It was pointed out then that information about the Chinese Drilling was completely false and nothing more than an urban rumor and proven to be false as far back as 2006 yet Pearce and other Republicans are still spreading lies as part of a misinformation campaign to further Big Oil interests and are even further embellishing the story by claiming that the Russians are also drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Let me make this perfectly clear - neither the Chinese nor the Russians are drilling anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico. These reports are completely false and have no substance at all.
It has been pointed out that the source used to check the facts is in itself a biased organization supporting a left-wing agenda. The inference being that because of the said bias that the information is somehow not valid. In the interest of fairness I’m including Fox News as an additional source that is said to be a decidedly right-wing source or at the very least and in Fox's own words "fair and balanced". The point being that the drilling statement was proved in error over two years ago.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/20/new_offshore_drilling_not_a_quick_fix_analysts_say/
As far back as early April 2010 many of us and especially Florida residents stood up against drilling in Florida waters because we considered the risk too great. The ensuing Deepwater Horizon accident and the Gulf Oil Disaster is exactly the reason we objected to further drilling but as it turns out drilling in the Gulf is far more dangerous than even the most radical protesters imagined. My goal then was to simply keep drilling away from Florida shores because I had seen the destruction from normal drilling activity where I had once lived in the Galveston Bay area of Texas but now that we have witnessed the complete devastation of regional economies and the destruction of entire fishing and tourist industries and the ecological impact that will not be fully realized for decades we as a nation cannot and must not continue in this vain. Keep in mind this destruction comes from a single well drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.
Many of us were fighting tooth and nail to prevent drilling on Florida shores but the nation seemed hell bent on more drilling no matter what the consequences simply because of the high fuel costs. It seemed as though America's addiction to oil had no boundaries and that America was unwilling to compromise on its glutinous use of the stuff.
Even wishy-washy politicians that once stood for off shore drilling have effectively recanted and are now calling for a ban to drilling in Florida waters as the political winds are blowing the other direction.
Crist wants to ban offshore drilling
By Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
In Print: Friday, July 9, 2010
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday abruptly called for a special session of the Legislature to ask lawmakers to let voters consider putting an offshore oil drilling ban in the state Constitution. More...
Interior Secretary says he will impose new drilling moratorium
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued. The White House said it would appeal the ruling. More...
This is a six month moratorium to that would allow the Federal regulators to ensure that further drilling in the Gulf can be done safely and that no further harm should be done to the environment and that oil companies, in fact, have plans and preparations in place to deal with disasters like the Deepwater Horizon.
I agree with the moratorium because, just like 911, America must be sure that this kind of a disaster cannot happen again. After all, it was the oil companies that convinced politicians to relax all regulation so that they could drill more efficiently and it was the oil companies that convinced America that this could be done safely and that the oil companies could and would self regulate.
On each of these counts we now find that not only are the oil companies not equipped to handle a disaster of this magnitude but they don’t even have a plan in place should this occur much less a back-up plan should plan (A) fail.
Additionally we find out that the self regulation was a complete joke and not only have the oil companies not self regulated but they have colluded with what little regulation was in place.
A six month moratorium will give regulators the opportunity to better evaluate what went wrong through investigation and to take steps to increase the safety of these operations.
We had no problem starting two optional wars after 911 that, by the way, are still going on today almost 10 years later and spending big bucks to the tune $720 million a day give or take a few million and everyone knows these wars are about oil.
Yes, the job loss is adding insult to injury, however, keep in mind that BP is ultimately responsible for the consequences of this disaster and should be held responsible by compensating those injured including the loss of additional jobs although the courts have ruled that BP cannot be responsible for government actions and will probably get of the hook on this one.
Big Oil proponents are big on playing the “Job Card” in order to get their way. Any mention of regulation, taxation, cap and trade, or anything that would hold Big Oil responsible for its action draws out the threat of “Higher Prices” or “Job Loss”. I am tired of being held hostage by the oil companies while they rape us at the pump, walk away without paying taxes and all the while pollute our environment and hand us the bill.
That’s right we get handed the bill in terms of environmental impact, medical consequences of a polluted environment, higher taxes to pay for oil securing wars, and that doesn’t even mention climate change that could change our entire world as we know it.
Wake-up America before it is too late!
It is time to invest in the future of America and begin the painful process of breaking our oil addiction. Get out of that gas guzzling SUV, insulate your homes, buy energy efficient appliances and support alternative energy development NOW!
If America would just pull together on this it wouldn’t be long before we could all tell Big Oil where to go and wouldn’t that be a change.
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