The new POTUS offshore drilling plan may be more aggravating for what it does not include (drilling in the Pacific, for instance) than pleasing for what it does. And as the Houston Chronicle points out:
But it is unlikely to win strong support from the fiercest drilling advocates in Congress and the energy industry, who have accused the administration of slow-walking conventional oil and gas production. They are expected to oppose many of the administration’s decisions — including the cancellation of planned lease sales in Alaska and potentially years-long waits before new drilling along the East Coast.
Me: And is it, along the WH nuke power plan, to make some version of cap-and-trade palatable? I don’t think it will be enough to get a comprehensive energy bill passed, Here is a bit from my RBV column today:
Even so, America will continue to be depend on imports to meet its vast energy needs. In the case of oil, nearly 60 percent of consumption is supplied internationally, including half from OPEC and a fifth from Canada. Similarly, Obama’s recent announcement of new loan guarantees for nuclear power plant construction is unlikely substantially change that sector’s share of the U.S. energy portfolio. But the White House hopes both efforts will help supply needed momentum to its energy and climate change agenda. Many Republicans and centrist Democrats favor an “all of the above” energy policy. Although a bill containing a nationwide cap-and–trade scheme for limiting carbon emissions passed the House, a parallel effort is dead in the Senate. Such caps are anathema to coal-state members of both parties.