President Obama announced today that the government will not investigate the possibility of offshore drilling off the East Coast of the US and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least seven years.
The announcement amounts to a welcome reversal for previously planned policy changes made before the BP oil spill disaster. Prior to the spill, the Obama administration was seriously considering going ahead with plans to pursue offshore drilling off of Florida and the East Coast.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called the decision "wonderful news."
"That's news that will be very favorably received by the tourist industry throughout the state, but also by the people," Crist said. In reference to the BP spill he said, “If that's not a wake-up call, I don't know what would be. If that doesn't have an impact on your thinking, you must not be thinking."
This is very good news for North Carolina fishing and environmental interests. Many were worried, because offshore drilling seemed inevitable and was being touted by the Obama Administration just before the BP oil spill occurred.
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