U.S. President George W. Bush said on January 29th that he was “deeply concerned” that California’s power crisis would have ramifications for the entire nation and pledged to ease restrictions on oil and gas exploration, production and transportation in an effort to boost electricity production.
In a meeting described as the first in a series to increase his involvement in energy issues, Bush appointed Vice President Dick Cheney to head a task force to reduce foreign oil dependence and to “encourage the development of pipelines and power-generating capacity in the country.”
Bush said that he would act “boldly and swiftly” to enact his 10-year, $7 billion energy plan, which includes passing legislation to allow drilling in the coastal plain area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and offering tax incentives to promote domestic oil production.
“There’s a long-term issue as well, and that is, How do we find more energy supplies, how do we encourage conservation on the one hand and bring more energy into the marketplace?” Bush said.
“A good place to look is going to be ANWR.” He added that: “I campaigned hard on the notion of having environmentally sensitive exploration at ANWR, and I think we can do so.”
The new administration has also outlined a series of short- and medium-term steps to ease energy problems, including granting waivers to states to run older plants at full capacity during peak seasons, even if this means violating clean air standards.
While Bush’s plan has drawn criticism from environmental groups, Republican lawmakers have praised his efforts to develop a national energy policy.
Republican Alaskan Senator Frank Murkowski said that: “With the previous administration, we could not even get an acknowledgement that we had an energy problem in this country.
People are now starting to realize that if you rely on outsiders for your energy you will pay the piper.”
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
