Big Oil?s ?Open The Gulf? Campaign Uses Violins And Lies To Promote Offshore Drilling
http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/08/26/305278/big-oils-open-the-gulf-campaign-uses-violins-and-lies-to-promote-offshore-drilling/
"MYTH: Opening the gulf to new drilling will lower gas prices.
Even the non-partisan Energy Information Agency found that whether we dramatically expand offshore drilling or stop selling offshore leases entirely, it will have virtually no effect on gas prices ? ever.
MYTH: The Obama administration is not issuing offshore drilling permits or leases.
For deepwater permits requiring subsea containment, they have approved 112 permits for 34 unique wells, with 19 permits pending, and 21 permits returned to the operator with requests for additional information, particularly information regarding containment. And perhaps the team at CEA missed last week?s announcement that the administration has scheduled a massive sale of offshore leases in the Gulf of Mexico ? an auction that encompasses more than 20 million acres in the western gulf.
MYTH: The economic potential of offshore oil and gas is worth the risk of another blowout.
An NRDC report found that the Gulf of Mexico saw a 39 percent decline in commercial fishing catches overall between 2009 and 2010, representing a $62 million loss in dockside sales. To date, the oil giant has paid out $5 billion in economic damages to individuals and businesses in the region ? with 61,558 new claims received in the past three months ? and faces billions more in Clean Water Act fines and NRDA liabilities. After their top execs admitted just one year ago that they weren?t prepared to handle a major offshore spill, CEA?s Big Oil backers might want to reevaluate whether that?s a risk they?re willing to take."
ALASKA
Are We Really Ready to Expose Our Arctic Waters to the Threat of a Major Oil Spill? (Ocean Conservancy)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-takahashikelso/arctic-oil_b_935674.html
Visit http://www.nottheanswer.org for Surfrider's perspective on offshore drilling and the ongoing disaster in the Gulf.
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