9-23-08 by dugan
I get why Congress gave up today on renewing a federal ban on coastal drilling: It was that, or be accused of shutting down government for lack of a stopgap spending bill. The White House wouldn’t sign a bill that contained a renewal of the ban, and it was ready to hold government hostage to its "Drill, Baby, Drill" mania. The opposition’s collapse mostly kicks drilling, like almost every significant issue these days, to the next President and Congress. But some things are for sure.
The ocean will freeze over at Zuma Beach before California lets another drilling platform go up.
Even willing states in the Southeast wouldn’t see production for several years–presuming the major oil companies are actually interested, which is not a sure thing.
Lease or not, drill or not, it won’t make a darned bit of difference in gasoline prices.
The flap over drilling will divert attention from what really needs to be built, including a greener economy that will offer consumers both cleaner and cheaper choices. As Tom Friedman said, it’s like the government calling for more typewriters at the dawn of the computer era.