As blackouts swept through California yesterday, President Bush and his advisers continued to talk about a national energy policy that would open up federal lands to more oil and gas drilling. However, neither Bush nor Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham outlined any specific plans that would help California or other states tackle energy woes in the short term (i.e., the next several years). The only specific policy cited by Abraham was to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. He also said some anti-pollution measures now in place were too strong, discouraging oil companies from building refineries in the U.S.
