Hurricane Katrina and a second look at off shore oil drilling

by Joseph A. Lypowy 9/505

    We all know what a tragedy Hurricane Katrina has been to the Gulf Coast states. One observation I’ve made was that amid all the destruction, there was no environmental impact from the offshore oil rigs on the Gulf Coast. Another observation I made was that the five states that boarder the Gulf of Mexico; Florida; Mississippi; Alabama; Louisiana and Texas, all have beach resort communities and all seem to coexist with offshore oil drilling without any negative impact. The recent events in the South have brought attention to the fact that one third of our nations oil is produced by gulf oil drilling and the recent spike in gasoline prices has proven the need for additional domestic oil production.
   Recently there has been debate regarding proposed offshore oil drilling off the Jersey Coast and most local politicians take the usual knee-jerk reaction to oppose it, probably fearing criticism from the environmentalist extremist groups. The usual concern is a potential accident but I don’t see how that can be an issue when offshore oil drilling rigs can withstand a category five hurricane which Katrina has demonstrated. The people who usually oppose offshore oil drilling, windmills or nuclear reactors the most are usually the first to complain when a gallon of gas goes up twenty cents. Even though we should work towards alternative forms of energy, offshore oil drilling should be considered for the current reality.