To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (28609 ) 4/5/2010 11:35:21 AM From: DuckTapeSunroof Respond to of 103300 Offshore drilling and those dead armadillos in the road BY ROBERT FRANCIS April 05, 2010fwbusinesspress.com President Obama isn’t from Texas, but he may have felt a bit like a dead armadillo March 31 when he announced a five-year drilling blueprint that expands oil and natural gas drilling in several offshore locations. If you recall former Texas Agriculture Secretary Jim Hightower used to say, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.” Others said it, too, but Hightower seems to have received credit. Obama’s offshore drilling plan was, on the face of it, the only decision he could make. The U.S. needs power and shifting to renewable fuels is not exactly quick, easy or cheap. (More about that shortly.) With his decision, the president seemed to have alienated many of his political supporters, particularly those who wear their environmental stripes on their sleeves, and received tepid praise from those in the oil and gas industry. Obama did receive a rare pat on the back from Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, an organization that has to a large extent been against just about every other administration proposal short of a Mother’s Day proclamation. “We look forward to reviewing the details of the proposal, and we stand ready to work with them to make this a reality,” Gerard said. “We appreciate the administration’s recognition of the importance of developing our nation’s oil and natural gas resources to create jobs, generate revenues and fuel our nation’s economy.” House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, while supporting the decision, had a slight caveat: “At the same time the White House makes today’s announcement, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is plotting a new massive job-killer that the American people can’t afford: a cascade of new EPA regulations that will punish every American who dares to flip on a light switch, drive a car, or buy an American product.” Maybe that wasn’t a caveat. It was more like a knife in the back. If Obama was looking to his supporters for solace, he wouldn’t find it. From the Sierra Club: “There’s no reason to drill our coasts. We can achieve real energy independence and economic vitality by investing in clean energy like wind and solar and efficiency. This kind of power creates good, lasting American jobs and positions our nation to become a global leader in the new clean energy economy." It was that rare moment when the Sierra Club and the Republicans were united; both armed with brass knuckles waiting in a dark alley to take a potshot at the president – together as one. This political back and forth was particularly relevant as I’m in the middle of reading an advance copy of Robert Bryce’s new book, Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future. Bryce, as you may recall wrote Gusher of Lies, a book that challenged the concept of energy independence, a concept that all political candidates seem to embrace, particularly in campaign season. Power Hungry, due out April 27, takes a close look at green technology and renewable energy. It’s not a pretty sight. Bryce, by the way, doesn’t take an obsessive, “I’m right, they’re wrong” stance. There are lots of objective, if mind-numbing, facts and figures in the book as well. The opening chapter starts in a coal mine in Kentucky to show how the U.S. uses coal for a very good reason: it’s incredibly efficient. On an average day, Bryce points out, the mine he visits in Kentucky produces about 75 percent as much raw energy as the total energy produced by of all U.S. wind turbines and solar panels. Pretty sobering stuff. Bryce’s conclusion (I admit, I skipped ahead) is the U.S. needs to embrace two fuels: natural gas and nuclear for future energy needs in the 21st Century. T. Boone Pickens probably spoke for many in the Fort Worth energy community when he noted that production of domestic offshore oil reserves is at least 10 years off, but that natural gas is available today. “No energy strategy can be effective unless it promotes the use of domestic natural gas as a transportation fuel alternative to foreign oil/diesel, and the focus has to be on America’s eight million heavy duty vehicles,” he said. Bryce and Pickens certainly understand why Obama made the decision he did. Obama’s enemies – and friends – sure didn’t. Robert Francis is editor of the Fort Worth Business Press.