The Afghanistan minerals are looking better every day now. Obama basically said that he is going to raise the cost of gas and utilities so that we can blindly go into a green future. A green future that the Democrats and their supporters will make a shitload of money off of. He and the Democrats are willing to make us pay more for everything and change over to a green economy. Even though we don't have the technology for a green future that doesn't matter to the Democrats. And even though nothing the Democrats have done so far have fixed the economy,they are going to add another major tax to all businesses and citizens within this country to get us where they want us. I'm sure most Americans are willing to pay $4,$5 or even $6 a gal for gas to have a green future that our leaders don't have a clue about. But as long as Obama and the Democrats say it's all good let's go for it. What is the worse thing that could happen? I'm sure American industry and manufacturing will be as competitive as ever with these added costs. We will be exporting our goods in vast amounts thanks to this green move. They haven't told us how we will become greener other then not having any money to by fuel. But I'm sure the government will figure it out before we are all living off the land. One thing I didn't notice Obama talking about is how are they going to cap the well? He was so busy telling us he was going to make us go "green",whatever that means, that he forgot to fix the big problem we are having in the Gulf right now. But I feel much safer knowing that Obama put a lawyer in charge of the MMA. I feel like I'm on a building and Obama and the Democrats are telling me to jump and to trust them even though the last person,the stimulus bill and obamacare, went splat. I'm sure the left wing think this is the best idea ever. And that the Democrats are doing the right thing by plunging our economy into the unknown. But I think if we want to get off of oil and transform our economy from an oil and gas energy economy then they better have a viable alternative that is as reliable as oil. And at this point they don't have that. I also don't like the fact that the Democrats are forcing us to do something against our will again. How do you think Americans will act towards $5 a gal gas,higher gas bills, higher food bills,less manufacturing of goods,higher unemployment etc...? Do you think making energy more expencive will help the auto industry sell more cars overseas? Or do you think that Japan,China and whoever will have another edge over us? And since Obama and the Democrats don't know what form our next energy will come in let's start taking bets on what it will be. Windmills,solar,cold fusion or rainbows and lalipops?
A text of President Obama's prepared remarks on Tuesday on the Gulf Coast oil spill, as released by the White House:Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a
On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about forty miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water.
Because there has never been a leak of this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That is why just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation's best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge – a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation's Secretary of Energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from
As a result of these efforts, we have directed BP to mobilize additional equipment and technology. In the coming days and weeks, these efforts should capture up to 90% of the oil leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer that is expected to stop the leak completely.
Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it is not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.
But make no mistake: we will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.
Tonight I'd like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we're doing to clean up the oil, what we're doing to help our neighbors in the Gulf, and what we're doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again.
First, the cleanup. From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation's history – an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost forty years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and cleanup the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the Gulf. And I have authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to help stop the oil from coming ashore, clean beaches, train response workers, or even help with processing claims – and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible.
Because of our efforts, millions of gallons of oil have already been removed from the water through burning, skimming, and other collection methods. Over five and a half million feet of boom has been laid across the water to block and absorb the approaching oil. We have approved the construction of new barrier islands in Louisiana to try and stop the oil before it reaches the shore, and we are working with Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida to implement creative approaches to their unique coastlines.
As the clean up continues, we will offer whatever additional resources and assistance our coastal states may need. Now, a mobilization of this speed and magnitude will never be perfect, and new challenges will always arise. I saw and heard evidence of that during this trip. So if something isn't working, we want to hear about it. If there are problems in the operation, we will fix them.
But we have to recognize that despite our best efforts, oil has already caused damage to our coastline and its wildlife. And sadly, no matter how effective our response becomes, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done. That's why the second thing we're focused on is the recovery and restoration of the Gulf Coast.
You know, for generations, men and women who call this region home have made their living from the water. That living is now in jeopardy. I've talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don't know how they're going to support their families this year. I've seen empty docks and restaurants with fewer customers – even in areas where the beaches are not yet affected. I've talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the tourists will start to come back. The sadness and anger they feel is not just about the money they've lost. It's about a wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost.
