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US reliance on oil a `security risk': Bush

"If a terrorist were able to destroy infrastructure somewhere else in the world, it's going to affect what you pay for at the gasoline pump."

US President George W. Bush

US President George W. Bush, trying to add urgency to his shrinking domestic agenda, said on Wednesday that the US will be held hostage by oil if it does not change its habits.

"Dependence on oil provides an economic and national security risk, a problem that this country better start dealing with in a serious fashion -- now," Bush said in a speech to employees of DuPont, a chemical giant and leading researcher of energy alternatives.

The president used a quick trip to Delaware to promote biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from wood chips, switchgrass and corn-plant parts such as stalks and leaves.

Ramping up production of alternative fuels is one way Bush says the country can cut consumption of gasoline by up to 20 percent over 10 years.

The other key element of Bush's plan, as outlined in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, is higher fuel-economy standards for cars.

Bush cast the energy debate in terms of terrorism, giving scenarios in which oil-rich enemies could disrupt the US by targeting its reliance on gas-powered vehicles.

"If a terrorist were able to destroy infrastructure somewhere else in the world, it's going to affect what you pay for at the gasoline pump," Bush said at the Hotel DuPont.

DuPont is working with British energy giant BP to develop and market bio-based butanol, a more efficient alternative to ethanol that is made from agricultural products rather than petroleum. It plans to introduce biobutanol into the UK this year.

Bush signed an executive order that calls on the federal government to use more alternative fuels and less petroleum -- a way for the administration to set an example with its agencies.

Some lawmakers appeared receptive to Bush's energy ideas, although environmentalists and other critics described the president's approach as belated and limited.

He was also up against several forces in the final quarter of his presidency: a vastly unpopular war, a Democratic Congress and low approval ratings.

The administration on Wednesday proposed to spend US$1.6 billion on ethanol as part of Bush's goal to sharply reduce gasoline usage over the next decade.

The funding will help develop new sources of ethanol, which now comes mostly from corn.

Demand for ethanol has been driving up the cost of corn, making it more expensive to feed cows, chickens and pigs and raising concern in the livestock industry.

Beef, dairy, pork and poultry groups are asking the Agriculture Department to study ethanol's effects on their costs.

Meanwhile, the administration asked Congress for the power to set high fuel-efficiency standards for cars, using a system it says will preserve choices and safety for costumers.

But it opposed any legislation that would simply set a higher fuel-economy standard.

Bush also did not endorse proposals for mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

DuPont was one of the corporations that urged Congress this week to require limits on such greenhouse gases, contending voluntary efforts to combat climate change are not enough.

"President Bush has never looked more out of step on global warming," said Kevin Curtis, senior vice president for the National Environmental Trust.

"Companies like DuPont realize that limits on heat-trapping pollution are coming, and they want to start planning today," he said.
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