Gulf oil spill finally brings out heartfelt sentiments and promises
For the first time since oil started flooding the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama has shown passion and vision about where this unfolding tragedy should lead us -- to end our national addiction to oil and other forms of carbon-based energy.
"The next generation will not be held hostage to energy sources from the last century," the president vowed today in a speech clearly aimed at a rising chorus of critics who, like us, wonder why the president has been so inspirationally absent on what may be this nation's worst environmental disaster. Last Friday, while standing amid the oily carnage on a Louisiana beach, Obama did little more than pluck a tar ball from the sand and show it to the press. What a letdown. What a missed opportunity.
Today was better.
In a speech on economics at Canegie Mellon University, President Obama steered straight to the oil spill and said it exemplified what we must leave behind on our way to a clean energy future. "I will make the case for a clean-energy future wherever I can, and I will work with anyone from either party to get this done. But we will get this done," he said. He gave a string of assurances and promises about how he will shape that future, among them these:
- Find the votes necessary to pass a comprehensive climate bill, now pending in Congress, that will include a price on carbon.
- Roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks to the oil industry and reinvest them in clean energy alternatives.
- Rely on natural gas as a transitional fuel away from oil and coal.
The president said:
The only way the transition to clean energy will succeed is if the private sector is fully invested in this future — if capital comes off the sidelines and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs is unleashed.
The president also said things that don't strum every environmentalist's heart strings - such as seeking a "fleet" of nuclear power plants. Nor did the president openly reject his pre-oil spill plan to expand offshore drilling as part of his compromise to get climate legislation passed. And it will be interesting to see if there are other changes he will advocate in climate legislation wording, such as eliminating attacks on the Clean Air Act that provide massive giveaways to polluters.
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ANYONE EVER HEARD OF MAGNETIC MOTORS? FORGET ALL FUELS. MAGNETIC IS THE WAY. AVAILABLE IN ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY BUT THIS ONE.(US). GOVERNMENT CANT MAKE MONEY ON THEM SO OF COURSE WE CANT HAVE THEM.
NATURAL GAS??? WE WANT SOLAR, WIND, BIOFUELS -PENNSYLVANIA IS ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED FOR GAS DRILLING WITH 200 TOXIC CHEMCIALS THAT WILL POISON THE WATER SUPPLY FOR MILLIONS, DESTROy MILLIONS OF ACRES OF FORESTS AND HABITAT FOR CREATURES TO DRILL FOR GAS - HOW OUT OF TOUCH OR TOO IN TOUCH WITH BIG OIL AND GAS CANCER CAUSERS. SPAIN AND GERMANY ARE WAY AHEAD OF US WITH 40% OF ENERGY FROM CLEAN, RENEWABLE SOURCES - IT CAN BE DONE NOW!
Dear Mr. President.
Although I myself, and my family are not American citizens, all voices must be heard, on this issue especially.
This is a very important moment in our species history. Future generations will look back on this moment with awe or disgust! Depending on how we react. On how 'YOU' react. Choose the right road here. PLEASE, help us help ourselves. We as parents of a "World of Wonders" (Bruce Cockburn; another Canadian) need Clean Energy 'NOW', before it is to late, because it almost is, too late.
Mr. and Mrs. Fossen
Burnaby, British Columbia, CANADA!
President Obama - Please create a telecommute bill now. Telecommuting would reduce oil use in multiple ways. Starting with the most obvious, fuel used to commute to work. But, for all of the people that can do their jobs from home, more fuel would be saved that would otherwise be used to heat/cool a corporate workspace. It is time for our government representatives to introduce and pass a bill that would "strongly" encourage businesses to allow as many employees as they can to do their jobs from home. It may not solve the whole problem, but it is a very unpainful start. The oil leak is a wake up call. Please take action. If you have other ideas, let's use Face Book to get our good ideas to Washington. Post this one, post your own, post them both. But, please make your voice heard.
If over some time the use of oil was banned,the nation would have a much higher motovation to develope a new energy source.
As for the spill in the gulf,if all BP is trying fails,as a very last result,could the oil actually be ignited under the surface and burned off? Sure we will have earthquakes and tidal waves for a short time but they will stop and we can prepare for it.The damage the oil is doing now may never stop.
I'm all for a transition from oil and coal and for maximum investments in renewables and efficiency, but at the end of the day, renewables can't fully provide for our energy needs. Nuclear is the best option until we can develop energy technologies that can provide the levels of power required by a nation of 310 million people. A few wind turbines or photovoltaic cells can provide fractions of our power, but not everything. In the end, environmentalists are doing more to keep coal and oil viable by blocking the development of new nuclear power that they are truly protecting the environment. Environmentalism is great, but soon we're also going to have to get real.
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