Maybe this is a good thing, might take Obama off the hook. That Senate bill by the Gang of 10 that he supports might hurt him in Florida. It takes choice away from Florida, and drilling could be done only 50 miles offshore.
No vote on offshore drillingWASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday ruled out a vote on new offshore oil drilling even as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he might be open to a compromise that included it.
The scramble over expanded drilling off America's coasts — ammunition for a weekend of rat-a-tat-tat by the presidential campaigns — underscores the political power of $4-a-gallon gas. Though President Bush and other backers of new drilling acknowledge it wouldn't directly affect gas prices for years, they have pounded Democrats for opposing the measure, which is now supported by most Americans.
Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech today in Lansing, Mich., on energy policy, unveiling what spokesman Bill Burton called "new short-term and long-term solutions to the energy crisis that we're facing."
...."The latest furor over energy policy began when Obama, campaigning in Florida on Saturday, spoke favorably of a Senate plan that includes new offshore drilling, a step he has long opposed.
The bill by the ten Senate Democrats has good parts in it, but it nearly guts the exemptions for offshore drilling.
The bad part:
Florida would not get a choice on whether to allow drilling off its coasts.Most Floridians don't know this yet, but they will not be happy about not being given a choice like the other 4 states.
The Gang of 10 proposal would encourage states to allow drilling off their shores by sharing some of the federal offshore royalty revenues with the states. But unlike the other four states, Florida would not get a choice on whether to allow drilling off its coasts. When asked why not, Chambliss said, "It's only a logical extension of what's happening in the Gulf right now. Plus, that area has been identified as an area where resources are available right now."
But the proposal, coming just two years after passage of a carefully crafted compromise that opened a portion of the eastern Gulf, was met by almost immediate opposition from Florida's senators — Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez.Nelson has already has told Senate leadership "if anybody wants to drill off Florida, they'll have a fight on their hands," Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said in an e-mail. Martinez, in a statement, said: "Unfortunately, the proposal would eliminate Florida's 2006 Gulf protections and give Floridians absolutely no voice in determining where exploration could occur."
And you know all those hurricanes that skirt the coastal areas of the four states plus Florida? Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina...well, just include the Gulf states of Texas and Louisiana.
A storm is nearing those states in the Gulf of Mexico, and
oil jumps above 126 dollars in anticipation.
Tensions over Iran's nuclear programme pushed oil prices to record levels above USD 147 in July.
Meanwhile a new storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, where key US energy facilities are located, is adding to supply jitters, dealers said.
Tropical Storm Edouard is expected to run parallel to the Louisiana coast and be very near the southwestern coast of Louisiana and the upper Texas coast by late Tuesday.
"Some reports are saying much of the US offshore oil production facilities are in the likely path of the storm but it is a little too early to say what the direction of the storm is going to be," said Shum.
So the solution to allow the four states to more the drilling closer to their coasts in areas that have hurricane fears near shore often during the summer...and the solution of giving Florida no voice. Doesn't sound like a winner to me at all.
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