Posted on 03/28/2011 7:35:58 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Good question! In fact, as the Washington Post editorial board notes, it’s actually a series of good questions. Not only does Barack Obama need to explain his enthusiasm for drilling and oil consumption apparently everywhere but in the US, he also needs to explain why the US wants to import oil from Brazil, but not ethanol:
Brazil already produces vast quantities of a fuel — ethanol — that the U.S. government, under a policy long supported by presidents and farm-state members of Congress from both parties, has promoted as a green alternative to gasoline. But the United States, protecting its own heavily subsidized ethanol industry by means of a 2.5 percent tariff and a 54-cent-per-gallon duty, prevents Americans from importing all but trivial amounts of the stuff from Brazil. Therefore, we need more oil — much of it imported. In Brasilia, Mr. Obama spoke of strengthening U.S.-Brazilian technical cooperation on ethanol but did not propose allowing U.S. protectionist measures to lapse after their scheduled expiration on Dec. 31.
As for offshore drilling, Mr. Obama’s enthusiasm for punching holes in the ocean floor off Brazil is hard to reconcile with his decision, announced Dec. 1, to keep the waters off the East and West coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico off-limits to exploration indefinitely. His policy was a reversal of an earlier decision he had made to open some of those areas. …
[I]t is tough to reconcile with U.S. eagerness to “help” Brazil pump oil off its coasts and ship it here. U.S. companies, enticed by government loan guarantees, are already lined up to sell Brazil drilling equipment and services. Forget the implications for U.S. dependency on foreign sources. What does this posture say about American regard for the natural environment outside U.S. territory?
It says this: we’re willing to let foreign nations extract resources in ways that we refuse to do in America. Either that’s because we don’t really think there’s anything wrong with those policies, or because we don’t give a damn what Brazil does to its own environment as long as we don’t have to do anything to ours to benefit by it. It’s arrogant either way, and hypocritical in all senses.
Give the Post some credit for highlighting these hypocrisies. Most of the rest of the media ignored them, just as they ignored the fact that Obama was cheerleading for Brazilian oil production at the same time he had launched a war against Libya. Hardly anyone has commented on the connection between those two actions, but Obama has to have his eye open for ways to increase supply and lower fuel prices in case Libya’s production stays off line for a long time, which looks like a pretty good bet. Otherwise, oil prices will skyrocket and the American economy will stall further into stagnation, which will mean a short political career for Obama.
He could solve that problem by pursuing a “Drill, Baby, Drill” policy here in the US. Unfortunately, Obama apparently wants Brazilians to do the job that he won’t do on oil as much as he wants NATO to do the job he won’t do on Western leadership.
drill PING
‘cause the personal payoff gets deposited directly to the Swiss bank account? ..bypassing Federal Transactional Surveillance....by the Treasury Dept.....sheesh...doesn’t everybody know that?!!/s
The guy is a moron.
He’s saving American energy resources until he can nationalize/socialize our oil and gas industry...then he’ll drill, baby, drill!
I think so, the consummately empty headed pliable doofus. Some will attribute his actions to cunning, American hating etc. I think its far simpler, he’s uncommonly stupid and easily lead by any shiny thing that might gain his short attention span.
Because he’s America’s first mole/foreign-agent President?
Because this purple lipped clown don’t give a flying s—t about American interests.
His hands are tied. If he permits drilling he loses his base.
He will not be mentally able to tolerate the shit that hits the fan on Pennsylvania Avenue if he reverses his course on envirowacko causes. They will drive his out of his mind.
I've been saying this for a year. I truly believe there's a conspiracy to destroy this country. I'm not the only one following his actions, cause and effect, and arrived at this hypothesis.
Wonder if Obama is setting up his hill top home in Brazil for when he’s out of office,the freezer money would be safe.
Interior Dept Gives Approval to Brazilian Oil Company’s Gulf of Mexico Deep Water Facility
The U.S. Interior Department said on Thursday it gave final approval for Petrobras to use the first ever deepwater floating production storage facility in the Gulf of Mexico.
The facility will be used when the company begins oil and natural gas production at its Chinook-Cascade project in the near future, the department said. Petrobras is based in Brazil.
How about in our own back yard? 
Petrobras' Cascade and Chinook oilfields are located in the Walker Ridge block, around 300km (180 miles) south of the Louisiana coast...
They're not Petrobras' oilfields, they're America's and we're giving away all revenue from the resources in our own EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones).
Proclamation 5030 - Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States of America March 10, 1983
...with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone...
The government manages and controls marine affairs up to 200 miles off the coast.
Easy answer. It is not the US.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.