President Obama has been out West looking at various energy production facilities. Early this morning, The New York Times reported that Mr. Obama was touring and promoting energy production of all sorts. He was seen at the nation's largest solar power plant, and he was also seen at a location in Oklahoma where a portion of the Keystone XL pipeline is to be built (more on that later). Obama has adopted an "all of the above" energy policy, as he puts it in his own words. Knowing that Republicans would slam his "policy" and the energy tour, the President decided to refer to them and others against clean technology as the "flat earth society". (Now that is a clever phrase. So clever I might just use it myself.)0
However, Mr. Obama may be alienating both sides of the spectrum with his "all of the above" energy policy. This afternoon, msnbc.com reports that both Republicans and environmentalists are stirred up about the plan. With the Republicans it is the same old story of "Why are we wasting our time with alternative energy? We have plenty of oil and gas locked up beneath our feet. Let's just drill some more. Ease up those regulations." It's easy to see why President George W. Bush loved saying "stay the course" in reference to the war in Iraq. These Republicans just can't seem to think of different ideas.
The environmentalists are upset because we were all led to believe that Obama put a kibosh on the Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas. Well, it turns out he only put an end to the northern leg - Canada to Oklahoma - but his administration is allowing the pipeline to be built from Oklahoma to Texas to carry regular crude oil instead of tar sands. Instead of putting a foot down against further dependence on fossil fuels, they see Obama continuing to expand its dominance.
To Obama's credit, I believe, for the time being, in his "all of the above" strategy. Until we get solar, wind, geothermal, fast liquid metal nuclear reactors, etc. up to the point of being the dominant and clean energy consumed, fossil fuels are going to be a part of our reality. Also, as oil supplies dwindle, there is going to need to be some expansion in order to cover us until that bridge is made. Notice I said "some expansion". We do not need huge drilling and pipeline building projects.
I do not believe that the Keystone pipeline is a move in the right direction and it was wrong of the President to mislead the public in this manner. Continuing to treat oil as the "dominant" energy force in our society only serves to keep it there. If we were to make a goal to actually phase it out, we could make the switch to cleaner, more sustainable energy much quicker. I know the President wants to be re-elected, but he needs to stand on firmer ground when it comes to his position of fossil fuels. He needs to stop flailing around and actually create a policy that doesn't put oil on equal or higher ground than solar, wind, and other clean sources of energy.
However, Mr. Obama may be alienating both sides of the spectrum with his "all of the above" energy policy. This afternoon, msnbc.com reports that both Republicans and environmentalists are stirred up about the plan. With the Republicans it is the same old story of "Why are we wasting our time with alternative energy? We have plenty of oil and gas locked up beneath our feet. Let's just drill some more. Ease up those regulations." It's easy to see why President George W. Bush loved saying "stay the course" in reference to the war in Iraq. These Republicans just can't seem to think of different ideas.
The environmentalists are upset because we were all led to believe that Obama put a kibosh on the Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas. Well, it turns out he only put an end to the northern leg - Canada to Oklahoma - but his administration is allowing the pipeline to be built from Oklahoma to Texas to carry regular crude oil instead of tar sands. Instead of putting a foot down against further dependence on fossil fuels, they see Obama continuing to expand its dominance.
To Obama's credit, I believe, for the time being, in his "all of the above" strategy. Until we get solar, wind, geothermal, fast liquid metal nuclear reactors, etc. up to the point of being the dominant and clean energy consumed, fossil fuels are going to be a part of our reality. Also, as oil supplies dwindle, there is going to need to be some expansion in order to cover us until that bridge is made. Notice I said "some expansion". We do not need huge drilling and pipeline building projects.
I do not believe that the Keystone pipeline is a move in the right direction and it was wrong of the President to mislead the public in this manner. Continuing to treat oil as the "dominant" energy force in our society only serves to keep it there. If we were to make a goal to actually phase it out, we could make the switch to cleaner, more sustainable energy much quicker. I know the President wants to be re-elected, but he needs to stand on firmer ground when it comes to his position of fossil fuels. He needs to stop flailing around and actually create a policy that doesn't put oil on equal or higher ground than solar, wind, and other clean sources of energy.
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