Time for Virginia to Drill, Baby, Drill
By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
The ongoing economic crisis has states scrambling for new sources of revenue to fill the holes in their annual budgets. Spending cuts, while popular in the abstract, are almost always unpopular among the constituents and interests groups whose spending it is that is being cut. Many state legislators are equally unwilling to propose tax increases, especially in recessionary times.
Nevertheless, state governments must have the money to run, leaving governors and legislators the responsibility to find creative ways to pay for things. Enter William Howell, speaker of Virginia's House of Delegates, who is asking the Obama administration to open an area miles off Virginia's coastline to oil and natural gas exploration by 2011.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar opposes new offshore exploration, as do a number of so-called environmental groups—but they may find their protestations eclipsed by economic and energy realities. The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service estimates the area Howell and other Virginia lawmakers ask be opened for exploration—some 50 miles out into the Atlantic—could contain 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
"Developing these [energy] resources would create thousands of new jobs in our commonwealth, arriving at the right time to assist in lifting our workers, families, and communities out of this economic recession," Howell says.
If Howell is successful in his push to bring deepwater energy exploration to the waters off Virginia, an idea that has the full support of Virginia's Republican gubernatorial nominee Robert McDonnell as well as the limited backing of Democratic nominee Creigh Deeds, look for his efforts to be replicated in the other states on America's Atlantic coast. There is just too much money at stake for them to continue to say "No" to this idea whose time, apparently, has come.
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Reader Comments
Pump for oil or move on to better things?
We can drill for oil in America and burn our own oil but If we do not keep developing an alternative fuel and energy system we will be back in the same situation or worse in the near future and if we start to drill all of this other work we have done on alternative energy will slow down to a crawl again.
How many oil wells do you see not operating in Texas or other states with oil?.
Many of these oil wells that is not pumping have plenty of oil but are stopped because they want to raise the price of oil.
supply in demand is not A honest business practice because business will Hide, bury or ship to other nations to reduce supply and raise the price to meet the demand And we the people of the united states accept this wasteful practice as good business.
I have to admit I enjoy the post by the readers more than the article that the politicians wrote
A politician or political leader (from Greek "polis") is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician
Don D. Brock
CHILL the DRILL
The point is to Get OFF Oil altogther and to stimulate the economy with innovation, technology including green tech!!!!! I'll be one or the first to buy an all electric plug-in when they hit the market.
And I mean ALL Electric. GM and others can keep they gas running engines.
Drug addicts
Try to stay on topic , this is about drilling offshore.. not drilling your brains.
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