While we are still digging up oil patties on Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, the Florida Legislature is quietly discussing a new bill on offshore drilling. The oil industry spin machine, led by such faux grassroots groups as Consumer Energy Alliance, is already working the conservative blogosphere hard.
You will hear over the next few months:
1) Offshore drilling wasn’t the problem. It was the poor government response…in other words, don’t blame BP, Transocean and Haliburton. IF we had more skimmers then there wouldn’t have been a problem.
2) The Deepwater Horizon disaster was neither catastrophic or irreparable.
3) Our response to the disaster was purely emotional and unfounded. Offshore drilling is safe. The spill’s effects are largely behind us.
4) Obama is the problem – his drilling moratorium was ill-advised and made things worse.
5) About 85 percent of our territorial waters are off-limits to oil exploration and production. Untold billions of barrels could be extracted off our coastline if we were willing to go after it.
6) We need the oil for national security because fossil fuels are still needed.
7) We survived the largest man-made environment disaster and it was only a temporary inconvenience.