Obama Announces Off-Shore Drilling Expansion
On Wednesday, President Obama reversed a ban on oil drilling off of most U.S. shorelines. This expansion of US drilling could put oil and natural gas platforms along the coastlines of southern Atlantic states, the coasts of Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Obama addressed the issue from Andrews air base outside Washington, saying, “This is not a decision that I’ve made lightly,” and trying to console some of the environmental outcry that is expected. At the end of a year-long investigative process, however, Obama decided that a drilling expansion would benefit the entire nation by providing more energy, jobs and domestic business opportunities.