re: #83 Spare O’Lake

Three cheers for Obama’s latest veer to the right in reversing himself yet again by approving coastal drilling…DRILL BABY DRILL!
And of course Boehner is 100% correct in stating that much, much, more drilling is needed.

Like Obama didn’t already say that today?

The president began by touting his administration’s commitment to clean energy, through new investments and higher auto mileage standards. He announced a new plan to double the number of hybrid vehicles in the federal fleet.

“But we have to do more,” he continued. “We have to keep making investments in clean coal technology. … In the short term, as we transition to cleaner energy sources, we still have to make some tough decisions about opening up” coastal areas to offshore drilling.

“The bottom line is this,” he said, again apparently addressing environmental advocates. “Given our energy needs, in order to sustain econ growth and create jobs, … we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel.”

But he added, “We’ll employ new technologies that reduce the environmental impact of offshore exploration.”

“There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision,” he continued. “What I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a broader strategy” to move us to a reliance on “home-grown fuels,” including renewable energy sources.

He also addressed the criticism he’s already drawn from the right. “On the other side, there are going to be some who argue that we don’t go nearly far enough. … To those folks, I’m gonna say this: We have less than 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves. We consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil. What that means is that drilling alone can’t come close to meeting our energy needs.”