Obama still blocking energy development

The New York Times is reporting that the Obama administration has come out against a bill that would expedite oil and gas leasing and energy infrastructure permitting in an Alaska reserve thought to hold at least a billion barrels of oil. The energy department says it will start leasing in the area in December of 2011 and each December after that. In other words, nothing will happen for another half year and then a small part of the reserve will be opened for drilling. In the interim, the USA will continue to send billions abroad every day to pay for foreign oil that the reserve could replace.

How can it be that Obama is so blind. The issue here is not saving the environment. The area is going to have drilling and that effort will cause the same damage whenever it is done. I happen to think that the so-called damage will be minimal at most, but the quantum will not change if drilling starts sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the boost to the domestic economy that could come from keeping tens of billions of dollars in the domestic economy rather than sending it to Iran or Venezuela will not take place. Obama will instead cut economic growth and there will be no apparent benefit.

Personally, I think that the tens of billions of barrels of oil in other locations in Alaska ought to also be opened for drilling. That is enough to make a real difference in the pace of American economic growth. That will probably have to await a new president, but today's position is just plain stupidity by Obama.