Some Senate Democrats are warming to the idea of opening some offshore areas in U.S. waters to oil and gas drilling, as we reported earlier this week. A few more may now be joining the ranks.
Republicans in Congress have hyped the need to drill, and representatives are under pressure from constituents to do something about gas prices. Bending on drilling at least politically creates the appearance of doing something, despite the fact that opening offshore areas to production won't actually lower oil or gasoline prices until about 2030 -- if it does then. Even the head of the Energy Information Administration says that offshore drilling wouldn't affect the price of gas very much.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said this week that he's "open to drilling and responsible production," and apparently Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is also considering it. According to today's news, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is also considering supporting more drilling, despite having formerly opposed it.
Some Democrats on the House side, mostly the conservative "Blue Dogs," are joining the Republican call for more drilling. "I propose that we drill in ANWR," said Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.). "We've already got a pipeline going to Alaska, the ANWR, that can handle two million barrels a day. We're only putting one million in it. Let's fill it up."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke in favor of a compromise with some drilling this week, noting that 20 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska, an area set aside by Congress for oil drilling in case of emergency, could be made available for leases. Hoyer is pushing a plan that would mesh opening this area with forcing more drilling on the 68 million acres of already available land, a move that failed last month in a separate bill.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated her stance that drilling isn't sound energy policy. "This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration," she said yesterday.
Mark Warner (D-Va.)
While scientists fight over BPA studies, Congress could just act
Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
Comments
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alphaniner Posted 9:45 pm
11 Jul 2008
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randino Posted 9:58 pm
11 Jul 2008
Then they wonder why Congress is more unpopular than pedophiles.
Randy Cunningham
Cleveland, OH
Randy Cunningham
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GRLCowan Posted 10:23 pm
11 Jul 2008
Oil mining is bad, but I wonder about the wisdom of projecting that American oil prospecting in the ocean will be so much less effective than Brazil's has seemed to be. Are there geological reasons for this expectation?
--- G.R.L. Cowan, H2 energy fan 'til ~1996
http://www.eagle.ca/~gcowan/boron_blast.html
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stevenearlsalmony Posted 11:37 pm
11 Jul 2008
Yesterday was World Population Day. Can anyone name one world leader or mass media organization to direct our attention to this momentous event?
After all, if Earth cannot be expected to sustain the skyrocketing growth of global human population, perhaps there is a case to be made for political leaders and mass media "talking heads" to advocate family planning, health education and contraception programs universally, freely and immediately available for voluntary use.
Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population,
established 2001
http://sustainabilitysoutheast.org/index.php
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archigeek Posted 12:42 am
12 Jul 2008
The mellotron is your friend.
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josullivan58 Posted 4:57 am
12 Jul 2008
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Sam Wells Posted 12:25 am
13 Jul 2008
A far greater vision would be to sponsor large clean energy projects such as wind, solar, wave, and thermal - almost a competitive "shootout" if you will.
This would do two things. First, employment, R&D, and investment would flow to clean energy sectors using the government seed money for building infrastructure (not subsidizing energy and kW-hrs). Second, Big Oil would probably want to get some of that cash, and perhaps even try to ramp up near-term "dirty energy" supplies as well.
Just trying to fix an emergent oil crisis is playing the cards the exact wrong way.
Onward through the fog
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PurpleOzone Posted 12:46 am
27 Aug 2008
Like extending tax incentives for solar and wind, now set to expire in December.
More drilling is just hair of the dog. If they really think it's politically necessary -- that the average American can be convinced it'll help by the massive campaign from the oil lobby, then why not get something for it that moves us forward?
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