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Kathy Sullivan had a great post on this earlier today, but I wanted to take a second and talk about Kelly Ayotte's statement this morning that taking drilling in New England "off the table" would be a "huge mistake."
It was unbelievable, especially as millions of gallons of oil continue to pollute Gulf waters and coastlines
(Thanks for stopping by Congressman. Only 160 days until we get to vote for you to be the next Senator from the great state of New Hampshire. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
For 43 days, thousands of barrels of oil have been spilling into the Gulf Coast. 43 days of environmental disaster because big oil companies were given a blank check on offshore drilling with little regulation and poor oversight.
Now, with the recent failure of the "top kill" strategy, there is no end in sight to the amount of oil that is spilling into the Gulf. This spill is poisoning our waters, suffocating our plants and wildlife, and jeopardizing the health of our citizens - threatening jobs, businesses and communities along the Gulf Coast.
My thoughts and prayers are with the people and communities down on the Gulf, who are dealing day and night with the devastating aftermath of the spill.
This disaster was a warning sign. When government puts the profits of Big Oil first, when politicians listen to special interests instead of the people they are supposed to represent - then we put the safety of our workers, communities and economy at risk.
Baton Rouge (FNS)-Facing both a massive oil slick from a sunken offshore drilling platform and a second year of declining tourism revenues along the Louisiana Gulf Coast caused by high gas prices, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal today introduced a new tourism promotion that he reports is going to "...make lemons into lemonade".
Jindal, flanked by British Petroleum's Director of Marketing Dick Timoneous and the Executive Director of the Louisiana State Tourism Board, Jenna Talia, announced that the "All The Oil You Can Carry Festival" would officially commence today just east of New Orleans, and last at least through the month of May.
First, no amount of extra drilling authority today is going to reduce gas prices in the immediate near term. The Energy Department admits we are looking at 10 to 15 years before we see the impact of offshore drilling on gas prices. Even then, the impact will be a reduction of 2 to 3 cents at the pump.
Second, the United States geographically only has 2-3% of the world's oil reserves. We consume 25% of the world's oil. Increasing our supply is not the solution. We can exhaust the oil reserves under our soil and off our coasts with little or no impact on the world market. We must also reduce our demand. Experts have been demanding an increase in fuel efficiency standards for decades. The Republican-led Congress refused to do so. This Congress has. The increased CAFE standards passed by Congress will reduce the demand -- and therefore the cost -- of gasoline long before the first offshore rig is even built.
