You may recall about a month ago I covered a drive to solicit comments on America’s oil drilling policy and allowing exploration in more offshore areas. Well, it seems the public comments didn’t go the Obama administration’s way so they’re less than forthcoming with the results. This from American Solutions:
Over one month ago we submitted your comments in favor of drilling offshore to the Interior Department. In fact, we submitted 90,358 of them. Remember why?
It was because Secretary Salazar said he wanted feedback from the public about offshore drilling before he made any decisions. He pledged that these decisions would not be made “behind closed doors.”
Well sources have now told us that of the 530,000 comments submitted overall, those in support of drilling won out by more than a 2-1 margin. Yet, as of this writing, there has not been a public announcement of the final results.
After all the talk about transparency, this just begs the question: why are they hiding the final results?
Today, we decided to get to the bottom of this.
So this morning, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, asking Secretary Salazar’s department to hand over any internal documents related to the public comment period, and the final results. They’re required by law to respond to within 20 business days.
Please take a moment to read exactly what we requested by going here.
It’s not acceptable for the Obama Administration to sit on news about the number of Americans who support offshore drilling.
It’s time to get moving on a real American energy policy. And it’s also time to hold the Obama Administration accountable for its pledge of transparency and open government.
Thanks for all you do, and we’ll be sure to let you know what happens next.
It seems to me that this will be yet another case of Fedzilla ignoring the public and doing whatever they damn well please to favor some special interest, in this case the environmentalist wackos who favor spending billions of pie-in-the-sky “alternative” energy schemes.
What is really hurt by allowing energy companies more free rein to explore both on- and offshore? Onshore exploration can create jobs in areas blessed with the abundant natural resources of natural gas, oil, and oil shale – some of which have been hit hard by the Great Recession – and benefit local landowners who receive royalty and rent payments. Offshore drilling benefits the federal government through direct payments which can reach into the billions of dollars while creating jobs in shoreline areas.
I’m not too pleased with Newt’s endorsement for the NY-23 race, but in this case his group is on the right side of the issue. Because of new technology, the known supply of oil and natural gas continues to increase while the costs of exploration (save the price of complying with onerous regulations) decline. Someday alternative energy will have its place, and maybe the next would-be Thomas Edison or Henry Ford is about to come up with a revolutionary method of harnessing renewable energy (preferably without government subsidy). But in the short- to midterm we need to get the oil and natural gas required to grow our economy.
Let’s get to work and open up more areas to explore.
