In his first Oval Office address, President Barack Obama urged the nation to wean off the oil dependency and embrace a clean-energy future. He expressed the importance of this in light of the recent disastrous oil spill off the Gulf Coast and called it the “moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”The president used the oil spill as a platform to address the importance of energy independence. He explained that moving toward a cleaner future is a costly transition, but one that would save hardships in the economy and environment for years to come. He also touched upon some new initiatives and called legislation to action to create new approaches.
He related the current situation to challenges the nation faced in history.
“I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet,” Obama said. “The same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon.”
The address was short but to the point and ended with a tribute to the Americans who are dealing with the oil spill, and offered hope for the future of energy independence as a nation.
“We pray that a hand may guide us through the storm towards a brighter day,” Obama said.
