Under the plan, the coastline from New Jersey northward would remain closed to all oil and gas activity. So would the Pacific Coast, from Mexico to the Canadian border.
The environmentally sensitive Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska would be protected and no drilling would be allowed under the plan, officials said. But large tracts in the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska — nearly 130 million acres — would be eligible for exploration and drilling after extensive studies.
People are under the assumption that the platforms are going to be built tomorrow and that Obama is caving to conservative demands. This is simply not true.
The only place that is already a definite for a platform to begin operating is off the coast of Virginia. The remainder of the areas are to be explored to see if they are even viable.
While this does create the illusion of a conservative victory, I'm seeing this as just a perfect example of an over-reported topic that ultimately confuses people rather than make any clear point - though the Times piece does include all the relevant information.
To me, this seems more like a carefully calculated chess move on the part of Obama. With the administration's energy bill coming up, this will likely appease some Republicans while others will remain skeptical. I'll like to see how many GOP members vote against this proposed drilling plan.
It's your move conservatives.
1 comment:
no matter what obama does - even curing cancer, the GOP will oppose - even this. they are united in their obstructionism, not in moving forward
ps - no matter obama's motive for this or his thoughts - i still think it is wrong, but that is just my opinion
Post a Comment