Expanded Offshore Oil Drilling
"Over the last three years, we've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I'm directing my administration to open more than 75% of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the highest that it's been in eight years. Not only that -- last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years."
Obama acknowledges the US only has 2% of the world's oil reserves, which can't meet the energy demands of a country that consumes 25% of the world's oil.
Even with this sweeping announcement, Republicans insist he's placing too many restrictions on
drilling on federal lands. 22 Senate Republicans sent Obama a lengthy letter yesterday saying, "Hundreds
of thousands of jobs and trillions of dollars in economic activity may be foregone if current policies remain in place." They give former President Bush credit for the expanded production.
During his travels this week, he'll announce a June 20 oil lease sale for the Central Gulf of Mexico, the last sale scheduled as part of the Dept of Interior's 2007-2012 offshore leasing plan.
Natural Gas
"We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years. And my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support
more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade," Obama said.
However, recent research shows that natural gas fracking is even dirtier than we thought. In addition to polluting the air and drinking water supplies, the methane released produces more greenhouse gases than any other fossil fuel, including coal.
The US Energy Information Agency also revised its projections on the amount of natural gas that's available through fracking, saying it could meet US energy demand for only 6 years.
Obama did call for mandatory disclosure of chemicals used in fracking on public lands, but if fracking must continue, disclosure should be required nationwide. "I'm requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. Because America will develop this resource without
putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk."
In December, the Environmental Protection Agency released a draft study confirming that hydraulic fracturing contaminates groundwater and drinking water wells.
In November, the President's own Shale Gas Advisory Panel advised that ".... if action is not taken to reduce the environmental impact accompanying the very considerable expansion of shale gas production expected across the country - perhaps as many as 100,000 wells over the next several decades - there is a real risk of serious environmental consequences..."
During his travels this week, the president will announce proposed incentives for natural gas
trucks and buses. He'll announce a "corridor" is now "open for business" that promotes the use of natural-gas vehicles from California to Utah. One of his stops is at a United Parcel Service (UPS) plant
in Las Vegas that's using $5.6 million from the stimulus bill to build a public liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling station and develop natural-gas vehicles.
