UPDATE 1-Obama wants safe ways to tap U.S. oil, gas

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NEW ORLEANS Oct 15 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is in favor of finding environmentally safe ways to tap U.S. oil and natural gas reserves and would like to see increased use of nuclear-generated electricity.

"What I think we need to do is increase our domestic energy production," Obama said at a public meeting in New Orleans. "I'm in favor of finding environmentally sound ways to tap our oil and our natural gas."

Obama also spoke about the need to rely more heavily on nuclear energy as the United States looks for ways to reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

"There's no reason why technologically we can't employ nuclear energy in a safe and effective way. Japan does it and France doesn't and it doesn't have greenhouse gas emissions, so it would be stupid for us not to do that in a much more effective way," he said.

Obama said it is essential to develop new sources of clean energy and increase energy efficiency. He vowed to pursue energy legislation once the debate over a U.S. healthcare overhaul is resolved. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by David Alexander)