Drilling Alone Won't Solve Energy Crisis, Says Interior Secretary

By Chingyu Wang-Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the recent decision to allow for new oil and gas exploration off America's coasts will help fulfill U.S. energy needs and improve the economy. However, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, offshore drilling alone will not help the U.S. achieve energy independence.

“We expect just in the eastern Gulf alone that approximately a hundred million barrels of oil will come in,” said Salazar during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. “But ... it’s still a relatively minor amount to the amount of oil and natural gas we import from other sources.”

“We don’t believe that we are ever going to drill our way to energy independence,” he added.