This article was in my local paper and I thought I would share it with you and get your thoughts and opinions.
Energy drilling off Florida's coast - for years, considered a kind of political kryptonite - is back on the front burner in Congress.
Nothing might change this year. But $4-a-gallon gas and Tuesday's call by Sen. John McCain for more offshore drilling are loosening opposition by Florida's congressional Republicans and Gov. Charlie Crist.
And President Bush plans a renewed push to get Congress to end a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling. White House press secretary Dana Perino told The Associated Press that Bush today will urge lawmakers to lift the ban.
McCain, whose presidential chances may be tied to winning Florida, proposed dropping a 1990s drilling moratorium that he backed during his 2000 presidential campaign. He now says each state should decide whether to allow drilling.
Crist, a McCain supporter and a potential vice-presidential candidate, also softened his previously adamant opposition. He said offshore drilling is something he would "least like to do" - but added he couldn't now rule it out.
"Floridians are suffering, and when you're paying over $4 a gallon for gas, you have to wonder whether there might be additional resources that we might be able to utilize to bring that price down," Crist said. "I applaud (McCain) for his idea. I think it's something that should be studied."
Democrats were quick to scoff.
"If John McCain jumps off a cliff, will Charlie Crist jump, too?" said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski.
A proposal to all ow drilling in currently banned areas will come up today in the House Appropriations Committee. It failed in subcommittee last week on a party-line vote, with all Democrats opposed, and likely will fail again today.
But its sponsor, Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., said he'll keep bringing the measure up.
"If we don't open up our supply of oil and gas, we don't have an economic future. The folks have figured it out; the politicians haven't," Peterson said, noting Florida is particularly dependent on natural gas to generate electricity.
Proponents note that Florida gets one-third of its electricity from natural gas and that improved technology makes oil spills that would foul the state's beaches highly unlikely.
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, the Orlando Republican who in 2006 engineered a compromise barring drilling within 125 miles of Florida's west coast through 2022, said he hopes McCain will support continuing that protection. If so, he said, he "could probably live with" McCain's proposal.
Several Central Florida House members also backed McCain, including GOP Reps, Tom Feeney of Oviedo, Cliff Stearns of Ocala and Dave Weldon of Indialantic.
Drilling along large swaths of coastline is blocked by a presidential moratorium that extends to 2012 and a congressional ban.
Oil companies eye the Gulf of Mexico off Florida because it's thought to hold large pockets of oil and natural gas.
But Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said the oil in the area is only enough to supply the nation for 10 months. Drilling, he said, would threaten the environment and the military training done in the eastern Gulf - and would not lower prices at the gas pump.
This article was written by Tamara Lytle and was published on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 in the Orlando Sentinel.
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"If we don't open up our supply of oil and gas, we don't have an economic future. The folks have figured it out; the politicians haven't," Peterson said, noting Florida is particularly dependent on natural gas to generate electricity.
This is the very reason I posted this thread http://forums.demopolislive.com/showthread.php?t=21603
so others can go sign the petition to congress. I guess I should have said that in the title.
Hopefully congress will get the memo. I doubt they will do anything about it but not because I didn't write my Reps.
The thing is, they already have plenty of land leases that they can drill offshore -- they just want MORE leases... I say start with what you have first... if it dries up, then ask for more.
They should at least try drilling in places they already have paid for before wanting to get permission to expand before attempt.
Life is something that you can't control.
When you try to hold on to it, it makes you let go!
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The thing is, they already have plenty of land leases that they can drill offshore -- they just want MORE leases... I say start with what you have first... if it dries up, then ask for more.
They should at least try drilling in places they already have paid for before wanting to get permission to expand before attempt.
I would like to see our country independent from other countries for oil. Facts??? Where did you get the idea that "they" already have enough land to drill from? If we could become independent from other countries wouldn't you want that? And this site shows we could. Why our government has not done anything about this is just ridiculous!!! Are they that disconnected from people?
Quote:
Join the 1,054,273 people who have signed the petition.
I'm not saying we shouldn't be looking for alternative energy solutions. But this way we don't have to hurt American's the way oil companies and OPEC has the past year or more.
McCain's Offshore Drilling Position A Flip From 3 weeks Ago
huffingtonpost.com — On Monday, John McCain told a crowd in Texas that he was abandoning his long-time support for a federal ban on drilling along the nation's coastlines in favor of allowing states to decide for themselves. But how recent a convert is McCain to this position?
a flip-flopper-Bush-puppet. <yee-ha!>
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There are areas offshore they are allowed to drill -- out in the Gulf. Why don't they work on these places more... then ask for more permission later. I don't really care anymore. Put up a oil rig in my back yard.. maybe you'll find some under my swimming pool... who knows.
Life is something that you can't control.
When you try to hold on to it, it makes you let go!
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On The Other Hand...
-------------------------------
Speculators and investment banks can game the energy trading markets, using loopholes in commodities law to drive up the cost of energy and reap record profits… at the expense of American families and small businesses!
One of the biggest factors in high oil prices, according to many experts, is that investors, such as hedge funds and investment bankers, can use loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and diesel fuel prices to new heights.
Congress is aware of the problem and lawmakers recently passed legislation to address the “Enron Loophole,” one of the major loopholes that opens the door to abusive trading practices, but the law didn’t go far enough.
Unfortunately, other loopholes exist that allow energy trading on completely “dark” exchanges. For example, the “Foreign Markets Loophole” allows American energy commodities to be traded overseas – exempt from U.S. oversight.
These so-called “Dark Markets” – commodities markets that are not policed by U.S. authorities provide for an open the door to manipulation, even outright control of the markets.
For example, speculative investors can buy and sell millions of barrels of U.S. destined oil and other energy products every day in the United Kingdom and even in Dubai… but are not made subject to the transparency and accountability laws that govern exchanges here in the United States!
Additionally, through the so-called “swaps loophole,” financial investors can “game the markets” for pure profit by buying up positions in the energy markets, without any limitation on the size of the positions they can take. One recent estimate suggested that they now control one third of the commodities markets, or $150 billion - a 1,000% increase in less than five years!
Some experts believe that as much as 60 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline or heating oil can be attributed to pure speculation and abusive –even manipulative – trading practices, yet most trading is “dark” and federal authorities can neither fully police or see the data in the majority of the trading markets.
The energy trading markets were originally set up to provide energy producers and distributors with an environment to manage risk and produce the best possible price for their customers. But they are clearly no longer the driving force in the market. Profiteering speculators and investment banks care little about establishing a price for energy based on supply and demand fundamentals – they care about turning a PROFIT.
Contact Congress & the White House today... stop the loopholes!
- PMAA.org
Life is something that you can't control.
When you try to hold on to it, it makes you let go!
The following member(s) say Thank You to mmcd3182 for this post:
On The Other Hand...
-------------------------------
Speculators and investment banks can game the energy trading markets, using loopholes in commodities law to drive up the cost of energy and reap record profits… at the expense of American families and small businesses!
One of the biggest factors in high oil prices, according to many experts, is that investors, such as hedge funds and investment bankers, can use loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and diesel fuel prices to new heights.
Congress is aware of the problem and lawmakers recently passed legislation to address the “Enron Loophole,” one of the major loopholes that opens the door to abusive trading practices, but the law didn’t go far enough.
Unfortunately, other loopholes exist that allow energy trading on completely “dark” exchanges. For example, the “Foreign Markets Loophole” allows American energy commodities to be traded overseas – exempt from U.S. oversight.
These so-called “Dark Markets” – commodities markets that are not policed by U.S. authorities provide for an open the door to manipulation, even outright control of the markets.
For example, speculative investors can buy and sell millions of barrels of U.S. destined oil and other energy products every day in the United Kingdom and even in Dubai… but are not made subject to the transparency and accountability laws that govern exchanges here in the United States!
Additionally, through the so-called “swaps loophole,” financial investors can “game the markets” for pure profit by buying up positions in the energy markets, without any limitation on the size of the positions they can take. One recent estimate suggested that they now control one third of the commodities markets, or $150 billion - a 1,000% increase in less than five years!
Some experts believe that as much as 60 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline or heating oil can be attributed to pure speculation and abusive –even manipulative – trading practices, yet most trading is “dark” and federal authorities can neither fully police or see the data in the majority of the trading markets.
The energy trading markets were originally set up to provide energy producers and distributors with an environment to manage risk and produce the best possible price for their customers. But they are clearly no longer the driving force in the market. Profiteering speculators and investment banks care little about establishing a price for energy based on supply and demand fundamentals – they care about turning a PROFIT.
Contact Congress & the White House today... stop the loopholes!
- PMAA.org
Life is something that you can't control.
When you try to hold on to it, it makes you let go!
They should put them on the beaches. Then they can drill right beside old faithful in yellowstone, how about an oil well on mt rushmore, the white house lawn where else can we drill?
once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest places if you look at it right ...
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