Latest evidence of the administration's criminal behavior.
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Protests from experts show drilling moratorium based on politics, not science: An editorial
nola.com
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010, 6:06 AM Updated: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 6:15 PM
Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune
In justifying its broad moratorium on deepwater drilling, the Obama administration emphasized that the measure was recommended by an Interior Department report prepared in consultation with scientists and industry experts.
Gerald Herbert/The Associated PressThe Obama administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling is not the more targeted measure scientists evaluated and recommended.
The May 27 report to President Barack Obama said the experts "peer reviewed" its recommendations, including the six-month moratorium and 22 safety measures.
But eight of the 15 members of the review panel are charging that the administration misrepresented their position by suggesting they supported a blanket moratorium that they actually oppose. Their criticism, and the administration's response, are evidence that the six-month stoppage is based on politics rather than on science.
That's not how a decision that could wreck South Louisiana's economy should have been made -- and the president should reconsider it.
The eight panel members said they disagree with the moratorium on all exploratory drilling in waters of at least 500 feet. Instead, the experts said they supported an initial draft of Interior's report proposing a six-month moratorium only on new drilling and only at more than 1,000 feet.
"A blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risks further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation's economy which may be greater than that of the spill," the experts wrote.
They are right.
The administration is still defending its moratorium, saying the measure simply hits the "pause" button on drilling to evaluate safety measures. But the moratorium soon will turn into a "kill" button for thousands of Louisiana jobs, as rigs poised to relocate overseas could take up to two years to return.
Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday worried that the White House just doesn't get it. He said that in a conference call, presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett "asked again why the rigs simply wouldn't come back after six months ... I fear they think these rigs can just flip a switch on and off."
That would be a grave misunderstanding of how the industry works and of what's at stake for Louisiana.
The Obama administration also is trying to frame the moratorium debate as a choice between the president's six-month stoppage and re-starting drilling without any safety improvements. That's a false choice, and the administration knows it.
Louisianians are not advocating that the government do nothing. We're asking the administration to quickly order a number of reforms that allow at least some rigs to safely resume operations. Secretary Salazar's report and several ongoing probes of the spill have identified those steps.
That would make drilling safer without decimating Louisiana's economy. |
