Civil libertarians have long complained that, as soon as he got into office, President Barack Obama appeared to morph into former President George Bush on everything from surveillance policies to blocking investigations of torture. Now, environmentalists may join that chorus of criticism with Obama wanting to lift a 20-year ban on drilling off the Virginia coastline — as well as to open large areas of the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama insists that the answer is “drill, baby, drill” — to paraphrase the GOP — and that such development is needed “[t]o set America on a path to energy independence, the president believes we must leverage our diverse domestic resources by pursuing a comprehensive energy strategy.”
He also wants the Interior Department to survey other areas along the Eastern shore for drilling and exploration. These are sensitive areas already dealing with threats caused by pollution.
This was one of the issues that environmentalists pressed Obama on when he was running for president, here. At the time, in relation to the same question regarding Florida’s coast, he said “when I’m president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coasts. That’s how we can protect our coastline and still make the investments that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down gas prices for good.”
For the full story, click here.
Gyges:
“These incidences are mainly concentrated in areas where the material is old and the safety procedures deficient (Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea and China Sea).”
I might also point out that these are for the most part socialist or communist countries.
gYGES:
currently there are about 620 offshore rigs world wide taking your value of 100,000 tonnes that amounts to about 21 m^3 per rig. Not a small amount but certainly not an ecological disaster. There are petroleum eating bacteria.
Byron,
So the “…second place in the ranking of oil spill world records” doesn’t count as a disaster, or is it just a small bit?
John if your numbers are correct, how long will the 34 billion barrels last if they do develop it.
Gyges:
I acknowledged that in my post. Please re-read. I dont consider a small bit of oil a disaster.
By the way have you heard of the Le Brea Tar pits?
“The oil companies already have access to some 34 billion barrels of offshore oil they haven’t even developed yet.”
(The US uses about 7 billion barrels of oil annually.)
http://climateprogress.org/2010/03/31/obama-offshore-drilling-ocs-ei/#more-22225
Byron,
Can’t be bothered to do a quick google search? Here’s a site from a French nonprofit.
http://www.black-tides.com/
Interestingly it seems that while the number of oil spillage from tankers has gone down since the 70s, the spillage from oil platforms has risen.
From the site “The US National Academy of Sciences estimates the volume of operational discharge and accidental spills from this sector of activity at 80,000 tonnes in 1979, 50,000 in 1981 and 100,000 in 2000.
The accidents mostly involve the spillage of a few cubic metres to a few tens of cubic metres, resulting from pipes bursting or from human errors. These incidences are mainly concentrated in areas where the material is old and the safety procedures deficient (Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea and China Sea). Occasional major accidents caused by an oil well eruption or an act of war can be added to the list of causes of large-scale oil slicks. One of these incidents holds second place in the ranking of oil spill world records.”
You know the Russians just last week have come to an agreement just last week to drill for oil in the GOMEX. Obama may have been under some pressure there. The Russians will now direct drill in the GOMEX and take what is ours. The Russians are stocking up. It’s one of the main reasons they invaded Georgia for the natural gas.
Bdaman:
“The president’s plan would then keep several areas off limits, including the Pacific coast from Mexico to Canada, the Atlantic coast north of Delaware, parts of Alaska, and the most promising areas of the Gulf of Mexico.”
Yeah, he is saving those areas for the Russians or maybe the Chinese. I wonder how much he is making under the table in campaign contributions from them?
Byron you are correct. Not one single disaster has occurred in re to spillage of oil do to drilling. It’s all been in the transportation thereof. Not one.
Bdaman:
The only one I can think of is the Exxon Valdez. I don’t know of any oil leak disasters from rigs. There may be some minor leakage but not millions of barrels. I think most of the disasters have involved oil tankers that wreck.
That stuff costs money so I doubt those greedy capitalists are out to ruin the environment by spilling it into the ocean.
I think he is doing this because the Russians are going to be drilling off the coast of Florida in Cuban and international waters. He would look pretty stupid if he allowed the Russians to drill within a few miles of our shores and we couldn’t. With the new advances in directional drilling they could probably reach deposits within our territorial waters.
He isn’t doing this to put one over on the GOP he is forced to do it or the GOP would beat him like a red headed step child over another nation drilling so close to our shores and we can’t. This is just laughable, the picture of Obama as a sly fox. It makes me giggle. He is an idiot and a statist, but then I repeat myself.
Yep Obama is a frigging “genius” alright. He is still a fool and will be a lame duck by the first Wednesday in November. But dream on about how he is going to out-fox the GOP or people with any sense.
“The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf until 2012 or beyond. Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. While the United States attempts to shift gears to alternative fuels to battle the purported evils of carbon emissions, Russia will erect oil derricks off the Cuban coast.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/18/obama-surrenders-gulf-oil-to-m
In 2009 Democrats scrapped oil and gas leases in Utah.
GOP response
Despite today’s announcement that the Obama Administration may allow some new OCS leases in 2012, it is clear that the Administration and Democrat Congress have and continue to promote public policies that restrict American energy exploration and raise gas prices.
* Obama Moratorium: The Obama Administration plan would discard the 2010-2015 Outer Continental Shelf lease plan that had been set in motion by the previous Administration and delay the implementation of their new plan until 2012. This new two-year “Obama Moratorium” (2010-2012) would almost certainly delay any new exploration in areas previously under moratoria until after the president’s entire term. The president’s plan would then keep several areas off limits, including the Pacific coast from Mexico to Canada, the Atlantic coast north of Delaware, parts of Alaska, and the most promising areas of the Gulf of Mexico.Against the will of the American people and Congress, the Administration is essentially unilaterally reinstating the drilling ban for an additional two years, signaling to markets that supply will not expand, thus raising prices. Earlier this month, Natural Resources Ranking Member Doc Hastings (R-WA) and 87 other House Republicans sent a letter to Interior Secretary Salazar urging the Administration to implement the 2010-2015 leasing plan. The letter also outlined the cost of inaction-these years of delay will leave Americans unemployed, lose billions of dollars in revenues and create a greater dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil and gas that puts U.S. national security at risk.
Stalling and blockading of new energy production endangers tens of thousands of existing jobs and prevents the creation of new jobs that would help lower the unemployment rate. Opening new areas to drilling would be a no-cost stimulus for the U.S. economy.
* New Gas Tax: Making matters worse, the Democrat Congress is unfathomably considering a new gas tax. Press reports suggest that the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham climate bill under construction in the Senate may impose a “carbon tax” on motor fuels such as gasoline. This gas tax would target all consumers (especially rural Americans who travel further for work) and result in an increase in air travel, cargo costs, and significantly impact fuel-dependent industries such as trucking.
http://ow.ly/1t8tg
The EPA is going to rule on MPG next week and look for the ol reduction of speed from 65 to 55 again. It’s a game of give and take.
The timing of this makes me think it is being used as a distraction to the healthcare bill.
Is there any hint that there will be an effective mechanism to insure the “stringent guidelines” are followed to prevent disasters as opposed to being simply a legal basis to impose post-disaster, wrist-slap penalties?
Name all the disasters you can think off and then list the reason for the accident. Ready? Go.
In Obama’s own, hypocritical words…A video–then and now….
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/31/drill-barack-drill-obama_n_520523.html
In June 2008, then-Sen. Obama told reporters in Jacksonville, Florida, “when I’m president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida’s coasts. That’s how we can protect our coastline and still make the investments that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down gas prices for good.”
In July 2008, he said, of lifting moratoriums on offshore drilling, that “if there were real evidence that these steps would actually provide real, immediate relief at the pump and advance the long-term goal of energy independence, of course I’d be open to them. But so far there isn’t.”
But by August, then-Sen. Obama signaled that he was willing to support legislation that included off-shore drilling as part of a bipartisan compromise.
By September 2008, then-Sen. Obama was saying an energy strategy means “increasing domestic production and off-shore drilling.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/president-obama-drill-baby-drill-.html
To rcampbell:
Is there any hint that there will be an effective mechanism to insure the “stringent guidelines” are followed to prevent disasters as opposed to being simply a legal basis to impose post-disaster, wrist-slap penalties?