Obama Addresses "Peak Oil"!

[kpete]

(thank you Mr. President, "Seize The Moment", kpete)




OBAMA: But a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk. After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20% of the world’s oil, but have less than 2% of the world’s oil reserves. And that’s part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean – because we’re running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.

For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we have talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked – not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.

...............

As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of good, middle-class jobs – but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment.

more:
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/obama-we-will-fight-this-spill-with-everything-weve-got.php?ref=fpblg
http://alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N15114915.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/06/obama-will-not-accept-inaction-on-climate-change/58209/

Watch: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2010/06/obama_addresses_nation_from_the_oval_office.php?ref=fpblg

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. That he did

[islandmkl]

2. wait a minute...he said all that?

damn, the pundits have missed the real message...

he was supposed to tell us americans how he had figured out how to make the oil go away...

[Subdivisions]

7. They're completely ignoring it, as I predicted they would here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8565752&mesg_id=8565914

[tekisui]

3. That was the best part of the speech.

I had the hardest part with him suggesting that deep sea oil rigs could be made safe and the claim that up to 90% of the leak would be being captured in a couple of weeks.

THe peak oil part was good, IMO.

[bahrbearian]

13. Also why are we in a big hurry to use up all of our reserves?

Especially if they are evidently unsafe?

[MineralMan]

4. Many folks posting here appear not to have heard that.

I hope he can make it happen.

[UndertheOcean]

5. what do you know , he actually did

I suspect the top brass knew a long time ago , just did not want to broadcast it in public , to milk the sheepfold as long as possible

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. What the fuck were the dinosaurs doing living one mile beneath the surface of the ocean?

Seems to me it's their fault this happened.

[Sebastian Doyle]

11. Don't be silly.

The dinosaurs only ended up there because they drowned in the Noah's Ark flood. :sarcasm:

[bahrbearian]

16. Same reason that the Arabs have all our oil under their sand.

They were un-American.

[Jennicut]

8. He mentioned it again. Talked about in a press conference a few weeks ago.

It is over all of the pundit's heads.

[Subdivisions]

9. This is the third time. And the pundits have ignored it every time. n/t

[Jennicut]

12. Yup. I think it is on purpose...

Don't cause panic, you know. Obama knows the deal and what time it is (peak oil time).

[Subdivisions]

17. Anderson Cooper just delivered this very part of the address to a panel

that let the issue fly completely over their heads. Only Carville acknowledged the accuracy of the President's oil-related comments.

[Sebastian Doyle]

10. If he really means what he said there, he will fire Salazar's ass tomorrow.

That son of a bitch is the poster boy for "lack of political courage" on this issue.

[Dawson Leery]

14. Will there be a follow through on this?

[Subdivisions]

19. Whether there is or not, Peak Oil will follow through regardless of what we do. n/t

[zazen]

23. well said n/t

[NYC_SKP]

15. Contrast That with what George W. Bush had to say about energy, through Ari Fleischer:

Excerpt from Whitehouse Press Briefing, May 7, 2001:

... Q Is one of the problems with this, and the entire energy field, American lifestyles? Does the President believe that, given the amount of energy Americans consume per capita, how much it exceeds any other citizen in any other country in the world, does the President believe we need to correct our lifestyles to address the energy problem?

MR. FLEISCHER: That's a big no. The President believes that it's an American way of life, and that it should be the goal of policy makers to protect the American way of life. The American way of life is a blessed one. And we have a bounty of resources in this country. What we need to do is make certain that we're able to get those resources in an efficient way, in a way that also emphasizes protecting the environment and conservation, into the hands of consumers so they can make the choices that they want to make as they live their lives day to day.

Q So Americans should go on consuming as much more energy than any other citizens in any other countries of the world, as long as they want?

MR. FLEISCHER: Terry, the President believes that the American people are very wise and that, given the right incentives, they will know how and they will make their own right determinations about how much they can conserve, just as the President announced last week that the federal government, as part of its consumership in California will reduce energy needs -- for example, the Department of Defense facilities in California, by 10 percent. He believes the American people, too, will make the right decisions about conservation and the program he will announce shortly will also include a series of conservation items.

But the President also believes that the American people's use of energy is a reflection of the strength of our economy, of the way of life that the American people have come to enjoy. And he wants to make certain that a national energy policy is comprehensive, that includes conservation, includes a way of allowing the American people to continue to enjoy the way of life that has made the United States such a leading nation in the world.

The rest of this tripe here: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/briefings/20010507.html

:patriot:

[zazen]

22. OMG--that's like being thrust back into a battering or alcoholic relationship

I had just blocked it out, those eight awful years.

[depakid]

18. A lukewarm acknowledgement -but probably all that could be expected

and pretty much what I thought he'd do- address the low lying fruit analogy (since it was an obvious justification for the decision to triangulate on offshore drilling)

[Laelth]

20. I have to give him that. For his honest assessment of the situation, I give him credit. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[Scurrilous]

21. K & R

:thumbsup: