"Energy is ... one of the top priorities because energy diversification, in other words diversifying away from foreign sources of oil, not only has got economic implications, it's got national security implications," he told The Wall Street Journal.

Outlining his energy policy for his closing two years in office, Bush said more government money would be spent "to accelerate that which is possible," including making ethanol more widespread as a substitute for gasoline.

"We're spending, since I've been president, about 29 billion dollars on dealing with alternative forms of energy, which affects the warming issue.

"In other words, as you diversify away and/or improve the capacity to burn certain fuels, you're developing environmentally friendly technologies."

Bush said nuclear energy was important in the production of hydrogen, and that the development of "fast burner reactors" was needed to better deal with nuclear waste to "convince people that nuclear power is the way to go."

"We're in the process of combining resources with Japan, Russia, Great Britain -- I don't want to leave anybody out -- France, in order to develop these new technologies."

His ultimate "vision" in energy conservation, Bush said, was developing the hydrogen-powered automobile because "it's clean. It deals with the warming issue."

However, he dispelled rumors that the government might follow California's example by imposing direct regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.

"We laid out a program that we believe will reduce greenhouse gases relative to economic growth, and I put some targets out there. But should we not meet the targets, then I said that the country ought to consider a cap and trade," he said, referring to the selling and buying of emissions credits among industries.

"So long as we're meeting the targets ... then I think that we ought to pursue the current track we're on, which is the use of technologies to make us achieve energy independence, as well as dealing with the warming issue," Bush said.

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