Obama clears way for offshore drilling

Ragnar

<--- Pic is not me
Jan 23, 2010
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Cincinnati, OH
Alternate thread title, Obama gets something right for once. :eek: :lol:

washingtonpost.com

The move ends a long-standing moratorium on oil and gas drilling along much of the East Coast, from Delaware to central Florida.

In a speech on energy security, Obama said he was steering a course between staunch opposition to any new offshore drilling and advocacy of opening all U.S. waters to energy exploration without restriction.

The compromise, which Obama said has been under consideration for more than a year, split environmentalists, with some applauding the administration's moderation and others questioning its precedent-setting decision. Republican critics welcomed the expansion of offshore exploration but complained that it did not go far enough.

Reuters had some of the story last night but WaPo (the first link) has much more information plus video. (for those who feel Obama is underexposed, lol)
Government set to unveil offshore drilling plan | Reuters

As per usual, Ed Morrissey has a good take although I'm not so sure there is a cap and trade trade-off in the works with Republicans. If there is it's in the way way back room for back room dealing. A Republican vote for cap and trade would and should torpedo any and all election hope. Below is the link to Ed at Hot Air...

Hot Air Blog Archive Obama to expand off-shore oil drilling

Obama could see this concession to conservative and industry pressure as a means to have them relax their opposition to cap-and-trade. However, that bill will have devastating effects on the energy sector, and trading off for domestic resources isn’t going to be a good deal for them in any case. The effort to produce that raw material will cost billions, and if Obama and Congress impose a cap-and-trade system on energy production, it will be a money loser for them in the long run. In fact, cap-and-trade is specifically designed to make carbon-based energy production a red-ink affair in order to force industry towards so-called “green” energy alternatives, even if those alternatives can’t possibly keep up with our energy needs.

A trade-off seems unlikely. It seems much more likely that Obama has realized that without cheap and plentiful energy, the American economy is not going to get off the floor and start expanding. That would explain his recent push for nuclear power stations, a welcome change in attitude, as well. Freeing up the coastlines for oil and gas production will add close to a million jobs, most of them high-paying union positions, in the first couple of years of expansion, which will be appealing to an administration that has proven itself inept at job creation.


Cap and trade aside there is a lot of upside here for the President doing the right thing. Lower gas and energy prices almost right away and for sure by 2012. It's a nice poke in the eye to Mid-East Oil and Iran in particular. Thats on top of missle test we are doing this week in the mid-East. Coincedence? (yeah maybe, who knows) China is also moving into the Gulf and area's near enough to our shores that it's a good idea for us to step up our game and throw a few elbows. Most of all it's just good policy. It's a step in the right direction and not a small one. (sure I wish it were a bigger step but still) President Obama is right. Obama is doing the right thing.

Gosh that feels funny to type. :lol:

Also from the WaPo article...

Obama called on the nation to "move beyond the tired debates between right and left, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure-all and those who would claim it has no place."

OK. The man is right but he is still an ensufferable bore. It's long past time for the president to stop pretending he is God's gift to nonpartisanship. Right or wrong on any given issue, whenever he says "move beyond the tired debates" what he really means but will not say is "it's time for everyone to shut up and do what I tell them to". Heh, I'll give him a pass this time though. When it comes to energy production, it's time to hit the gas like we are in a defective Toyota and to Hell with the global warm mongers. Thank you Mr. President. Speaking as a big time critic, where we agree, I will continue to go out of my way to say so and note a job well done.
 
Uh oh...

nbc_the_more_you_know.jpg


Institute for Energy Research Blog Archive Obama Energy Announcement: More Imported Oil, Less Domestic Production, Fewer Jobs
The Institute for Energy Research
This is a huge step backward for America's energy security.

Prior to today's announcement, the vast majority of OCS areas were open for business. No longer. Today, while President Obama may have stated his support for increased energy development in the Eastern Gulf (which requires congressional action) and the Southern Atlantic (which he'll study over the next year), he also announced that he would delay the development of the energy resources off Virginia's coast and lock up vast resources off the Alaskan coast.

Additionally, those who cheer the President's newfound support for domestic energy resources should remember that the very same President's FY 2011 budget proposal includes upwards of $36 billion in new oil and natural gas taxes, which will discourage domestic production, especially in areas like the Southern Atlantic that have little to no existing infrastructure. While today's rhetoric made for a good news cycle, the policy is not a step forward, but a huge leap backward.

Power Line - Drill, 'Bama, Drill?

When you cut through the hoopla (not the word I would have used), here is what Obama's announcement added up to:

* Cancelled five lease sales off the Alaska coast that were planned over the next 2 years. One of the areas is estimated to hold up to 77 billion barrels of oil, or more than 3 times US reserves.

* A study of the southern Atlantic OCS, with the findings due back next year....no leasing.

* Delayed a planned lease sale off Virginia until at least 2012.


I see someone already had the next link in another thread but I'll put it here too. Just in case anyone wants to hear from someone who really knows what they are talking about when it comes to energy...
Stall, Baby, Stall - Sarah Palin - The Corner on National Review Online

OK so Obama is a lying snake in the grass politico just like almost all the rest. Fine. I will still keep looking for an area of agreement with the dumb bastard and then praise him for it. Damn it all, I will find one thing the man does right if I have to search the web till my fingers are bloody stumps.
:tongue:
 
Alternate thread title, Obama gets something right for once. :eek: :lol:

washingtonpost.com

The move ends a long-standing moratorium on oil and gas drilling along much of the East Coast, from Delaware to central Florida.

In a speech on energy security, Obama said he was steering a course between staunch opposition to any new offshore drilling and advocacy of opening all U.S. waters to energy exploration without restriction.

The compromise, which Obama said has been under consideration for more than a year, split environmentalists, with some applauding the administration's moderation and others questioning its precedent-setting decision. Republican critics welcomed the expansion of offshore exploration but complained that it did not go far enough.

Reuters had some of the story last night but WaPo (the first link) has much more information plus video. (for those who feel Obama is underexposed, lol)
Government set to unveil offshore drilling plan | Reuters

As per usual, Ed Morrissey has a good take although I'm not so sure there is a cap and trade trade-off in the works with Republicans. If there is it's in the way way back room for back room dealing. A Republican vote for cap and trade would and should torpedo any and all election hope. Below is the link to Ed at Hot Air...

Hot Air Blog Archive Obama to expand off-shore oil drilling

Obama could see this concession to conservative and industry pressure as a means to have them relax their opposition to cap-and-trade. However, that bill will have devastating effects on the energy sector, and trading off for domestic resources isn’t going to be a good deal for them in any case. The effort to produce that raw material will cost billions, and if Obama and Congress impose a cap-and-trade system on energy production, it will be a money loser for them in the long run. In fact, cap-and-trade is specifically designed to make carbon-based energy production a red-ink affair in order to force industry towards so-called “green” energy alternatives, even if those alternatives can’t possibly keep up with our energy needs.

A trade-off seems unlikely. It seems much more likely that Obama has realized that without cheap and plentiful energy, the American economy is not going to get off the floor and start expanding. That would explain his recent push for nuclear power stations, a welcome change in attitude, as well. Freeing up the coastlines for oil and gas production will add close to a million jobs, most of them high-paying union positions, in the first couple of years of expansion, which will be appealing to an administration that has proven itself inept at job creation.


Cap and trade aside there is a lot of upside here for the President doing the right thing. Lower gas and energy prices almost right away and for sure by 2012. It's a nice poke in the eye to Mid-East Oil and Iran in particular. Thats on top of missle test we are doing this week in the mid-East. Coincedence? (yeah maybe, who knows) China is also moving into the Gulf and area's near enough to our shores that it's a good idea for us to step up our game and throw a few elbows. Most of all it's just good policy. It's a step in the right direction and not a small one. (sure I wish it were a bigger step but still) President Obama is right. Obama is doing the right thing.

Gosh that feels funny to type. :lol:

Also from the WaPo article...

Obama called on the nation to "move beyond the tired debates between right and left, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure-all and those who would claim it has no place."

OK. The man is right but he is still an ensufferable bore. It's long past time for the president to stop pretending he is God's gift to nonpartisanship. Right or wrong on any given issue, whenever he says "move beyond the tired debates" what he really means but will not say is "it's time for everyone to shut up and do what I tell them to". Heh, I'll give him a pass this time though. When it comes to energy production, it's time to hit the gas like we are in a defective Toyota and to Hell with the global warm mongers. Thank you Mr. President. Speaking as a big time critic, where we agree, I will continue to go out of my way to say so and note a job well done.

Oops. ...

wow, i gotta come around here more often. There's a lot of unchallenged nonsense on this subforum.

Houston Chronicle: Report says oil supplies in Fla. waters negligible


By BILL KACZOR Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press
Feb. 26, 2010, 3:21PM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Estimated reserves in Florida waters would provide the United States with less than a week’s worth of oil and have no discernible effect on prices at the pump or U.S. reliance on foreign oil, says a report released Friday as part of a state Senate review of whether a ban on offshore drilling should be lifted.

The report is the latest indication that the push to open Florida waters as near as three miles from the state’s beaches may be waning, at least for this year.

Another is that all 12 lobbyists for Florida Energy Associates, a group pushing for lifting the ban have withdrawn, according to the Legislature’s lobbyist registry
.
 

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