If drilling were done onshore, maybe they wouldn’t be drilling offshore.

Yeah, let’s tax the oil companies-that’ll show ‘em…of course they’ll just pass that along to us in the form of increased prices for petroleum related products, i.e., gasoline, natural gas, plastic, cosmetics, asphalt, etc., not to mention the increased cost of transportation and production of other items like groceries, automobiles, building supplies.

Another thing to remember. OIl companies drill for oil and produce it into many different things; chemical companies use oil for many things, too. Crude oil is not just used for fuels. The price for that oil and for the products is set by the traders on the stock market. Crude oil is traded on the stock market. Gasoline and other petroleum fuels are traded on the market as well. There is some free market influence, but not that much. If a refinery or petrochem company buys oil, it pays the market price. The point is, the oil companies don’t set the price. Even the price at the pump for gasoline is set by brokers and traders; not the local store owners.

I’ve been to Prince William Sound in Alaska, the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen. Otters and seals and birds (including eagles) abound. The glaciers are absolutely gorgeous. As a matter of fact, they dipped out the ice from the water and made drinks for us. I think the Valdez mess has been adequately cleaned up and Exxon has paid dearly, both in cost and in bad publicity. BP, too should shoulder the cost of cleanup and remediation; they should be held accountable for their bad practices in their drilling programs and the individuals responsible should be dealt with adequately as well.

As for regulations and rules, they’re already in place. The agencies responsible for enforcement failed. The last thing needed is more government intervention; just enforce compliance with existing rules. Remember, there were no safety violations, according to inspectors, on this drilling rig prior to this blowout. (I’m reminded of the days of vehicle inspections and the junk we still saw being driven on the highways). Just exactly how many other blowouts and spills have there been lately? In past decades?

I hate to see this as much as anyone else. I think the water and the shores in NW FL are the most beautiful in the world.

However, this is not the time to panic and do foolish things; the environmentalist extremists have done their fair share of damage to our economy and this is just another bullet for their radical gun.

I for one, think the governor is just playing on emotions to further his political ambitions.

This well will be capped; the mess will be cleaned up; the damages will be recovered from-nature has a way of healing itself; business will recover-if it doesn’t, new business will form and replace. I sincerely believe that this is not Armageddon.

Florida, TOTALLY depends on tourists, the state can’t afford to have drilling off the coast of Florida. Just think ,if the leak we now have was any closer to our coast, what a even bigger mess this would be.

Crist, is doing the right thing for the state of Florida. It would be a disaster to have them off the coast of Florida.

The jobs gained from the workers for the oil drilling is very small when compared to the jobs losts from leaks, danger and ugliness.

Here’s a report done 10 years after the Alaskan spill.
http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/SEEJ/Alaska/miller2.htm

Another study done 15 years later:
excerpt:
“Beyond their acute losses, marine mammals and sea ducks suffered high mortality for years after the accident in part because they ate invertebrates contaminated by the hidden oil and also contacted oil directly while digging up prey. Species as diverse as sea otters, harlequin ducks and killer whales suffered large, long-term losses. Oiled mussel beds and other tidal shoreline habitats will take an estimated 30 years to recover.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/12/031219073313.htm

Article from June this year:
http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/3571.cfm

We will continue to use oil for some time in the future, but after 30 years of blatantly ignoring any alternatives or viable research into alternatives we are posed to loose our status as leader in technology in the fields dealing with energy. Germany, Australia and China are way ahead of us, and Germany is one example of a country making headway despite not having the ideal climate for some solar technologies. As long as we plan only in the short term at the lowest cost, we’ll continue to crap in our own nest, so to speak, for years to come.