I agree that drilling and environmental protection do not have to be mutually exclusive, but regulation and protection of the wells is needed. Something that isn't mentioned much is the danger we face from terrorist attacks on offshore drilling. The Deepwater Horizon spread oil over the an area the size of Kentucky and took 100 days to bring under control and will cost billions to clean up. Suppose a terrorist attack hit 5 wells in the Gulf. The Gulf is not that big a place. The prospect of turning the Gulf of Mexico into a dead sea is truly frightening.Haven't seen this thread in a while. Some new thoughts have come to mind.
First, How does drilling hurt the working class? Since when is having productive jobs and energy for more jobs bad?
Second, You do realize that drilling and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive, right?