Obama calls for clean-energy investments

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- To compete now and in the future, America must invest in biomedical research, information technology and clean-energy technology, President Obama said Tuesday.

An investment in clean-energy technology "will strengthen our security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people," Obama said Tuesday during his State of the Union address to the joint session of Congress.

"(We've) begun to reinvent our energy policy," Obama said. "We're not just handing out money. We're issuing a challenge. We're telling America's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we'll fund the Apollo Projects of our time."

With more research and incentives, Obama said the United States could break its dependence on oil with biofuels and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

"We need to get behind this innovation," Obama said. "And to help pay for it, I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's."

He challenged Congress to join him in setting a goal that, by 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean-energy sources.

"Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas," Obama said. "To meet this goal, we will need them all -- and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen."