Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Obama energy plan would open Atlantic and Gulf drilling
President Obama made an announcement today about U.S. plans to open coastal waters (Atlantic and Gulf) for natural gas and oil drilling. This involved lifting a 20-year ban off of drilling on Virginia's coastline and prohibiting any drilling off the Alaskan coastline. Obama's reasoning for this decision is that in order to remain economically sustainable (and create jobs) we need to utilize our domestic oil supply, but at the same time find means of producing renewable, "homegrown" energy. Obama alluded the fact that his decision was not based on political ideology (to drill or not to drill) but simply the economic pressures the United States faces today.
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This is a good example of a country with a market economy, because their are less incentives for social responsiveness since workers are not as involved in the firms operations. As opposed to a particapatory economy.
Are there still restrictions on drilling in Alaska? If so, why aren't those being lifted. The amount of people that would be affected by drilling in the Atlantic and Gulf would be much greater than the amount in Alaska.
In retrospect, this article identifies the moment when President Obama shot himself, and our economy, in the foot. Had the president not endorsed off-shore drilling in the months before the BP Gulf leak, he could have made a stronger push for legislation to switch our economy to clean, renewable, homegrown energy. That would have brought real change to lift economic pressures in the long term rather than resulting in risky, dirty, unsustainable "quick-fixes" like off-shore drilling.
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