Coastal Drilling - For or Against?

[ASH]

Don't know if it's true, but I was told back then that there is more oil under the Dakotas and Montana than the state of Texas. The stuff they were pumping up out there was a yellow color instead of black. Had lots of Hydrogen Sulfide in it as well. Just a few parts per billion and you were dead. Killed lots of people in the late 70's and early 80's.
I actually got to work with the Boots and Coots people on the Stengem blowout back in 1983.

 

[goofer]

My HEAD says yes...My HEART says no !

 

[DD]

My HEAD says yes...My HEART says no !

I'm with you goofer. I can't pretend to know what's the right and smart thing to do, but I'd hate to see happen to Florida (and other) beaches what happened to Texas beaches.

 

[Miss Critter]

I'd like to know what an earlier poster based his assertion on regarding oil companies being good stewards of the environment - Big Oil's ads? I've fished the coast of Louisiana on many occasions and in my experience, "good stewards" is the last phrase I'd use to describe the crap that was left everywhere. Maybe what I saw was the result of smaller companies and not the giants, and if that's the case, I stand corrected. But as Miss Kitty says, it's alot easier lettin' the cat out of the bag than puttin' it back in.

Plus, we're still stuck with a dirty, non-renewable resource with exponential (China & India) demand. Aren't we smart enough to come up with a better solution?

And nuclear power scares the bejeesus out of me. Yes, it's "clean" when it's created, but the radioactive waste remains active for 10,000 years. How is that being "good stewards?" http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/07/0711_020711_yuccaspikes.html

Each generation does what's good for them, and future generations be damned. Those future generations are our children and grandchildren. I'd like to leave them a better legacy.

 

[Matt J]

To the folks that want to open the off shore area of Florida to drilling, why do you think so many people from Texas and Louisiana vacation here? Their beaches are on the exact same Gulf of Mexico.

To the ANWAR debate, they recently did a study that showed it would take 20 years to develop and start producing, and once in production it would only lower gas $.14-$.85 a gallon. To me this is not enough of a savings to warrant destroying the largest and arguably the most beautiful natural preserves in this country. If that minute a savings is worth it to you then we might as well scrape any taxes on gas for road repair and maintenance. Hey we'll save now, of course we won't have roads that are driveable and that will really cut down on gas usage.

I would really like to see the oil companies put their money where their marketing is, in alternative energy sources. Instead we are told that they are researching it (couldn't produce those numbers when questioned by congress) and then turn around and start lobbying to open up more drilling. I think the fox is in the hen house.

 

[fisher]

To the folks that want to open the off shore area of Florida to drilling, why do you think so many people from Texas and Louisiana vacation here? Their beaches are on the exact same Gulf of Mexico.

.

The beaches in Texas are always crowded. Just like the beaches on the east coast of Fla, Ga, SC, NC, etc. No lack of people going to these places. SoWal isn't the be all end all in terms of beach locales. If it was, demand for homes, lots, condos, etc would still be through the roof.

It's my favorite beach, but I know lots and lots of people that prefer other beaches over SoWal.

 

[Cil]

My understanding is that China is *not* drilling for oil in the Gulf.

http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/567156.html

But now our governor supports drilling.

http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/573350.html

This attitude seems so short-sighted to me. As others have said, it is a band-aid approach.
Many other countries seem more forward-thinking; they have fuel economy standards that are stricter than ours.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/326294

I know it is not easy to change our ways, but it sure does seem like the right time to invest in new technologies rather than just literally digging ourselves into a deeper hole.

 

[30A Skunkape]

To the folks that want to open the off shore area of Florida to drilling, why do you think so many people from Texas and Louisiana vacation here? Their beaches are on the exact same Gulf of Mexico.

To the ANWAR debate, they recently did a study that showed it would take 20 years to develop and start producing, and once in production it would only lower gas $.14-$.85 a gallon. To me this is not enough of a savings to warrant destroying the largest and arguably the most beautiful natural preserves in this country. If that minute a savings is worth it to you then we might as well scrape any taxes on gas for road repair and maintenance. Hey we'll save now, of course we won't have roads that are driveable and that will really cut down on gas usage.

I would really like to see the oil companies put their money where their marketing is, in alternative energy sources. Instead we are told that they are researching it (couldn't produce those numbers when questioned by congress) and then turn around and start lobbying to open up more drilling. I think the fox is in the hen house.

Louisiana beaches are muddy thanks to a little bayou that empties into the Gulf off her coast! Don't let the mud fool you-the waters are rich with life which may be a better indicator of how foul the water is.

 

[DuneLaker]

We are fortunate in SoWal not to have the runoff from the Mississippi River and there was an epic event where the Georgia Channel System stopped intercepting the siliciclastic sediments. Otherwise our white sand would look more like Texas or even other parts of Florida. Why is our sand so white, special, so different? It is not because of the lack of oil drilling. Here's one of the best explanations I've found. "The Late Oligocene regression ... was responsible for major changes in the depositional history and development of the Florida Platform. The Georgia Channel System provided an effective barrier to siliciclastic-sediment transport onto the Florida Platform, allowing the platform to persist as a subtropical carbonate bank. The depositional environments of the Florida Platform and the Bahamas Platform were very similar until the Georgia Channel System stopped intercepting the siliciclastic sediments, and since the latest Oligocene the depositional environments of the two platforms have been significantly different. The Bahamas Platform persisted as a carbonate bank, while the Florida Platform was increasingly dominated by siliciclastics." p. 61 The Geology of Florida by Randazzo and Jones

 

[scooterbug44]

Coastal drilling, or drilling in ANWR is just a temporary stopgap - we need to start taking a good hard look at our consumption habits and change them voluntarily before we are forced to extreme measures.

Water and oil/energy are the 2 biggies right now and part of the reason they are an issue is because of excess and bad planning, not a true scarcity.