Obama 'change' on energy slammed

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Young people gathering for an environmental summit in Washington say they're disappointed with President Barack Obama's "change" on energy policy.

Attendees at the Power Shift climate conference say the president has gone back on his campaign pledge of support for renewable and alternative energy, citing his energy security speech in March in which he said oil drilling and clean coal would help power America's energy future.

"When I looked at that energy security speech, it seemed like something BP wrote," said Courtney Hight, 31, of Scottsdale, Ariz., who is co-director of Power Shift 2011. "We want to make sure the president is seeing that we're done with this. We need them to draw a line in the sand. We need him to stand up to the polluters."

Organizers say they are planning a demonstration Monday with 5,000 participants outside the White House, The Washington Post reported Friday.

"I worked for Barack Obama for years," Hight said.

When the president said his administration has approved 39 new shallow-water drilling permits and an additional seven deepwater permits in recent weeks, Height said, it was the last straw for her.

"When I saw that, it almost made my stomach drop. When I watched that speech, that's when I changed. It flipped me."