Is this the president we voted for?  Phyllis Mains
A hope for more oil: President’s decisions are good but need to be
watched
Fairbanks Daily News Miner 
May 15, 2011 | 
Editorial

It could be presidential politics responding to higher-than-usual
gasoline prices, or it could be a presidential revelation.

Whichever it is, President Obama’s decisions authorizing annual lease
sales in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, extending some Alaska
offshore oil leases and speeding the permitting process for drilling are
welcome news for this state and the nation.

The United States needs to increase its oil production while taking steps
to reduce consumption. This nation’s economy relies on oil and will
remain dependent on oil for a long time, even as the nation increases its
use of alternative energy sources.

And what better place to find the oil we need than in the place that has
a lot of it — Alaska.

Alaska’s political leaders have, like many of their predecessors, rightly
criticized federal political and bureaucratic sluggishness regarding oil
development in the 49th state. Even so, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark
Begich, Rep. Don Young, and Gov. Sean Parnell each praised, in varying
degree, the president’s decisions.

Now, as with any pronouncement from a government official, we must wait
for the words to turn into something real.

Alaska’s elected officials, even though they offered the appropriate
praise, must monitor President Obama’s administration to make sure the
president’s words lead to increased oil production.

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