Terry McAuliffe, VA Gubernatorial Candidate, Jumps on "Drill Baby Drill!" Bandwagon

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What could possibly go wrong?"Yesterday Terry McAuliffe, Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, revealed newfound support for oil and gas exploration off the Commonwealth’s coast. The Washington Post reported that he now backs legislation sponsored by Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine that would open offshore areas to oil and gas exploration.

Offshore oil drilling is viewed by Virginia politicians on both sides of the aisle as a budgetary panacea, in part because of the economic activity drilling would create, but perhaps more so because the Warner-Kaine bill would direct a portion of drilling royalties back into the commonwealth’s coffers. But the bottom line is that any development carries with it massive risk to the state’s environment and the current economic drivers that rely on healthy and accessible oceans and coasts.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis of Virginia’s tourism industry reported that the sector supports more than 200,000 jobs, yielding an economic impact of more than $20 billion in 2011, and that Virginia’s beaches alone attracted nearly 10 percent of the state’s tourists. Virginia’s coast and ocean also support thriving fisheries; in 2011 fishermen landed 247,000 tons of seafood in Virginia, worth more than $191 million, ranking it the third largest seafood producer in the country by weight."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/05/24/2060731/offshore-drilling-in-virginia-would-threaten-coastal-economy-environment-and-naval-operations/

[NYC_SKP]

1. Traitor. The tourism and fishing industries will not deter the fossil fuel industry.

America's appetite for fossil fuels and the industries thirst for profits will be our undoing.

Shame on him and the others.

[Champion Jack]

2. Agreed

[Socialistlemur]

3. I suppose they are looking for natural gas?

I understand this area offshore the East Coast is supposed to have gas resources. I do wonder, how far offshore are they going to drill? I would expect it to be very far offshore.

[limpyhobbler]

5. "Terry McAuliffe reverses course, backs bill to allow oil drilling off Virginia coast"

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe now supports exploring for oil off the coast of Virginia, reversing his position on an issue that both sides of the debate consider to be crucial to the commonwealth’s long-term energy future.

When McAuliffe ran for governor in 2009 he said he would back “exploratory drilling for natural gas only“ and did “not support drilling for oil off our coast,” a fact that Republicans cite often in arguing that the Democrat is on the wrong side of the issue. But now that he’s running for governor again, facing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) in November, McAuliffe has a different stance.

“Terry has learned more about offshore drilling from experts in Virginia,” said McAuliffe spokesman Josh Schwerin. “He thinks that because of technological progress we can now do it in a responsible fashion.”

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-05-22/local/39447965_1_offshore-drilling-oil-drilling-terry-mcauliffe

[Socialistlemur]

7. The article doesnt have enough detail

I'm still looking for better information. For example where do they get the information to project oil will be found?

[FogerRox]

12. Seismic surveys

[FogerRox]

8. Very little nat gas.

The Virginia \coast would be the best bet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offshore_drilling_on_the_US_Atlantic_coast

[Socialistlemur]

10. Thanks but Wikipedia lacks detail

It says they found gas in Jurassic rocks. There's no mention of oil. As far as I know there's very little prospects for oil. And the drilling takes place very far from land (did you notice there's no oil production onshore Virginia?)This is a debate about nothing unless somebody can show something worth reading.

[FogerRox]

11. Better info is likely proprietary

Theres just not a lot of nat gas and even less oil off the East coast, but maybe Terry is a drill baby drill type and thinks this is how to appeal to some VA voters. Its not about nat gas or oil, its about voters. SO its ok to not make any economic sense......


IMHO anyone who wants to drill off the east coast is bat shit crazy.

[Blue Owl]

4. How crude of Terry McOiluffe

C'mon Terry, the verdict is in. Drilling below the sea is potentially disasterous.

Aren't solar and wind worth exploring?

[RobertEarl]

6. Not only pollution

But removing earth from below a very heavy and fluid object can cause land slides. Land subsidence. Sinkholes.

That great big burning ball in the sky supplies all the energy we need. A little lubrication from the earth is all we need to be taking from underground.

[stuntcat]

9. I got a call from him soon as I sat down to my tacos tonight.

being in VA..

vegan tacos of course

This is two big strikes against him.

Maybe I'll just skip voting, I don't ever have a choice that will do what I want anyway.