Shiny Object

I was shocked yesterday when I read that Obama was going to allowing drilling off the coast of the Atlantic and the Gulf as part of his energy policy. The Dept. of the Interior will begin to study these coastal areas. Tracts deemed suitable will be put up for bid, though not before 2012.

Green energy enthusiasts and environmental gurus have been hamstringing domestic oil and gas exploration for years. Something smells fishy here. My first instinct is to ask why is the government studying the tracts. Do we need more government jobs? Shouldn't this be done by the companies interested in leasing the tracts? My next reaction is 2012. Presidential elections. You don't really expect any tracts to be leased do you? And if you were an oil company, would you risk the expense of leasing these waters? The folks in Washington have oh-so much-credibility. There's a bridge in NY I'd like to sell you.

So what's really going on here?

Don't surprised to see the president sign an executive order giving the EPA the power to regulate carbon dioxide. In January, the EPA concluded that CO2 endangers health by causing global warming and therefore can be regulated by the EPA under the Clean Air Act. That's right, exhaling is hazardous to your health.

Keep an eye on the move to regulate fishing and US waterways. Obama plans to implement this federal power-grab with another dictatorial executive order. Ironically, this legislation (I should say order since once again, congress is being bypassed) could be used to further regulate offshore drilling.

Mark my words, lifting the ban on drilling is a distraction. They have no intention of any drilling ever getting done. The EPA will be able to tie it up in regulation for years. Even if we actually start drilling, we don't have the capacity to refine any more crude. Time will tell which of their schemes they are trying to distract the American people from this time.