Richardson lays out plan for oil independence

Gov. Bill Richardson outlined today his plan for weaning the United States off foreign oil if elected president.

At an oil and gas conference in New York, Richardson, the keynote speaker, said he would, if elected president, set a goal of reducing oil imports by 40 percent, replacing liquid fuels with biofuels by 2025 and reducing greenhouse gasses by 75 percent by 2050, the Associated Press is reporting.

He called foreign oil America’s “Achilles heel,” the news service reported.

“Our ability to drain the swamps of terrorism depends in part on our political will to change how we produce, distribute and consume energy,” the news service quoted Richardson as saying. “In the West, it’s not just liberal college kids who ask what we are doing about global warming – it’s the conservative farmers and ranchers whose way of living is at risk.”

Richardson is scheduled to participate in a presidential candidate forum sponsored by the International Association of Firefighters this afternoon in Washington, D.C., and will hold a fundraiser in Cleveland tonight before returning to Santa Fe to finish out the 2007 Legislature.

He has to act on the budget and capital outlay bills by Thursday.