"Change" President Not Pressing for Change

Obama change we can believe inIn President Obama's speech from his desk the Oval Office on June 15, he tried to buck up an American public beleaguered by BP's oil disaster in the Gulf. He blamed BP for the debacle, called their safety practices "reckless" and promised to make company pay for the damage their activities have caused. While Obama blamed the right people, he should be aiming for a higher goal. He needs to push American citizens to embark on an entirely new approach to energy. Obama has frequently spoken of introducing new energy policies. He has mentioned the subject in close to a third of his speeches, but when discussing it he chooses well-known, vague, poll-tested rhetoric. In his June 15 speech, for example, he failed to promote a carbon dioxide tax, propose solid goals for the percentage of renewable energies used in the U.S., or provide details about any potential climate legislation. He avoids using the phrase "climate change" because he knows many citizens have a problem with it. But the real reason why BP and other companies are drilling at such fantastic ocean depths is that they are servicing America's greed for cheap energy to fuel 250 million cars, keep our air conditioners running and create fantasy cities in the middle of deserts. Shortly before BP's catastrophe in the Gulf, Obama even loosened regulations for coastal drilling. Americans constitute about five percent of the world's population, but consume 25 percent of the world's oil. Obama's speech was a lost an opportunity to push Americans to rethink their approach to oil. Instead, he preferred to stay vague and avoid charting a clear course to guide America out of its energy problem.

Comments

I'm tired of every time there is some type of disaster, the first thing every administration and politician wants to do is find the person or people to blame. Why not fix the problem and help the citizens affected first. Then find out how and why it happened to ensure it will never happen again.

He doesn't need to push American citizens to seek an alternative fuel! The public is way ahead on this issue. Any one who is not blind can see it is big oil that holds back the development of alternate fuels. They could not do it without the help of government which is in their pocket protecting their vast empire!

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