President Obama, speaking at Andrews Air Force Base, just announced his decision to expand the country’s offshore drilling for oil. But his speech sounded mostly like an apology to environmentalists for the move.<\/p>\n
The president began by touting his administration’s commitment to clean energy, through new investments and higher auto mileage standards. He announced a new plan to double the number of hybrid vehicles in the federal fleet.<\/p>\n
“But we have to do more,” he continued. “We have to keep making investments in clean coal technology. … In the short term, as we transition to cleaner energy sources, we still have to make some tough decisions about opening up” coastal areas to offshore drilling.<\/span><\/p>\n “The bottom line is this,” he said, again apparently addressing environmental advocates. “Given our energy needs, in order to sustain econ growth and create jobs, … we are going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel.”<\/p>\n But he added, “We’ll employ new technologies that reduce the environmental impact of offshore exploration.”<\/p>\n “There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision,” he continued. “What I want to emphasize is that this announcement is part of a broader strategy” to move us to a reliance on “home-grown fuels,” including renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n