Drill Baby Drill: Obama To END Offshore Drilling Moratorium

[earth mom]

Offshore Drilling Ban: Obama To End Moratorium

MATTHEW DALY | 10/12/10 09:21 PM | AP

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is back in the deep water oil-drilling business. The question now is when work will resume.

The Obama administration, under heavy pressure from the oil industry and Gulf states and with elections nearing, lifted the moratorium that it imposed last April in the wake of the disastrous BP oil spill.

<snip>

The April 20 BP spill, which was triggered by an explosion that killed 11 people, gushed an estimated 200 million gallons of oil, harming wildlife and severely cramping coastal businesses. BP sealed the well last month and expects to eventually pay at least $32 billion to handle the cleanup and damage claims.

<snip>

The action also came just weeks before midterm elections in which Democrats face widespread criticism for overextending government actions on the economy, including the health care overhaul, the economic stimulus plan and the drilling moratorium. A federal report said the moratorium probably caused a temporary loss of 8,000 to 12,000 jobs in the Gulf region.

<snip>

"The Gulf and our communities have a long road to recovery from the BP disaster," he said. Local fishermen are still out of work, effects on wildlife have not been fully assessed and long-term work is needed to ensure ecological and economic recovery, he added. "We certainly can't afford another oil catastrophe."

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/offshore-drilling-ban-dec_n_759392.html

_____________________________________

And they call this "Hope & Change"?! :eyes:

Here's REAL Hope & Change:

Al Gore: Stand With Me To Fight Prop 23 And The Oil Lobby
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9309447

[leftstreet]

1. K&InvisibleR

Thanks for the link to the Gore thread. I missed that

[AtomicKitten]

2. Local unemployment forced his hand, a mitigating factor apparently not worthy of consideration. nt

[polichick]

4. Far more jobs were lost due to the spill than due to the moratorium. nt

[AtomicKitten]

8. The moratorium exacerbated unemployment and the locals were screaming about it.

As I've already stated, most jobs in the area are in the oil industry.

[polichick]

9. I've lived in N.O. and was there during the spill - more locals were...

...hurt by the spill and were also screaming about it. Our gov't just chooses to hear the voices of the oil industry.

[AtomicKitten]

13. No, he's listening to the unemployed. The locals were begging him to remove the moratorium. nt

[polichick]

15. You're ignoring the fact that many more were hurt by the spill...

...and will be again. You're ignoring the influence of the oil industry on politicians in LA and DC.

[AtomicKitten]

17. Not at all. The damage was and will continue to be devastating.

However until the locals are given other opportunities, they will be forever be beholden to the oil industry for employment.

You can poo-poo the reality of that, but it's all they have right now.

[polichick]

19. Good grief, it's oil that threatens the fishing industry...

...which is the biggest employer and most important part of the local economy.

[AtomicKitten]

23. It's a circuitous argument, but I do understand your point.

My point is that regardless of the reality of the oil industry vs fishing industry, the locals still look to the oil companies for jobs.

It's far from an ideal solution but in the short term it's a stark reality. If Pres Obama is able to push through his newly proposed infrastructure bill, that may change the paradigm and offer an alternative.

* edited for English

[earth mom]

18. You mean the fishermen who now won't even eat the fish they catch?

What a piss poor defense you've got going!


FYI-Nobody in charge gives a damn about the workers or the poisoned and dead fish of the gulf.

This action was done FOR the greedy oil companies so they can resume making their billions again and kill off the gulf of Mexico once and for all.

News Flash for ya: There AIN'T gonna be a clean up of the Gulf. Not Now. Not EVER.


Hope you enjoy your poisoned fish dinner.



Here, educate yourself on the reality of the fishermen of the gulf:

Abandoned By The Media, The Fisherman Of The Gulf Coast Struggle Along
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9309590

[AtomicKitten]

20. It's not a defense, it's a reality. One that you are ignoring. nt

[polichick]

21. You have bought the Republican lies, hook, line and sinker. nt

[AtomicKitten]

25. Not at all. I'm sympathetic to the locals and their clamoring for employment.

Ideally the infrastructure bill Pres Obama is trying to push through Congress, may alter the paradigm and offer new opportunities for employment.

[polichick]

27. You keep saying "the locals" - it's only oil beholden Republican locals...

...who are yelling about the moratorium (and faux Dems like Landrieu) - many other locals are yelling about the Gulf not being cleaned up.

Obama decided which group he is aligned with when he expanded offshore - he's just reemphasizing it now.

[AtomicKitten]

Unemployment is a non-partisan issue.

You are arguing this from the stock default position of rabid partisanship. You are reducing the issue to a one-size-fits-all outrage when it's more complicated than that.

[polichick]

31. See #29

[earth mom]

26. Wrong. There are other solutions to the jobs crisis. Obama is the one ignoring that fact

not me.

Al Gore and so many other brilliant people in this country have a boatload of solutions to get this country off of it's oil dependence and CREATE jobs.

Obama is NOT listening to Gore or anyone except his buddies on Wall Street.

The ignorance is all yours.

[AtomicKitten]

28. LOL. No, in the short term, it's a stark reality. nt

[polichick]

29. That's absurd. The gov't could hire them to CLEAN UP THE GULF...

...and send the bill to BP - if they actually wanted to clean up the Gulf.

[AtomicKitten]

30. They have done that already. nt

[polichick]

32. No, the Gulf has NOT been cleaned up - it would take years...

...if they were really going to do it.

[AtomicKitten]

33. You are moving the goalposts. They have paid people for clean-up + of course it's far from done!

On edit, I have work to do. Have a great afternoon. :hi:

[polichick]

34. I'm not moving goalposts; I'm saying there are other ways to employ people...

For some reason you don't seem to understand the power that big oil has in DC.

[blindpig]

5. I sincerely doubt that

Unemployment doesn't seem to bother this administration much, else we'd have had a 'WPA' by now.

Much more likely it was the oil industry who find this administration so pliable.

[AtomicKitten]

7. Apparently you missed the locals screaming on TV about the moratorium

during the "spill" crisis. Most of the jobs in the vicinity are in the oil industry.

[blindpig]

11. I doubt that too...

'most' of the jobs, naw.

Wouldn't be surprised if they got to the cameras via a company truck....

[AtomicKitten]

16. Believe whatever you want, but it was extensively covered during the "spill" coverage. nt

[blindpig]

35. This got a lot of coverage too...

[SammyWinstonJack]

24. Lots of Industries find this administration so pliable. That's our problem.

[maryf]

38. Yep nt

[polichick]

3. Apparently nothing was learned from the biggest oil spill in this country's history...

And nothing was learned from one of the worst "deals" this administration has cut so far - selling the Gulf for ONE vote (Lindsay Graham's) for legislation that has been abandoned.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. Nothing but sad here.

:(

We really are a doomed species.

[jdlh8894]

12. We really are a doomed species

Maybe,we are the next fossil fuel? Why do we bury our dead? Just a thought.

[earth mom]

10. Obviously unreccers can't handle the truth.

:eyes:

[bluestateguy]

14. The moratorium was never intenended to be permanent

That was made clear from the very beginning.

They said 6 months and now it's been 6 months.

[polichick]

22. True - it was always a p.r. stunt. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

36. Big Oil's hand meets politician's glove. K&R

[polichick]

37. Yep - pretty much. nt

[earth mom]

39. kick

:kick: