Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time
03-31-2010, 06:04 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: The White House
Posts: 246
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Vehicle: 97 Tib - REVISION A
Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/science/...h/31energy.html
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday. The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean. Under the plan, the coastline from New Jersey northward would remain closed to all oil and gas activity. So would the Pacific Coast, from Mexico to the Canadian border.
The environmentally sensitive Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska would be protected and no drilling would be allowed under the plan, officials said. But large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska — nearly 130 million acres — would be eligible for exploration and drilling after extensive studies. The proposal is to be announced by President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday, but administration officials agreed to preview the details on the condition that they not be identified.
The proposal is intended to reduce dependence on oil imports, generate revenue from the sale of offshore leases and help win political support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. But while Mr. Obama has staked out middle ground on other environmental matters — supporting nuclear power, for example — the sheer breadth of the offshore drilling decision will take some of his supporters aback. And it is no sure thing that it will win support for a climate bill from undecided senators close to the oil industry, like Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, or Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday. The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean. Under the plan, the coastline from New Jersey northward would remain closed to all oil and gas activity. So would the Pacific Coast, from Mexico to the Canadian border.
The environmentally sensitive Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska would be protected and no drilling would be allowed under the plan, officials said. But large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska — nearly 130 million acres — would be eligible for exploration and drilling after extensive studies. The proposal is to be announced by President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday, but administration officials agreed to preview the details on the condition that they not be identified.
The proposal is intended to reduce dependence on oil imports, generate revenue from the sale of offshore leases and help win political support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation. But while Mr. Obama has staked out middle ground on other environmental matters — supporting nuclear power, for example — the sheer breadth of the offshore drilling decision will take some of his supporters aback. And it is no sure thing that it will win support for a climate bill from undecided senators close to the oil industry, like Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, or Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana.
03-31-2010, 05:13 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Washington D.C.
Posts: 11,992
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Vehicle: Hyundai Tiburon FX
i think Obamas primary goal for the energy crisis should be to reduce America's super high energy expenditure, not to maintain it.
more funding should go towards research in environmentally friendly energy (like production of corn starch in the mid-west, hydrogen powered generators, incandescents, solar, superconductivity... See More...etc.), and create jobs in those fields rather than using "traditional sources", especially that Europe has, or is in the process of doing this successfully thanks to energy sanctions.
more funding should go towards research in environmentally friendly energy (like production of corn starch in the mid-west, hydrogen powered generators, incandescents, solar, superconductivity... See More...etc.), and create jobs in those fields rather than using "traditional sources", especially that Europe has, or is in the process of doing this successfully thanks to energy sanctions.
03-31-2010, 09:50 PM
#6
Administrator
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Lacey, WA
Posts: 12,515
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
They're developing both. There are huge wind farms around here. Some heftier solar cell tax credits would be nice.