• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

EDITORIAL: Keep Ban On Drilling: Offshore Drilling Threatens East Coast Beaches, Waters

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 May 2006, 06:07 CDT

By The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

May 17--EDITORIALS Here's the most shortsighted idea we've heard of in a long time: federal legislation that would allow oil and gas exploration companies to drill for natural gas just 3 miles off the East Coast.

Think about that: In an area of the country that depends heavily on tourism and whose waters provide much of the seafood for the inland population, Congress proposes to allow risky exploration ventures within plain sight of the shore.

The U.S. House Interior Appropriations Committee approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., to lift a moratorium on East Coast gas exploration that has stood for a quarter of a century. It was put in place during the administration of President George H.W. Bush and backed by N.C. Gov. Jim Martin, a Republican, and his successor, Jim Hunt, a Democrat. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, both Republicans, also have opposed drilling so close to the shoreline, though Sen. Burr would support drilling 20 miles offshore.

They wisely oppose drilling in a nearshore area that suffers some of the world's fiercest storms. The area off Cape Hatteras is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic for its shoals and rough weather. It's no accident that the state's other two capes are named Lookout and Fear. Exploring for oil or gas in those areas -- subject as they are to hurricanes, nor'easters and a host of other seasonal storms that constantly alter the shoreline -- is to invite disaster.

It would be a different story, of course, if it were possible simply to drill for natural gas without running into anything harmful. But drilling is messy, the Sierra Club points out. "All drilling operations generate huge amounts of waste and significant levels of air pollution such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Water pollution from drill cuttings and produced water contain toxic metals such as mercury, lead and other pollutants like benzene. And the rigs, platforms and pipelines industrialize our coasts."

The U.S. Navy also opposes offshore drilling. The big rigs required for exploratory drilling would interfere with training exercises, the Navy says.

Risky drilling for natural gas or oil off the coastline makes little sense when there are alternatives that should be developed. The list includes alternative fuels, requiring more fuel efficient vehicles and committing to building techniques that sharply limit fuel consumption. But that would require political willpower that evidently doesn't exist in Washington, where lawmakers fall back on 19th-century solutions for 21st-century problems.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

More News in this Category