Sunday, August 31, 2008

Oil Soup

As major hurricane Gustov churns in the Gulf of Mexico, we can all expect gas prices to rise rapidly again (until the election gets closer). This is yet another reason why off shore drilling is not a good idea. Major hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico are not rare and, and due to global warming (which the oil folks don't believe in) will be even more frequent. So not only will we have to deal with high gas prices when the inevitable storms threaten (a threat is all it takes raise prices), we will also have to deal with the very real possibility that a storm like Gustov will damage the rigs enough to cause a major oil spill. This is the case in all the areas now under consideration for new drilling around the Gulf of Mexico, coast of Florida and coast of California. These storms are real, they are powerful, and they are inevitable. Putting more toxic rigs in these areas is stupid. Especially given the fact that the oil companies are not drilling in areas already approved on land.

As a side note - I pray this storm weakens before it makes landfall and I also pray it spares the New Orleans area. For some reason - 3 years later - many folks are still living in trailor houses there. That reason is the Bush Admin. The fence on the Mexico border is almost done but those homes have not been rebuilt.

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