President Barack Obama on Friday stood by his plans to increase U.S. oil production to replace overseas supplies, despite a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security, but I've always said it must be done responsibly, for the safety of our workers and our environment," Obama said at a Rose Garden event.
Even though this administration has announced a stop on new domestic offshore drilling until a review has been completed of the Gulf Coast oil spill, indications are that this administration will continue to support the use of domestic oil production. It seems that this recent environmental disaster has not changed their minds.
Here is the video clip below where President Obama restates his support for domestic oil drilling:
Here's the Time article on what the oil spill in the Gulf Coast means for us:
As an environmental disaster, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico just keeps getting worse. Late on Thursday, BP — the energy company that operates the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig and is financially responsible for the spill — revealed that oil was leaking from the burst well at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day, five times faster than previously estimated. That means about 210,000 gallons of oil are now spilling into the Gulf each day, forming a metastasizing oil slick that is 5,000 sq. mi. (13,000 sq km) large and growing by the hour.
Worse, shifting winds and currents are pushing the oil toward the Gulf Coast, where the Coast Guard and other government agencies are already preparing to minimize the environmental impact when the crude washes ashore. "We are being very aggressive, and we are prepared for the worst case," said Rear Admiral Sally Brice O'Hara of the Coast Guard, in a press briefing on Thursday. (See pictures of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.)
But the damage won't be confined to the sensitive Gulf coastline. Another casualty may be President Barack Obama's energy plan, which called for expanded offshore oil and gas exploration along with carbon emissions reductions and development of renewable energy. New Jersey Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg have already come out against expanded offshore drilling, and on Thursday Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida announced legislation that would suspend new drilling pending a full investigation of the Gulf accident. "Drilling too close to the coast poses too great a threat to the economy and the environment of Florida and other states," Nelson wrote in a letter to Obama.
This environmental disaster may be even worse than the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, and it's rather disappointing to hear that the oil spill has not made the administration rethink its approach to energy legislation. I'd like to ask the progressive community here to think about what we can do to change the minds of this administration, and to encourage support for alternative clean energy methods that do not need to involve increased domestic oil exploration.