To his credit, president Barack Obama did pay lip service to the notion that we need to open up more of the U.S. to oil and gas projects during his State of the Union speech last week.

"But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."
But while its admirable to hear him say it, the main crux of the speech's energy policy was more concerned with clean energy technologies. Now it's all fine and good to invest in the future, only a fool wouldn't. But until we get to the point that we can feasibly sustain a carbon-neutral footprint, we need more oil and gas. Obama spoke of opening up new oil and gas development as a "tough decision," which seems to suggest appealing to states that traditionally have been opposed to oil and gas drilling. And that's going to be a tough sale, because let's face it, the states that are really opposed to drilling due so for two reasons: they don't like the ideas of offshore rigs within sight of their beaches, or they just like the sense of moral superiority they feel about not allowing such an "evil" business as oil companies to operate on their turf. Keep in mind, people who live in these states still drive cars and use natural gas heaters. They still live off of oil and gas production, they just don't want it in their backyard. The old adage seems appropriate: everyone wants to eat stake, but know one wants to date the butcher. Get over it people. You are a part of this cycle, whether you want to admit it or not. Disguising your part in it by hiding behind the empty gesture of not allowing oil refineries or drilling rigs in your state doesn't alter that fact. The fact is, we need to have more homegrown energy sources. Every dollar we spend here in the U.S. for oil is one less that ends up in Iran's treasury. -Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; spayne@hartenergy.com