Oil Spill Highlights Need For Renewable Energy, Says Salazar

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that the oil spill in the Gulf Coast highlights the importance of weaning the U.S. off of fossil fuels and moving toward renewable energy.

"The spill itself tells us in a very clear way that the over dependence on fossil fuels is an issue which we must grapple with as a a world and as a nation," Salazar said during an event at the Capitol Hill Club to honor Ocean Week.

Salazar pointed to wind energy as one possible alternative.

"You have states somewhere along the Atlantic that believe that 30 to 45% of their energy can actually come from wind energy," said Salazar. "So we believe that that will become a reality."

According to Salazar, 20% of electricity in the U.S. should come from wind energy by 2030 to help the U.S. move away from oil.

Protesters Want To See BP's CEO Prosecuted for Criminal Negligence

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Public Citizen and seven other public interest groups protested Friday outside the BP headquarters in Washington D.C. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, called for a boycott of BP because of the company's actions.

"I am sure that they are working very hard to protect this company from being held responsible and to undermine efforts in Congress and at the White House," said Weissman.

The protesters asked for the management of the company to come down to the street to meet the protesters. Several of the protesters want the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, to be arrested.

"People are outraged, and we are here to let BP know it," said Weissman.

The protesters started the demonstration outside the headquarters and tried to get into the building to talk to the management but were stopped in the lobby. The White House announced Thursday that it soon will be sending a 69 million dollar bill to BP in order to repay the taxpayers for federal funds spent during the oil spill.

Pipe Cut By BP Is Not A Big Step, Says Climate Expert

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Brad Johnson, a Climate Researcher for the Center for American Progress, commented on the shearing of the oil pipe earlier Thursday morning.

"Cutting the pipe is not a great accomplishment," Johnson said. "It would be good if they can start to take steps to limit, or at least start capturing some of the oil directly from the site."

Johnson argues that the American Government needs to take more initiative in getting the situation in order so they can progress to more efficient methods in containing the spill.

"I believe that in the short term, one of the most important things that the government can do is take much greater control over the disaster spot. I believe that it's a problem to have have this environmental criminal be in charge of its own crime scene."

Currently, approximately 37% of the gulf waters are still closed to fishing and the upper edge of the spill is on its way to Florida.

House Republicans Demand Transparent Investigation Into Sestak Matter

By Linn Grubbstrom
Talk Radio News Service

In a letter to White House Counsel Bob Bauer on Wednesday, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) called for the release of any documents or records relating to allegations that the Obama administration offered a job to Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) last year if he agreed to not run for the Democratic Senate nomination against incumbent Arlen Specter.

"If the American people are to have any meaningful degree of confidence in the legitimacy of the conclusions drawn in the Sestak memorandum, they must have access to the underlying information," the letter states.

The letter comes in response to a memo put out last week by the White House denying that any violations occurred when former President Bill Clinton, at the behest of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emaunel, offered Sestak a position with the Obama administration in 2009.

In the memo, Bauer defended the action taken, arguing that the Bush administration had conducted similar actions during its years in office. However, Issa, Smith and Sensenbrenner blasted the White House for comparing the offer to Sestak to anything done during the Bush era.

"For a President [Obama] who campaigned by assailing the policies and practices of the Bush Administration to justify his actions by invoking his predecessor is ironic."