"It's like a kick in the face" says Jonathan Ruiz of Florida International University. Jonathan campaigned for Obama for fourteen months, and now he's livid about today's announcement by the administration to open half the east coast to offshore drilling.
"I was born near Florida's Emerald Gulf Coast," says Graham Penniman of University of Central Florida. "The memories that I have on those beaches brings me so much joy, that every night I fall asleep thinking about the moons' reflection across the water. To imagine my beach any other way destroys my heart."
Why are these Florida university students mad? They are being sold out by the Obama administration in a misguided attempt to curry political favor. From the New York Times:
"The proposal -- a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations -- would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean."
Obama inspired our generation to turn out to the polls, and he can do it again if he moves to actually inspire us. But youth across the South East have longer memories than this short-sighted political thinking. Under this proposal the first lease sales for drilling would be held in 2012, a year that Obama will be hoping to connect with us and convince us he stands for our interests. If young people don't believe him, they aren't going to be inspired to vote. That's not change we can believe in.
We aren't going to take this. A protest is planned for an event in Florida today where Newt Gingrich will be promoting drilling. Never mind that he needs to entice people to come with free "Drill Here Drill Now Pay Less" bumper stickers to the first 1000 RSVPs, this event shows how dangerously aligned the Obama administration is getting to the industry-cheerleading GOP.
Let's really listen to Megan Maloney at the University of Central Florida when she says, "As a young America citizen I am fearful for my future because of Obama's decision of pursuing more offshore drilling off our coasts." And Keziyah Lewis of Florida State University points to the DOE report on the cost of actually extracting that energy to say "obviously offshore oil drilling just doesn't make sense when you compare the cost of infrastructure, research, etc, to the amount of fuel that is attainable, it's like throwing money down the toilet."
President Obama, Ken Salazar and the rest of your teams, hear us loud and clear: young people oppose offshore drilling.
"I understand that they want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but why not reduce our dependence on oil all together. Our tax dollars are being used to drill for something that will just disappear. It is a triple negative; we use oil to run the machines that drill for that oil that we then use to fuel our lives. What kind of generation will we be viewed as if we destroy our oceans just because we want a year or two of independence from other countries? We need to stop worrying about only ourselves and think about our children and grandchildren, how is this going to effect them, what are they going to do when all our oil is gone? Why are we investing in something that can just disappear when we can put our money towards something that can last a lifetime." Amanda Glaze, University of West Florida
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The "Black Agenda” is the topic of discussion on the PBS show Basic Black, which you can watch TONIGHT at 7:30 p.m EST LIVE at www.basicblack.org or on channel 2 in Boston. You can also participate in a live chat at basicblack.org starting at 7: 20 pm.
Bay cleanup efforts expanding
LINGERING CONSEQUENCES: Spill will have far-ranging effects on plants and animals in and around bay for years, scientists fear
We dont know what the cost of anb oil spll is- its not just a one homeowners concern- These spills destroy industries- cause contamination- the clean up costs millions of dollars
Oil Spill Spreads in San Francisco Bay
CAROLYN MARSHALL
Published: November 10, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 9 — Challenged by strong winds and tides, cleanup crews struggled Friday to contain an oil spill spreading in the San Francisco Bay as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for the area.
A major oil spill is making San Francisco Bay look like a dirty bathtub, and the ring of black that soils the shoreline is likely to pose dire consequences for birds, mice, ducks, fish and the smallest of aquatic creatures for years to come, scientists say.
Hidden under rocks or lying deep in the sediment and soil in wetlands and the bottom of the bay, the residue from 58,000 gallons of ship oil could remain for years, daubing creatures with a fatal blob or contaminating the food chain.
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The more money we use to Import oil, the less money we have for green energy or anything else..
“A Balance of payments (BOP) sheet is an accounting record of all monetary transactions between a country and the rest of the world. These transactions include payments for the country's exports and imports of goods, services, and financial capital, as well as financial transfers. The BOP summarises international transactions for a specific period, usually a year, and is prepared in a single currency, typically the domestic currency for the country concerned. Sources of funds for a nation, such as exports or the receipts of loans and investments, are recorded as positive or surplus items. Uses of funds, such as for imports or to invest in foreign countries, are recorded as a negative or deficit item.”
“When all components of the BOP sheet are included it must balance - that is, it must sum to zero - there can be no overall surplus or deficit. For example, if a country is importing more than it exports, its trade balance will be in deficit, but the shortfall will have to be counter balanced in other ways - such as by funds earned from its foreign investments, by running down reserves or by receiving loans from other countries.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_of_payments
He didn't close Guantanamo. Maybe he tried, but he certainly made sure none of the war criminals from the Bush administration ever see justice. He conceded single-payer health care right off the bat and refused to fight hard for a public option--which was already a compromise. He hasn't issued an executive order to stop the enforcement of DADT, even though it's his prerogative to do so and most of the country is behind him on this issue.
And now he decides it's time to drill baby drill. Not only that, but he makes this concession at the very BEGINNING of the negotiating process, just like single-payer. We might have been willing to make this compromise, but not after a fight. Obama never seems to stand up for his principles--he just concedes them from the start for the sake of his moderate-centrist political image. Contrast that with "change we can believe in" and it should be perfectly clear why so many young progressives are so angry with him.
The oil industry suffered a major catastrophe from the disaster off Santa Barbara decades ago, and invested considerably in developing safer technology. How many problems have you hear of in the last 20 years?
Also, the areas Obama proposes opening to exploration are far offshore. Your beaches will be fine.
Just as the new oil won't make a big impact on our imports, it won't have a major impact on carbon releases.
Personally, I think this is a move to blunt the rhetoric of the opposition when the administration renews a push for cap-and-trade.
Off shore drilling is an emotional issue with a fear level that is not backed up by the facts. Let's get the facts.
In the meantime, I'm fully supporting Obama on this issue.
If we don't get the oil here, where do they think we get it from?!
How about Nigeria, where there is a full-fledged civil war in the Niger Delta over the environmental costs of drilling, and the abject poverty of the indigenous people from whose land the oil is being extracted.
Or Venezuela, where there are far fewer environmental regulations than here.
Or Saudi Arabia, the source of most terrorism and insurgency funding killing us at home and our troops abroad.
Get educated before you go crying about Obama's tough decisions.
http://www.sosfla.org/2010/03/rally-in-tally-against-offshore.html
More on oil drilling off Florida's coast on http://www.swflgreen.org
Why would any logical person oppose drilling to get energy in America?
The typical answers here are, “we need to use less oil not more” or “burning oil is bad for the environment”.
Well no argument there, but I challenge anyone to explain how stopping drilling in the US accomplishes either of those goals.
If the US was an isolated country (no exports or imports), then you could make a reasonable argument that opposing drilling would lead to less petroleum use in America.
But we do not live in an isolated country. When you stop Americans from getting US oil, you do not change in any way how much petroleum we use!
You only increase imports of oil.
That increases how much money we send abroad to countries we do not like!
That exports both our money and our JOBS!
That is the only effect of stopping drilling here, it makes us poorer, we have less money for green energy or health care or education or anything else, and if you don’t believe that, google “balance of payments”.
Why would any sane American be FOR that?
As long as we are importing ANY oil it makes no economic sense to not use American energy. Most people realize this simple economic truth and they are mad about it.
Notice who he talked to/cut a back-room deal with, before he began healthcare "reform?" Big Pharma and Big Healthcare.
If we check the White House visitor logs when they finally release them a year from now, I am certain we will find that Big Oil, big Gas, and Big Drilling (think: Halliburton) have all been to visit and play Let's Make a Deal.
The DLCers in charge of this Administration are NOT Democrats, merely opportunists.