Posted by el buzo viejo on January 23, 2001 at 16:36:02:
In Reply to: Oil drilling off No. Cal? posted by Eric Sedletzky on January 20, 2001 at 23:15:05:
Near the wreck of the OM-1, close to Point Conception, there are places where you can see what look like huge coils of rope. These are tar seeps. You can also observe the oil on the surface outside of King Harbor. There's always a slick a hundred yards or so out from the horse shoe pier at Redondo Beach.
Yes, it's politically incorrect to support offshore oil drilling. You have the environmentalist and the NIMBY's (not in my backyard) to contend with. But, drilling is necessary and will happen when the price of oil increases due to scarcity. The US has produced less crude oil each year since 1990 and has imported more oil each year from overseas, leading to an imbalance in payments as well as dependence on foreign governments who are not very friendly. Yes, there are risks, but oil is a natural product that doesn't last long in the environment at our water temperatures. Modern drilling and extraction technology is very clean. Plus, we will have all of those neat oil rigs to dive!