Hard Choices: About The Changing Factors Of America’s Clean Energy Policies From 1970 To 2010

Energy sources are the basis for the development of a country. Energy security concerns the safety of a nation, economy and society. With the fluctuation of fossil fuel’s price, increase of insecurity factors and influence of global warming, all the nations around the world take the initiative to develop clean energy. As a leading country of global clean energy development, the United States has made crucial contributions closely connecting with its energy policies to improve clean energy development.The energy polices around 21 st century in the United States has seen consistency in fundamental conceptions –the assurance of national interests and people’s benefits in the Unites States, with the purpose of cheap, sufficient and safe energy supply for American people and the realization of energy independence of the United States. Nevertheless, sweeping changes taking place in the degree of clean energy development intensity and importance, in American energy policies, clean energy has transformed from a marginal component to the core role in American energy strategic policies. Meanwhile, clean energy has developed from an element with inconsiderable proportion to the linchpin in the rapid economic development of the United States.Through the research on America’s energy policies related with clean energy around 21 st century, this article holds that America’s clean energy policy is wise on the basis of national interests, people’s benefits and economic development to some extent, and that many factors contribute to the policy, of which, economic factor is a dominant one. And there are many other important influences, such as America’s current level and requirement of economic development, the desire to promote green economy, ridding of dependence on energies, the goal of the improvement of national energy safety, the increasing demand of global energy resources, competitiveness of clean energy economy,policy efforts made by federation and governments at all levels to develop clean energies, as well as changes of people’s attitude towards clean energy development transforming from boycott, doubt to approval and for the development of clean energy for promoting the economic development of the United States.The article shows the historical process of clean energy policy of the United States in an objective perspective, and believes that it is an energy strategic adjustment taking comprehensive account of domestic political and economic development, foreign energy environment, the achievement of America’s energy independence and national security, and striving for a leading position in global clean energy realm. Comprehensive mastery of clean energy policy from multiple perspectives is conducive to better understanding of America’s deep political systems and cultural connotations, and America’s keeping up with the times in the environment of era development.