Mother Earth World's Biggest Oil Polluter

Who knows what the enviro-freaks will say about the latest report on the source of most oil pollution, but the culprit appears to be none other than the Earth itself.


Indeed, some say that offshore drilling could be good for the environment as those drilled wells relieve pressure in the earth's crust and allow the oil to come through planned pipelines rather than through random holes on the ocean floor. In case you missed it, it looks like this.



The question becomes, "What excuse is there now for not drilling offshore?" Of course, some complain that it would destroy the tourism industry of coastal states which is completely nondisprovable, and therefore a very convenient argument for the anti-drill crowd to make. Here in Texas, Galveston Island is enjoying a growing tourism industry and the coast continues to attract new residents despite Texas's offshore drilling operations.

Now that President Bush has lifted the executive ban on offshore oil production, "the ball is squarely in Congress's court" to lift their own ban on offshore drilling. But as White House Spokesperson Dana Perino pointed out, more and more Democrats are beginning to change their position on this. But not, of course, Democrat Senate Leader Harry Reid, who continues to insist that any new oil finds will take as many as seven years to bring online. But it was in 2002 that the Senate last voted against drilling in ANWR, using that same argument. That was six years ago, meaning that if they had allowed it back then, that oil would be coming online within the next year.

When will the Democrat Congress stop the thumb twiddling and start the oil drilling? Don't hold your breath.