Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal said on Sunday that he wants lower oil prices so that Western countries don't have the incentive to find alternatives.

He told CNN that oil prices should be between $70 and $80 per barrel and not above $100 as they currently are.

We don't want the West to go and find alternatives, because, clearly, the higher the price of oil goes, the more they have incentives to go and find alternatives, Talal said.

He said current oil prices were due to political instability in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as disruptions in supply tied to uprisings in Libya and Bahrain.

You're not 100% sure what is going to happen, because you hear once in a while Iran coming and jumping and antagonizing and intimidating the Gulf region, the prince said. So, there's a worry.

President Barack Obama told supporters at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee in April that his administration is pushing toward energy-independence.

And so we've got to keep making investments in clean energy. We've got to strive for energy independence in this country, he said. We've got to invest in solar and wind and electric cars, and it's time we stopped giving the oil companies $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies -- take that money and put it into clean energy.

He urged that the U.S. back off subsidies for yesterday's energy.

That makes no sense. We've got to change it. Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's energy. It's good for our security. It will grow our economy, and it will leave our children with a safer and cleaner planet.