Word: coasts
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...Wednesday morning, March 31, Obama - flanked by his cowboy-hat-wearing Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar - announced support for the potential expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in America. His proposal would open parts of the Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and parts of the north shore of Alaska to exploration. But it would keep drilling out of Alaska's Bristol Bay, a fertile fishing ground that generates nearly $2 billion worth of seafood each year. (See the top 10 green ideas...
...same time, conservatives - who were chanting "Drill, baby, drill" two years ago - reacted cautiously, displeased with Obama's declaration that some coastal territory would remain untouched. In addition to Bristol Bay, the Atlantic coast from New Jersey northward would be closed to exploration, as would the entire Pacific coastline. The proposal is a "step in the right direction," said Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell in a statement, "but a small one that leaves enormous amounts of American energy off-limits...
...Republicans to vote in their favor. But there's no guarantee that will happen. Meanwhile, in opening offshore territory to drilling, which has not happened in decades, Obama has angered green supporters and undoubtedly some Democrats, not to mention politicians - from both parties - who live on the Atlantic coast and worry about the impact of drilling on their lucrative tourism industry...
Still, it's important to put Obama's decision in broader perspective. Any new drilling may not happen for years and is likely to face lengthy legal challenges from environmentalists - as is already the case in Alaska. (Drilling might happen faster off the coast of Virginia, where Republican Governor Bob McDonnell supports oil and gas exploration.) Leases in the vast Beaufort and Chukchi seas, north of Alaska, which had been up for sale under the Bush Administration, will be withdrawn for now while the Interior Department takes another look at the environmental risks of drilling in the delicate Arctic...
This is no argument for giving oil companies a license to drill wherever they want. Indeed, Alaska is a singular place, and the waters off its north coast are so cold and so rough that any spill might be irrecoverable. What the U.S. needs is alternatives - the only solution that would permanently protect the Arctic and any other vulnerable place cursed with oil. "For the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now," said Obama. But to make that happen, we need a climate bill - and to pass a climate...