On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig,
about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured.
And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water.
Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.
And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days.
The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic,
one that we will be fighting for months and even years.
But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes.
We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused.
And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.
For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered.
For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels
And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires
Time and again, the path forward has been blocked
not only by oil industry lobbyists
but also by a lack of political courage and candor
The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight.
Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries
that should be right here in America
Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil.
And today, as we look to the Gulf
we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.
We cannot consign our children to this future
The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet
that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now.
Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission
to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.
Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us
As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy
has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs
but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment.
And only if we rally together and act as one nation
workers and entrepreneurs
scientists and citizens
the public and private sectors
But the one approach I will not accept is inaction.
The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet.
You know, 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.
And yet, time and again
we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom.
Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding
is the capacity to shape our destiny
Our determination to fight for the America we want for our children.
The oil spill is not the last crisis America will face
This nation has known hard times before
and we will surely know them again
What sees us through -– what has always seen us through
is our strength, our resilience
and our unyielding faith that something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for it.