Offshore drilling okayed

last updated 8 January 2015

President Obama said the government would open large tracts of the Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska’s north coast to oil exploration and drilling. “To sustain economic growth,” Obama said, “we’re going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable energy.”

Officials described the policy as a “middle way” between unchecked offshore drilling and a complete ban on exploration. The move is also calculated to win GOP support for a climate-change bill that Congress will consider later this year. It’s unclear how much oil and natural gas lie beneath the waters that would be opened up to exploration.