Our press liason will be happy to answer the questions you have after the President has completed his statement."
Looking over her shoulder at an aide for the signal, she turns back to the audiance and camera that are now recording or broadcasting the press conference.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the President of Karshkovia, Vladimir Radchenko"
President Radchenko slowly strolls from a side room into the press room and takes the podium after shaking hands and exchanging greatings with the announcer.
THE PRESIDENT:
Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Thank you for such a warm welcome here in Miniski.
I'm excited to be here to talk about the crossroads at which our country stands today and I thank Regional Director Petri Conrad for inviting me here and introducing me to some of our fellow countrymen who are really putting this country on the leading edge of technological change. And I want to spend a little time talking about this change as it affects all citizens of Karshkovia.
Among its other distinctions, this great city is known as the oil capital of Karshkovia. But people in Miniski and all of Karshkovia understand as well as anyone that the high price of oil and gas today is causing great harm all across our economy. People are hurting, small farmers, truckers, and taxi drivers unable to cover their costs, small business owners struggling to meet payroll, the cost of living rising and the value of paychecks falling. All of this, in large part, because the price of oil is too high, and the supply of oil too uncertain. These citizens believe their government has a duty to finally assure the energy security of this country, and they are right.
I have meet with some of the greatest scientific minds in our country and even the world, and I have met with my science advisor and he also agrees that if we as a nation, as united people, do not change our ways and change them soon, we will leave our children with a dirty and polluted nation on the verge of economic collapse. Yes, our economy was stabilized after many, many years of turmoil however our families are now struggling with rising costs of fuel on incomes which are not rising as quickly; and for too long, our former leaders in Zostar have been unwilling or unable to do anything about it. Well this needs to change and it changes with me. I am the President, I was chosen - by you - to care for this great nation, and the buck rightfully stops here.
Without a doubt, our new addiction to oil is the most dangerous and urgent threat our nation faces. I know it is an addiction as many of the previous Presidents and my fellow statesmen have and are saying still that the solution to our problems would to build our own refineries and refine all of our own oil, however I disagree. I do not believe that is the solution this nation needs. If we did build enough refineries to meet just our own demand, gas prices would still rise, and faster than before as we would need to offset the cost of those refineries we have built. This issue also goes to the very heart of who we are as a nation, and who we will become. Will historians look back to say that we were the generation that left our children a polluted nation dependent on others or will we be the generation that left them a nation which is clean, safe, and thriving? Will we allow ourselves and our children to be held hostage to the whims of tyrants and dictators like Griffencrest Oil who control the refineries? Or will we say NO! No more! No Further! Not one more Rubal spent on foreign oil! We will control our own energy and our own destiny!
My friends, I do not want to watch Karshkovia continue on the path it is on. I want Karshkovia to join countries that have clean energy jobs and industries which do not pollute their environments. We can create that great country I am speaking of right here, today.
I want you to know that we cannot sustain a future powered by a fuel that is rapidly disappearing from our own vast reserves. Yes, I acknowledge that we have enough oil in our own reserves, adjusted to projected growth, to power our nation for another thirty years; however this isn't the time to sit back and relax. We must not let this lull us into a sense of complacency. Not when we pay $700 million Universal Standard Dollars every single day to have our oil refined from some the world's most unstable and hostile nations. Not when we blacken our skies with smog and spend our children's futures for our own personal conveniences today. Not when there are solutions to set our nation on the correct path to energy independence.
Now many of you also know that we've been talking about this issue for decades, even prior to our independence. Over the last few years we have heard promises about energy solutions from every single President since independence. We've heard talk about curbing the use of fossil fuels in State of the Union addresses since the oil shortages of 2000. I will admit that even I have talked on this subject during my State of the Union address; however the difference between me and the others is that I have a plan and have put together a team of the most intelligent people our nation has to solve this issue.
Back in 2000 we refined about half of our own oil. Now, we refine less than a sixteenth. Back then, global warming was the theory of a few scientists. Now, it is a fact that is melting our glaciers and setting off dangerous weather patterns as we speak. Then, the technology and innovation to create new sources of clean, affordable, renewable energy was a generation away. Today, you can find it in the research labs of universities and in the design centers of auto industries world wide. It's in the chemistry labs that are laying the building blocks for cheaper, more efficient solar panels, and it's in the re-born factories that are churning out more wind turbines every day all across this country. Now despite all this, here we are still talking about our oil addiction and we are more dependent than ever.
Why you ask? Well I agree with what Senator Ivan Horvitz said the other night on a national political talk-show, "It is because of the failure of politicians in Zostar to think about the long-term future of our country which has driven this country deeper into the pockets of foreign dictators and fascists. The politicians have failed you. They talked of what they were going to do for you and the country; but it was just lip-service. They said what they thought you wanted to hear, and would get them elected."
I agree with this statement as it is the truth. What Senator Horvitz failed to mention, however, was that during all the years he has been in Zostar prior to and after our bid for independence, he did little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil refineries, even during his term as President. In-point-of-fact, I have Senator Horvitz's voting record right here in my hand. (shakes paper above his head) In 2001, he voted against increased fuel efficiency standards. In 2002, he opposed legislation that forced auto makers to design more efficient cars. In 2004, he voted against research for renewable sources of energy. In 2005 he was the leading voice against clean bio-fuel research. In 2005, he also fought against legislation that I personally had introduced that would refurbish abandoned factories and create low-cost wind turbines. In 2007, he voted against a bill that would allow researchers to lease one hundred acres of government land for solar power research. So when Senator Horvitz goes on national television and talks about the failure of politicians in Zostar to do anything about our energy crisis, I want you to remember his record and the fact that he's been a part of that failure. I also want to point out that Senator Horvitz's biggest contributor to his political campaigns has always been The Griffincrest Corporation. Take all these facts into account, now we can see why the only energy proposal he's really promoting is more offshore drilling -- a position that will not make any dent in current gas prices or meet the long-term challenge of energy independence. By Senator Horvitz's own admission, even if we opened up new areas to drilling today, we wouldn't see a single drop of oil from them for several years.
I saw this issue before I even took office as your President and it is time we do something about it. Government has got to be more than just talkers; we have got to be problem-solvers. That's what the Karshkovian people expect us in Zostar to do. That's why I said at the last State of the Union address "It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum we sit on or what beliefs we hold; what the Karshkovian people expect is for their representatives to come together and solve problems." As such, this is a problem and I will work with all who wish to get it solved.
Now, I know some may believe that it isn't so bad the way we are living currently and don't see the danger in our position. I feel I need to explain to the Karshkovian people what it truly means to be dependent on oil refineries from overseas. If demand goes up for a service in other countries relative to supply, the price of product is going to go up here. We're in a global economy. And so when the Forensatha economy grows, or the Vetalia economy grows -- which we want it to do, by the way -- when their economies grow, it provides markets for your products. For Karshkovian goods. It's in our interests that we trade, but we've got to also understand that when the globe becomes interconnected economically and other countries develop and grown, the demand for oil and refinery time increases in other countries. This causes the price of oil to go up here, and it has an economic effect on our own economy. The more dependent we are on oil refineries from overseas, the more likely it is that somebody else's demand is going to affect what you pay at the pump for gasoline. Senator Horvitz knows this which is why he admitted during the last session of Congress that his plan would only provide "psychological" relief to you, the Karshkovian people. It is not the solution. It is a political answer of the sort politicians like Senator Horvitz has given us for decades, and it must stop.
I want to point out that if we are dependent on oil refineries overseas, it means that a regime hostile to Karshkovia could be refining that oil. We become vulnerable to the activities of that hostile regime. In other words, somebody doesn't like us, they produce the refined oil and they can decide to do something about it, they can affect us. They decide to refine our oil in small amounts or at higher prices than others. When I talk about the national security risks, that's what I mean. Dependence on refined oil, as well, means that if the foreign refineries were attacked by a warring nation with those we get our refined oil from, it's going to affect what you pay for at the gasoline pump. A war between two nations in which we have voiced no support for either side, will in fact affect us.
Also, I do not see nuclear power as any solution to our problems. First, it is not completely safe and there are many documented issues that have happened just in our single nuclear reactor alone in the past seven years. Secondly, I do not consider the use of nuclear fuel to be cost effective nor morally right. Yes, our reactor has run for thirty years without a major problem but look at the money spent to keep it running and producing energy, not to mention safe and secure. The used fuel is extremely radioactive and caustic. How can we even look at ourselves and say it is ok to use nuclear power when in 10,000 years our great grandchildren many times over will still be storing the waste from our reactor? For a little bit of comfort today, we inconvenience thousands of generations of Karshkovians? No, I do not believe we are that selfish.
Finally, if we chose to do nothing, then where does that leave our nation in 30 years when the final drop of our own oil has been pumped from the earth? We will be where we are now, except our air will be nearly unbreathable in the cities. Foreign powers will sell us their oil at prices that they can arbitrarily set, and they can use that oil to dictate our own foreign -- and even domestic -- policies. I will not allow Karshkovia to fall into that trap.
Before I go into what plans I have for our nation, I want to thank the nation of Stoklomolvi for assisting us with this initiative. If it wasn't for Stoklomolvi, this transition would take many more years and be much more painful to you, the people. As the Secretary of Energy, Ivan Tupolev, told me when I took office -- he said, when he -- see, he's like a graduate from the Zostar Institute of Higher Learning and Technology, so he's a smart guy and I'm just the President, but anyway -- (laughter.) It's the way it works sometimes, you know. Ivan said about a week after I took office and at our first meeting, when he went to ZIHLT, they looked at our nation as a case study on how to make sure science and practical applications came together for the betterment of all our citizens. I took the time to review his ideas and created a brain farm of the brightest and most innovative minds in our nation and then gave them the task of reviewing those ideas and create practical solutions for our nation. I believe, after reviewing those ideas, that they have created a roadmap which will guide us to a better tomorrow for not only our children or grand-children, but for ourselves as well.
I made the case to the Karshkovian people when I was elected that we have got to do something about our dependence on oil for two reasons. One, dependence on oil creates a growing pollution problem in our entire country that not only affects our lives but the lives of all future generations. Over the last few years our cities have found their air growing gray with smog and our commitment to be the stewards of the environment in our country is being compromised by our growing need for oil. Second, our dependence on other nations to refine our locally produced oil provides economic and national security risks which I am no longer willing to take.
I am your President and as such, I immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal -- in two years, we will eliminate the need for oil in our country. To do this, we will invest $2 Trillion Universal Standard Dollars in Federal funds over the next two years and leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that harnesses Karshkovian energy and creates new jobs.
First, our power grid must be completely overhauled as our towers are rusting and our power lines are falling off of their mountings. By working around the clock and through the winter, I expect our nation to have a new state-of-the-art power distribution network -- that will last well into the next century -- completed and online by the spring of 2009.
We have a lot of wind -- particularly in Zostar. (Laughter and applause.) That's what Mrs. Borofski was saying last night, after listening to me rehearse this speech. (Laughter.) Wind energy is a viable alternative. I strongly believe that if we're that interested in reducing greenhouse gases and researching renewable fuels, this country has got to be aggressive about establishing safe, clean power. In this frame of mind, I have set aside many plots of public land scattered all throughout Karshkovia and on these plots of land, we are going to build a total of 4000 Hectares of wind farms. Even as I speak, workers are erecting the first wind turbines on these plots of land and by November 1st we will start have our first wind farms working for the people.
Building on this start, by the end of 2009 ten Geo-thermal stations that are already under construction -- and now nearing completion -- will be producing power for our citizens. These will tap the heat from the earth and use it to power our nation. This is clean, consistent power no subject to any adverse weather conditions.
I will not see anymore stories of families scrapping together whatever they can find to burn during our harsh winters to stay warm. For those remote towns and hamlets far away from the major power distribution centers, we have purchased 4,000 Beaufort Wind-turbines. Each has the capability to power up to 100 homes and with our current plan to extend the power grid itself, no one will be without clean, consistent, and free power.
Every home will be inspected and remodeled if needed. By this plan, everyone will have energy efficient windows, doors, and insulation in their homes and apartments. All families will have heaters in their homes and no one will spend a winter wondering if they will have to choose between spending money on food or wood to stay warm. Inefficient heating or cooling systems will also be replaced with new energy efficient models. To offset the costs involved, Grants covering nearly the entire amount needed for the change-over will be given to the people. No one will need to pay more than $500 total, for these upgrades to their homes.
After countless ecological studies and working closely with CCS engineers, we have designed eighteen "Boundary" Hydroelectric dams which will have minimal impact on the biology of our rivers. Fish 'ramps' will be installed to allow fish to continue their yearly migration to spawning pools located up-river of the dams.
Griffencrest Oil, Dexeon Oil, and Clamshel Oil are the companies who are making the biggest profits from Karshkovia's people by pumping the oil reserves in our country, sending it off to be refined and keeping a percentage of the crude oil for themselves as a condition for pumping and refining our oil for us.
They also charge for transportation of our oil both from the oil fields to the refineries, and then back from the refineries to Karshkovian ports. Overall, we are paying over $700 Million Universal Standard Dollars a day for this service and for every twenty barrels of oil pumped, the oil companies are keeping six for payment over and above what cash we pay to them. This is going to stop.
We are going to invest federal resources, including tax incentives and government contracts, into developing next generation biofuels. By 2010, I will make it a goal to have all of our fuel come from sustainable, affordable biofuels and we'll make sure that we have the infrastructure to deliver that fuel in place. Here in Miniski, you're actually a step ahead of the game with your first-ever commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, which will lead the way by turning wood into clean-burning fuel. It's estimated that each new advanced biofuels plant can add up to 120 jobs, expand a local town's tax base by $70 million per year, and boost local household income index by $6.7 million annually.
We will convert our two fossil-fuel refineries into bio-refineries which will produce Hydrogen gas, ethanol, alcohol and other bio-fuels. We also plan on building ten more refineries, three of which are already in the process of being built, and having them online by 2010. These plants will allow us to supply all of our nations needs well into the next century, and we will be able to export our surpluses to other nations. As these refineries go online, we will slowly wean ourselves from gasoline and oil so by 2010, we will no longer be a customer to Griffencrest or any of the others. Instead, the oil companies will no longer be supplying us with oil, nor will they be taking any 'cut' of the oil. We will charge them for every barrel pumped and this will be pure, 100% profit for the Karshkovian people. After 2010, no one single Karshkovian cent will be given to these companies
Our 220 coal, natural gas, and oil burning stations will not be shut down, but instead overhauled and converted into running on hydrogen gas. No jobs will be lost and the plants themselves will be able to produce more power than they currently do in a cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient way.
I know oil is not just used to power our homes but also to power our cars and provide the plastics we use in our daily lives. In this, we are currently building ten biorefineries which will take our landfill waste and convert it into usable bio-plastics and hydrogen gas for our hydrogen power stations
To produce needed elements for our biorefineries, Ten GM Algae Plants are being built to produce the needed chemicals for our bio-refineries and bio-plastics factories.
As of now, I have only spoke on the nation's power grid and what we are doing to convert it to a green alternative to fossil-fuels. I am sure there is more than one who asks "what about my personal vehicle"? All private and public vehicles have been painstakingly accounted for, and over the next year letters will be sent out randomly to owners of fossil-fuel burning vehicles. These letters contain information on where to take your vehicle to be converted over to a Biofuel/electric engine for free. The same will be expected of the 30,000 Biofuel/electric boat conversions for our civilian craft and 5,000 Biofuel aircraft modifications for private and state-owned aircraft. By 2010, no fossil-fuel burning vehicle will be allowed on Karshkovian roads. We will get one million 150 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrids on our roads by year's end and for those who can not afford to purchase a new vehicle, we will convert your current gasoline burning vehicle over to a hybrid.
Included in this call for conversion to bio-fuel for our vehicles, I am stating right now that there are no exceptions allowed, beyond military vehicles and foreign dignitary vehicles. Those vehicles used in motor sports such as World Rally Cup, Formula 1, KART, and NASCAR -- just to name a few -- will only be allowed to continue running in Karshkovia if all vehicles used follow the mandate of no fossil-fuel burning engines.
Any civilian, business, or airline aircraft entering Karshkovian airspace must have Bio-fuel engines. No fossil fuels will be available for sale in Karshkovia, nor will any be allowed to be stored by airlines for their aircraft. We are working foreign airline companies to equip the aircraft they will use for air service in and out of Karshkovia. The outlook is good and the few who have resisted efforts to convert are looking into other alternatives, including purchasing jets specifically designed to our emission specifications.
As it stands, by the end of 2009, all service stations and convenience stores will no long offer gasoline or oil-based Diesel in any form. Bio-Diesel and Ethanol/Alcohol fuels will be sold instead. Vehicles without the conversion kits will not be able to utilize these fuels. Convenience stores and service stations will be given the equipment needed for this change over and all costs involved will be covered by the Government. We project a $3 drop in the cost of fuel when this change over takes place and a slow drop in costs to a final price of around $1.70 per gallon of bio-fuel by the winter of 2010.
Now these fuels will still produce smog but at thousandths of a percent of the levels currently produced. However because smog will still be produced, 100 Anti-Smog Air Processors are being installed across the nation in the largest cities. These will clean the air quickly once online and we expect with-in two years a reduction in smog levels by 90%. With-in three years, we expect the air in our cities would be cleaner than the air currently found in the prairies and plains of our nation.
On factories and stores nationwide, new outlet filters will be placed to remove any airborne byproduct from the air before it leaves the factory or store. This also applies to smoke stacks and other waste-air venting systems.
To clean up our Sewerage plants and we have purchased new, advanced plants. These plants use much less power than our current supply does; they are more efficient and are more ecologically sound.
As we do have an issue with landfills, 500 hectares of landfill cleanup is being undertaken and the land is being reclaimed and cleansed. 100 Hectares of this currently unusable ground will be converted into Wetlands, once cleaned of all toxins, to bolster our wildlife numbers and put back into nature what we have taken.
As you all are aware, we are about to boldly step into space and thus I believe this will be a boon for Karshkovians. To this, we have purchased four SOL satellites and three earth-bound receiving stations. These satellites will collect the sun's power through massive solar panels then transmit the power, via microwaves, back to the earth-bound receiving stations. We plan on two satellites in orbit within the next year and use a receiving station to service each satellite. A third receiving station would be used as a back up facility due to damage or maintenance of one or both of the other stations, then in the future be used full time if a third satellite is needed. The fourth SOL satellite will be on reserve in case of permanent failure of one of our main satellites.
While I know these are major strides to do away with our addiction to oil, we need to provide relief for families now, between the times we start converting and to when the conversion is nearly complete. I believe there are genuine ways in which we can provide some short-term relief from high gas prices to Karshkovian families. In this, I am signing an order to immediately give every working family in Karshkovia a $1,000 energy check, paid for by in-part by the record profits that the oil companies are making right now.
I call on businesses, government, and the Karshkovian people to meet the goal of reducing our demand for electricity 15% by the end of the decade. This is by far the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce our energy consumption -- and it will save us $130 billion on our energy bills. We are currently working with community leaders on ways to help citizens reduce their energy usage, and we are providing tax breaks to businesses that follow certain guidelines we have established to reduce energy waste.
I will not lie to you. Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our country will ever face. It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy and our way of thinking. This transformation will not be easy, and given the fiscal disaster we have inherited from the last Administration it will not be cheap.
I need to point out that this is a transformation which will require more than just a few government programs. Energy independence will require an all-hands-on-deck effort from all Karshkovians -- effort from our scientists and entrepreneurs; from businesses and from every Karshkovian citizen. Yes, factories will have to re-tool and re-design. Businesses will need to find ways to emit less carbon dioxide. All of us will need to buy more of the fuel-efficient cars built right here at home, and find new ways to improve efficiency and save energy in our own homes and businesses.
This will not be easy. There will be growing pains. It will not happen overnight, and if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they are either fooling themselves or trying to fool you.
Senator Horvitz would not, and has not taken the steps or achieve the goals that I outlined today. His plan invests very little in renewable sources of energy and he's opposed helping Karshkovia achieve energy independence. Like others before him, he sees oil the answer to all of our energy problems and he's found a receptive audience in the very same oil companies that have blocked our progress for so long. In fact, he raised more than one million dollars from big oil just last month, most of which came after he announced his plan for new offshore drilling sites in a room full of cheering oil executives. His initial reaction to any energy compromise is to reject it because it takes away money for oil companies. Now even though he doesn't want to spend much on renewable energy, he's actually proposed giving $4 billion more in tax breaks to the biggest oil companies that drill in Karshkovia -- including $1.2 billion to Griffencrest Oil.
Griffencrest Oil. This is a corporation that just recorded the largest profit in the history of Karshkovia. This is the company that, last quarter, made $1,500 every second. That's more than $300,000 in the time it takes you to fill up a tank with gas that's costing you more than $5-a-gallon. And Senator Horvitz not only wants them to keep every dime of that money, he wants to give them more.
So make no mistake -- the oil companies have placed their bet on Senator Horvitz's plan. A plan that allows them to continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy. Well that's not the future I see for Karshkovia.
I will not pretend the goals I laid out today aren't ambitious. They are. I will not pretend we can achieve them without cost, or without sacrifice, or without the contribution of almost every Karshkovian citizen. But I will say that these goals are possible. And I will say that achieving them is absolutely necessary if we want to keep Karshkovia safe and prosperous in the 21st century. I know we, as a united people, can do this. We can do this because we are a strong people. History proves we do the improbable and we have beat great odds when pushed. We rally together to meet whatever challenge stands in our way.
It is something that we've always done and it's what we must do now. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our Nation, we must end the age of oil in Karshkovia.
In just a few years, we will watch cars that run on a plug-in battery come off the same assembly lines that once produced gas burning cars. We will see shuttered factories open their doors to manufacturers that sell wind turbines and solar panels that will power our homes and our businesses. We will watch as millions of new jobs with good pay and good benefits are created for Karshkovian workers, and we can take pride as the technologies, and discoveries, and industries of the future flourish in our Great Nation. We can and will lead the world in a new energy revolution, secure our nation, and meet our moral obligations to future generations.
This will require great ingenuity and resolve of the Karshkovian people, and these are not in short supply. I believe this about our country. I know this about our country. And now it is time to show those qualities once again.
Thank you.