Obama speech praises natural gas fracking boom
Obama climate speech praises natural gas fracking boom, rejects arguments of opponents
President Barack Obama gestures during a speech on climate change, Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at Georgetown University in Washington. Obama is proposing sweeping steps to limit heat-trapping pollution from coal-fired power plants and to boost renewable energy production on federal property. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- This week, President Barack Obama praised renewable energy, conservation — and fracking for natural gas.
His support for fracking is upsetting some environmental groups that otherwise support his climate plan.
Deb Nardone, the head of the Sierra Club's Beyond Natural Gas program, says Obama "is taking the wrong path" on natural gas.
Obama is acknowledging the concerns of some environmentalists who want drilling reined in, but he also is rejecting their key arguments. In his speech Tuesday, Obama said that "cleaner-burning" natural gas is creating jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering utility bills for many families.
