Bush Sets Goal for Us of 75% Cut in Middle East Oil Imports

President George Bush has admitted the US is "addicted to oil" but pledged to reduce its dependence on Middle East imports by three quarters by 2025, largely through the development of ethanol fuel for cars derived from wood chips, vegetable matter and grass.

"By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment, move beyond a petroleum-based economy, and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past," Mr Bush declared in his state of the union address to Congress early today.

The president named the ambitious scheme "the Advanced Energy Initiative" and said it would involve a 22% increase in federal research into clean fuels. The research would also aim at developing "zero-emission coal-fired plants, revolutionary solar and wind technologies, and clean, safe nuclear energy", Mr Bush said.

But the most important goal was changing the fuel that powers America’s cars, which account of 75% of all oil production according to administration figures. "It is the elephant in the room when it comes to the energy issue," Dan Bartlett, the president’s media adviser, said in a briefing before the speech.

Successive administrations have promoted the use of corn ethanol as a subsidized fuel additive, in part as a means of support to American farmers. But President Bush said the ethanol US scientists were exploring would come from "wood chips, stalks, or switch grass [a tall, tough grass mostly found in marshes]". "Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years," he declared.

"Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75% of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025."

Mr Bartlett described this form of ethanol as cellusosic ethanol, and pointed to the example of Brazil which was producing a major part of its fuel from sugar cane.

President Bush has previously used previous state of the union addresses to make bold scientific pledges, most notably a promise to send astronauts back to the moon and ultimately send them to Mars. The scope of the vision, however, not been matched by funding.

Nevertheless, scientists welcomed the president’s proposals. William Rosenberg, a senior fellow with the Belfer Center energy technology and innovation project at Harvard University, said: "President Bush’s timely support of bold energy initiatives, that convert domestic biomass and coal into substitutes for oil and natural gas, will have a dynamic effect on the economy, national security and environmental protection."

Mr Bush also unveiled a major scheme aimed at maintaining American competitiveness by improving science teaching in classrooms and by funding of laboratories.

As part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, he said 70,000 high school teachers would be trained to teach advanced courses in maths and science, while 30,000 professional scientists and mathematicians would be drafted into schools to teach and inspire students.

"If we ensure that America’s children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world," the president said. At the same time, he said he would double federal spending on research in the physical sciences over the next ten years, looking into developing fields like nanotechnology and supercomputing. The administration would offer tax credits to encourage private industry to follow suit.

Mr Bush couched the initiative as a better and more American response to the economic challenges represented by looming giants like China and India, than a retreat into isolation. "In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline," he warned.

He made a parallel point about the war in Iraq, arguing that withdrawal was not an option. "In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders," he said. "There is no peace in retreat."