The national address of President Barack Obama presented the nation and the residents of the Gulf States with relieving news.
Obama said that 90 percent of the oil that has been leaking into the Mexican Gulf is expected to be cleaned out of the region in the coming weeks. Furthermore, Obama took the incident to propose a new energy policy in America.
The policy, which focuses highly on the use of clean energy, is intended to minimize and hopefully completely end the dependence of America on fossil fuels and foreign energy.
During his live address, Obama went into detail about the events of April 20th, 2010 and how the oil spill came about. The president called the event “The worst environmental disaster America has ever faced,” and that to fix the damages, “we will be fighting for months and even years.”
Obama also spoke out about BP. Obama, who is set to meet with BP’s chairman Wednesday, said in no uncertain terms that it is the responsibility of the oil company to pay for all of the costs for the clean up and damages. To ensure that the funding is properly provided, Obama intends to make BP set aside the money to pay for their errors and then an outside third party will control the compensations to the workers and everyone affected in the catastrophe. It will then be the duty of the third party to make sure the money is properly distributed.
Apparently, BP is more than willing to take on their responsibility, despite having yet to contribute any financing to the clean up efforts. According to a spokesperson for the oil company, BP officials are looking forward to the meeting and are ready to move onward to a better tomorrow for everyone involved in the incident.
On the topic of the moratorium of off shore drilling, Obama said that even those it will take away jobs from the people that make their living working on the oil rigs, it is for their own safety and the safety of the regions like Louisiana and the other Gulf States.
As Obama is looking to reform the energy policy of the United States, he is finding support from former Vice President Al Gore. Gore said, “in the midst of the greatest environmental disaster in our country’s history, there is no excuse to do otherwise.”
While it is unfortunate that the explosion occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, it is the strong sign that it is finally time to reform energy and take a much needed leap towards a cleaner future for America and the world.
In his first ever address from his office, Obama made it clear that the safety of the American people and the environment are on the top of his priority list and he is working to ensure that safety to his best abilities.
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