Offshore Oil Drilling and the Oil Rig Disaster in the Gulf

[gatorback]

ok oil is a part of our life blood so what are we doing to covent our natural resource? How about higher prices?

[RiversideGator]

I'm still waiting for an answer on what to do with nuclear waste. And keep in mind that its not just spent fuel. its all of the water, parts and anything else that comes into contact with the radiation from the reactor, lots of stuff. And this stuff cannot be reprocessed.

And don't give that stuff that Yucca mountain is being held up by Greenpeace either. there are all kinds of incredible engineering problems there.

We both know that Yucca Mountain would be safely in use today if it had not been held up by lefties like you in the Congress, the Courts and the environmental movement for ulterior reasons.  We also know that this is not about the safety of Yucca Mountain but it is about preventing the US from having a safe repository for nuclear waste because, if such a place exists, it helps to further legitimize nuclear power. 

You know, I'm not even going to get into the whole discussion that you just want to dig everything up and use it to power your SUV so you can drive your pampered little a** around town is style and to hell with the next generation, because then you'll say that I'm being mean to you and picking on you. So I'm not going to say that.

Why must you get personal again?  If you continue with this nonsense, I will begin deleting your offending posts.  Get it?

And I care greatly for the next generation.  This is why I do not wish to force them into lives with a standard of living which is lower than that of their parent's generation.

BTW, my a** is not little.   

Terrific strides could have been made in the last 8 years to foster energy independence. That opportunity was lost because the leadership of this country had no desire to do so. Instead they pursued a ruinous middle east policy that has just served to simultaneously drive up the cost of oil and devalue the dollar.

1.  US energy independence would be increased by exploiting domestic natural resources.
2.  The final outcome of the Middle East policy is not yet known.
3.  The dollar declined and oil rose largely as a result of the actions of the Fed.  The dollar is coming back and oil is coming down now.

Again, you are going for the simplistic quick fix. Quick fixes, especially simple ones, don't work.

You mean simplistic quick fixes such as your solar panel fantasy?   

And BTW, didn't I see you ranting about "Amtrak Subsidies" somewhere? So much for better intercity rail service.

Nope.  Not me.  I would subsidize the hell out of Amtrak if I were in charge.   

[Midway ®]

We both know that Yucca Mountain would be safely in use today if it had not been held up by lefties like you in the Congress, the Courts and the environmental movement for ulterior reasons.  We also know that this is not about the safety of Yucca Mountain but it is about preventing the US from having a safe repository for nuclear waste because, if such a place exists, it helps to further legitimize nuclear power. 

No, I don't know any such thing. There all kinds of technical and construction problems there, as well as newly discovered geological faults that run through the project, 33 at last count.

Why must you get personal again?  If you continue with this nonsense, I will begin deleting your offending posts.  Get it?

You go ahead and delete whatever you want to. Soon you will be talking to yourself. I guess if I put a  after it though it would be OK?

And I care greatly for the next generation.  This is why I do not wish to force them into lives with a standard of living which is lower than that of their parent's generation.

Not to worry, Bush has already seen to that.

BTW, my a** is not little.   

Hence, the need for that Lincoln Navigator.

1.  US energy independence would be increased by exploiting domestic natural resources.
2.  The final outcome of the Middle East policy is not yet known.
3.  The dollar declined and oil rose largely as a result of the actions of the Fed.  The dollar is coming back and oil is coming down now.

Rhetoric.

You mean simplistic quick fixes such as your solar panel fantasy?   

No, I mean the billions of dollars worth of PV cells being manufactured by almost every large industrial technology company everywhere EXCEPT here.

Nope.  Not me.  I would subsidize the hell out of Amtrak if I were in charge.   

Finally, something we agree on.

[john stark]

This is a hot topic.  I thought it would be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts.  Personally I'd rather NOT "Drill Here, Drill Now, and Pay Less" - Assuming you've seen those bumper stickers.

[Eazy E]

If drilling here, and now, actually meant paying less right now, i'd be more swayed. As all petroleum and economics experts agree, drilling now does not mean savings now. However, i am resigned to the fact that, yes, one day, we will have to drill ANYWHERE there is oil to be had. Do I think now is that day? no, i do not.

[thelakelander]

As of right now, I'm on the fence.

1. Its one thing to drill off the coast of Texas or Louisiana.  However, our beaches and tourism are our economy.  How does an oil spill (in the event one happens) affect our Gulf Coast beaches from Pensacola all the way down to Naples?

2. Do we even get jobs out of this?  Will new refineries be built in Florida or will the oil and jobs be gained in other Gulf Coast states with production facilities already in place.

3. Drilling here does not necessarily mean our gas prices will go down.  We'll continue to pay based off of world demand.

In all, I think we need a little more domestic drilling and increased production of alternative fuel sources.  However, I'm just not sold on potentially ruining our state's economy and environment in the process.

[RiversideGator]

Eazy:  You are totally wrong.  Drilling more will reduce prices in the short run.  The experts do not agree with you.  Only the left wing bloggers agree with you.

[RiversideGator]

More drilling means more supply.  More supply means lower prices.  Also, if oil is produced and refined in the US, you do not have the higher costs associated with transporting the stuff around the world.

[john stark]

Establishing offshore drilling in Florida would be in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.  Not to mention the cost of maintaining facilities and eventually disassembling the oil platforms and pipelines ( a price tag of between 400-700 million).  The government could easily invest that money into (gasp) Florida's Mass Transit...

[thebrokenforum]

Only the left wing bloggers agree with you.

Is Bush a left wing blogger? Because if he is that is certainly news worthy. He clearly stated in a recent press conference that it would take years to reap the benefits of off shore drilling if there was even oil there. In fact he criticized congress for not allowing off shore drilling when he first took office because (in his opinion) it could have made all the difference now. 

[thelakelander]

The government could easily invest that money into (gasp) Florida's Mass Transit...

or Louisiana's....  

How do we know the new jobs come to Florida?  Its just as easy to reach potential rig sites from existing facilities in nearby states.

[Lunican]

Eazy:  You are totally wrong.  Drilling more will reduce prices in the short run.  The experts do not agree with you.  Only the left wing bloggers agree with you.

Easy, don't listen to RG. He has a knack for being completely wrong almost 100% of the time.

Head of Bush Administration's Energy Information Administration Said Offshore Drilling Would Have Little Affect on Gas Prices. "In response to record pump prices, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and President George W. Bush this month called for Congress to end its moratorium on drilling off the East and West coasts and in Florida waters, leaving it up to each affected state to decide where to permit drilling. However, Guy Caruso, who heads the federal Energy Information Administration, said consumers would see little savings at the pump. 'It would be a relatively small effect, because it would take such a long time to bring those supplies on,' Caruso said during a briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the EIA's new long-term international energy forecast. 'It doesn't affect prices that much.' Most energy experts say it would take five to 10 years to find oil in the closed areas and bring the crude to market. Caruso said the additional supplies would amount to only a couple of hundred thousand barrels of oil a day. 'It does take a long time to develop these resources, and therefore the price impact is muted by that,' he said." [Reuters, 6/25/08]

[Lunican]

Does anyone even realize that oil companies currently have 68 million acres of leased federal land permitted for drilling that nothing is being done on?

Why would we want to permit even more land?

[downtownparks]

Are there known reserves under those unused lands? It would seem wasteful and shortsighted to expect them to exploit areas with little or no known oil.

[Lunican]

Just 21 Percent of Outer Continental Shelf Leases Are in Production. There are 7,740 active leases in the outer continental shelf and only 1,655 are in production. [Department of Interior]

Just 19 Percent of Outer Continental Shelf Acres Under Lease Are Producing. There are over 41,000,000 acres in the outer continental shelf have been leased for oil drilling, yet only 8,123,000 acres are in production. [Department of Interior]