McCain and Oil - Link

One of the reasons President Reagan first banned off-shore drilling for oil was the fear that oil spills might ruin the coastline, a vital economic resource for southern and western states. Beaches and other tourist attractions along the coasts draw tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of tourists and their vacation money each year and are a vital part of the economy of each of those states. And we're not even addressing the issues of commercial fishing (our food supply) and the environment (loss of wild life).

And what we don't hear about (bad mainstream news media!) are the small oil spills that occur on a regular basis. Imagine the big spills that could take place if an off-shore rig, just a short distance from land, were hit by a hurricane or a tornado.

From Crooks and Liars just a few weeks ago. A link is provided below the quote.

Recognizing the interest in Barack Obama’s speech in Germany today, the McCain campaign came up with a photo-op that would have captured at least some attention — John McCain would hop on a helicopter and give a speech from an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast. The campaign knows how important oil prices are to voters, so McCain assumed he could fool a few of them into thinking coastal drilling would give them relief at the pump.

But just an hour after the photo-op was finalized and the media was alerted, the event was off. The campaign said the weather just wasn’t cooperating. Jonathan Martin noted, “The campaign declined to comment any further about the quick decision to spike the trip other than to cite the weather.”

Was the weather the real reason for the cancellation? Maybe, or perhaps the McCain gang didn’t want to visit the rig if the reporters on hand might notice the smell of diesel wafting through the French Quarter.

The Coast Guard closed 29 miles of the Mississippi River at New Orleans after a 600-foot tanker and a barge loaded with fuel oil collided Wednesday, breaking the barge in half.

Nobody was injured, but more than 419,000 gallons of heavy, almost tar-like fuel oil spilled from the barge, forming a slick 12 miles long, said Lt. Cdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. […]

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