Santa Barbara Requests Lift of Offshore Drilling Ban
I heard the news today, oh boy.
First let me say that I know gas prices are high. I know that not everyone can easily absorb the high prices. But, I thought that we were adjusting…weren’t we adjusting? People are actually driving less, and are turning in their SUVs for more fuel-efficient cars. These were positive steps.
And then, someone (he whose name we do not speak aloud) suggested opening up our coastal waters to drilling and all heck has broken loose. Never mind that the amount of oil available offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a drop in the bucket compared to demand. Never mind that at best, drilling there will lower gas prices by a few cents, many years from now. Never mind that protections for our unspoiled spaces are always so hard fought for, but so easily given away.
And now, our own are turning on us. The Santa Barbara County Panel of Supervisors has decided to support offshore drilling, meaning that they will send a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger asking him to reconsider his stance against it. There aren’t really any teeth in the measure, but it’s the principle of the thing, and the precedent…where California goes, the rest of the nation eventually follows. And if Californian memories are so short - there was a devastating oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara County in 1969 - how can we expect any better from anyone else?
It’s so obvious to point out that offshore drilling isn’t about lower gas prices. It’s about money. Politics. Power. But that doesn’t make it any less sad.
Photo credit: Roger_Melb on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
[...] Read more of this story » [...]