McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
WASHINGTON â?? John McCain called Monday for lifting a federal moratorium on offshore drilling for oil and gas â?? a politically sensitive issue in such key states as Florida.
States should decide for themselves whether to permit drilling, McCain said, but they should be given the option to combat what he called an "energy crisis" that saw gas prices reach an average of $4.08 a gallon on Monday.
McCain's plan represents a shift for the presumptive Republican nominee, who supported the offshore drilling ban during his 2000 presidential campaign. Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the Arizona senator, said McCain understands that voters want action to meet new problems.
McCain previewed a speech he'll give Tuesday in Houston. He told reporters at a campaign office outside of Washington that he continues to oppose drilling in some areas, including the Alaskan wilderness. "But I certainly think that there are areas off our coasts that should be open to exploration and exploitation," he added.
The senator has also endorsed efforts by congressional Republicans to expand oil and gas drilling in the face of rapidly rising fuel prices. Florida's Republican and Democratic lawmakers â?? led by Gov. Charlie Crist, a prominent McCain supporter â?? have pushed back on those efforts.
Democrat Barack Obama's campaign and environmental groups said McCain's proposal threatens U.S. coastlines and doeslittle to reduce American dependence on foreign oil. Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan said McCain's hope to "simply drill our way out of our energy crisis" mimics the approach of the Bush administration.
Tiernan Sittenfeld, legislative director with the League of Conservation Voters, said McCain should stress alternative fuel sources. "We need to be focused more on increased energy efficiency and on renewable energy sources like wind and solar power."
McCain does supportdevelopment of alternative energy sources, which he'll outline in depth Tuesday and in upcoming energy speeches. "I'll be talking about our dependency on foreign oil, how we can reduce and eventually eliminate it," he said.
Congress imposed a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas drilling in 1981.
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban - USATODAY.com
Even though Hurricane Katrina came through the Gulf Coast, not one of the hundreds of oil rigs leaked, despite significant damage to their structures. That means we have the technology to drill safely in the gulf, and we should.
Too dependent on foreign oil? Simple solution: Drill 'er up
The Interior Department estimates that the Outer Continental Shelf has more than 115 billion barrels of oil and 633 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available for extraction. At current levels of consumption, that would satisfy the nation's oil needs for about 16 years and its natural gas needs for about 25 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/wa...n/09drill.html
And yet we have Canada, China, and India going after the same oil reserves thanks to Cuba. What would happen to oil speculation if the U.S. openly committed itself to drill in these areas not to mention others in the U.S.? Obama-Gore may have visions of a world of "green" but fact is that our truckers, industry, middle and lower class need help NOW! When gas hits $5.00 during the fall election this WILL be a key issue.
Have a good one!:s4:
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
I doubt McCain had even the remotest prayer of winning California, but with this he can kiss it goodbye for sure. Probably lose Florida too --- that one might hurt.
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
Florida is paying over $4.00/gal. and California is paying over $4.50/gal. I think in general people are ready to see some beautiful oil rigs driving their price of gas down.
I'll agree with ya anyways on California due to other reasons but as to Florida....Obama will be fighting an uphill battle. Seems that the senior citizen group isn't so much in love with his style of "change".
Hey, we at least agreed on 50% of the issue...that has to be a new record for us...LOL!!:thumbsup:
Have a good one!:s4:
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
Smart move by McCain. It's absolutely necessary in order to lower oil futures.
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
^ Exactly.
I say drill, drill god damn you!
I keep hearing bitching from people, "But, but it won't even affect us for a few years!"
Well wtf do people think? If it's bad now it could get a lot worse. Drill for the future.
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
The California coast is well protected by state laws, so if this ban were lifted, it would not change a thing here. What other states have oil offshore that are affected by the current ban? The gulf states? I thought they already had all kinds of offshore drilling, don't they? What does the current ban cover? Anyone know?
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
In June 1990, President George H. W. Bush responded to concerns about preserving the ocean and coastal environment with a directive ordering the Department of Interior not to conduct leasing or preleasing activity in places other than the Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and limited parts of Alaska offshore until 2000. The moratorium affected virtually all of the coasts of the North Atlantic, California, Washington, Oregon, New England, Mid-Atlantic and the Northern Aleutian Basin. It also included the Eastern Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Southwest Florida, an area extending 700 miles from Baldwin County, Alabama, southward to the Florida Keys.
Bush's directive expanded a moratorium Congress imposed in 1982 that removed 736,000 acres off the coast of northern and central California from leasing for oil and gas exploration and production. The concern for possible environmental damage and social disruption caused by both routine activities and accidents, such as oil spills, resulted in local pressure to prevent these possibilities by removing areas from the lease schedule. In 1998, President Clinton extended Bush's Executive Order until June 2012.
Moratorium on Offshore Drilling (1990)
The enviromental reasons given were from a spill in "69".....we've come a long way since then as PROVEN with Katrina.
Have a good one!:s4:
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone surveyâ??conducted before McCain announced his intentions on the issue--finds that 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided. Conservative and moderate voters strongly support this approach, while liberals are more evenly divided (46% of liberals favor drilling, 37% oppose).
Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that gas prices will go down if offshore oil drilling is allowed, although 27% donâ??t believe it. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of conservatives say offshore drilling is at least somewhat likely to drive prices down. That view is shared by 57% of moderates and 50% of liberal voters.
Rasmussen Reportsâ?¢: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election.
Seems that this issue has strong support from both sides of the aisle....this is one fight the enviromentalists will lose with the price of gas and fuel oil climbing every day.
Have a good one!:s4:
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
Nothing wrong with opening up drilling. It won't solve anything though. We still have thousands of wells in this country that aren't even being utilized. Hopefully no new tax encentives for these assholes to start drilling.
McCain calls to lift U.S. oil drilling ban
Now Bush has jumped in to back up McCain on this one --- so that'll probably kill it. McCain keeps trying to distance himself from Bush and counter Obama's claim that McCain is no different from Bush. And Bush keeps blowing it for him.