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Bush Calls for Offshore Oil Drilling
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Keith Hennessy, director of the White House National Economic Council, said that under the president's plan, individual states would retain veto power. "Florida, like every other state, would be able to make those determinations about what they thought is appropriate," he said.
Richard Charter, a consultant for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, said environmental and business groups have found common cause on the issue because pristine beaches generate so much tourism income.
"Offshore oil drilling results in the routine discharges of highly toxic metals, hydrocarbons and other substances," Charter said, adding that the toxins build up over time in marine life. Since the methods for cleaning oil spills have not advanced since the 1950s, he said, "it is counterintuitive" for a coastal politician to take actions that "could jeopardize your coastal economy."
But administration officials and others asserted that technology for preventing oil spills has improved and that drilling can be done safely. "Offshore leasing will not be popular in coastal states, but it will be very popular with consumers as a whole," said J. Robinson West, a leading energy consultant in Washington. "This is an eminently logical thing to do. Oil exploration is an industrialized process, but environmentally now it is very safe."
A major uncertainty is the economic impact of offshore drilling, which by Bush's estimate could result in an extra 18 billion barrels of oil -- equivalent to the nation's current oil production for the next 10 years, according to the White House. Hennessy said he thinks that oil prices might fall as markets began building in the expectation of a growing supply. "We would expect it to have an effect on the price; it's very difficult to quantify," he said.
But the federal Energy Information Administration estimated that if leasing began in 2012, "access to the Pacific, Atlantic and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030."
Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, dismissed the proposal, saying that "just as he did with his gas tax holiday gimmick, it's clear that instead of straight talk or tough talk, John McCain is offering nothing more than the same Washington double talk and old ideas that have failed our families for too long."
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said the campaign is confident that the senator's proposal will resonate with Americans anxious about rising fuel costs.
"I think Senator Obama finds himself in a very precarious position, because this is John McCain's action versus Barack Obama's inaction," Bounds said. "This ultimately comes down to John McCain making a decision that we need to pursue policies that lower gas prices for frustrated Americans."
