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Looking for a leg: Florida offshore oil drilling
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Oil drilling advocates remain buoyant at their chances of moving Florida offshore oil drilling to reality. For the 3-10 mile Florida zone, the measure passed by a wide margin in a largely party line vote by the Florida House, but failed due to Florida Senate inaction. The proponents arguments are familiar, but ineffective.
Revenue: Lease revenue will provide a major boost for the state budget. This is particularly appealing given the extreme tax-averse attitudes in the Florida legislature. The argument pales in revenue comparison to the threat drilling poses to the huge tourism industry. The Republican dominated legislature could easily gain similar revenue by closing tax loopholes, but their extremist attitudes consider such loophole closing to be the same as raising taxes. By tying their own hands, they make a bad idea like drilling into a worthy proposition (see also expanded gambling in Florida).
National security: Drilling domestically and expanding our nation’s oil production will reduce dependence on foreign oil that is often produced by unfriendly regimes. Yet the oil produced by such new domestic fields would be a low single digit fraction of national consumption and decades away from realization. We simply do not have enough domestically to make a dent in demand. Much of our imported oil comes from Mexico, Canada and the North Sea. The unfriendly regimes won’t upset the markets too much because they are so heavily invested in dollars themselves.
Reduced cost: Domestically produced oil would reduce costs and help the economy and the consumer. See above – it amounts to a drop in the bucket when it eventually gets produced about 20 years from now. There will be absolutely no impact.
Those three points seem to be the driving force of the oil lobby’s argument in Tallahassee, eagerly embraced by the Republican majority. The ideological myopia of Republicans, perhaps induced or enhanced by oil lobby campaign contributions, prevents them from advocating something sensible, like alternative energy development. Consider –
Revenue: The development of alternative energy production and models of innovation in the Sunshine State can provide a revenue-rich Florida industry that is not tied to or detracting from tourism or growth. Rather than exploiting natural resources while threatening ecosystems and tourism, developing clean, renewable energy systems would put more people to work and contribute more to the Florida budget. It would take a bit more time, but the payoff would be far greater.
National security: Alternative energy production will reduce demand and dependence on foreign oil. Since Ronald Reagan took the solar panels off the Carter White House and declared that cheap gas was an American right, we have spent 30 years increasing our dependence on foreign oil, insisting that more oil is the answer. It would seem overdue to realize that oil has always been the problem, never the answer.
Reduced cost: Focusing on production of alternative energy will do more to reduce costs than relying on new oil, and it will have a quicker and lasting effect. Since speculators and oil company shenanigans manipulate prices more than basic economics, the production from new oil finds, like existing oil fields, will be priced by a host of factors. As today’s marketplace shows clearly, increased supply doesn’t mean anything.
The lack of vision from Republican leadership and the remarkable ability of the American people to be duped by lame oil lobby arguments seem to go hand–in–hand as polls show many citizens think such oil drilling is a good idea.
No matter how popular the notion is, new offshore oil drilling still has no leg to stand on. If as much interest and emphasis were placed on alternative energy development in Florida, perhaps Florida’s economy and state budget would be able to stand on two legs.
For more info: I found this article, Pay, Baby, Pay on Reagan era leasing practices quite interesting and insightful in the saga of oil company market control.
More About:
offshore oil drilling ·
central Florida ·
oil prices ·
oil speculation ·
alternative energy ·
energy security
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