A Disaster Waiting to Happen

Google Reader is a godsend.  I’d be totally out of the loop without it!  One of the most frequently written about stories I’ve seen over the past three days is the push for offshore drilling as a solution to high gas prices.  Our esteemed governor, who I was actually kinda pleased with before this, has become one of the first governors to (carefully) consider this as an option. 

I am incredibly frustrated by this political movement toward taking away a decades-old ban on offshore drilling because gas prices are getting too high.  It’s even more frustrating to hear politicians talk about how we need to become more independent in our energy production NOW when this has been painfully obvious for years! 

And why are we looking toward more oil, a finite, dirty source of energy that won’t last for long, rather than moving toward developing alternative forms of energy?  Offshore drilling won’t bring oil prices down for several years anyway, so it’s not like it’s a quick fix, but it’s definitely only a band-aid solution that will eventually give way and cause us to drop right back into this same problem, but only with even less time to solve it.  Alternative energy is the way to go, conserving energy is the way to go, reigning in Big Oil is DEFINITELY the way to go, but offshore drilling is NOT.

The reason that many of these governors have decided to consider it is because they say that the technology has gotten better, that there is less chance of pollution and it can now be done far enough away that it doesn’t detract from the view.  One Florida official said that he was encouraged by the ability of offshore drilling rigs along the Louisiana coast to withstand Hurricane Katrina without a major spill.  In a somewhat exasperated sidebar, the same NY Times article notes: “He did not mention that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did cause 124 smaller spills that released more than 700,000 gallons of petroleum products, according to Coast Guard estimates.”

My biggest frustration, I think, is that politicians now a days are so in the pocket of big oil companies that they don’t even seem to consider the fact that profits for oil companies are at record highs and continuing to rise even as gas prices are skyrocketing for consumers.  This barely enters the debate or gets explained away as being due to ”the market.”  That elusive little gremiln is getting more difficult to spot every year! 

As an example of how in bed oil companies and politicians are, take the case of VECO, an Alaska-based oil company.  They were actually bribing government officials and a few of the state legislators have already gone to jail for it.  Even US Senator Ted Stevens is being considered as possibly having taken a few of these bribes.  It’s truly disgusting how much oil and politics are linked.

Those who support and oppose offshore drilling are a bit surprising. 

Support: George W. Bush (duh), John McCain (who’s becoming Bush Jr. Jr.), Charlie Crist (a potential candidate for McCain’s running mate), and Mel Martinez (Florida Senator).

Oppose: Barak Obama (one more reason to vote for him.  On another note, the Sierra Club just endorsed him), Gov. Arnold Schwazzenegger (hates supporting nurses, but certainly loves his coastline), and former Gov. Jeb Bush (this was a SHOCKER.  According to the NY Times article he even advocates alternative energy!).

If you want to read a fantastic article on this issue, go to the Los Angeles Times article.  It made me laugh with the first line!