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.

Environmentalists Shower Salazar With Salmon

by Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico

Alaska conservationists, the World Wildlife Fund and hungry passerbys munched on free Alaskan salmon, shipped to the Nation's Capital by the WWF as a token of gratitude, outside the Department of the Interior on Monday. The gesture marked the end of the 180-day public comment period on oil and gas development proposals in parts of the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay, Alaska.

The WWF, Alaska Wildnerness League, the Wilderness Society, and Native Village of Point Hope came to Washington to deliver over 250, 000 letters addressed to Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar and President Obama. The letters from Alaska natives, non-natives and young and old people alike, ask for more time and scientific study before any plans to extract oil in the state are allowed.

Last Thursday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he wouldn't make a rushed decision on offshore drilling in Alaska and other states, and noted that the department still has three years to come up with another plan for drilling the Outer Continental Shelf.

"Whether we take that long or not is something we'll decide based on the information we collected and the analysis that's been done during this period," he said. "I haven't yet reached a decision yet on what the next steps are going to be."

A Department of Interior staff member accepted the letters on behalf of Sec. Salazar, saying he had no comment to make. The staff member also declined offers of salmon, fish which WWF Senior Vice President of Field Programs Tom Dillon said could be tainted if Bristol Bay and the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska are drilled.

"Most of us eat wild-caught salmon, Dillon said. We buy it at our grocery stores and people don't really know where it's from. Well, most of it's from Bristol Bay. This huge bay in Alaska that has about 32 million salmon come in every summer from the ocean. And it is threatened now by the potential oil and gas drilling, which if it were to occur, would endanger this entire salmon run, as well as the other important fisheries there."

Dillon added that according to WWF numbers, Bristol Bay would be more economically sound as a fish exporter than an oil industry.

Post-Recess: Senate Takes Their Turn On Energy/Climate Discussion

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

The energy and climate debate is making its way to the Senate, just two legislative days after the House passed the Waxman-Markey energy bill. The Committee on Environment and Public Works heard from White House and other government officials Tuesday. They highlighted the importance of making the U.S. a leader in the clean energy market, reducing the effects of global warming, and creating new jobs in the process.

“Clean energy is to this decade, and the next, what the Space Race was to the 1950s and ‘60s. America is behind,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “American businesses need strong incentives and investments now in order for this nation to lead the twenty-first century global economy.”

Other officials present included: Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Chu said that he applauds the House for passing the clean energy bill and said he looks forward to working with the Senate to pass “comprehensive energy legislation.” He also noted that denial of the climate change problem will not change the outcome but comprehensive legislation that caps and then reduces carbon emissions will.

Committee Chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said, “I expect you will hear fierce words of doubt and fear and worse from the other side of the aisle regarding our legislative efforts to move forward with clean energy jobs legislation. This is consistent with a pattern of “No we can’t.” I believe this Committee, when the votes are eventually taken on our bill, will reflect our President’s attitude, which is “Yes, we can, and yes, we will.”

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) agreed that the bill will pass through their committee but he does not believe it will pass on the Senate floor. He said the Senators will have more time to review the many points of the legislation than House members did prior to their June 25 vote.

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-Miss.) also testified Tuesday and stressed the importance of informing the public about the facts of energy policy.

“The gigantic effect of energy policy on American life means Congress should work particularly hard to ensure Americans know the facts about the policies Congress is considering. To the contrary, the House of Representatives added more than 300 pages of its 1200 page energy bill a few hours before it was brought to the floor and passed. That is just the opposite,” said the Governor.

Democratic superstars rally to save planet

On Monday morning Al Gore said that it is an “objective fact” that the U.S. is the only nation which can lead the world when a severe crisis looms on the horizon, and that we as a responsibility to future generations to act. Gore spoke at a forum held by The Center for American Progress Action Fund, which discussed how a green approach to infrastructure and energy production can both create jobs and provide for long lasting stability in supply. Gore’s emphasis was on addressing the issue of global warming.

Among the panelists in the forum were Democratic heavyweights from past and present, including Former President Bill Clinton, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Gore emphasized the importance of reducing gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil, but also spoke on energy infrastructure, a topic which turned out to be the backbone of the forum.

Energy infrastructure refers to the methods whereby energy generated in one location is transported to the rest of the nation. For instance, if the Southwest generates a certain amount of energy in solar power, but doesn’t use all of that energy locally, the rest of it can be distributed to other areas in the nation.
The panelists placed great importance on sound energy infrastructure in the form of a nationwide grid. Pelosi said it was an “essential” element, and without it renewable energy would mean very little to the general national welfare. Pelosi went on to liken it to the interstate highway system, in that it is a program which the federal government should undertake in a uniform way for the expanded welfare of the country. Harry Reid spoke to similar effect.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, said that once the infrastructure is in place, the “energy is free forever”. On that topic, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said that somewhere in the United States the sun is always shining or the wind is always blowing, and that this method for appropriating energy was truly sustainable. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also voiced support of a unified energy grid.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Breaking America’s addiction to oil

A news conference was held introducing the Open Fuel Standard Act, which would require that starting in 2012, fifty percent of new automobiles, and starting in 2015, eighty percent of new automobiles, be flex fuel vehicles made to operate on gasoline, ethanol, and methanol. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) began by saying that the U.S. urgently needs to lessen its dependence on foreign oil. Brownback said that the solution is an easy one which would require no need for new inventions, but simply a switch to flex fuel vehicles. He explained that this enhancement comes at a reasonable price and would only add $100 per vehicle during creation. Brownback said that this is the “way to do it” -- the way to start ending America’s addiction to oil.

Brownback explained that if more flex fuel vehicles were put out on the market, distribution would increase. He explained that the price of methanol is forty percent less than the current price of gasoline. Brownback also said that by giving Americans a choice between gasoline, methanol, and ethanol, the nation’s dependence on oil would most definitely lessen.

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) agreed with Brownback and said that mandating flex fuel vehicles is a very important step forward in breaking a long time dependence on foreign oil. Lieberman said that the U.S. spends $700 billion a year on foreign oil, a dependence that is weakening to the nation. He explained that the American public is angry and he hopes Congress is ready to take bold action.

Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) said that this act is not a Republican or Democratic agenda, but rather an American agenda. He called the act a “diamond in the rough” because it is a very possible solution to a great problem. Salazar said that mandating flex fuels would open the door for the “bio-fuel revolution.” He also said that he hopes, as the week unfolds, that Congress will be able to find “sweet spots” in the middle to unite the different parties and get bipartisan support.