Many in the environmental community are annoyed by Barack Obama's change of position on offshore drilling, even while they applaud his comprehensive energy plan.
The Democratic candidate had staunchly opposed new drilling on the outer continental shelf, but then shifted his position on Friday to say he would be open to some drilling if it were necessary to reach compromise on a broader energy plan -- like the one introduced by a bipartisan "Gang of 10" late last week. That plan, which Obama indicated he could support, calls for limited offshore drilling as well as increased investment in clean energy, with the overarching aim of reducing America's oil dependence.
Friends of the Earth President Brent Blackwelder was quick to criticize Obama's position switch. "Friends of the Earth Action endorsed Barack Obama in May in large part because he spoke out against the 'gas tax holiday' gimmick that would have done nothing to reduce our dependence on oil," Blackwelder said in a statement Monday afternoon. "That's why it's so disappointing to see Obama now say he would consider expanding offshore drilling, even though he knows it is not a real solution to the energy crisis that is devastating our environment and our economy." Blackwelder also criticized the "Gang of 10" legislation for including funding for liquefied coal and nuclear power.
Adam Kolton, the senior director of congressional and federal affairs for the National Wildlife Federation, says there's been more than enough compromising on drilling already, pointing to the large portion of the Gulf of Mexico that was opened to drilling in 2006 and the part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska that President Clinton freed up in 1998. "In the case of the environment, we've been compromising," he said. "I mean, at some point, you can say let's compromise, but you keep giving away more and more."
Kolton also criticized the "Gang of 10" plan. "This is like a BLT sandwich with just the lettuce and tomato," he said. "There's no bacon. We've got to have things that really move us away from our addiction to oil and help solve global warming. This proposal doesn't get it done."
League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski knocked the compromise mindset too. "Once we have a new president and more forward-thinking members in the House and Senate, we don't believe we will need a 'compromise' on offshore drilling, which will be yet another giveaway to Big Oil and will provide no relief for hard hit consumers," said Karpinski in an statement to Grist. "We will resist any effort to pay this ransom which George Bush, John McCain, and Big Oil are demanding in exchange for the release of real investments in clean, renewable energy."
Now Say Something Nice
But even while they criticized Obama's drilling switch and components of the "Gang of 10" bill, enviros had lots of nice things to say about Obama's own comprehensive energy plan, which he detailed during a speech in Lansing, Mich., on Monday. Largely the same as the energy plan Obama had outlined earlier, it would, among other things, create 5 million new green jobs, invest $150 billion in clean energy and job training, require more electricity to come from renewable sources, promote plug-in hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars, and give Americans an "emergency energy rebate" paid for by a windfall-profits tax on oil companies.
Karpinski praised the plan's "tough measures to truly end our dependence on oil." Dan Weiss, a senior fellow and director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said Obama's plan, taken as a whole, is "a vast improvement over what anybody else has proposed."
A Sierra Club press release on Monday ignored the offshore-drilling issue entirely and simply heaped praise on Obama's energy platform (and scorn on John McCain's). "Sen. Obama's plan will put America on the path to a clean energy future because it prioritizes efforts that will benefit working families instead of the outdated fossil-fuel industries," said Sierra Club Political Director Cathy Duvall. "Sen. Obama supports creating millions of jobs by investing in the cleanest, cheapest, and fastest technologies to meet our energy needs and stimulate our economy."
Some enviros even said they could go along with Obama's new call to release 70 million barrels of oil, or about 10 percent of the stockpile, from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- if the move were part of a comprehensive energy plan and could provide relief for angry Americans. Though he opposed opening the SPR just a few weeks ago, Obama argued on Monday that releasing some oil could lower gas prices within two weeks.
"The short-term problem is that Americans are really hurting on gas prices," said David Willett, press secretary for the Sierra Club. "It would just be really foolish of us to be completely ignorant of that fact. [Releasing oil from the reserve] would hopefully take some of the pressure off the folks who are feeling pressure, who don't want to be for drilling but they're not sure that they have a choice at this point because of public demand."
A report released Monday by the Center for American Progress Action Fund found that in the 100 days after previous releases from the SPR, the average family saved a significant amount of money on gasoline -- $65 following a 1991 release shortly before Desert Storm, and $125 following a release prompted by Hurricane Katrina (adjusted to 2008 dollars).
John McCain and many other Republicans oppose a release from the SPR, arguing that the stockpile should be saved for a genuine emergency.
Weiss pointed out that Republicans didn't oppose such a move on previous occasions, when advocated by the two presidents Bush. And even if the government sold 70 million gallons out of the SPR today, the reserve would still be 90 percent full, said Weiss. "It's not posing any risk to our security at all to sell a small amount of oil."
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Comments
View as Flat
Russ Posted 11:14 pm
04 Aug 2008
drilling ransom; SPR
The above compiled arguments summarize it nicely:
- Seeking this "compromise" in order to get renewable credits renewed is like negotiating with kidnappers.
- You can't compromise with (i.e. appease) pure aggressors anyway. They're just going to keep attacking and attacking until you fight back. You can only fight and fight until one of you is destroyed.
- As we knew from the start, any "compromise" won't benefit renewables so much as it will the Orwellian "alternatives" like CTL, nukes, "clean" coal etc.
- This proposed deal is indeed a pander just as stupid and short-sighted as the gas tax holiday, just as likely to benefit consumers (i.e., zero), only dragged out over decades, so those pushing it will never be on the hook when it definitively fails.
As for this:There's a big difference between releasing part of the Reserve, intending to replace it later, to meet an acute shortage, as opposed to commencing the terminal liquidation of the Reserve to maybe temporarily dampen the price effects of what will now be a chronic and ever-increasing shortage.
Any relief this affords will be minimal and short-lived. This really is burning the furniture.
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justlou Posted 12:11 am
05 Aug 2008
Oil Shale?
From Obama's speech yesterday:
Haven't there been some voices of caution raised about "speeding up the process" of recovering oils from the oil shales out west (I am assuming this is what Obama was referring to)?
Positioning Obama on the left/right spectrum concerning energy, I'd say that he is lining up firmly on the center-right segment. I am not surprised. There have been some signs of him being there from the get go. The right will still say he is not compromising but I'd guess they would be content with the results of an Obama presidency. The past will dictate much of our future actions for a long time to come. And above all, Obama, as president, will have the responsibility of keeping the wheels on our heavily carbon based infrastructure.
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amazingdrx Posted 12:36 am
05 Aug 2008
Really great point
Obama has been making this point and McBush fell right into the trap. Tuning and tire inflation will save more gas than the new offshore drilling will produce. 4 times as much to be precise.
So McBush has an ad ridiculing that call for efficiency from Obama. But of course 'cain's own prospective running mate and the bush administration and NASCAR all have called for engine tuining and tire inflation efficiency.
And now Corsi, the author of the swiftboat hit book on Kerry, has a swiftboat book out on Obama. He is making the tv news rounds to tout the book and being treated like royalty by the talking heads.
This drilling switch is an Obama compromise. Much like the compromise may have proposed. Let big oil drill if they can prove they are exploiting leases they already have first and if they agree to better environmental oversight.
A similar compromise will have to be made with the nuclear power industry too. It's real politics. You give a bit, but the devil is in the details. You hold the industries to the laws they claim to have been complying with under industry self (no) regulation for all these bush and clinton years.
You re-regulate by actually enforcing environmental laws on the books and strengthening the lobbyist appointment weakened regulating agencies.
Yes Obama can. Don't get fooled by McBush disinformation.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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Bob Wallace Posted 1:05 am
05 Aug 2008
Looking back...
We've experienced almost eight years of a President who wouldn't change his position (even when proven very, very wrong) and wouldn't compromise.
Do we want another blockhead in the White House or do we want someone who is a realist and can get the country moving forward again?
We've got a group of Republicans in Congress who have enough political power to stop bills. We're going to have to give them some things that they want or get nothing done. That's reality.
IMHO, give them off shore drilling. It will be mostly blocked by individual states.
No new off shore drilling will happen for many, many years by which time we may find the pressure to find new oil greatly diminished. Give us an affordable electric car with usable range and the desire to do no harm to local tourist business will override the desire to drill.
BTW, we negotiate with hostage takers all the time.
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amazingdrx Posted 1:22 am
05 Aug 2008
Yep Bob
Obama's call for a million plugin hybrids and government support for automaker retooling to produce them. That's a point Obama would get for our side by giving somewhat on other issues.
The legislative process is held hostage by rules that obstruct change, as well as lobbyist cash spread amongst the elected officials.
Maybe if Obama allows a few experimental (allegedly safer, cheaper, waste recyclng) nuclear reactors to be developed and tested over the next decade, he could get a moratorium on new nukes and an elimination of subsidies for big nuke.
How did FDR get things done during WW2? Obama is facing a challenge now, in oil wars, climate change, and inflation/recession causing energy/ag policy; that could be just as critical as Lincoln and FDR faced.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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Cjenki01 Posted 2:19 am
05 Aug 2008
tappening
It's ridiculous that countless amounts of oil and energy are used to sell WATER when great tasting, healthy water is available free from the tap! I think you should write another story about this issue. One great place to start is tappening.com, which includes important facts about bottled water use, and this video describing the bottles the company sells to promote drinking bottled water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVM3mY3gMpg
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Gustavion Posted 3:26 am
05 Aug 2008
Outrageous
Honestly, I just can't believe this. Why does he think it's the governments job to keep oil prices low??? I wish I was a better writer so that I could better express my outrage. If we want to see oil prices significantly lower then let's, as consumers, support the alternative energy movement. In general, I think it is important for us to support `green' business that not only provides a social utility but also helps the environment. For example, http://www.simplestop.net stops your postal junk mail and benefits the environment. But I digress... Obama's political idealogy is a slippery slope (John's isn't much better). Where will liberty be in 100 years if the gov't continues down the road it is along.
Visit Simplestop.net - We stop your postal junk mail, Protect the environment, Protect your identity.
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tmayhem Posted 4:23 am
05 Aug 2008
don't be surprised by Obama's position
He changes with the wind. If it will get him more votes he sides with whatever position is more popular. He is the epitome of a politician.
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Sam Wells Posted 5:35 am
05 Aug 2008
Trolling for votes!
Oh I think it is a masterful swipe to take the wind out of Mc-Lame's sails and neutralize any platform he may have. The race is surprisingly close in recent polls, given a huge block of independents, a vast third party that does include some disillusioned former Republicans. Sure, he has to race to the center, much as Mc-Lame has to pander to the old style Reagan conservatives.
But last I checked, a President can't unleash vast oil fields, create a million plus-in electric cars, or whatever is on your menu de jour. The US Congress has to provide enabling legislation and then the appropriations, right? He's not showing his hand about a possible veto, right?
True, by Executive Order, Presidents can open or close various tracts of land but Congress holds the trump cards.
By the way and speaking of the SPR, we need to stop a Bush project that would create a vast salt dome storage area for crude in Mississippi up the Pascagoula River. It is an environmental nightmare, the proposed Richton facility, which would be created by sucking 50 million gallons a day from the Pascagoula and flushing the brine into the pristine Mississippi Sound. This could create a dead zone that could challenge the larger one to the west and south from the Mississippi River and its toxic brew.
In fact, a sitting president could spend about two years just undoing the crap foisted on us by Boosh. Fark Boosh! Stop the madness and fund some real projects, OK?
Onward through the fog
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Wolverine Posted 7:34 am
05 Aug 2008
Bad Sierra Club
This is a great example of what's wrong with the mainstream enviro groups. High gas prices are not at all an environmental problem, they've been a boon to the environment in that they've resulted in less driving and more public transit use. While it would be "foolish of us to be completely ignorant of" the fact that people are paying a lot more for gas and don't like that reality, concluding that we must therefore promote further environmental destruction by more drilling of any kind is beyond foolish, it's completely idiotic. Just as people in the San Francisco Bay Area who lived and worked on opposite sides of the Bay rearranged their lives to live and work on the same side when the Bay Bridge was closed for six weeks after the 1989 earthquake, people should be encouraged to change their lifestyles to drive a lot less. This would not only be good for the Earth, it would secondarily reduce their expenses.
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