HOUSTON — Coastal states must work together to restore key elements of the Gulf of Mexico that have made it a backbone of the U.S. economy before the ecosystem becomes so weak and polluted that it is no longer habitable for animals or people, according to a preliminary report released today.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, established by President Barack Obama after last year’s catastrophic oil spill, provided an executive summary of the report to the Associated Press. The draft report seeks to pinpoint the biggest challenges and most pressing issues facing the Gulf and also provide the five coastal states — Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama — with a restoration strategy.
“One of the results of all the meetings is a real sense of urgency,” EPA chief Lisa Jackson told The AP. “Person after person came in and said ‘we’re losing the Gulf.’ None of it is irreversible, but the longer we wait, the harder it will be.”
The Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem, long the victim of upstream efforts to allow easy ship navigation and prevent Mississippi River flooding, has been in a state of environmental decline for decades.
BP’s oil spill, the largest offshore spill in U.S. history, drew public attention to the slow, persistent damage done to the area that produced 30 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2009. The sudden fear that the oil would permanently harm the marine and coastal area created an urgency to fix those woes.
The task force, made up of representatives from an array of federal and state agencies, laid out four goals requiring immediate attention: restoring and conserving habitat; restoring water quality; replenishing and protecting coastal and marine resources and enhancing community resilience.
The committee also demanded that Congress, which has still failed to dedicate funding to restoration efforts, dedicate “significant portions” of penalties from the oil spill to the recovery efforts. Members also are asking Congress to create a permanent council to oversee, coordinate and manage the restoration.
For some Gulf Coast officials, however, federal involvement is not necessarily a blessing. Mayor Tony Kennon in Orange Beach, Ala., as well as Leoda Bladsacker, a town councilwoman in Grand Isle, La., both said they have little confidence that any positive change will come of the task force or its findings.
“I don’t have much faith in any of that right now,” Bladsacker said, feeling it’s taken too long for the country to take notice of the damage done to the Gulf and its communities.
Kennon, meanwhile, is concerned federal oversight could prove detrimental to restoration efforts. He adds he is wary of the government’s “incestuous relationships with big oil” and a regulation-heavy attitude.
“I think there may be change. I just don’t know if it may be good change or bad change,” Kennon said.
A priority highlighted by the task force is a need to restore and preserve natural river processes that distribute and process sediment and freshwater — the lifeblood of downstream wetlands and the wildlife that call those areas home.
The sediment — nutrient -filled sand and rock that flow from rivers and streams into the ocean — constitute the structural foundation of the Gulf’s ecosystem.
Thousands of years of downstream sediment flows helped create the wetlands and barrier islands that are now parts of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Like sponges, they soak up floodwaters and protect millions of residents in coastal communities from the massive hurricanes and other storms that blow inland from the ocean.
And these islands and wetlands are home to birds, turtles, fish and other wildlife. Freshwater estuaries are nursery grounds for oysters, shrimp, crabs and dozens of fish species; all of these then move into the Gulf’s saltier waters, a cycle that guarantees healthy and strong marine populations. Those species are crucial to a region that accounts for 33 percent of the nation’s seafood. Yet all have been impacted by the excess nutrients and pollutants from upstream basins that have degraded water quality and changed the very look and feel of some ecosystems.
“Restoring the supply of sediment is the number one most important thing. If we can do that, as well as decrease the flow of nutrients that have created a dead zone in the Gulf, we’ll be in good shape,” Jackson said.
The dead zone is an area where there is so little oxygen nothing can live. Scientists believe it is caused by fertilizers and other nutrients from the Midwest that flow into the Mississippi River and eventually into the Gulf.
The Gulf of Mexico has at times been overlooked, but economically it is vital. More than 90 percent of the nation’s offshore oil and natural gas production originates in the Gulf, 13 of the top 20 ports by tonnage are in the region and if the five coastal states were a country, they would rank seventh in global gross domestic product.
Jackson said the task force has identified a variety of strategies — including rebuilding barrier islands and wetlands — to help restore the Gulf. But she believes the most successful will involve partnerships between the public and the private sector.
Most immediately, making preservation of the Gulf as important as flood control and navigation — a major policy shift from how the U.S. has traditionally treated the region during the past century — will likely lead to quick results, Jackson said.
Working with Midwest farming states, where much of the harmful fertilizers originate, to prevent that flow will also lead to immediate improvements, she said. It will take longer to engage some communities and ensure all are aware if the Gulf’s importance, Jackson added.
“We are wary of promising quick results but we are already seeing change in a focus on the problems of the Gulf and addressing them in a new sense of urgency,” she said. “There will be things that can be done fairly quickly … but then there are decades of decline that will heal over decades.”
Alice Perry, assistant director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and her state’s representative on the task force, said the states are committed to working with the federal government to restore the Gulf Coast.
“The combination of several bad things, hurricanes, the oil spill incident, all of those things brought national attention to the Gulf Coast that we may not have gotten any other way.” Perry said. “Hopefully, this will be some good that comes out of it.”
The Gulf does not need to be habitable…..just drillable. Any eco damage is just smoke and mirrors to keep the oil companies from drilling. Ask any oil company, or Republican. Better yet, ask “shakedown” Joe Barton, R-Texas. He’ll tell ya…..there ain’t no Gulf eco problem….it’s another shakedown.
This is a JOKE, right? I mean this is not being presented as news is it? I hope?
This is very real and big news.
A massive 30% of our GDP, of which oil drilling and production is a tiny portion. The major losses due to destroying the Gulf coast will be the massive losses in agriculture products such as crops, fish, shrimp, oysters, and huge amoutns of $ loss in tourism, etc.
And how exactly do you plan on preventing Mexico and other countries from drilling in the Gulf? The US does NOT own the rights to the Gulf. But, ANY country can drill in International waters, and guess what! THEY do not have the technology nor the restraints that we have to protect the ecosystem! So when you prevent the US from drilling, all you are doing is leaving billions of barrels for the foreign countries to harvest, and this will destroy the ecosystem far faster and greater than if the US harvested that oil.
So how is the EPA going to stop all that oil that naturally seeps out of the gulf floor? It sounds like the evil oil companies are doing us a favor to bring it to the surface in a controlled manner and make it useful rather than just letting nature pollute itself..
We need to ban volcanoes as well I suppose since it is a major contributor to air pollution..
Mark, your comment must be a joke. This report highlights the need to invests in the Gulf on several fronts. A healthy Gulf is crucial to local economies from Florida to Texas. If this isn’t news in coastal Texas, I don’t know what is. The Gulf provides for us on many levels and provides jobs of all sorts, but we can’t take it for granted and need to spend dollars on restoraion efforts to ensure its continued productivity.
Very weak on specifically what they are planning. Sentences like this make me suspicious:
… making preservation of the Gulf as important as flood control and navigation — a major policy shift from how the U.S. has traditionally treated the region during the past century — will likely lead to quick results…
Okay, so now ships won’t be able to go anywhere and everybody will flood. But, hey. We’ll have a lot more places for crabs to live.
Sorry, “Mark”. There are millions of people in the US, not to mention Mexico, who depend on the Gulf of Mexico for their livilihood. Why would this be a joke, or not a news story of interest to them?
Could the Chronicle please post a current picture next to the one from last year while the oil was still uncontained?? Nah…that would be real reporting.
BP had to pay for every dead bird or animal killed by the oil.
Wind turbines are estimated to kill 400,000 birds a year, with two thousand of those being American Eagles. Why aren’t the wind turbine companies charged the same as BP?
Ban hurricanes, too. And penguins.
“The Gulf does not need to be habitable…..just drillable. Any eco damage is just smoke and mirrors to keep the oil companies from drilling. Ask any oil company, or Republican. Better yet, ask “shakedown” Joe Barton, R-Texas. He’ll tell ya…..there ain’t no Gulf eco problem….it’s another shakedown.”
What a twit!
Guys, this has nothing to do with Drilling. The only ideas stated are wetland restoration and runoff reductions. These are both long-term well-known environemental actions.
First, I feel that the urgency is overstated. The oil spill had little effect outside of the immediate area, and we have known about the dead zone for a long time. It might even be natural. However, it is much larger now that historically due to runoff down the Mississippi. They are just trying to capitalize on the oil spill to get old, old projects put forth.
Secondly, the “Runoff restoration” fills me with concern because what they are talking about is removing flood controls. You don’t need me to tell you the consequences of that.
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I think you posters need to go back and actually read the article before any comments are made.
More pollution enters the Gulf from the Mississippi river alone than all the drilling and production activities combine.
Zippy_Slug, you’re a moron. People like you should be seen and not heard. Your opinion is idiotic and just muddies up the water for intelligent life.
“And how exactly do you plan on preventing Mexico and other countries from drilling in the Gulf? The US does NOT own the rights to the Gulf. But, ANY country can drill in International waters, and guess what! THEY do not have the technology nor the restraints that we have to protect the ecosystem! ”
Well, most of the exploration is done by US and now UK based drilling contractors. There is leverage there. TransO, Nabors, Ensco, etc….
Oh, right, why don’t we all panic over this obnoxious headline.
WE’RE LOSING THE GULF!!
SO silly.
“Scientists believe it is caused by fertilizers and other nutrients from the Midwest that flow into the Mississippi River and eventually into the Gulf.”
——————
So where’s the EPA on their fines? They fine the Gulf states instead.
Why not go after those evil polluting farmers in the midwest? Why not admit New Orleans is doomed and let the Mississippi go where it is supposed to be? Geez Louise, everyone points at the evil oil companeis but no one looks at the obvious that has been going on for decades.
How about letting the midwestern and northern states that dump their fertilizers and wastes into the Missouri to the Mississippi help pay for the “restoration”? They created 90% of the “dead zone” anyway.
Houston does not care about the GULF. I have been reporting for months illegal dumping into the WHite Oak watershed in Jersey Village and nothing has been done. I have reported it to the HCSO, and the Jersey Village police on several occasions.
Despite this people continue to dump debree, lawn clippings, tree trimmings, concrete, and trash into the bayou behind there houses.
When a presidential appointed ‘task force’ with all of their special political interests, not the least of which is their ties to regulatory agencies says hurry up, we have to do something fast, it’s a good reason to stall.
Sounds to me like the rightwing fundies could care less what happens in the GOM as long as it can be used for oil drilling…
Sad really..
you want to get rid of the dead zone?
easy, just tear down all the levees along all the rivers including the mississippi. the silt will then be deposited on all the cities along the river. during major floods cities will be wiped out and millions will lose everything.
tough huh. but at least we will get rid of the dead zone.
I do wish that if the so called envirometalists were serious that they would show the way by leaving this world and there by reducing the strain that they think that they are causing upon this world…. Of course what they really are trying to do is global governance…. That way they control us and everything we do…. It is about POWER not about the ecology….
Just more socialism and big government.
So can we start by limiting all the fertilizer runoff into the Mississippi River from the state in the Midwest and Up North?
The pollution runs downstream you know?
This is very sad news indeed! The Chesapeake Bay was terribly polluted many years ago. With concentrated effort, the Bay is back to being much healthier than it was. The GULF is hundreds of times bigger ,making the problems exponentially worse. I hope people will be able to coordinate for everyone’s benefit, NOT just the oil companies.
The decades of effluent from the mid-west states that has been dumped in the Mississippi then flowed to the Gulf has had thousands of times more negative impact on the Gulf than last years oil spill. But as much of the country looks down their collective noses at the Gulf states, any effort to improve our lot will NOT be coming from them. The “dead zone” created by crap from the Mississippi will still be there 100 years from now. WE may not be, but only then will our ports, seafood production, oil & gas be missed. The rest of the country can kiss my grits. Your supposed superiority doesn’t exist except in your closed, bigoted little minds.
More breaking “news” eh? This is nothing more than a left wing political forum. It’s definitely NOT a newspaper anymore. Laughable.
I gots the idea…why we’ll just be forced to destroy the oil and energy industries and replace them at twice the cost with a powerful green energy industry run by minorities, gays and feminists…it’s the only solution.
Are they serious about this? Give me a break.
The #1 concern, according to the EPA, is runoff and fertilizer use from midwest farming, yet most comments are about oil. Thirty years ago, we were told the sediment discharged from the Mississippi was bad for the Gulf. Now, we’re told it’s good. This will be another yoke on the necks of our farmers. But don’t worry – our government will jump right in with payments to cover their losses, payments to not grow crops or use fertilizer, and bailouts of ag loans while more and more of our food comes from other countries.
We need to pin a Gulf Coast Environmental Equality Tax on all the gulf state residents so they can pay for the mess they’ve made. Eat your peas!
Well said, gulfresident!
higher taxes…that’s the answer
oh yeah….and more govt regulation jobs….yeah that’ll fix it
Where are many of you getting this assumption the report is suggesting to quit drilling and producing oil from the GOM?
Did you just respond without reading the article. Do conservatives now just go to articles and make generic anti-Obama posts, even when they are off topic and not relevant.
Lets tax somebody over this situation ! sounds like another BS EPA deal!
And they still sell seafood from that dump. Too bad there is no lobster so the gorilla in the whitehouse can suck its ass.
Another shakedown by the owebummer administration – they weren’t doing their job to begin with and now want to punish all oil companies for BPs mistakes and the government’s poor job of regulating what is important.
Not shortage of nuts here today – “bob” foremost among the bunch. “Commiechevrolet!” Geez! Thanks for the comment about Chesapeake Bay situation. I grew up in Louisiana where there were thousands of acres of land left barren after the clear cutting of all the virgin pine timber. Only after a concerted effort by the government reforest organization, and private industry once they realized it was economically in their interest to regrow the forest, was recovery of the ecosystem possible. Do you think the superfund cleanup sites were the results of corporations working with an eye towards preservation? Condemn the EPA and disavow pollution at your own peril. These naysayers would destroy the world if they cold make a buck in the process.
Time to end the EPA. It’s getting ridiculous.
This study involves much more than oil rigs.
The key statement is: “A priority highlighted by the task force is a need to restore and preserve natural river processes that distribute and process sediment and freshwater — the lifeblood of downstream wetlands and the wildlife that call those areas home.”
“The sediment — nutrient -filled sand and rock that flow from rivers and streams into the ocean — constitute the structural foundation of the Gulf’s ecosystem”.
It goes on to explain that the sediment, formerly carried by the rivers, formed the barrier islands and renourished the beaches. The damming of the rivers is one of the primary causes of beach erosion.
I welcome this studty and hope that they are able co carry through with their plans.
I love how so many people are opposed to doing anything.
A journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step. In this case the first step is: Where is all this pollution coming from?
Some of the comments here pertaining to how the government or Obama or shadowy forces from the great beyond wish to destroy one industry or another are just nonsense and do nothing about solving the problems of the Gulf. They just add to the problems by pretending there are none.
Let the studies begin! And then, when some facts are gathered, let the changes be made. If you need an example of how this process works then check out what the State of Oklahoma has been going through with chicken farmers for about the past ten years. The water way is the Illinois River, the suspected source of pollution are chicken farms in Arkansas, and millions of dollars are at stake.
Science and the legal system are being used to deal with this problem. Perhaps that solution would work in the Gulf?
I am not involved in big oil. I AM an environmentalist. There is nothing wrong with the Gulf except for the runoff from the rivers.
This is meaningless because it is only presented to make some lib nutjob a paycheck.
Nice propaganda disguised as a news story.
Really, the Chronicle should feel some shame at this, but the concept of shame no longer exists with the left.
This administration does not care about this country, let alone the Gulf of Mexico.
Seriously… if you read the article the entire content address sediment build up along the delta / creating the “dead zone”. What in the world does that have to do with last year’s BP oil spill and the photo of last years tar balls and LOSING THE GULF?
What a joke!
But be afraid and take this seriously so you can rely on Big Govt to come to the rescue.
(ps – gotta love the poster who throws out the unsubstantiated “statistics” of ’30% of the GDP of which only a “tiny” bit is related to oil’, ha ha ha ha rotflmao…how much is tiny any way and you gotta be kidding me if you think shrimping and beach hat sales hold a candle to oil and gas GDP share)
Wake up folks, don’t let them just steal our country away.
What is wrong with actually caring about the environment? Especially an area that we all enjoy, use, and benefit from? Millions depend on this for their livelihood, whether it be tourism, fishing, shrimping, etc. And, for some reason people get angry when we start talking about things we can do to slow down or stop the deterioration of this vital resource.
It is no wonder America is in the trouble we are in on so many fronts. With all these small-minded, know-nothing loudmouths out here, it’s nearly impossible to simply sit down and talk about solutions and policies that work. It’s like trying to negotiate with a spoiled brat toddler.
Right on, Zack! The nasty posts about drilling the GOM have nothing to do with the article. There was no mention of stopping drilling at all.
For those of you who posted without reading or understanding the story, the Gulf produces a third of the nation’s seafood. That industry, and all of the jobs and revenue it produces, deserves to be saved. Go troll somewhere else.
I believe that it is extremely important that we preserve the wetlands, reduce fetrilization runoff and keep the gulf healthy. We can (and have) drilled responsibly. I really do hope changes are made, and we MUST make some sacrifices for it to occur. The big thing is that this must be done in a sensible way.
You right-wing lunatics are destroying this country in every aspect. Read your posts. What on Earth is wrong with you people? You all should be ashamed of your ignorance. These issues aren’t political! They are based on science! Pull your moronic heads out of the sand. Did any of you graduate high school? Did all of you hit your head on something as a child?
I mean really, folks, each of your photos should be in the dictionary next to every intelligence-starved superlative in the dictionary.
Here is a news-flash for you poor, confused right-wing morons: I have more money than all of you(possibly all of you combined), and I have no issue with being concerned about the environment. After all, we ALL live here. Stop drinking the oil company kool-aid. Your killing yourselves, your children, and your neighbors. WAKE UP!!!
I think the whole point of this is to scare the coastal states into not wanting to drill for oil – while leaving it open to others. Mexico drills. Cuba drills, China drills. We don’t. Yet it is in our waters and worth trillions. Why should we pay Mexico or Cuba to buy our own oil back from them?
OH NOES! Eco groups call for stopping progress in the name of saving the environment, only other (non-capitalist) countries can ignore the laws. What a surprise! Never seen this before!
Green. It’s the new communism.
More Liberal Agenda
Hoaxes from Satan
45caliber….you are delusional.
This report is not meant to scare costal states to outlaw drilling. Your reading comprehension is pathetic.
This is liberal propaganda. So is the giant dead area in the Gulf just off the coast where no sea life can exist.
Keep living with blinders on, retards.
BP, along with Transocean and Halliburton, destroyed the GOM. Anyone on here defending any of these companies, or making excuses, spinning it towards the gov’t being the cause, is either invested in big oil, works for them, works in the oil patch, or is so blindly rightwing that they believe a monumental corporate and Government cover-up is totally acceptable.
These are the people that want to “Protect our children from debt!!” but not “Protect our children from death due to our environment.” They don’t want their granddaughter to be “saddled with debt” but would they react the same if their granddaughter got cancer from living near the “Cancer Corridor”???
The one of the reasons the Texas coast is like a sewer with tar balls is because of Texans who do not care about sustainability, just oil. The Texas coast, from Beaumont to Corpus is the dirtiest shoreline in the USA. Even the area around Manhattan Island is much, much cleaner.
The only coastline that I’ve seen that compares to Texas’ was Japan and Korea where they don’t give a crap about their enviroment. Way to go Conservatives!!!!
skeptic, how is science considered liberal propaganda? Your comment is off base and is a good demostration of the starting point the GOP has for any policy argument involving the environment.
Hammering Harry, if the liberal agenda involves being responsible for how human society affects the envinronment, then OK. I find it ironic that conservatives preach personal responsibility on some issues, but don’t think that human society out to have responsibility for changes to the Earth and environment based on our actions.
SarahATP, bp didn’t destroy the GOM with the oil spill last year. Far from it. That incident will have some long-lived effects for sure, but if one was to assess the overall health of the entire GOM, the BP oil spill will be relatively minor.
Trail Trash shared: “More pollution enters the Gulf from the Mississippi river alone than all the drilling and production activities combine.”
So that’s acceptable? Not only, is that acceptable, but to makes it “ok” to add 300+ million bbl of oil, and nearly 2 million gallons of corexit to be added to said pollution?? You’re ok with that?? You’re “ok” with the investigators and companies involved covering up what was actually happening?? You people are seriously distorted in respect to values, and quite frankly, even I’m surprised to read the support for these agencies and companies, even in Fuelfix! Outrageous!!
I a dog was locked in a hot (heat comes from our environment) car and died due to “environmental causes” there would be outrage here. But if thousands of other mammals, birds, fish etc. die from trying to breath and eat in an environment laden with oil and corexit… that’s cool.
There are some bizarre opinions around here!
this is awesome, can i take another please?
this is awesome, can i take another please?
I would encourage everyone to limit giving credit to the Comical for this “sky is falling” story.
.
On the coast we’ve been talking about loss of sedimentation load for a couple of decades. Dams and EPA policies that limit sediment load in surface waters are the real problems since they limit transport of sand, mud and silt into our back bays and on to our barrier islands, beaches and dunes.
NOTHING to do with oil and gas despite what the liberal whackos on this message board are yacking blindly about. GET AN EDUCATION!!!
Zippy_slug said:
“So how is the EPA going to stop all that oil that naturally seeps out of the gulf floor? It sounds like the evil oil companies are doing us a favor to bring it to the surface in a controlled manner and make it useful rather than just letting nature pollute itself..
We need to ban volcanoes as well I suppose since it is a major contributor to air pollution..”
HAHAHA, you are the incarnation of the right wing intelligence. So ignorant and funny in so many levels, were you home schooled?
Democrats and Republicans fill up their cars at the “gas” station. Neither do anything, but complain, to change this process.
The only remaining damage on the Gulf Coast is from Obama’s drilling moratorium, and it’s devastating effect on the economy.
Half the people are poor readers or do not get the main idea. They are not in favor of stopping drilling but work with farmers, planners and the oil industry to be more environmental friendly. For example I hear there are thousands of uncapped abandoned well that in the future will leak oil. They must be capped and all other wells that are closing must be capped.
Wow SarahATP, I think you went over board when you said that BP, Transocean and Halliburton destroyed the Gulf. The Mississippi river is the single largest source of pollution to the GOM. You can blame the oil spill entirely on BP. They called the shots… PERIOD.
Over eight MILLION pounds of fertilizer nitrate PER DAY flush into the Gulf from the Mississippi during peak spring plantings. Lets not get into discussions of untreated human waste that seep in as well. Pollution from the Mississippi affects over 15,000 square miles of the GOM! I am not excusing what happened in the gulf by the oil companies… but lets put the real polluters in perspective. Farms, industry along the rivers and human waste affect the GOM far more than the oil companies…
That Halliburton rhetoric is getting old too… it is SO GWB…
Rich – nice comment. Obviously your personal financial tax bracket increases your comment’s value. I was going to glaze over your first comment until I realized that you had more money than every person commenting on this article – combined. That’s impressive.
More eco-wacko B/S , all designed to tap the taxpayer’s wallets. Call me when the Gulf disappears, will ya?
Report highlights Gulf cleaning “needed”, but reporters plaster “GULF IS DOOMED” on headline? Enough of the DRAMA please.
It’s too bad so many conservative “Christians” don’t care about taking care of God’s creation, a.k.a. “the environment.”
Huh, and here I’ve been told that all this tree huggin’ stuff is a plot by the anti-christ to steal our oil. Guess I’ll have to do some real research on this, wonder what Rush or Santorum have to say, want to make sure I get their talking points correct for the water cooler tomorrow.
So ignorant and funny in so many levels, were you home schooled?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I get a kick out of those who make fun of someone but are themselves, um, lacking.
“…restoring and conserving habitat; restoring water quality; replenishing and protecting coastal and marine resources and enhancing community resilience.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
HOW????
How do we restore water quality in the Gulf? Call Ozarka??
Count me in but tell me HOW we restore water quality??
Enhancing community resilience??
HOW??
These suggestions are ridiculous.
Anytime you see a report on the environment or religion or anything like that you’re gonna see the lunatic fringe drawn to it like a bug to a front porch light. These repub morons would pour poison down their mama’s well if the oil companies told them they’d earn a dime from it. They’re not gonna stop polluting the planet until it looks like Mars. Protecting the enviornment doesn’t fit in their model, so it’s burn-baby-burn. Drill-baby-drill. They got about as much business voting or driving or contributing to society as monkey does holding a loaded gun.
TexanRon – the drilling moratorium was put in place in response to BP failing to fulfill obligations to the US govt, US taxpayer, and BP shareholders when their deepwater horizon well blew out. There is certainly a monetary damage that is inflicted on the local (and national) economy. However, the economy is not the only consideration here. The moratorium put the entire industry on a needed safety stand down to ensure their operations integrity systems were going to prevent another BP type well blow out. I’m not sure how connected you are to the oil industry, but we have safety stand-downs frequently when there is an accident. It is a commonly used way to reinforce the need to ensure safe stewardship. And it usually costs the operating company money (in the short term) but is a smart practice in the long-term. The drilling moratorium was an industry wide safety stand-down.
I’m on and around the gulf waters often.Sorry,i just don’t see it.
If we don’t drill the Gulf, the Chinese would be more than happy to. Then we have an even more messed up Gulf, and the enemy is operating in our territorial waters.
Drill here, drill now.
Everything is fine. Just ask a Republican.
Heaven forbid the poor oil companies be held responsible for their mess. They only make 80 billion a quarter in profits. That’s barely enough for the CEO bonus this year. If the dang tree huggers want a clean world, let them clean it up.
Who needs dolphins, whales, fish, turtles and beaches? We need oil for our HUMMERS! Profits for CEO’s and Oil Companies are way down! Earth First! Then Will Strip mine the other planets later!