Santa Barbara City Council says No to Offshore Drilling

With offshore oil drilling emerging as a hot issue in the presidential campaign, the Santa Barbara City Council Tuesday night reaffirmed its opposition to drilling along the coastline where a 1969 spill gave rise to the Environmental Protection Agency and the modern environmental movement.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sbdrill10-2008sep10,0,3979257.story

Fresh Air interview with Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman's Argument For 'Geo-Greenism'

Thomas Friedman is a man bent on revolution. In his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist writes about the need for a green revolution — and calls upon Americans to lead the charge.

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=09-08-2008&view=storyview

Oil Industry Mounts Multi-Million $$ Ad Campaign

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry, wants to [no surprise here] push Congress to lift the moratorium on offshore drilling off the Florida coast and other parts of the country. In order to accomplish this , they've launched a multi-million $ ad campaign, buying full-page ads in the St. Petersburg Times, Orlando Sentinel and other newspapers around Florida, as well as in USA Today and Newsweek magazine, and running radio ads as well.

In response, a coalition of environmental groups including Surfrider Foundation, Sierra Club, and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as some businesspeople worried about beach pollution harming tourism have set up a Web site, Don't Rig Florida's Economy.

Also see Surfrider's Oil Drilling Talking Points

http://www.theledger.com/article/20080907/NEWS/809070351/1063/YOURTOWN19&itle=Oil_Industry_Counts_on_Public_Support_to_Win_Drilling_Battle

Offshore Drilling in Nova Scotia?

Georges Bank drilling weighed
Nova Scotia's interest raises alarm in N.E.; Environmentalists, fishermen concerned
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2008/08/25/georges_bank_drilling_weighed/

Comment - This article raises the issue of potential offshore oil drilling impacts from Nova Scotia in Canada affecting New England states like Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. A similar issue may likely rear its ugly head within the U.S. If the federal moratorium on new offshore oil leases is lifted, states will have the authority to authorize new oil drilling off their shores. But the ocean doesn't really care about state boundaries, so an oil spill from offshore drilling in Virginia may gunk up the beaches of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, etc.

Senate Democrats to Push Bipartisan Drilling Bill

Democratic leaders in the Senate plan to push a bipartisan energy proposal that would allow for some expansion of offshore drilling when Congress returns next week from a five-week recess.
The plan that would allow Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina to opt into leasing programs starting 50 miles off their shores now has the support of 16 senators - eight Democrats and eight Republicans.

However, it is expected to face opposition from lawmakers in both parties, and with Congress planning to meet for only three weeks before recessing again for the November election, its prospects are dim.

The proposal, not yet introduced as legislation, would also lift a ban on drilling off the Gulf coast of Florida, invest $20 billion on developing petroleum-free motor vehicles and extend expiring tax credits for renewable energy.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iPiCSdlHCUuR4wJCS-1FDbp1w7ggD92VHSLG0

N.C. Drilling is No Solution

N.C. drilling is no solution
What little oil is likely to be found won't cut gas price, will harm coast.
Commentary from Doug Rader, chief ocean scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/406/story/167635.html

Drill Here? Why Now?

By Daniel Gross | NEWSWEEK

John McCain's proposal for a gas-tax holiday went over like a ton of bricks. But his proposals to open up the continental shelf for drilling have struck a chord. A recent CBS/New York Times poll showed that Americans back offshore drilling, 62-28; a bipartisan group of senators is at work on a compromise, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signaled openness to the issue. Expect to hear a continuous chorus of "Drill here, drill now" in Minneapolis this week. But as a short-term fix, offshore drilling is just as lame as a gas-tax holiday. Exploring off the beaches of south Florida won't bring new supplies to the market for several years. And when offshore oil does arrive, the amounts will be so small compared with global demand that they won't have much impact on the price we pay. So why has drilling resonated? NEWSWEEK's economics expert Daniel Gross offers five theories:

• Vast right-wing conspiracy: The gas-tax holiday was derided by the economic-policy wing of the Republican Party. By contrast, the Republican noise machine—the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Washington think tanks, talk- radio blowhards, the dwindling core of Capitol Hill Republicans—has marched in impressive message lock step for drilling.

• Vast Marxist conspiracy: By sapping the highway trust fund of construction funds, the gas-tax holiday was a potential job killer. Domestic drilling, by contrast, is something akin to a jobs program for highly paid blue-collar workers.

• Screw the foreigners: Call it national security, or call it chauvinism, but drilling for domestic oil sets up a zero-sum game. Every barrel of oil produced here is one we don't have to buy from our long and growing list of enemies: Venezuela, Iran and Russia. By contrast, a gas-tax holiday just offers more opportunities to enrich Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

• Mytho-historical: Wildcatting for oil conjures up legendary fortunes (Rockefeller, Getty, Hughes) and feeds into romanticized notions of how the nation was built by pioneers who tapped into the natural bounty of this resource-rich land. Think John Wayne and "There Will Be Blood." Gas-tax holidays conjure up images of accountants. Think David Schwimmer.

• Freudian: The language and imagery surrounding the issue—drills penetrating the earth's crust in search of gushers—tap into deep-seated subconscious desires. A gas-tax holiday? Not so much.