Florida Tourist Group Endorses Drilling 30 Miles Offshore

[beachmouse]

Would rigs 20 miles offshore really be an environmental catastrophe?
For what it is worth, there are rigs closer than that off of Louisiana's coast and I don't remember seeing gobs of black goop on the beach at Grande Isle when I went fishing there in the 1980s and 1990s. There was plenty of junk that looked like it probably had been pitched off the platforms-bottles, cups, etc, however, that stuff could have been thrown into the Mississippi River by somebody in St Louis.

To me, the problem isn't so much day to day rig operation. It's the concept of putting more rigs into one of the most active cyclone areas on the planet. They get rigs that that broke lose and came ashore on Dauphin Island and the shore of Mobile Bay during Hurricane Katrina and other storms have had significant impacts on other oil field areas.

 

[Matt J]

Well, I guess we can put oil and natural gas coastal and ANWR drilling off for a few more years. Proponents really don't have much choice anyway. But you can be assured of a few things.. one, we will drill for it at some point as oil and natural gas become scarce commodities. Ignoring the problem now will simply make things harder on everyone down the road when we finally realize it's needed. Two, because we are putting it off, we will continue to poor billions of dollars into foreign governments which do not have our country's best interests at heart. Those countries are laughing at as now for being so obtuse, I'm sure they'll enjoy laughing at us some more later for the same reason. Lastly, we are setting the country up for more oil shocks like the one we had this summer. Those will in turn force the issue at some point. Personally I can afford $5.00/gal gas, but I feel sorry for all the folks that can't who'll suffer down the road.

The biggest risk is in national security. I don't want to drill in the ocean anymore than the next guy but everyday, we get into our cars and burn gasoline and then object when there is talk of offshore drilling. The best way to prevent offshore drilling is to sell your car and quit driving. Most want the convenience of driving and are willing to trade environmental risks for national security risks.

Why not be conservative about it and hold onto those reserves. Am I the only person that has to adjust their seat position at the thought of selling oil to the middle east at premiums?

 

[30A Skunkape]

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 85 percent of the 29 million gallons of petroleum that enter North American ocean waters each year as a result of human activities comes from land-based runoff, polluted rivers, airplanes, and small boats and jet skis, while less than 8 percent comes from tanker or pipeline spills, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Oil exploration and extraction are responsible for only 3 percent of the petroleum that enters the sea. Another 47 million gallons seep into the ocean naturally from the seafloor.

Am I reading the above data correctly that humans annually introduce 29 million gallons of petroleum product into North American waters and only 3% is from exploration and extraction...ergo something just less than one million gallons per year while Mother Earth naturally oozes nearly 50 times that amount annually?!

I also call BS on the rigs being toxic to the environment. Do a web search to learn about the underwater ecosystems created under these structures.

 

[Bob]

Would rigs 20 miles offshore really be an environmental catastrophe?
For what it is worth, there are rigs closer than that off of Louisiana's coast and I don't remember seeing gobs of black goop on the beach at Grande Isle when I went fishing there in the 1980s and 1990s. There was plenty of junk that looked like it probably had been pitched off the platforms-bottles, cups, etc, however, that stuff could have been thrown into the Mississippi River by somebody in St Louis.

The only place I ever have gotten something that resembled oil on my feet on a beach was in Ft Lauderdale where there are no rigs;it was called 'tar', God only knows where it came from but when we got back to our grandparent's house they washed it off our feet with gasoline!

I am not saying it is the right thing to do, only that there is probably ample hyperbole when the environmental impact is described by those opposed to drilling. I know for a fact the fish love those platforms!

the lauderdale and east coast tar comes from the shipping lanes and cruise ships in the gulfstream and beyond....

 

[Bob]

I think if they could assure us there would be no spills of crude oil (just natural gas drilling) and the rigs were out of site from the beach, I'd approve. The extra billion or so in revenue could be used for all sort of things.

who is they? the government that tells us a year late we're having a recession or the multi-national oil corporations

 

[Bob]

please email sen. nelson and ask him to fight the drillheads....don't bother with mel "empty suit" martinez....he's a good boy whose had his soul removed and is retiring on command to make way for darth jebby

 

[idlewind]

please email sen. nelson and ask him to fight the drillheads....don't bother with mel "empty suit" martinez....he's a good boy whose had his soul removed and is retiring on command to make way for darth jebby

May the Force be with you......and the drillers. Drill baby Drill.

 

[poppy]

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 85 percent of the 29 million gallons of petroleum that enter North American ocean waters each year as a result of human activities comes from land-based runoff, polluted rivers, airplanes, and small boats and jet skis, while less than 8 percent comes from tanker or pipeline spills, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Oil exploration and extraction are responsible for only 3 percent of the petroleum that enters the sea. Another 47 million gallons seep into the ocean naturally from the seafloor.

Am I reading the above data correctly that humans annually introduce 29 million gallons of petroleum product into North American waters and only 3% is from exploration and extraction...ergo something just less than one million gallons per year while Mother Earth naturally oozes nearly 50 times that amount annually?!

I also call BS on the rigs being toxic to the environment. Do a web search to learn about the underwater ecosystems created under these structures.

At the same time, however, new studies show that the environmental effects of a major oil spill are longer lasting than once thought and that even small amounts of petroleum can seriously damage marine life and ecosystems.



The exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas introduces 880,000 gallons of petroleum to North American waters each year. These leaks are concentrated where oil-drilling rigs are at work in the Gulf of Mexico and in waters off southern California, northern Alaska, and eastern Canada.


Worldwide, about 210 million gallons of petroleum enter the sea each year from the extraction, transportation, and consumption of crude oil and the products refined from it, with an additional 180 million gallons coming from natural seepage, the report says.


It isn't how much but where it is concentrated. Mother Nature doesn't dump thousands of gallons in one location along the shore in one incident. I think we would be mistaken to compare our oil discharge to that of Mother Nature.

The report is from The National Academies of Science not the National Review so I guess it could be BS.

 

[GatorsGal]

Would rigs 20 miles offshore really be an environmental catastrophe?
For what it is worth, there are rigs closer than that off of Louisiana's coast and I don't remember seeing gobs of black goop on the beach at Grande Isle when I went fishing there in the 1980s and 1990s. There was plenty of junk that looked like it probably had been pitched off the platforms-bottles, cups, etc, however, that stuff could have been thrown into the Mississippi River by somebody in St Louis.

The only place I ever have gotten something that resembled oil on my feet on a beach was in Ft Lauderdale where there are no rigs;it was called 'tar', God only knows where it came from but when we got back to our grandparent's house they washed it off our feet with gasoline!

I am not saying it is the right thing to do, only that there is probably ample hyperbole when the environmental impact is described by those opposed to drilling. I know for a fact the fish love those platforms!

It ends up in Texas. And from what I've heard, LA is an ecological disaster from one end to the other.

 

[traderx]

The report is from The National Academies of Science not the National Review so I guess it could be BS.

The organization should be renamed as The National Academies of Political Science.