Top N.J. Democrats have 2 words for offshore oil drilling: ‘Forget it’
July 8th, 2008 | by mantrionline |Just about every summer for more than a decade, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. headed out to a beach community in New Jersey to lambaste attempts by the federal government to resurrect plans for oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, including New Jersey.
And every year, the attempt by federal lawmakers to overturn the moratorium on offshore oil drilling got beaten back.
This year, however, with offshore oil drilling touted in the presidential campaign as a solution to high gas prices, Pallone had a lot of company at the podium.
Democratic heavy hitters, including Gov. Jon Corzine and both U.S. senators from New Jersey, accompanied Pallone to the press conference and vowed to put the issue to rest for good.
Corzine joined Pallone and U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez to try to convince New Jerseyans that offshore oil drilling would provide 30 days worth of gasoline for motorists but years of potential economic ruin for the Garden State economy.
“It is a horrible idea,” he told a crowd on the boardwalk in Belmar yesterday morning.
“We are really talking about something that is irrelevant to the overall dependency on oil. What we need to do is (to) be moving to alternative energies and most importantly (to) conservation,” he said. “I can’t think of an idea whose time is less appropriate than this one. For New Jersey, where we have a $38 billion economy in tourism … it makes absolutely no sense for us.”
One mishap with an oil derrick or tanker offshore could create environmental and economic havoc similar to what New Jersey beaches experienced in the 1980s with the washing up of New York medical waste, the politicians said.
Menendez said California beaches where offshore oil drilling occurs are devoid of tourists, and New Jersey beaches could look the same if the moratorium is lifted.
“This will do nothing about reducing gas prices now or in the future. There are other alternatives. Let’s make sure that we preserve our environment, preserve our economy…,” he said.
Pallone (D-6th Dist.) said he expects a new attempt at overturning the moratorium when Congress returns from recess this week.
“Every time we try something to create energy independence, we are fought tooth and nail by these oil guys,” he said.
Industry analysts have said drilling for oil off the Atlantic coast would not start to produce gasoline for a decade and would not have any effect on prices until about 2030.
Lautenberg said oil companies are using only one-fourth of the federal land leases they have acquired over the years.
“A plan to drill here is no plan at all. It’s a handout, simply a handout to the oil companies,” he said. “It’s a terrible idea. And drilling will do nothing to cut today’s gas prices.”
