Drill Baby Drill, the Sequel

From the Charlotte Observer:

A coalition of corporate, energy and agriculture leaders presented a report July 27 projecting that North Carolina could eventually reap $577 million a year from offshore drilling along the state’s coast.The group, the Southeast Energy Alliance, made their case for drilling as lawmakers try to cope with a nosedive in state revenue.

“States along the Gulf Coast already get this money,” said Larry Wooten, president of the N.C. Farm Bureau. “Why shouldn’t we?”

The group’s dollar figures, though, depend on the accuracy of federal estimates of oil and natural gas deposits and whether corporations choose to drill off the N.C. coast. Read more about the story.

And then read the Sierra Club Response:

The main reason many environmental groups oppose offshore drilling is that it doesn’t really solve any of the problems it’s purported to.

1. It takes years and millions in subsidies to get the oil.
2. The oil conglomerates aren’t required to sell the oil here in the US.
3. Fossil fuels aren’t efficient, the price fluctuates at the whim of vaguely understood interest groups like OPEC and speculators, and the emissions aren’t all that great (purposefully understated).

How about some NC based reasons:

• Do we really want massive tankers in “the Graveyard of the Atlantic?”
• Hurricanes
• No oil refineries in our state
• See reason 2 above and replace “US” with “NC”

For more about a Petition against drilling off North Carolina, visit the local Surfrider Chapter.