Barack Obama, giving a speech at the University of Southern California in support of California Proposition 87 in 2006. The proposition would have established a $4 billion program with a goal of reducing petroleum consumption by 25%, with research and production incentives for alternative energy, but it did not pass. In terms of Obama's energy policy, he has consistently argued for a reduction in the usage of fossil fuels, having voted for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.Photo credit: Ari Levinson