Obama debates offshore drilling

Just one month after officially announcing plans to use offshore drilling for domestic oil production, Obama has made a visit to the gulf coast to examine the damage that the a recent oil spill caused. Last week BP PLC a major oil provider had a spill off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico that has already caused billions and damage and the bill is growing. Obama said in a speech at ground zero of the spill that his plans for offshore drilling will be put on hold pending a report of what caused the spill and if there was any way to prevent it. This is coming due to large pressure from activists and legislatures alike. Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida said that he would file legislation that would put a hold on any measures put forward by the administration to halt their plans for offshore drilling including any seismic testing. This is a major blow to the administration’s plans who last month although acknowledging the need for new types of renewable homegrown energy also said it is essential to build up traditional forms of energy in order to keep the economy growing. “"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.” I agree that a full report of the oil spill and what could have been don’t to prevent it is essential, we also need to continue our research into offshore drilling. Just because BP PLC was careless in the way they transported their oil doesn’t mean we have to stop something that will be a major blow to the economy. I believe we need to cut our foreign dependence on oil and find our own ways into creating renewable energy. Finding a way to provide homegrown renewable energy isn’t something that can be done quickly and we need traditional energy sources at this time to eventually get to our goal of going green. Once the report is submitted to Obama by Ken Salazar at the end of this month and it confirms that BP PLC was careless and its not something that oil companies as a whole are doing wrong I think our research into offshore drilling should continue so that eventually we can become a nation that is not dependent on foreign oil because if certain countries have this power over us they can use it to whatever advantage they deem necessary. Which could be a major problem for the United States and its people and could throw the economy into an even bigger pickle then it already is.


http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/03/oil-spill-could-sap-appetite-for-obamas-offshore-drilling-plans/?iref=allsearch&fbid=s1UVAA22EsE