Obama To Expand Drilling Off Alaska, In Gulf
Five-year offshore drilling plan The Obama administration on Tuesday announced its five-year offshore drilling plan, which includes an emphasis on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, continuing the administration's policy of expanding domestic production of energy.Less than two years after the BP oil disaster, the Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program will make more than 75 percent of oil and gas resources that are undiscovered and technically recoverable now available for exploration and development.Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar praised the program as an important step toward economic recovery."Expanding safe and responsible oil and gas production from the program is a key component of our comprehensive energy strategy to grow America's energy economy, and will help us continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create jobs here at home," he said in a statement.Environmental activists immediately criticized the proposal as lacking proper safety protocol."Congress has failed to pass a single law to better protect workers or the environment," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council in a statement. "Industry has not invested sufficiently in developing the technologies needed to prevent future disasters."Beinecke also added that now is not the ...
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