Obama adminsitration shifts on energy policy.

This is pretty interesting news on the energy front. It seems the Obama administration, presumably under relentless pressure to address rising energy costs, has shifted its view on domestic drilling. Previous plans included an investigation of commodity markets (Which I assume is still going to continue.), removal of subsidies for oil companies to the tune of $21 billion over ten years, and a push for more renewable energy sources. Now they are in favor of more domestic oil drilling.

From the Hill.com.

The White House will take a series of steps — including expediting drilling plans on government lands in Alaska — designed to show that the administration is serious about expanding domestic oil production and lowering gas prices.

President Obama announced Saturday the government would hold annual onshore lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve; extend the life of leases in the Gulf of Mexico and in some areas off the coast of Alaska for one year; speed up ongoing Interior Department testing in the mid- and south-Atlantic to gauge the level of resources; and establish an interagency task force to coordinate permitting for offshore drilling in Alaska.

The White House is making the policy shifts after taking intense criticism from Republicans in recent weeks over energy policy as gas prices have topped $4 per gallon in some parts of the country. [...]

Obviously more needs to be done. Our country is teeming with natural resources such as natural gas, coal, and shale. All of which can be extracted and refined into fuel, relatively cleanly. Additionally, we can pursue this all while developing a stronger infrastructure for augmentary energy sources such as solar, wind, geo-thermal, bio-fuels, nuclear, etc. Two words which the administration needs to be highlight is "comprehensive" and "domestic."

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