Mercy Mercy Me: Obama Decried, Then Adopted, Bush Administration Drilling Policies

by Donald Douglas | July 6, 2010 9:14 pm

Yeah, well, thing’s ain’t what they used to be[1].

Marvin Gaye’s 1971 hit “became one of his most poignant anthems of sorrow at the world dealing with the environment[2].” And I imagine to the eco-extremist left, the Obama administration’s blatant hypocrisy on offshore drilling is bit of a sorrow as well.

From WSJ[3]:

Less than four months after President Barack Obama took office, his new administration received a forceful warning about the dangers of offshore oil drilling.

The alarm was rung by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., which found that the government was unprepared for a major spill at sea, relying on an “irrational” environmental analysis of the risks of offshore drilling.

The April 2009 ruling stunned both the administration and the oil industry, and threatened to delay or cancel dozens of offshore projects in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite its pro-environment pledges, the Obama administration urged the court to revisit the decision. Politically, it needed to push ahead with conventional oil production while it expanded support for renewable energy.

Another reason: money. In its arguments to the court, the government said that the loss of royalties on the oil, estimated at almost $10 billion, “may have significant financial consequences for the federal government.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed its decision and allowed drilling in the Gulf to proceed–including on BP PLC’s now-infamous Macondo well, 50 miles off the Louisiana coast.

The Obama administration’s actions in the court case exemplify the dilemma the White House faced in developing its energy policy. In his presidential campaign, President Obama criticized the Bush administration for being too soft on the oil industry and vowed to support greener energy forms.

But, once in office, President Obama ended up backing offshore drilling, bowing to political and fiscal realties, even as his administration’s own scientists and Democratic lawmakers warned about its risks.

Hey Dems… how’s that hope-and-change thingy workin’ out for you?

RTWT at the link[4].

Cross-posted from American Power[5].

Endnotes:
  1. thing’s ain’t what they used to be: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Mercy-Mercy-Me-The-Ecology-lyrics-Marvin-Gaye/93D3799177E4A89748256BD40012C55C
  2. became one of his most poignant anthems of sorrow at the world dealing with the environment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy_Mercy_Me_(The_Ecology)
  3. WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704699604575342843359124882.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0
  4. the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704699604575342843359124882.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0
  5. American Power: http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/mercy-mercy-me-obama-decried-then.html

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