Speaking on prime time from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama repeated what he has said about the government’s all-out effort to stop the flood of oil spilling into the Gulf and repeated his determination to require BP to pay clean-up costs and compensate those damaged by the broad destruction caused.
Wednesday, British Pe-troleum announced it would establish a $20 billion fund to compensate businesses and individuals damaged by the spill and a $100 million fund to pay workers unemployed because the spill caused a moratorium on deep sea drilling.
Perhaps it was a dull speech, but BP seemed to get the message.
The president then turned to the long term. The best way to prevent more damaging oil spills is to break our dependency on fossil fuels, oil and gas. The oil spill in the Gulf should provide all of the impetus needed to pass the energy bill that now sits stalled in the Senate; to begin a serious effort to expand the use of alternative fuels; to make deep-water drilling less necessary.
He said:
“ … So one of the lessons we’ve learned from this spill is that we need better regulations, better safety standards, and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drill-ing. But a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk. After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil, but have less than 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves. And that’s part of the reason oil companies are drill-ing a mile beneath the surface of the ocean — because we’re running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.
“For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked — not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.
“The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.
“We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy un-folding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.
“This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels is going to take some time, but over the last year and a half, we’ve already taken unprecedented action to jump-start the clean energy industry. As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and re-searchers are discovering clean energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries.
“Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs — but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation — workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors. … “
ANOTHER PEP talk? Sure. But plain sense talk, too. The only way we can stop sending $1 billion a day to other nations to buy their oil is to develop alternate sources of fuel. The sooner we do that, the sooner the river of American dollars flowing to Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iraq, etc., etc., etc. will drop to a trickle.
Breaking our depen-dence on fossil fuels also will create new industries and thousands of new jobs as U.S. industries working with U.S. technology become the leaders in wind, sun and other alternative energy industries. This is not pie in the sky. Chinese industries are now using U.S. technology and de-signs to manufacture wind turbines and solar panels to sell back to us. That’s crazy. Those jobs belong here. A sensible energy policy will put them here.
Did Obama use the Gulf disaster to push his energy policy? Of course. But there was nothing cynical about it. The oil spill is an on-going environmental di-saster that speaks louder than any president’s words possibly can about the need to wean ourselves away from fossil fuels.
To sum up: today, stop the leak, clean up the mess, make BP pay. Tomorrow, break the addiction to oil. Good speech.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
