Yes, we now all know about the huge environmental disaster and explosion and oil leak in the Gulf. Those of us on the Progressive side of the fence are greatly lamenting the fact that just weeks ago the President decided to open up new areas for offshore exploration:
Obama said then that the decision did not come lightly, but it was one that he approached with confidence.
"The bottom line is this: Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs, and keep our businesses competitive, we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy," he said as he unveiled his plans.
Obama said the federal government would begin the process of leasing some areas off the coasts of Virginia, Alaska and possibly Florida to oil companies for drilling.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITI...
Which really made for some strange bedfellows for the Democratic President by those who have long demonized him and have long been proven wrong on this issue:
Palin: "[L]et's drill, baby, drill, not stall, baby, stall." On the April 14 edition of On the Record, host Greta Van Susteren aired footage of Fox News contributor Sarah Palin giving a speech at a tea party event, in which she repeated the "drill, baby, drill" mantra she first voiced during the 2008 presidential campaign, saying: "We can pave the way for proven conventional sources of energy, resource development with nuclear and clean coal technology and on and offshore drilling. Because remember that energy in America is security for America. So, yeah, let's drill, baby, drill, not stall, baby, stall."
Hannity: "We don't need to explore, we need to drill, baby, drill." On the April 1 edition of his show, Sean Hannity said, "We've got the oil reserves in Alaska. We've got them off the coast of Florida. We've got them off the coast in California. We've got them in the Gulf. We know where the oil is. We don't need to explore, we need to drill, baby, drill." Hannity later said, "Drilling would be conducted in an environmentally sensitive manner."
http://mediamatters.org/resear...
Yes, this offshore drilling is so safe and such a help to the American consumer. Now the folks on the Gulf Coast get to face yet another tragedy and the American consumer gets to face yet another excuse for the gas companies to raise the price of gasoline through the ceiling making huge profits.
Did folks forget that there is a reason why offshore drilling was closed in the first place??:
New offshore drilling in most U.S. waters has been banned since the early 1980s, when mounting public pressure pushed lawmakers into action. A disastrous oil spill off the California coast in 1969 sparked protests that grew into a broader environmental movement, which eventually forced a drilling moratorium.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITI...
Now, hopefully this tragedy which once again proves why these actions should not be taken will actually be used to avert other, new tragedies in other coastal areas:
But as the environmental impact of the Gulf Coast spill comes ashore, the appetite for Obama's offshore drilling plan and the enthusiasm from administration officials appear to have subsided.
"All he has said is that he's not going to continue the moratorium on drilling," White House senior adviser David Axelrod told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday. "No domestic drilling in new areas is going to go forward until there is an adequate review of what's happened here and of what is being proposed elsewhere."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITI...
I mean, just consider the widely respected, intelligent arguments that prove offshore drilling is safe:
Beck on environmental opposition to offshore drilling: "Go make it with a tree all you want. I'm looking for oil." On the May 8, 2008, edition of his show, Beck said: "Norway, Canada, chock full of tree huggers, and they both have allowed offshore drilling for years. China, Cuba, virtually drilling in our own backyard, right off the coast of Florida. Yet, 85 percent of our own coastal waters, along with ANWR, are completely off limits, because we might hurt the bucktooth beaver or a caribou or whatever the hell they're complaining about now. What is it going to take before you are finally pissed of enough to tell these environmentalists, you know what? Go make it with a tree all you want. I'm looking for oil."
http://mediamatters.org/resear...
Now, it is no secret that George W. Bush was possibly the worst President in American history and definitely the worst President in the modern era. Aside from the horrible, misguided policies and rampant greed allowed during that Administration there was another reason for that.
No matter how idiotic the policy, or misguided the agenda when it totally failed and was proven wrong the Bush Administration still maintained it as gospel. The Obama Administration now has a chance to show they will not fall into the same trap as the folks who ran the show before.
It has been proven painfully to the Gulf Coast that opening these areas up for offshore drilling will be a huge mistake and an eventual disaster for people living in some coastal area. Lets hope that this President learns from his mistake rescinds his decision to "drill baby drill".
It is time that our country concentrated on the real solutions to the problem of dependence on foreign oil which are the development of high speed rail and researching and developing the fuels of the future which can be grown, refined, and produced safely here in the United States.
Yes, lets hope this tragedy can give us all the mindset we need to avert future similar tragedies. |
