Details. Sounds like a reasonable compromise to me, though I'll confess to not being an expert on this.
The US House approved an energy bill last night that would allow offshore drilling as close as 50 miles from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but a last-minute provision added at the insistence of Massachusetts members would prohibit oil and gas drilling around Georges Bank, saving New England's premier commercial fishing grounds from potential harm.
The legislation also promotes investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency, paid for by eliminating tax exemptions for oil companies and increasing their royalty payments, and it authorizes more funding for heating assistance for low-income people ...
But with the ban set to expire at the end of this month and the November elections approaching, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shifted her stance, proposing legislation that would allow drilling as close as 100 miles from shore, and with a state's permission, as close as 50 miles from shore ...
But House minority leader John Boehner called the bill "a hoax on the American people," saying it "won't do a damn thing about energy" because the vast majority of known offshore oil is within 50 miles of shore and would therefore still be off-limits and because it would not promote the development of nuclear plants or coal-to-liquids technologies.
More details. It's clear why Big Oil and President Bush wouldn't like this plan.
Posted by armand at September 17, 2008 07:56 AM | TrackBack | Posted to EconomicsIf I understand correctly, the complaint, at least in part, is that even where it gives states discretion it does not give them a share of the revenue. But what I want to know is, if drilling is such a brilliantly effective way to get our gas back down to $0.50/gallon, so we can leave our heads in the sand for another forty years while the rest of the world produces pioneering countries in the realm of clean energy, isn't just having drilling, wherever possible, it's own reward?
And while it may not do a lot for nuclear and clean coal, it bears noting, the bill as I understand it requires utilities to generate 15% of its power renewably by 2020, provides incentives to consumers for buying hybrids and installing solar, and finances itself by eliminating various tax benefits to oil companies.
Finally, though, it really doesn't matter what the bill says, because Bush will never sign it into law by the end of his term, and the GOP won't let it get out of congress anyway. It would undermine McCain's absurd claim that the left doesn't have a viable energy policy.
Posted by: moon at September 17, 2008 08:58 AM | PERMALINK