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Argument: General statements against offshore oil drilling

Issue Report: US offshore oil drilling

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Obama initially opposed offshore oil drilling, arguing that new offshore drilling would do nothing to “reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil”:

“The days of running a 21st century economy on a 20th century fossil fuel are numbered – and we need to realize that before it’s too late.”

“The truth is, an oil future is not a secure future for America.”

“We could open up every square inch of America to drilling and we still wouldn’t even make a dent in our oil dependency.” 9/15/05

“It would be nice if we could produce our way out of this problem, but it’s just not possible.” 2/28/06

“Instead of making tough political decisions about how to reduce our insatiable demand for oil, this bill continues to lull the American people into thinking that we can drill our way out of our energy problems. ” 8/1/06

“Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.” 8/28/08[1]

Mike Daulton, Audubon’s policy director, said in March of 2010: “We urge the Obama administration to focus on clean energy priorities and to protect America’s special places from the risks of oil drilling.[2]

Frances Beinecke is president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. New York Times Room for Debate. March 31, 2010: “I began my career trying to manage development along coastal areas, and when the 1970s oil crisis hit, I fought reckless offshore oil drilling in the North Atlantic. I know from experience that expanding offshore drilling will take us backward, not forward. Not only does it pose environmental risks, it just isn’t necessary.”