Will Bush succeed in his push for offshore drilling?

Even before the White House could make official the plan to lift an executive ban on offshore drilling, angry responses came pouring in.

"One of the two safety nets that protect our most treasured coastal areas, as of today, is gone,'' said Richard Charter, a consultant to Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

He added:

But it is now clear that the fate of the California coast and these other sensitive areas absolutely will be determined by the presidential election. This punts the whole decision about drilling in these protected areas directly into the presidential election.

Still, there were signs of a shifting mood in Congress.

Rep. John Campbell (R-Newport Beach), who voted in 2006 against relaxing the moratorium, said in a recent interview, "I am becoming more flexible on the issue, which is clearly a function of the crisis in which we find ourselves.''

On a recent trip home, he said, gas prices ...

Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

... were "all anybody wants to talk about."

"What I hear all the time is ... I'm tired of sending all this money over to those people who hate us. And now it's a ridiculous amount of money we're sending to those people who hate us, and we need to stop that," Campbell said.

The story so far: President Bush is about to sign a memorandum lifting an executive ban on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf. A congressional moratorium remains in place but expires Oct. 1 unless Congress acts.

And the strong wall of resistance to relaxing the long-standing ban has been showing signs of cracking amid $4 a gallon gas prices and an approaching election, Times congressional correspondent Richard Simon reports. Republican presidential candidate and Sen. John McCain of Arizona recently came out in support of letting states decide whether to permit energy exploration off their coasts.

Congressional Republicans have sought to increase pressure on Democrats to support expanded domestic production, but so far have been blocked in their attempts to force a House vote on whether to allow drilling more than 50 miles off the coast.

Offshore drilling has been a hot political issue since a 1969 oil platform blowout off Santa Barbara caused extensive environmental damage and inspired the ban on new exploration off coastal waters except in parts of the Gulf of Mexico and areas off Alaska. Proponents of relaxing the moratorium say that technological improvements have made drilling safer.

Against that background, Charter noted, Bush is trying to influence the congressional vote on the moratorium.

He added: "There's no telling what could happen between now and the November election."

-- James Gerstenzang

Comments

[Tara Spies]

This is why we have to put an end to the destruction of the Republican regime. Vote Democrat.

[Gazzeravl]

"Will Bush succeed...?" Of course he will. This has always been the Energy Plan. Why do you think gas is so high now?

[dedmousie]

I guess the folks that blocked off shore wind farms because they though they were "unsightly" are wishing they had gone for that now, huh?

[Warren]

Why not spend the millions that would be devoted to this on other energy projects? There are many alternatives that could be explored by each state - wind power could easily be adopted in many states and support the growing infrastructure - that would be cleaner and sustaining. Offshore drilling is only a temporary fix to a larger problem.

[scootmandubious]

I am just waiting for the Democrats to capitulate on this. I'll be furious.

When on earth is the media gonna act responsibly and write the truth about how the proposed off-shore drilling has NOTHING to do with alleviating gas prices. When are we gonna see an accurate story about the lack of transport vessels to deliver the offshore oil we do get? Or, how about a story about how much of what is currently leased offshore isn't even being utilized???

This is being done for one reason and one reason only, to give BushCos energy buddies one more favor, before he leaves office, under the guise of helping lower prices.

I am sick to death of the media not properly framing the real issue. And I am equally sick of the cowardly Dems who have no clue on how to stand up to more false arguments that the GOP makes and that the media, through irresponsibility, allows to resonate, unchallenged.

If the Dems allow this, we need a change in leadership positions in both houses of Congress.

[Doug Edelman]

Let's remember: Katrina blew several oil rigs off station and on shore. Not one platform had a "blowout" or spilled ANY oil! Offshore Drilling technology has gotten much better, more efficient and safer!

[Michael Morris]

Congress has displayed little backbone when it comes to standing up to Bush, so I must say I'm not optimistic. Here in the lovely state of Florida, which would also be effected by this latest bit of stupidity, pro oil voices like Governor Charlie Crist have already spoken in favor of lifting the moratorium.

It could come down to the people putting pressure on their representatives and the people seem to be more concerned with the present state of their purses and wallets than the future of the planet. We owe it to future generations to not drill, but we've shown little concern for future generations thus far. Perhaps, between now and October we can gather what wisdom we have and make the same hard choices we've made before after such disasters as the Santa Barbara oil spill and the Exxon Valdez debacle. The voice of greed doesn't always prevail.

[Beltway Greg]

I hope he succeeds at something. At this point the law of averages is on his side While with everyday in office the law of diminishing returns seems to be on ours.

Way to go "Decider."

Beltway Greg

[Bill Sommers]

This is great, now we can at least start to be oil independent. We also need to get rid of blended gas, three grades, and stop exporting oil to anyone.

[Mike]

It's my understanding that oil companies have millions of acres of Gulf Coast offshore areas approved for exploration--why aren't they drilling there? Why off the shore of California?

[Rick]

I am not sure if Bush will succeed with this. I would be less upset if he were doing it for the American People and not to ensure even more windfall profits for his buddies in the oil business.

The oil companies already have thousands of acres not only to explore but also places to start drilling RIGHT NOW. Sadly, this is a land grab.

[John Watrous]

The day filling up tanks, stretch navigators, H2's, dodge rams, and F150's with gasoline officially becomes more important to this country than Californias coastline and Alaskas wildlife refuge is the day that I, John Duane Watrous Jr, of Saginaw, MI. personally declare war on the United States of America. You can quote me on that.

I cannot believe that anyone could be so ignorant to think that the solution to gas prices rising to unreasonable levels would be to exploit some of the only true beauty left on earth. The blatent disregard for this planet is absolutely astonishing. Mopeds avg. 100 mpg people. Bicycles, shoes, rollerblades, rollerskates, horses, skateboards, these things dont use ANY gasoline. There are SO SO SO many alternatives to oil even in terms of powering vehicles. Is your Hummer really more important than your childrens future? Your PLANETS future? This whole article makes me sick to my stomach.

[Jeff in Orlando]

It will never happen, but I would like to see a bipartisan effort to forge a new energy policy that will allow us to take advantage of all domestic energy resources. This could be done in the spirit of doing what is right for America. The reason this won't happen is politicians are more interested in scoring points with their constituents than doing what is in the best interest of the country. We have the technology to drill harmlessly both on and off shore. It has been 40 years since the spill at Santa Barbara. Have we made no progress in safe drilling techniques since then? If you believe that and only that, vote for the politician that supports that position and get use to riding a bike.

[psmarc93]

Soooo.... what about the 80-odd million acres of offshore land that the oil companies own now, but are NOT drilling? What about the fact that all refineries are now at capacity and cannot process another drop? How does giving more land solve the gas crisis? We are talking about the gas crisis? Am I missing something?

[Sasha]

I had never even heard of the spill in 1969 and
reading your made me cry. Pretty scary that it
could happen again and maybe this time hit much,
much closer to home.
--An Encinitas local--

[rachel]

it is crazy that the American people are being choked both at the pump and everywhere else, (with insane food prices etc.) and that we are giving an immense amount of money and power to those who would like nothing more than to blow us all to smithereens, just because we won't tap into our own resources and DRILL FOR OIL! Every day that we give those terrorists money we are endangering our lives, yet people have the nerve to suggest that by drilling we may endanger " treasured coastal areas"? we are talking about the lives of hundreds of people, just look at 9-11! People have got to get their priorities straight!

[MaddiK]

As if the country’s path to hell is not progressing fast enough, chucklenut further proved his finite intelligence by forcing us to use more oil instead of less. Way to show the world what moronic government we have.

We are in desperate need for a REAL third party that has some intelligence (missing in ratwing) and some backbones (missing in laxwing). The former leads us to a barbaric bible hugging, gun kissing, oil guzzling, earth killing, all-for-one big corporate exec profiting, zero moral hypocritical world's laughing stock hick town, and the latter bends over and lets them. Government will not stop abusing its people for the greed of the 1% unless we tell it ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Nader is not connected to either establishment, so he’s not afraid of taking a stand on people’s behalf. He’s a consumer advocate first and foremost—that means he’s on OUR side, not the big corporate interests like the other two. It’s the ONLY way to take back the government. WWW.VOTENADER.ORG. It’s time for a REAL change.

[harry clockwork]

it's exceedingly clear that the Bush admin is not concerned about the americans' pocketbooks, but only their own. his thirst for oil is so intense that he will do anything, however shameful because there's a buck in it for him and his cronies. analysts have shown again and again that offshore drilling will not bring gas prices down any time soon if ever. if congress lets this one slip through, it's the nail in the coffin for American Democracy as we once knew it.

[harry buttons]

Talk about irresponsible journalism! There IS NO CONNECTION between offshore drilling and American gas prices. Read ANY logical article by any economist or analyst and get a clue as to how dumbheaded this is to all but the handful who stand to profit from it.
Bush will do everything in his power to keep gas prices high and to block alternatives to it, because of course he has everything to gain and very little reputation to lose.

[Brian in Seattle]

George W. Bush has done more to destroy the American Dream than any other president in our history. 8 trillion dollars in debt, when and how will we pay that off? Soon to be $5 a gallon gas is driving food prices sky high. Home ownership defaults are at an all time high. Jobs are disappearing rapidly to overseas competition. We can drill offshore if we have to but wouldn't it be easier and faster to mandate 40 mile per gallon cars within 5 years as a requirement? Isn't this the administration that gave huge tax incentives to purchase gas guzzling SUV's for business purposes? I won't even get into the war, which is just a fiasco of tragic proportions. I think history will judge George W. Bush as the worst president ever.

[Brenton]

i would vote to blow up the moon if it would bring gas prices down.

[joseph marcucilli]

Obama is against off shore because it is not a short term solution.He is the leader of the party and his decision will be decisive.

[Karl]

Warren:
"Why not spend the millions that would be devoted to this on other energy projects?"

If you were a business owner, would you spend millions of dollars to help your competitors? I didn't think so.

scootmandubious"
"how about a story about how much of what is currently leased offshore isn't even being utilized???"

Leases come first, then exploration. If the exploration concludes there isn't enough oil to make it profitable to drill, They Don't Drill, just because you threaten to take away their lease, its not going to push them to drill in an area that isn't going to make them any money,

dedmousie:
"I guess the folks that blocked off shore wind farms because they thought they were "unsightly" are wishing they had gone for that now, huh?"

You are absolutely right, even though I don't think Democrat Ted Kenedy thought twice about opposing offshore wind farms several kilometers off the coast from his beachfront property. Even though he is a staunch supporter of alternative energy for us poor peasant folk.

At least we know there is Enough B.S. flowing from congress we will be able to fertalize our crops for years to come. I just don't know if we will have room here in this country to store it all!

[Fritz Land]

Green Energy is great but it is not now commercially available in the quantities required to fuel our economy or the world economy. Give us 15 more years of drilling and refining while improving and expanding our green energy capabilites and capacities. Then let us talk about reducing our need for oil....

[Fritz Land]

Green Energy is great but it is not now commercially available in the quantities required to fuel our economy or the world economy. Give us 15 more years of drilling and refining while improving and expanding our green energy capabilites and capacities. Then let us talk about reducing our need for oil....