Offshore Drilling

Offshore drilling
Rachael Morgan 9-19-08 1:55pm

On Tuesday the house voted to open up waters fifty miles off southern Atlantic coast for oil drilling. Drilling would only be allowed if the state as well as the states adjacent to it “agrees to go along with energy development off its coast.” After one-hundred miles the states approval would no longer be required to drill. Although the house passed this bill, the senate has yet to do the same, and for the past twenty-six years has kept its bans on drilling off our coasts.
Not only would the house bill “end our dependence on foreign oil” it would also “Provide tax credits for wind and solar energy industries, the development of cellulose ethanol and other biofuels. Require utilities nationwide to generate 15 percent of their electricity from solar, wind or other alternative energy sources. Give tax breaks for new energy efficiency programs, including the use of improved building codes, and for companies that promote their employees’ use bicycles for commuting.”
Although there are environmental dangers in offshore drilling, in order to become independent from foreign oil it seems as if it is the only solution our government has come up with. With the recent spike in gas prices due to hurricane Ike, more and more Americans are in favor of drilling in the southern Atlantic. Before it was republicans who were in favor, the Democratic Party is now in favor of this bill as well, even democratic nominee Barack Obama has said he is in favor of “more drilling as part of a broader energy plan.” Even though offshore drilling has its pros, and cons, with the energy crisis going on it seems as if the pros by far over power the cons.

sources www.msnbc.com/id/26296095