"...As long as we're overly dependent on oil, no matter where it comes from, our economy will be vulnerable to oil shocks and our relationships with other nations will be distorted by our energy needs. Air pollution will increase and rates of childhood asthma will continue to rise, while global warming accelerates. Let's free our future from the grip of oil with a bold new energy strategy. A national commitment to invest in newer, cleaner sources of energy -- and make more efficient use of what we have—would create good new jobs and competitive industries here at home, help clean up the global environment, and improve our security..."

"...Oil was the foundation of a wonderful 20th-century energy system that made much of today's world possible. But now we're in the 21st-century, and our dependence on an energy system based on oil has become environmentally harmful, economically stifling, and politically destabilizing. Oil is our past, not our future. The global transition away from oil has already started. Here's the choice: We can help lead in creating a better global energy future, or we can hold things back. And holding back progress has never been the American way..."

"...We know how important it is to diversify our personal investments when we're planning a sound financial future. We need to diversify our energy 'portfolio' -- to give our government more choices for engaging with other countries; to encourage businesses to create new clean-energy jobs and industries; and to give consumers more choices for energy sources and products..."

"...Oil is a shaky foundation on which to build our energy future. Two-thirds of the world's oil supply is in the Middle East. Even if we didn't get a drop of oil ourselves from that region, a disruption there could undermine the economies of major U.S. trading partners like Europe and Japan and hurt the global economy, on which our own prosperity depends. Upheavals in the oil market over the past 30 years have cost the U.S. economy $7 trillion. Reducing our dependence on oil is a smart and responsible strategy..."

"...Clean, sustainable energy alternatives like solar, hydrogen, and wind power are already taking hold around the world -- just like the automobile pushed out the horse-and-buggy a century ago. We won't end our dependence on oil overnight; we need transitional strategies like conservation, improving fuel efficiency, using super-clean coal technologies, and building super-efficient power plants. But using this as an excuse for inaction or worse -- for deepening our reliance on oil and risking the destruction of irreplaceable wilderness by drilling -- is irresponsible and shortsighted..."

"...There's no need to cling to old technologies like oil when clean-energy technologies, like hydrogen and solar power, are growing fast around the world. These innovative technologies are creating billions of dollars in revenue and hundreds of thousands of jobs -- all while contributing to a healthier global environment. Americans pioneered many of the new energy technologies, but now we're lagging behind because we haven't invested in innovation and the development of new industries here at home. If we apply our traditional American ingenuity and can-do spirit to the challenge, we can help speed up the global transition to a clean-energy future that's better for us and for everyone..."