Obama Shelves Bush-Era Offshore Drilling Plan

In yet another victory for environmentalists since Obama took office January 20th, the new president’s administration has put Bush-era offshore drilling plans on hold. The Bush administration had authorized the Interior Department to open areas of both U.S. coasts to oil and gas drilling after a moratorium on drilling there expired last year.

From MSNBC:

“To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside” the plan “and create our own timeline,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in a statement.

Alleging that the Bush administration “had torpedoed” offshore renewable energy in favor of oil and natural gas, Salazar said he was extending the public comment period by 6 months.

“We need a new, comprehensive energy plan that takes us to the new energy frontier and secures our energy independence,” he added. “We must embrace President Obama’s vision of energy independence for the sake of our national security, our economic security, and our environmental security.”

Republicans are calling for Obama not to close off areas of the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines for drilling, saying the 5-year offshore drilling plan put forth by the Bush administration four days before leaving office is “vital to our economy”. The plan would have authorized 31 energy exploration lease sales between 2010 and 2015.

He hasn’t yet been in office for a month and already Obama has reversed several key anti-environment moves by Bush, including canceling oil leases in Utah and striking down Bush administration attempts to ease laws governing mercury emitted from smokestacks. It would almost feel like we’re waking up from a long nightmare, if only the negative effects of Bush’s presidency weren’t still so fresh and painful.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Democrats Totally Puss Out on Offshore Drilling Ban

Well, it happened: in the midst of election season, during the double-whammy of an energy crisis and a financial collapse, the Democrats have let go of the reigns on an extremely important environmental issue: offshore drilling.  They’ve been railing against letting the 26-year-old ban expire all year, and when it came down to it, they gave in to pressure from Republicans.  Nice job.

From The Guardian:

Although the drilling debate dominated the campaign dialog for much of last month, the McCain camp had little to say when Democrats announced late yesterday that their plan to fund the government until next spring would let the drilling ban expire.

That silence is proof of the financial markets’ sudden rise to the top of the US political agenda, as well as a recent decline in fuel prices.

A few Democrats from coastal states, however, openly lamented their party’s decision to give ground in the face of a White House veto threat on the funding plan.

“I think it’s awful. This battle is not over,” California senator Dianne Feinstein, an ardent opponent of coastal drilling, said. “We will come back and fight another day, that’s for sure.”

Part of the problem is, undoubtedly, a false perception among the public that offshore drilling will ease the energy crisis, which many believe would in turn help lessen the blow from the current meltdown in the financial markets.  Unfortunately, the idea that offshore drilling will have any impact at all on the energy market for at least 10 years is about as realistic as believing that Santa Claus really does drop down millions of chimneys on one night, or that John McCain would be a good president.

The Sierra Club, at least, is holding on to a sliver of hope: they released a memo to reporters that relayed their belief that a new president could turn this thing around, saying, “The moratorium could very well be restored by a new Congress and president who understand that more offshore drilling will do nothing to lower gas prices or solve our energy crisis”.

Link [The Guardian] via [Truthdig]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Paris Hilton Supports Drilling, so McCain Must be Right

Recently, John McCain’s campaign put out an ad attacking Obama for being ‘the biggest celebrity in the world’, comparing him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. In response (because she loves publicity so much, like oh my god) Paris Hilton teamed up with Funny or Die to produce this video, in which she states that if McCain is comparing her to Barack Obama, that must mean she’s running for president, so she presents her energy plan: a hybrid between McCain’s and Obama’s, recommending ‘limited offshore drilling’.

Politico has reactions from both candidates:

UPDATE: Obama spokesman Bill Burton reacts: “Whatever.”

UPDATE: McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds emails: “It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis – including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan.”

UPDATE: Shorter McCain, via Drudge (and the headline of Bounds’ press release): ‘Paris Supports Drilling’…

Love how McCain negatively likened Obama to Paris, and then suddenly cared what she has to say. So, if Paris Hilton agrees with John McCain, then his plan MUST be solid, right? Christ on a cracker.

Link [Politico]

Updated Publishers Note: I thought it was great that this ad showed up to the right of this post:

John McCain is an addled old parody of a joke. He’s a antiquated, desperate, weak old man with no principles. His presidency would be the end of our time as a great nation. Thank the FSM Obama is going to steamroll him in November.

Obama is Right About the Tire-Gauge Energy Solution

Republicans had a giddy, gleeful field day this week after Barack Obama stated that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and got their vehicles regular tune-ups, we could save as much oil as new offshore drilling could produce. This absolutely ridiculous suggestion really got them fired up, prompting the Republican National Committee to send Washington reporters tire gauges labeled “Barack Obama’s Energy Plan” in an attempt to ridicule the Democratic presidential candidate.

Too bad the joke’s on them – Obama’s statement is true. From TIME Magazine:

The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

As TIME points out, conservation and efficiency are the best approach to dealing with the energy crisis, and we can do it without making huge changes to our lifestyle. There are a million different ways that we could use to seriously reduce our energy use if most of the people in the country gave them a shot: better insulation, unplugging electronics that aren’t in use, carpooling, cutting down on idling and reducing our speed on the road. What Obama has suggested is the obvious front line of defense against the energy crisis: common sense.

It’s a pretty simple concept: if our use of fossil fuels is increasing our reliance on Middle Eastern dictators while destroying the planet, maybe we ought to use less.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Link [TIME Magazine]

McCain Falsely Claimed that Oil Rigs Can Withstand Hurricanes

Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s camp already made a misstep on the subject last week when Nancy Pfotenhauer, his senior policy advisor, mistakenly claimed that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita “did not spill a drop of oil”. Pfotenhauer admitted later to being misinformed, but that didn’t stop McCain from making another false statement about oil rigs and hurricanes the following day.

From Think Progress:

Q: I’ve been listening to your comments around renewable resources – solar, tide, and wind – you’ve talked a lot about that, but you keep peppering your comments with offshore drilling. But I’m not sure what you think the impact on our environment is based on that.

A: Keep the microphone. I’m aware that off the coast of Louisiana and Texas there are oil rigs, as we well know, and those rigs have survived, very successfully, the impacts of hurricanes – hurricane Katrina as far as Louisiana is concerned.

McCain is wrong. According to press reports, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita “tore through the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore oil and gas fields, toppling production platforms, setting rigs adrift and rupturing pipelines.” The U.S. Minerals Management Service reported that the hurricanes totally destroyed 113 offshore oil platforms.

Think Progress further explains that the hurricanes cost the largest offshore driller, Transocean, about $135 million in repairs, downtime and equipment upgrades. In fact, damage to offshore rigs accounted for 77% of the oil industry’s storm costs. The photos above show some of the damage.

So, is McAddled intentionally lying so that offshore drilling sounds like a good idea, or is he just confused? I know the internet is really hard to use, so it might be tough to find the right websites that tell you what actually happened. There there, Senator. Your frightening journey through the world of modern technology is almost over.

Link [Think Progress]

Arnold’s Subtle Digs at McCain and Crist over Offshore Drilling

When you can’t legally run for President, it frees you up to say the darndest things. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared at the Florida Climate Change Summit in Miami last week, where he subtly blasted Florida governor Charlie Crist and Republican President-Wannabe John McCain for supporting offshore drilling.

From TampaBay.com:

But he appeared to issue a firm rebuke to politicians (including Senator John McCain and Crist) who have suggested ending a ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. “Anyone who tells you this will lower our gas prices anytime soon is blowing smoke,” he said.

Schwarzenegger’s press spokesman Aaron McLear called me a short while ago to stress that this comment was NOT directed at Crist or McCain, and instead was targeted specifically at the impact of offshore drilling on gas prices. “He was not referring to either one of them. Neither Crist nor McCain has said offshore drilling is going to immediately reduce gas prices,” McLear said.

However, the California Governor remained firmly opposed to offshore drilling, McLear added. “He doesn’t believe in offshore drilling. Her certainly doesn’t agree with McCain and Crist on that.”

I don’t know about Crist, but McCain has certainly hinted that offshore drilling will lower gas prices, an attempt to gain approval from voters desperate for some help. Seems like Arnold’s trying to get his point across without causing a rift.

Arnold, a self-proclaimed ‘green Republican’, has seen a lot of criticism himself for his attitude about how we can stop global warming – as Bill Walker of the Environmental Working Group put it, “He’s not sounding an alarm; he’s reassuring us that everything will be all right. We can have hot rods and clean air! Relax, have a cigar.” Arnold has also taken millions of dollars from oil companies over the years. Murky waters, indeed, but we’re glad to have Republicans who are at least headed in the right direction. It’s going to take both parties to effect real change.

Link [TampaBay.com]
Photo credit: Getty Images