The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

I do have to be fair, because oil disasters are huge. The Union company disaster happened in 1969. It’s been 40 years. Exxon Valdez in Alaska happen 20 years ago. I can only hope that the oil companies have ‘manned up’ in regards to environmental protections. No, it’s not cool to spill oil in the ocean or wherever. It’s not cool to destroy wildlife recklessly. But to discredit the remaining responsible companies that do it right is a disservice. I’d rather have us drill on our own land than be dependent on the whims and idiosyncrasies of other countries. I don’t want sloppy oil recovery in my name no matter who drills… it is what it is. I agree with Gov. Palin’s energy ideas. Natural gas is what’s up, and we need all the natural gas we can capture.

The silly thing about this is that California ALREADY has platforms just off the coast. You can see them (at times you have to squint your eyes) from Manhattan beach to Long Beach. Santa Barbara is known for its beauty and these folks believe that somehow that is going to be compromised by allowing offshore drilling. Tourism has never been a problem for California beaches and most folks do not have a problem with the platforms that can be seen from other beaches.

Oil spills will happen and apparently oil companies have learned a lot since ’69. Cuz’ as far as I know, we have not had a spill from a platform since that time.