    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [February 23, 2007]
    [Pages 185-186]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Transportation Fuel Experts and
    Researchers
    February 23, 2007

        Listen, I just had a fascinating discussion. First, I'm dealing with
    some entrepreneurs, people who believe that there is a market developing
    for automobiles that will use high-technology batteries to--for people
    to be able to motor back and forth from work.
        I also met with some of our scientists who are working on new
    battery technology. I also met with people that are working to help us
    develop a fuel industry that will be able to have ethanols derived from
    produce other than corn. In other words, I'm talking with people on the
    leading edge of change. And the reason why I've asked them to come in to
    see me is because I want to make sure that the goal I set by reducing
    gasoline usage by 20 percent over a 10-year period is a realistic goal.
    I know it's a necessary goal. It's necessary for national security
    purposes; it's necessary for economic security purposes; and it's
    necessary in order to be good stewards of the environment.
        My question is, is a practical goal--can we achieve that goal? And
    the answer is, absolutely. Now, it's going to require continued Federal
    research dollars, and I call upon the Congress to fully fund my request

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    for alternative sources of energy. It's going to require collaboration
    between the public sector and the private sector. It's going to require
    making sure our smartest scientists understand that this is a national
    priority. But I firmly believe that the goal I laid out, that Americans
    will use 20 percent less gasoline over the next 10 years, is going to be
    achieved. And here's living proof of how we're going to get there.
        So I want to thank my fellow citizens for joining us. We've got a
    Nobel Prize winner; we've got all kinds of Ph.D.s, a couple of history majors. But what we're talking
    about is practical and necessary for the country. So thanks for coming.
    Americans ought to feel optimistic about our future. We're going to be
    driving our cars using all kinds of different fuels other than gasoline,
    and using batteries that will be able to be recharged in vehicles that
    don't have to look like golf carts.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:35 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. Participating in the meeting were David Bransby, professor of
    agronomy and soils, College of Agriculture, Auburn University; Steven
    Chu, director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and cowinner of the
    1997 Nobel Prize for physics; Bruce E. Dale, professor of chemical
    engineering and materials science, Michigan State University; Daniel J.
    Elliott, president and chief executive officer, Phoenix Motorcars, Inc.;
    Lonnie O. Ingram, professor of microbiology and cell science, University
    of Florida; Stephen P. Long, professor of crop sciences, University of
    Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Alex Molinaroli, president, Power
    Solutions, Johnson Controls, Inc.; Michael M. Thackeray, senior
    scientist, Argonne National Laboratory; and David Vieau, president and
    chief executive officer, A123 Systems.