Top Issues: Drilling

Yesterday my mood was improved by my mother, followed by an email from the Obama campaign, informing me that in the wake of John McCain's announcement of Palin as his VP more first time contributors donated to the Obama campaign than ever before. Ah, the smell of political suicide in the morning.
Today, irked by the once again rising cost of gas (and doughnuts) I'm not in such a good mood.
A good friend of mine told me when we were discussing various political problems the other day that she supports more drilling in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Alright, I'll give her that. I respect her opinions. But I see no point in opening up new areas such as in the Gulf of Mexico and ANWR to drilling when we aren't even striving for peak production with the drilling operations we HAVE. Until such time as production peaks in our CURRENT oil interests, I continue to be against further drilling. And I also expect that by such time as production peaks we will also be well on our way to the We Campaign (WeCanSolveIt.org) goal of 100% clean energy.
So that said, here is your chance to speak out against further offshore drilling, thanks to Defenders of Wildlife:
Please urge the U.S. Minerals Management Service -- the federal agency accepting comments on the Administration’s plan -- to shelve the Bush/Cheney Administration’s latest offshore oil drilling scam.

• Offshore drilling contaminates water, routinely spilling oil and toxic liquids into our oceans and releasing hazardous fumes into our air.
• Pollutants like mercury and persistent hydrocarbons contaminate important marine habitat near platforms.
• Seismic testing associated with drilling can cause dolphins, whales and other marine mammals to become disoriented and stranded and -- in some cases -- even die.
• Massive spills that can result from drilling and increased tanker traffic can kill dolphins, seabirds, sea turtles, fish and marine mammals.

And while the environmental damage of offshore drilling may be significant, the savings to U.S. consumers would not be. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that drilling off our coasts would have "no significant" impact on domestic production until 2030, and even then “impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant."

Tell the MMS that we don't need more drilling, what we need is a new way of thinking!