Some Gulf Lawmakers With Ties to the Industry Downplay Spill in Their Own Backyard

[babylonsister]

Some Gulf Lawmakers With Ties to the Industry Downplay Spill in Their Own Backyard
Clean Energy Advocates Aren't Counting on Landrieu and Others for Support on Drilling Reform
By Mike Lillis 5/5/10 6:00 AM

Mary Landrieu

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) (WDCpix)


Last week — as thousands of barrels of oil were gushing each day from an uncapped well on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico — Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) took to the chamber floor to say that she didn’t want “to minimize” the severity of the disaster. Then she spent the next 20 minutes doing just that.

The slick, Landrieu said, contains “only 3 percent” thick emulsified crude that exists as “a very thin layer” — only as thick as “a couple of strands of hair.” The 5,000 barrels then-estimated to be spilling out each day, she noted, represent “less than one-fourth of 1 percent” of the nation’s daily consumption. Relative to that requirement “the industry spill rate is quite low,” she argued.

“It is more risky to import our oil in tankers than it is to drill for it offshore, even considering this disaster that we’re dealing with today,” Landrieu said. “Retreat is not an option. … We must continue to drill.”

On one hand, that message has stumped environmentalists, government watchdogs and some of Landrieu’s own Democratic colleagues, who are pointing to the ongoing disaster as clear reason why policymakers should abandon any plans to expand offshore drilling and focus instead on cleaner energy alternatives. On the other, the oil industry is a powerful economic engine in Louisiana, and hasn’t been shy about showering the state’s congressional delegation with campaign cash.Indeed, the more than $758,000 Landrieu has accepted from the industry over her Capitol Hill tenure ranks 10th among all active lawmakers. Even following the worst drilling disaster in decades — even though the spill rests in Landrieu’s backyard — clean-energy advocates aren’t counting on the Louisiana Democrat for any serious support on drilling reform.

“There’s a reason why {corporations} contribute money into the political process,” said Tyson Slocum, head of the energy program at Public Citizen, a government watchdog group. “They’re giving money, not out of charity, but for the promotion of their own self interests. It’s with the explicit intention of getting something in return.”

more...

http://washingtonindependent.com/83945/some-gulf-lawmakers-with-ties-to-the-industry-downplay-spill-in-their-own-backyard

[Junkdrawer]

1. Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow?

Only #10 in the oil pork handout line? Clearly she needs to try harder.

[liberal N proud]

2. Will those Cajuns who are losing their way of life continue to support her?

[babylonsister]

3. Will they recognize whose interests she's really representing? nt

[liberal N proud]

4. Not if the media does their job

Recognizing that the media no longer works for the people.