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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday had little solace to offer to hard-hit Americans reeling under the high gas prices as he called the escalating gas prices temporary but cautioned Americans to be ready for long-term increases blaming those to India and China.

A year earlier on March 31, 2010 the president gave a speech at Andrew Air Force Base, outside Washington, outlining his energy plan.

With nothing to show as achievements in one full year on the subject, Obama came back a year later to a different venue Georgetown University to address the same issue on March 30, 2011.

On Wednesday, President Obama instead of providing a way out of the latest spiral in gas prices, warned Americans of expected long-term gas-price rise saying, “The point is, the ups and downs in gas prices are usually temporary. When you look at the long-term trends, though, there will be more ups than downs.”

“That’s because countries like India and China are growing at a rapid clip. And as two billion more people start consuming more goods, and driving more cars, and using more energy, it’s certain that demand will go up a lot faster than supply,” said Obama while peppering his speech with usual talk of drilling, efficiency and long-term Carbon price.

In an email reaction to the speech, Frank Maisano, an energy specialist at Bracewell & Giuliani that works with utilities, refiners and drilling companies, told AHN, “If he (President Obama) is worried about being blamed gas prices, he should take every step possible to increase domestic production. This is what reduces our reliance on foreign sources of energy, increases our supply and lower prices.”

Speaking in front of banner: “Winning the future. American energy,” from the podium at McDonough Memorial Gymnasium, the presidential speech was packed with promises notable being the pledge to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil by one-third in a decade,

“So today, I’m setting a new goal: one that is reasonable, achievable, and necessary. When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. By a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third,” continued Obama.

“Meeting this new goal of cutting our oil dependence depends largely on two things: finding and producing more oil at home, and reducing our dependence on oil with cleaner alternative fuels and greater efficiency,” noted President Obama.

Citing from an official study report that the oil and gas industry “holds tens of millions of acres of leases,” alleging that the industry was just “sitting on supplies of American energy just waiting to be tapped,” President Obama chastised the oil and gas industry for not making enough usage with drilling in those holdings.

President Obama, however, contradicted himself, saying, “America holds only about two percent of the world’s proven oil reserves. And even if we drilled every drop of oil out of every one of those reserves, it still wouldn’t be enough to meet our long-term needs.”

The ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan did not deter U.S. President Obama to reiterated his plans to go ahead with more nuclear plants in the United States.

Without mentioning “radiation hazards” Japan and the world in general is facing from Japanese accident, Obama said, “It’s important to recognize that nuclear energy doesn’t emit carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So those of us who are concerned about climate change, we’ve got to recognize that nuclear power, if it’s safe, can make a significant contribution to the climate change question.”

Citing to “incorporate those conclusions and lessons from Japan in design and the building of the next generation of plants,” President Obama announced, “But we can’t simply take it off the table.”

Listening to Obama’s “plans” for energy independence with talks of more “green energy,” bio-fuels, wind, solar, the list goes ad infinitum with whatever is in fashion to mention under that banner, in the final summation there seemed no change at all from what the Obama Administration is pursuing for two straight years with hardly any real impact on the energy situation in the country.

“The President’s speech is long on rhetoric and political cover and short on new ideas and substantive details,” summed up energy specialist Maisano.

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