The current law, which has been in effect since 1981, covers most of the country's coastal waters.
Many officials from coastal states oppose offshore drilling because of the risk of oil spills that can spoil beaches. Environmentalists want offshore drilling to stop, to protect the oceans from further pollution.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a McCain backer, said he opposes offshore drilling near his state. Florida Governor Charlie Crist used to say he opposed offshore drilling but softened his stance this week when he said it might be OK if he could be assured that beaches would be protected from spills and the oil platforms were far enough out at sea.
| RELATED |
| New since the last newsletter: | |
What is the "moratorium" and what does it do?Ever since 1981 when Congress passed the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Moratorium, oil and gas companies have been prevented from drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. Congress has to pass annual extensions to the ban.
When President Bush proposes lifting the ban, he will reverse the protection that his father worked for in 1990.
Sierra Club lands program director Athan Manuel told a House committee Wednesday that drilling has been unsuccessful in driving costs down.
"The disappointing part about some of the energy policies being promoted (is) that it calls for more drilling when drilling really is the problem. And all we've got to show for pretty aggressive (domestic) drilling for the last 35 years is, again, $4 for a gallon of gas," Manuel said, adding "since the first Arab oil shock in the 1970s, the U.S. has produced almost 90 billion barrels of oil since then, so we've tried drilling our way out of the problem and it just hasn't worked."
Environment Florida spokeswoman Holly Binns told the Media General news group that offshore drilling has no immediate impact on prices.
"It would take anywhere from seven to 10 years to bring those resources to shore -- to have any measurable impact on supply,” Binns said, advocating renewable energy sources.
Gee--I thought Bush and McCain DID speak for extracting the...
