There has been national cake sharing party since our independent 1960, and amount of $380bn has been shared out during this ongoing party and no registered amount shared within.
Special guest of honor has been National administrators and families, friends well wishers.

This party has abondon us with development and shared poverty among us.

On October 27, 2006

10:53 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: I'm proud to welcome the Secretary General of NATO here to the Oval Office. We've just had a fascinating discussion.

First, Mr. Secretary General, you've been a very strong leader. As a matter of fact, you've made NATO a values-based organization that is capable of dealing with the true threats of the 21st century. I appreciate your leadership. I particularly appreciate the fact that you have led the 26 nations of NATO into Afghanistan to help this young democracy. You know what I know, that the real challenge for the future is to help people of moderation and young democracies succeed in the face of threats and attacks by radicals and extremists who do not share our ideology, have kind of a dark vision of the world.

I appreciate the fact that you're reaching out to global partners, nations which share our value, but have not been considered a -- necessarily considered a part of NATO. I want to thank your view of making sure NATO continues to provide the opportunity for other nations to join NATO.

I'm looking forward to Riga. The Riga summit is a time for us to celebrate the great successes of this partnership. Mr. Secretary General and I will be there reminding our partners that we have a lot of work to be done in the noble cause of peace.

So, welcome.

SECRETARY GENERAL de HOOP SCHEFFER: Mr. President, thank you very much, and thank you for giving me your time. I can echo your words. NATO is delivering security in the 21st century. And that means defending values, and that means defending values not only in Europe, but far away from NATO's traditional area. And the case in point, of course, is Afghanistan, where there was a regime which was grossly violating human rights, no women's rights, public executions. There we are trying to assist the Afghan government to establish democracy, to establish human rights, to establish those values.

And let me -- let me say that when, in those actions of NATO, of those brave NATO soldiers, civilians are killed, as happened two days ago, that's always a tragedy. That's a tragedy.

But let me convince you to look at the broader picture. They are against democracy. Girls did not go to school when the Taliban was running Afghanistan. Now they go to school. Now there is a precedence. Now there is a government. Civilian victims are a tragedy, but we are there in favor of democracy; they are there to destroy democracy, and they are there to destroy our values.

Mr. President, I'm looking forward to the Riga summit, where we'll see a 21st century NATO delivering security in many, many places of the world with 50,000 soldiers, including many Americans, on three continents. That is the challenge, but I can tell you that NATO is up to the challenge, NATO is delivering security, and NATO will continue to do this, indeed, with its presence, but also with global partners, because terrorism, proliferation, failed states and failing states are global threats we have to face and to counter on a global scale.

Mr. President, once again, thank you very much for being here.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir. I'll answer a couple of questions this morning. Jennifer.

Q Thank you, sir. What does it say to you that Iran is doubling its enrichment capacity?

THE PRESIDENT: It says to me that we must double our effort to work with the international community to persuade the Iranians that there is only isolation from the world if they continue working forward on such a program. And I've read the speculation about that that's what they may be doing, but whether they've doubled it or not, the idea of Iran having a nuclear weapon is unacceptable, and it's unacceptable to the United States and it's unacceptable to nations we're working with in the United Nations to send a common message.

Caren.

Q Sir, do you agree with the Vice President that a dunk in the water is a "no brainer" when it comes to interrogating a terror suspect?

PRESIDENT BUSH: This country doesn't torture, we're not going to torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to determine whether or not they've got information that will be helpful to protect the country.

Keil.

Q Mr. President, with the elections just about 10 days away, polls show that voters are more disenchanted with the Republican-led Congress than at any time since 1994, when the Democrats lost power. What explanation or answer do you have for people who feel that way?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I understand people here in Washington have already determined the outcome of the elections. As I said in my press conference the other day, I've seen it before where people start measuring the drapes in their new offices before the vote has been counted -- in other words, they're taking the people's vote for granted.

This election is going to be determined by how our candidates run locally. And I believe if they continue to emphasize the big issues -- keeping taxes low, and protecting the American people -- we'll win. And so we'll see how the outcome comes. I know there's a lot of speculation here in Washington, D.C., and there's a lot of fascination about listening to these pundits and people who are giving their opinions.

All I can tell you is what I see: I see enthusiasm amongst Republicans, I see candidates who are saying, vote for me, I will work to make sure America doesn't get attacked again. And I'm seeing candidates saying, I understand that if we run up your taxes like the Democrats do, it's going to hurt this economy, and so we'll keep your taxes low.

Thank you all very much.

END 10:59 A.M. EDT

God is a result God! Our God is so productive and it is reason why He created all things. When He plants a seed He expects a harvest. When He sent His son to this earth He expected many sons. He want us to have reasult as well, and share the glory of experiencing the manifestation of our prayers.

This answers the question, "Why aren't my prayer working?" Because a prayer uttered in desperation, without the thought life backing it up, will not produce any change in that situation.
Elijah was able to say to the weather, "You're not going to rain for three and half year" because he really believed that. That's why it didn't rain for three and a half year, Again why were the Disciples drowning when the storm was in their boat, while Jesus was able to say "Peace, be stll,"and the storm stopped? Let me tell you why. Jesus is the Prince of Peace which is to say, He had an image of Peace and He is a child of God who recognises his duty and the authority given to Him to be God son. So when He said to the storm "Peace,be still," He was bringing forth from the Peace that was within Him and making that circumstance line up with what was inside of Him already. He wasn't disturbed on the inside. "Peace" had power to come to pass because peace was born out of what was already in Him.

The peace of God must rule in your heart first. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. He is the Prince of Peace, our heart needs nothing but Peace of God that suppasses all things. "Be anxious for nothing but in everything with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your heart".
It won't guard your circumstance untill it first guard your heart, it won't deal with your situation untill it first has dealt with your heart. That is why Jesus said, " Let not your heart troubled' He is saying "When your heart is troubled, then everything around you are going to be troubled". Though you may have trouble all around you, whatever is in your heart ( your thought life) will eventually come out and bring peace to the trouble in your life. But if your heart is troubled then you can't change the situations since the trouble in your life also in your heart, of-course there surpose to be something greater / bigger in your heart than what is in your life, so to enable change your life.

Cheers!!!

I wishing God's love dominate all of us! We all must have heard the old written law, 'Love your friend', and it's unwritten campanion, 'Hate your enemy'. I'm challenging that. I will always love to tell you to instead love your enemy, let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. Yes some folks will always tell you to love your friends and hate your enemies, believe you me, this are people who are still seeing flesh and blood as their enemies than Satan himself.

I come to realize that the only enemy anyone can have is Satan and so therefore no child of God should worry about human enemy because our real enemy is spirit, and not some human person somewhere. Do not see people as your enemies, you neighbours In-laws, colleagues or Staffs are not your enemies at all. You must be God-conscious at all times rather than being Enemy-conscious for you to see clearly how Satan used to attack with dirty spirit such as spirit of dividness, hatred, gossip, talkative and all those evil things.

God- consciousness is LOVE, and whenever the Love of God flows, it then will dominate all of us and our beautifull world a better place of all mankind.

Mr Mo Ibrahim, a UK-based mobile phone entrepreneur has launched $5m prize for Africa's most effective head of state. This offer is behind the plan to rate governance in 53 African countries each year.
The contest, launched in London on this Thursday, will award winning leaders $5m (£2.7m) over 10 years when they leave office, plus $200,000 (£107,000) a year for life.
The award will go to African heads of state who deliver security, health, education and economic development to their constituents. It will be available only to a president who democratically transfers power to his successor.

"We need to remove corruption and improve governance," Mr Ibrahim said.

In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Ibrahim, 60, said leaders had no life after office.
"Suddenly all the mansions, cars, food, wine is withdrawn. Some find it difficult to rent a house in the capital. That incites corruption; it incites people to cling to power.
The prize will offer essentially good people, who may be wavering, the chance to opt for the good life after office.

BBC Africa editor Martin Plaut said it would be the world's richest prize - exceeding the $1.3m (£700,000) awarded by the Nobel Peace Prize.

Harvard University will assess how well the president has served his or her people while in office.

Nelson Mandela, former US President Bill Clinton and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are among those who have welcomed the initiative.
Mr Mandela described it as an example to the world. Mr Clinton said he wished Mr Ibrahim and his foundation "much success in its important work".

DIFFERING OPINION /

And Mr Annan thanked the businessman for "establishing such a generous prize as an incentive".

But not everyone agrees.

Patrick Smith, of specialist publication Africa Confidential, said: "The people who know what to do and have done well are already doing it.

"And the people who are doing badly and are killing their own people or stealing state resources are going to carry on doing that."

Africa has one of the world's richest concentrations of minerals precious metals, yet 300 million of its residents live on less than a dollar a day.


"The day we do not need any aid will be the most wonderful day in my life." comment by Mr Mo Ibrahim

Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle also known as the '80:20 Rule' states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio '80:20' is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big and no matter how small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Having a balanced life-style should be the key result in having personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp.
Time management is about getting results, not about being busy.

The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone's life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.

The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue.

The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.

The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society.

The career aspect involves school and work.

The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.

The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and having a set of things to do list for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.

Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small.

A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term goals often.

A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.

Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style. Each and everyone of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to tell when to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.

Learning to say "No". You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.

Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.

Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.

Don't procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.

Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.

Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

These are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual.

As the say personal time management is the art and science of building a better life.

From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

Hi,

When it comes down to it, everybody should care about character. Because character affects us all. Just think about it--whether it's your trust that the other driver will stop at the stop sign without
running into your car, or the confidence that the kid behind you in line at the movies doesn't cut in front of you, character is really important!

That's why the President has announced that this week is National Character Counts Week. He wants to remind us all that who we are inside is really, really important. As kids who pray, we need to have the highest character. So this week we will be focusing on character in order to understand what it is, why it is important, and what the Bible has to say about good character.

Also kids who pray have the very best resource for developing really great character--we have Jesus Christ who promises to live His life in us. What better source for character could there be?


WHAT IS CHARACTER?
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For sure, when we talk about character, we are talking about GOOD character! One dictionary describes character as moral excellence and firmness. That's a pretty good definition. A kid who shows moral excellence is a kid whose character is unquestioned. He or she can be counted on to pretty much do the right thing most all the time. Our morals reveal our understanding of right and wrong. So a person with good character usually does the right thing.

As kids who pray, our standard for what is right and wrong is found n our Bible, God's Word. Kids with character honor and follow the teaching of the Scripture. Here are the six pillars of character,
according to Character Counts! and the Josephson Institute:

TRUSTWORTHINESS
Be honest Don't deceive, cheat or steal Be reliable -- do what you say you'll do Have the courage to do the right thing Build a good reputation Be loyal -- stand by your family, friends and country

RESPECT
Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule Be tolerant of differences Use good manners, not bad language Be considerate of the feelings of others Don't threaten, hit or hurt anyone Deal
peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements

RESPONSIBILITY
Do what you are supposed to do Persevere: keep on trying! Always do your best Use self-control Be self-disciplined Think before you act -- consider the consequences Be accountable for your choices

FAIRNESS
Play by the rules Take turns and share Be open-minded; listen to others Don't take advantage of others Don't blame others carelessly

CARING
Be kind Be compassionate and show you care Express gratitude Forgive others Help people in need

CITIZENSHIP
Do your share to make your school and community better Cooperate Stay informed; vote Be a good neighbor Obey laws and rules Respect authority Protect the environment

SCRIPTURE CHECK
What do you think of these pillars of good character? There are some great ideas here and there is plenty for every member of PPT Kids to work on! Since good character is based on moral excellence, most of these ideas have their origin in God's Word, the Bible. That's great,
isn't it? Can you think of a Bible verse that speaks of one of these six pillars or principles?


GREAT AMERICAN WORDS ON CHARACTER
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Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.
--J.C. Watts, Congressman from Oklahoma and member of PPT's Honorary Committee

Many of our presidents and other elected leaders have spoken up about the importance of character. They agree that character counts! Read some of their comments below and see if you understand their meaning.


PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP
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Think about it. Do you agree with the presidents who say that character is very important? Do you think a person could do a good job as president without having good character? Do you think the
character of the people a president leads makes a difference? See what Thomas Jefferson thinks.

QUESTION 1
In his comments about character, Thomas Jefferson takes a peek ahead and wonders how future generations will handle the freedom he and his fellow Founding Fathers have fought and worked so hard to achieve. What is the concern that Jefferson expresses?

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QUESTION 2
Abraham Lincoln experienced both adversity and power in his life.True or False
In his statement about character Abraham Lincoln thinks that everyone must eventually deal with adversity, but a person who is handed power must surely deal with character issues, for the temptation to abuse power is great.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION 3
Which statement below best explains Woodrow Wilson's perspective on the importance of character?

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QUESTION 4
President Teddy Roosevelt believes that character is important too.True or FalseTeddy Roosevelt knows that whether it is your personal life and well-being or the success of an entire country, character (moral excellence) is the thing that will determine success or failure.

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QUESTION 5
President Reagan's quotation linking character and jelly beans might seem funny at first, but there is quite a bit of character-building truth in it! Which of the following statements best explains what President Reagan might have meant by this statement?


WORDS FROM PRESIDENT BUSH ON CHARACTER
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Individuals have the power to do much good, and great societies are built by knowing the difference between right and wrong. People of character strengthen our country through their daily actions. To help children fulfill their potential and build a more hopeful future for our Nation, we must continue to encourage and support the character development of our young people and support the institutions that give direction and purpose: our families, our schools, and our faith-based and community organizations.
--George W. Bush


PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Think about it. President Bush says that "societies are built by knowing right from wrong." How do kids learn right from wrong? How did you learn right from wrong? How could a person's daily actions make our country stronger? How does your faith in God help make your little part of America a better place?


CHARACTER FROM HARDSHIP
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We hope you are starting to see how very important character is--for you as an individual, and for our country. The more kids in our country have good character, the better our country will be, because kids who have good character grow up to be adults with good character. And adults with good character make great leaders--which is what our country needs!

HELEN KELLER
Character is developed in all kinds of ways. Many people believe that character is best developed by adversity. Helen Keller was a pioneer in her time. Born in 1880, she was just 19 months old when she became very ill. Her family thought she would die, but Helen survived, though the illness had robbed her of her sight and hearing. As Helen grew, she became a very difficult child. Her parents did not want to give up hope for her so they sought a special teacher. They found Anne Sullivan, a young teacher who was also mostly blind. It was through her teacher, Anne, that Helen had the wonderful world of language unlocked for her. But it came with great struggle anddifficulty. Helen went on to lead a very successful life, though still marked by hardship. Here are some of her thoughts on the development of character:

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
--Helen Keller, American social activist, public speaker and author (1880-1968)

The Bible speaks in many places about the importance of hardship or trials in developing godly character. Can you think of a verse that talks about this?


PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION SAYS CHARACTER COUNTS!
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President Bush says that character is important! National Character Counts Week, 2006 America's strength is found in the spirit and character of our people. During National Character Counts Week, we renew our commitment to instilling values in our young people and to encouraging all Americans to remember the importance of good character.

As the primary teachers and examples of character, parents help create a more compassionate and decent society. And as individuals, we all have an obligation to help our children become responsible citizens and realize their full potential. By demonstrating values such as integrity, courage, honesty, and patriotism, all Americans can help our children develop strength and character.

Mr Ribadu said he had come up with his figure of $380bn stolen or wasted since independence "easily" through records kept by the Nigerian central bank and the ministry of finance.

"Of course, probably part of it will have gone to outside stealing."

Mr Ribadu also said that $140m had been recovered from one unnamed former Nigerian leader and that nearly $400m of illegally gained assets had been identified in the possession of a former governor of Bayelsa State.

Last year, Nigeria recovered $458m found in Swiss bank accounts linked to the country's late military ruler Sani Abacha.

Despite the missing money Nigeria has managed to pay off its multi-billion dollar debt to the Paris Club of major lenders, thanks to high oil prices.

Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil exporter but most people are poor.

The country is regularly ranked as one of the most corrupt by graft watchdog Transparency International.

Who is to blame??

Wellesly College historian Craig Murphy has established the first comprehensive analysis of the United Nations Development Program in,
The United Nations Development Programme: A Better Way? (Cambridge, 2006). In his 390-page book, Murphy traces the history of the UN agency, encompassing its origins, structure and growth. "UNDP's story...is not just a way of achieving economic development, but also, more broadly, a way of conducting relations among peoples and nations," he writes. Having dug through archives and interviewed UN staff members in more than two dozen countries, Murphy provides an insider's view into the agency's successes and failures.
Order your copy online at unp.un.org ($29.99).

The UN World Food Program now has a response network aimed at transporting life-saving supplies to areas struck by natural disasters within 24 to 48 hours.
With hubs in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, the effort is meant to address the rising number of emergencies around the world. visit // www.wfp.org.

On October 10, Kyo Morishima Ted Turner announced at the annual dinner of the United Nations Association of the USA that $1 billion have been delivered to UN causes by his UN Foundation. It was nine years ago, at the same venue, that Turner declared his intention to make the unprecedented donation of $1 billion to the UN and soon thereafter set up the UN Foundation to administer the funds.

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for the warm welcome. I appreciate the chance to come and speak to the Renewable Energy Conference. I hope you're excited about being here, because I sure am. This is -- it's exciting to be with -- (applause.) I view this as kind of a meeting of pioneers, people who are on the leading edge of change, and people whose research, thought, and production will all help this country become stronger and better. And so I appreciate you giving me a chance to come by and visit with you.
Energy is -- look, let me just put it bluntly: We're too dependent on oil. We are a -- (applause.) And see, low gasoline prices may mask that concern. So, first, I want to tell you that I welcome the low gasoline prices, however it's not going to dim my enthusiasm for making sure we diversify away from oil.
We need to diversify away from oil for economic reasons. We live in a global world. When the demand for oil goes up in China or in India, it causes the price of crude oil to rise and, since we import about 60 percent of the crude oil we use, it causes our price to go up, as well, which means the economy becomes less competitive.
And then, of course, there's the national security concern for oil. Why? Well, we get oil from some countries who don't particularly care for us. They don't like what we stand for. They don't like it when we say, for the sake of peace, let us work in a way that we don't develop nuclear weapons, for example.
I spend a lot of time on national security issues, which you expect your President to do. And a lot of times those national security issues are involved with countries that have oil. They have something we want, and so there's a national security issue when it comes to the status quo. And then, of course, we have a great debate about the environment in America, and that's good. It's an important debate. We all want to be good stewards of our environment. We want to be good conservationists. And reliance upon oil and hydrocarbons has created some challenges when it comes to the environment.
And so this is one of the reasons why I believe so strongly that this country has got to use its talent and its wealth to get us off oil. And I believe we will do so, and I believe -- I know the best way to do so is through technological breakthroughs.
And the government has got a role to play. First, I understand there are some entrepreneurs here, some people that are investors, venture capitalists, and I welcome you here. I think it's a good sign for those of us who understand the need to diversify away from oil that private money is beginning to make investments into some of the technologies I'm going to be describing.
And we can help you in Washington, and one way we can help you is to reward people for investing in research and development. There's a research and development tax credit that's on the books. The problem is, it expires every year, on a year-by-year basis, which means you've got to come back to Congress on a year-to-year basis; which also means there's unpredictability in the tax code, and that's not wise, if you're trying to encourage people to invest dollars in the long-term. And so in order to encourage private initiative and private investment in new energies, we ought to make the research and development tax credit a permanent part of the tax code. (Applause.)
And we need to continue what we're doing at the federal level, which is spend your money on research. I think it's a legitimate use of taxpayers' money, to spend on grants, to find new ways to power our economy, new ways to conserve, new ways to protect the environment through new technologies.
Since I've been President, we've spent about $10 billion on research. A lot of goes through Sam's shop. He's the Energy man. (Laughter.) We will vigorously pursue new ways to power our automobiles. If you want to get off oil, the surest and quickest way to do so is to change how we power our automobiles. We consume a lot of oil, through gasoline. And the more inefficient our cars are, the more we drive old clunkers, the more gasoline we use, which means we're more dependent on oil.
And so we've got some interesting initiatives at the federal level to help change habits. One of them is, and it's probably the fastest way we can begin to change the consumer habits, is to promote hybrid vehicles. You all know what hybrids are, it's a combination of gas and -- gasoline and electric battery that gets the driver a lot more miles per gallon.
And so one way to do this -- one way to encourage people to buy hybrids, one way to stimulate demand so that the production will follow -- is to provide tax credits. You can get up to, now, $3,400 tax credit when you buy your hybrid automobile. In other words, the government is using the tax code to stimulate demand, which then should stimulate more automobile -- more production on the auto lines of hybrids. And the more hybrids we get on the road, the less oil we're going to be using.
Secondly, we're spending money on new battery technologies. See, we envision a day in which light and powerful batteries will become available in the marketplace so that you can drive the first 40 miles on electricity, on batteries, and your car won't have to look like a golf cart. (Laughter.) In other words, it will be a technology that will meet consumer demand and at the same time meet a national need, which is less consumption of gasoline. These are called plug-in hybrid vehicles.
And the battery technology is coming. In order to expedite it, Sam's shop, the Department of Energy, is putting out grants. In other words, we're using your money to expedite the arrival of a new technology that will enable folks to drive the first 40 miles on electricity.
That's not going to help rural Missouri or rural Texas, but it's certainly going to help those who live in the cities. Most folks in the cities don't drive more than 40 miles, so you can envision consumer habits beginning to change: You drive to work; you go home; you plug in your automobile. And you go -- ride to work and go home the next -- and you're still on electricity. It's going to change the consumption patterns. This new technology will change the consumption patterns on gasoline, which in turn will make us less dependent on crude oil, which meets a national security concern, an economic security concern, and helps us deal with an environmental concern.
Now, there's another technology that will enable us to help change our driving habits, and that's ethanol. See, I like the idea of promoting a fuel that relies upon our farmers. I happen to believe a good farm economy is important to a good national economy, and I also know it makes sense to have our -- (applause.) Sounds like we might have some farmers here. (Laughter.)
But I also know it makes sense to have our farmers growing the feedstock for new energy. The way I like to tell our citizens is Johanns is going to come in someday and say, "Mr. President, corn is up, which means we're less dependent on oil." And that's good news for the country and good news for our economy.
People are using ethanol. For those of you who are in the ethanol business, you're on the leading edge of change. It's coming, and government can help. That's why we enhanced and extended the 10-cent-per-gallon tax credit. We did that to stimulate production. We've extended a 51-cent-per-gallon tax credit for ethanol blenders. We provided a 30-percent tax credit for the installation of alternative fuel stations, up to $30,000 a year.
In other words, I believe and Congress agrees that the proper use of tax credits will help stimulate a new industry that will help our economy and help us when it comes to national security. You know, we're up to now 5 billion gallons of ethanol sold this year. That's up from 1.6 billion gallons in 2000. Ethanol -- there are now 100 ethanol refineries which are operating. There -- it's anticipated there are going to be 40 more next year. In other words, we're just at the beginning stages of a new industry that is evolving. It's one of the reasons I'm excited to be here. For those of you on the cutting edge, I want to thank you, and just let you know we want you to succeed. It's in our interests that you do succeed.
Today there are 900 stations selling E85. For those of you who don't know what that means, that's 85 percent ethanol. Look, a lot of Americans wonder whether or not this is feasible, what I'm talking about. A lot of folks aren't exposed to ethanol yet. In the Midwest you are, you've got a lot of corn. And it makes a lot of sense to have these plants where the feedstocks are. But ethanol is coming, and it doesn't require much money to convert a regular gasoline-driven car to a flex-fuel automobile. See, the technology is available. It takes about $100-something to change a gasoline-only automobile to one that can use E85. And it works.
And in my judgment, the thing that's preventing ethanol from becoming more widespread across the country is the lack of other types of feedstocks that are required to make ethanol -- sugar works, corn works, and it seems like it makes sense to spend money, your money, on researching cellulosic ethanol, so that we could use wood chips, or switch grass, or other natural materials. (Applause.)
And we've got an aggressive effort to research new raw materials to be used in ethanol. I was down in Alabama -- I'm going to tell you an interesting story when I was down there the other day. But I talked to a fellow from Auburn, he's a Ph.D. -- just reminded me the difference between a Ph.D. and a C student; the C student is the President, and the Ph.D. is the advisor. (Laughter and applause.)
But he's telling me how optimistic he is that someday we're going to be able to take wood chips from those southern pine forests, and convert that raw material into ethanol. He said it's right around the corner, as far as he's concerned. It makes a lot of sense for the federal government to continue to invest taxpayers' money, because the more different raw materials that are practical in use, the more ethanol production facilities will spread around the country. And the more spread around -- the more production there is, the more likely it is that the entire industry will evolve quicker.
So you've got a lot of plants here in the Midwest. The vision has got to be for these plants to be able to spread throughout the entire country. And when it does, ethanol will become a primary source for the fuel people use, which will help us meet our national security and economic concerns and objectives.
The Department of Energy announced $250 million in funding to establish and operate two new bioenergy research center, all aimed at accelerating basic research into cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels. I suspect we've got some soybean growers here. I know you've got some in Missouri. (Applause.) I have been to a biodiesel plant in Virginia. And it doesn't take much capital investment to refine biodiesel from soy, soybeans; it just doesn't. Biodiesel is coming. It makes a lot of sense for us to continue to invest in biodiesel technologies to make the production process even more efficient. I have seen biodiesel poured into a new truck, and watched that truck crank right up, and realize it emitted no emissions. I know, because I put a handkerchief over the stack. (Laughter.)
These are exciting times, and people are beginning to take advantage of them. I told you I was down in Alabama. I went to the Hoover Police Department. They're using E85. Their people on the beat are filling up their cars with E85. I asked a guy, one of the policemen -- I said, "Why do you use it?" He said, "First of all, I like the fact that it keeps the environment clean" -- that's a good reason. He said, "By the way, when you fill it up with the 85 it gives you better get-up-and-go." (Laughter.) In other words, it works. That's a good sign when police departments begin to use E85.
I was over at a FedEx place, and they've got what they call the OptiFleet E700 -- it's a new vehicle, all aimed at reducing emissions by 96 percent. In other words, people are thinking differently now. There's a whole new industry beginning to evolve. Users are beginning to understand the benefits of using ethanol or biodiesel. And these are exciting times.
And the federal government's job is to continue to research so that we provide our consumers, the American people, with more options. And one of the great options that's coming down the road is hydrogen. That's a longer-term project. If you notice, I kind of talk about hybrids that are on the road today and how we stimulate demand, hybrids that are coming with new batteries, ethanol which is now evolving into a significant industry. Ultimately, in my judgment, one of the ways to make sure that we become fully less dependent on oil is through hydrogen. And we're spending $1.2 billion to encourage hydrogen fuel cells. It's coming, it's coming. It's an interesting industry evolution, to think about your automobiles being powered by hydrogen, and the only emission is water vapor.
Oh, I'm sure there are some people out there saying, well, you know, he's just dreaming. Well, I'm just listening to the dreamers who happen to be good, smart, capable people who know what they're talking about --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Out of Iraq now! Out of Iraq now! Soldiers are not renewables!
THE PRESIDENT: Since 2003, my administration has made hydrogen and fuel-cell technology a priority -- (audience interruption) -- and we will continue to research to make sure America is less dependent on foreign sources of oil. (Applause.)
As you can tell, I'm excited about new technologies. But I think we've got to be realistic about the timing. And in order to become less dependent on foreign sources of oil, we've got to explore for oil and gas in our own hemisphere in environmentally friendly ways. And one of the interesting technological developments is the capacity to find oil in unique places. I don't know if you followed recently the exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, where there was a well that was drilled five miles in depth in thousands of feet of water.
In other words, these new technologies enable us to go to new places, and they enable us to be wise stewards of the environment. I understand there's a big debate about whether or not you can explore for oil and gas and protect the environment. I believe you can. And I understand that as we transition to the ethanol era we must also -- or the hydrogen area, we must also find oil and gas in our own hemisphere if the objective is to become less dependent on foreign oil. (Applause.)
They estimate that the new discovery in the deep Gulf of Mexico could increase our reserves from 10 to 50 percent. In other words, this is a big deal. And Congress is debating an energy bill. They passed a good energy bill, by the way, in the past, that encourages conservation and encourages a lot of the research that I was talking about, understands we've got to diversify away from our current structure. But there's another bill out there, and they need to get the work done. They need to come together between the House and the Senate version to encourage exploration in the Gulf of Mexico in new areas to make sure that we transition to a new day when it comes to energy. (Applause.)
And I believe that states ought to share in the royalties because I know, in the state of Louisiana, for example, they have committed their share of new royalties in this new exploration to help protect their coastline. And I believe Congress needs to get the bill to my desk as quick as possible. So when you finish the elections, get back and let me sign this bill so the American people know that we're serious about getting off foreign oil.
And that's going to be important because we can find a lot of natural gas offshore, for example, and we need natural gas in order to make sure we meet our second objective, and that's how we protect the environment and power our society.
I don't know if you know this or not, but electricity is generated from natural gas, about 18 percent; coal, 50 percent; nuclear power, 20 percent; and then -- solar and wind. And the fundamental question is, can the federal government help make sure that we have energy so we can power our economy, protect the environment, and grow. And the answer is, we can, and we can spend money to help you.
One thing we don't need to spend money on but need to do is permit more liquefied natural gas terminals. LNG is a new technology that is -- it's not that new, but it's evolving technology. It means you can get -- buy natural gas from overseas in liquefied form and de-liquefy it. There's a lot of natural gas in the world, and it makes sense for us to be in a position to receive that natural gas in order to make sure you've got energy in your home.
A shortage of natural gas causes your electricity bills to go up. Supply of natural gas, increased supply, makes it more likely that you're going to have rational bills, more likely the economy will continue to grow. And natural gas protects the environment.
Secondly, on coal, we got a lot of coal. We got 250 years of coal. That's a lot, and yet coal presents us with an environmental challenge. And so we're spending quite a bit of money here at the federal level to come up with clean-coal technologies. If you want to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy, it seems like it makes sense to me that we use the energies we have here at home and do so in environmentally friendly ways.
We're spending $2 billion to promote technologies that will enable our coal-fired plants to protect the environment. As a matter of fact, we got what's called a future-gen initiative. By the year 2012, we'll build the first clean-coal power plant that will remove virtually all pollutants and greenhouse gases from burning coal. In other words, there's a way coming that's going to enable us to use this plentiful resource. (Applause.)
A controversial subject is nuclear power. You might remember, we've had a time in our country where people liked nuclear power, thought it was a strong solution to energy independence, and then we just shut her down because of engineering concerns. I strongly believe that if we want to keep this country competitive, if we want to make sure we can compete globally, we must promote civilian nuclear power. We must have more energy coming from nuclear power. (Applause.)
Nuclear power is renewable, and there are no greenhouse gases associated with nuclear power. One of the problems we've had is that nobody wants to build any plants. They're afraid of the costs of regulation and the litigious nature that surrounds the construction of nuclear power plants -- litigious problems surrounding the construction of the nuclear power plants.
And so, in the energy bill that I signed, the Congress wisely provided incentives and risk insurance for nuclear power plant construction. Last year only three companies were seeking to build power plants -- nuclear power plants. Today 14 have expressed new interest in construction. In other words, there's a new industry beginning to come back.
I think it's very important for us to spend dollars on how to best deal with the waste, in other words, research new ways to be able to assure the American people that we'll be able to deal with the nuclear waste in a smart way. And that's why we're teaming up with France, and Japan, and Russia to spend money -- $250 million from the United States' perspective, and they're matching it -- on what's called the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, all designed to research reprocessing and fast-burner reactors.
The idea is to take the nuclear industry, take the spent fuel, reprocess it, put it into a fast-burner reactor, which will yield about 90 percent less of the waste than under the current system. What I'm telling you is, is that the engineering is much safer today than it has been in the past, and we're spending money to make sure that we can deal with the waste in a sane way, so that we can with confidence say to the American people, now is the time to accelerate the expansion of nuclear power for the sake of national and economic security. (Applause.)
I believe that with the proper amount of research, whether it be public or private, we will have solar roofs that will enable the American family to be able to generate their own electricity. And it's coming. (Applause.)
I believe wind power has got the opportunity to help. All we need is to put a couple of windmills right there in Washington, D.C., and we'll be -- (laughter) -- less dependent on foreign sources of energy. (Applause.)
What I'm talking about is a comprehensive approach to solving a national issue, which is dependence on oil, and how best to protect this environment. You know, it's time to get rid of the old, stale debates on the environment and recognize new technologies are going to enable us to achieve a lot of objectives at the same time. (Applause.)
Technology will enable us to be able to say we can grow our economy and protect our environment at the same time. It's not a zero-sum game anymore. (Applause.) These technological breakthroughs are going to say to our farmers, you're energy producers. And that's good for America. It's going to say to those entrepreneurs that are risk-takers, this is a good place to try to make a good return on capital.
There's a lot of smart money in the United States going into energy diversification and to research. And for those of you here, thanks. I hope you make a good return. I think you will. There is no question in my mind that we're on the verge of significant breakthroughs, and so what I wanted to come and tell you is, one, thanks for your interest, thanks for showing up at a conference like this. You're the beginning of what's going to be a new environmental debate, an economy based upon new technologies, a new way to power our automobiles, and a way that says by making good decisions now and researching now, we'll leave behind a better world for our children.
Some day, some -- the 56th President will be standing up here saying, I appreciate the fact that there was some pioneers back in America in those days; I can't spent too much time because I've got to go get my limousine filled up by hydrogen -- (laughter) -- but I appreciate the fact that the solar panels are working so you can see me. (Laughter.) In other words, it's coming, and I'm excited to be a part of it. And I hope you're excited, as well.
Thanks for letting me come by. God bless. (Applause.)

ONE members are hosting a house party against poverty on October 15. I hope you'll attend.

At the party we'll:

-Call our local canidates' campaign offices - to ask what they have done and will do about extreme poverty and global AIDS;
-Set a new world record (by literally standing up); and
-Build the anti-poverty movement by bringing the issues of global AIDS, extreme poverty into the national conversation.

Please sign up for my event by following the link below and typing in your zipcode.

http://action.one.org/dia/organizations/one/event/distributedEventSearch.jsp?distributed_event_KEY=8

I'm looking forward to seeing you on Sunday, October 15.