Obama still supports offshore drilling

OBAMA STILL SUPPORTS OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING

Obama repeated his support for offshore drilling as the crisis in the Gulf Coast continues after a British Petroleum oil rig exploded and oil has spread throughout the Gulf and reached landfall.

And you thought you voted against "Drill, baby, drill"


OIL SPILL UPDATE

BBC - The US Coast Guard says five times as much oil as previously thought could be leaking from a well beneath where a rig sank in the Gulf of Mexico last week.

Rear Admiral Mary Landry said 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day were now thought to be gushing into the sea 50 miles (80km) off Louisiana's coast.

A third leak had also been discovered at the site, Adm Landry said.

One fire-fighting expert told the BBC the disaster might become the "biggest oil spill in the world".

"Probably the only thing comparable to this is the Kuwait fires [following the Gulf War in 1991]," Mike Miller, head of Canadian oil well fire-fighting company Safety Boss, told BBC World Service.

"The Exxon Valdez [tanker disaster off Alaska in 1989] is going to pale [into insignificance] in comparison to this as it goes on."

If US Coast Guard estimates are correct, the slick could match the 11m gallons spilt from the Exxon Valdez within less than two months.

It now seems inevitable that Louisiana's coastline will be hit and at least another two states could be affected.

Drill, baby drill. No matter what, we can't let anything get in the way of oil company profits. Who cares if we just lost the Louisiana wetlands for a generation. Drill, baby, drill.

But hey, you can't say Obama isn't doing anything.
FEDS CANCEL LUNCHEON CELEBRATING OIL RIG SAFETY

It was to be a celebration, but a federal agency in charge of offshore drilling has postponed next week's annual luncheon in Houston, which was to extol the safety record of offshore oil drilling.

...

Last year, BP America, operator of the deep-water rig that exploded and sank last week, was among the luncheon's winners, cited for "outstanding dedication and leadership in promoting improved medical care and evacuation capabilities for offshore facilities."

Drill, baby, drill. Obama still supports off-shore drilling.