Environmentalists enraged at Bush’s offshore drilling plan

Is Bush a lame duck or a sly fox in waiting? If his actions regarding a brand new proposal for offshore drilling near the coast of California are any indication, he may have a few tricks waiting just outside the spotlight. The new proposal would open about 130 million acres for drilling oil and natural gas. That doesn’t sound very green, but luckily this time Bush doesn’t have the final say.

Obama will. The new administration can decide whether the measure is appropriate or not and Obama has signaled that he is open to some offshore drilling. It’s a nod to the current state of economic events which are tied intimately to our supply and use of energy. But environmentalists aren’t buying it.

This is “President Bush's last-ditch effort to open our coasts to new drilling is nothing more than a parting gift to his buddies in the oil and gas industry," says Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, a member of the House Natural, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Governer Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t support the proposal either, citing concerns with destroying the environment. That’s despite a boon in tax revenue from a state that could surely use it.

Seven oil companies approached the current president with this proposal, though none of them are willing to do so publicly. If their intentions are honorable the veil of anonymity is unseemly. But what are some of the reasons oil companies are secretive and environmentalists are angry at the idea of offshore drilling?

Other than the obvious disturbance of drilling through the Earth’s crust, offshore drilling introduces risk for oil spills both through oil lines as well as from tankers transporting oil back to the main coast. There are also peripheral chemicals and oil released into the seawater generated from the drilling action, which is called “produced water”. Finally, when the oil is depleted underneath a platform, removing it is costly – one such removal required a $345 billion investment.

Obama has a lot of thinking to do on this decision, especially given his affinity for renewable energy and its supporters. Then again, we’re still using the oil either way, the environment just isn’t affected right next home in the current paradigm.