Happy Independence Day!!! And hopefully American can achieve energy independence one day... if we can get a President that wants energy independence instead of just talking about it!!!
Lenny Vasbinder
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Pyle (IER) [mailto:tom.pyle@ierdc.org]
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 4:26 PM
To: lnvtm1@gmail.com
Subject: Obama Seeks to Make Offshore Off-Limits
Dear Supporter of American Energy:
The Good News
We have some good and bad news to report. First the good news: an eminent federal judge recently rebuked the Administration and their attempt to halt all new energy development offshore. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, President Obama put a moratorium on all deepwater energy exploration. One would think a decision of this magnitude—one bound to put tens-of-thousands of jobs at risk, further increase our use of foreign energy sources and the cost of all petroleum products and cripple an already struggling region—would have been based on sound expert advice.
Think again—it was based on politics, and politics at its worst. Last week, a federal judge in Louisiana issued a sharp rebuke of the Obama Administration and overturned this policy because the Administration failed to justify its plan.
The Bad News
Even though an offshore moratorium will destroy jobs, the Obama Administration has announced plans to reinstate the ban on new offshore energy development. And in practice, it is affecting both shallow and deepwater drilling. We all want BP to stop the oil spill and quickly clean up the Gulf, but there is no justification to essentially ban all new energy offshore.
Soros-Funded Center for American Progress Calling the Shots in D.C.
It is also interesting to note just who is calling the shots on the spill response and cleanup. If you watch cable TV and read the newspapers, you would think Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen is the top guy on this case. And he is—to an extent. In a very short, and grossly underreported, story published recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that the George Soros (the guy who started MoveOn.Org) funded Center for American Progress is behind the Obama Administration’s energy policy and spill response. This is scary:
“If you want to see where President Barack Obama’s response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster is heading, try following the urgings of the Center for American Progress.
“The liberal think tank with close White House ties appears to have more influence on spill policy than the president’s in-house advisers…”
Why Obama’s Blanket Moratorium in the Gulf is a Mistake
With the “politics” now covered, you may find yourself saying, or hear a friend say, “We need to stop drilling until we find out what happened with the BP spill.” I can understand why you may be thinking this, but allow me to briefly explain why imposing a blanket moratorium on all drilling is a bad idea.
1. There have been over 4,000 oil and natural gas wells drilled in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. We have had one tragic accident – which is one too many. But we don’t ground all airplanes after an accident or stop all medical procedures after a patient dies on the operating table.
2. Every deepwater drilling rig was inspected following the tragic accident on April 20, 2010. Each rig operating in the deepwater passed this safety inspection.
3. A panel of experts, including engineers from the National Academy of Engineering, recommended that the President cease issuing new permits in the deepwater temporarily, not ban existing deepwater operations. As they said
4. We produce 1/3 of our domestic oil from the Gulf of Mexico. Stopping new exploration will have untold effects on energy availability and prices down the road. While the Administration has stated its goal is to make energy more expensive, this plan simply stunts economic growth.
5. According to the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, this politically motivated decision could cost up to 40,000 men and women to lose their job.
6. The U.S. stands to lose its deepwater drilling fleet to other parts of the world for much longer than the six months’ time.
There is no doubt that the Deepwater Horizon spill is a tragedy on every level. But to further hamstring an area of the country that relies on oil and gas production for political gain—as the President has done—makes absolutely zero sense . . . unless the intention is to make energy more scarce and more expensive.
As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, it’s important to remember what the Founders fought for—freedom—freedom to control their lives instead of being controlled by an out-of-touch, out-of-control, and overbearing government. Washington, D.C. is growing out-of-touch and out-of-control and we need to fight back.
Happy Independence Day!
Tom Pyle
P.S. If you are on Facebook, be sure to check out IER’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Institute-for-Energy-Research/33341294529 to stay up to date on energy and environmental policy issues!
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