On March 31, President Obama stood before an F/A-18 bio-fueled fighter jet at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and unveiled his administration's strategy for the future of the United State's energy policy. Obama's carefully crafted setting did little to appease the concerns of environmentalists and East Coast senators when he announced plans to open protected areas in the southern Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and northern Alaska to offshore oil and natural gas drilling. Obama argued that offshore drilling would move the United States toward a clean energy future while strengthening the economy in the short term. Unfortunately, offshore drilling fails to accomplish either of these objectives and seems like more of a political ruse.
The offshore drilling announcement comes as Obama attempts to garner bipartisan support for a more comprehensive energy and climate bill in the Senate before midterm elections. Although the off-shore drilling proposal hopes to gain swing votes for the controversial climate bill, it sets at risk extensive areas of ocean previously protected by a decades-old moratorium. This announcement represents another in a long line of decisions that do little to protect the environment and only seek to further Obama's political agenda. Rather than advocate sound energy policy and conservation of the environment, Obama once again has made dangerous concessions to gain votes.
During his speech, Obama noted his motivations for off-shore drilling, while admitting the decision is a weighty one. He said, "This is not a decision that I've made lightly ... but the bottom line is this: Given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs, and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy."
To quell his critics, Obama pointed out that offshore drilling was only one component of a more comprehensive plan. "What I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy," he said.
This is double-talk. Offshore drilling will not lead us to a clean energy future. Offshore drilling only promises to increase our dependence on rapidly depleting fossil fuels, instead of placing focus on developing sources of renewable energy. It is no secret that America is dependent on fossil fuels. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas are used to meet approximately 85 percent of our total energy consumption. The world relies on fossil fuels for 95 percent of its total energy needs, including transportation, heating and other uses. Fossil fuel is a natural fuel made from prehistoric plant and animal remains deposited deep beneath the earth's surface. Formed more than 300 million years ago during the Paleozoic era, fossil fuels must be extracted from the earth and burned to create the chemical energy used by the modern world. Unfortunately, fossil fuels are non-renewable resources. How fast we run out depends on the rate of world consumption, which only promises to increase. Most scientists estimate that we could exhaust our resources in as little as 50 years.
The fact that the United States is dependent on foreign oil, particularly from the Middle East, is also no secret. Americans rely on foreign imports for more than 50 percent of their oil needs. This foreign dependence is costing us economically and threatening us politically. Something must be done. Rather than invest money in developing clean energy, Obama has handed over our oceans to profit-driven oil companies. Unfortunately, Obama's decision to begin offshore drilling only seeks to continue America's dependence on fossil fuels while jeopardizing our oceans. His offshore drilling plan will only exacerbate climate change and offers trivial economic gains at best.
The Obama drilling plan also will not provide Americans with the short term economic relief he promises. Actual drilling will not begin for years.
The long-term moratoriums Obama hopes to lift offered protection to fisheries and the vast number of marine mammals that inhabit the coastal waters. The risk of offshore drilling is too great. Our environment is too important. Oceans and the marine mammals that inhabit them are too precious. In January 1969, the Santa Barbara oil spill dumped carcass after carcass of dead marine animals onto California beaches. Following this spill, a moratorium was passed to prevent future offshore drilling. It was too late, of course; the damage had been done. By opening the Atlantic Ocean to drilling, Obama not only imperils the thousands of marine mammals that inhabit the coastal waters, but he also threatens our beaches and coastal communities. For example, New Jersey's economy relies heavily on tourism at its beaches. Although New Jersey was not included in Obama's plan for offshore drilling, its beaches would still be threatened by potential oil spills. As New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said, "I have let the administration know that if they do not protect New Jersey from the effects of coastal drilling in the climate change bill, then my vote is in question. I am deeply concerned about the threat coastline drilling poses to the Jersey Shore's economy and to the potential for new jobs and energy savings that can be harnessed in a clean energy economy. If issues like coastline drilling are being promoted to gain Republican votes and support from oil companies, then we need to know exactly how much support it will actually deliver - this can't be a case of giving up something for nothing."
What America needs is a pragmatist, not a panderer. We need leaders who are truly invested in America's clean energy future. We need a politician who cares more about the environment than about votes. We need policy that seeks solutions, not that imperils our most precious resources. As a nation, we must make it our priority to end our deleterious dependence on fossil fuels.
Ashley Chappo's column appears Fridays. She can be reached at a.chappo@cavalierdaily.com.
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