Drill, Baby, Drill?

We all remember the infamous chant, “Drill, Baby, Drill”, the McCain-Palin solution to the energy crisis. Now, California is considering that same motto to solve another problem: the budget crisis (Yes, we’re still in it. I know, nobody’s really surprised.). One source of income that has been suggested as a way to close the California budget gap, is to start drilling for oil off the California coast.

Why aren’t we doing that already, you ask? I’m not going to lie, this gets complicated and downright fishy in some areas, so here’s the gist:

· July 14, 2008: President Bush lifts a presidential ban on offshore drilling originally implemented by (any guesses?) President Bush Sr.

· Originally, offshore drilling was opposed by our dear Gov. Schwarzenegger. Originally as in, last year after the ban was lifted. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a362RHmsy71s&refer=worldwide

· Federal drilling, which begins 3 miles offshore, (3 miles within the shoreline belongs to California) could be opened up for exploration as early as 2010, if Congress doesn’t vote to renew its own ban, and oil drilling platforms could be constructed by 2012.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/28/MN4G14QMVE.DTL

· California law, however, still blocks new oil drilling in that area controlled by the state (that 3 miles I mentioned above).
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/07/MN251808DH.DTL&type=printable

In a nutshell: 3 miles within the coast drilling is not allowed, beyond that check back in 2012 for great views of those oil rigs that you can see off in the distance from your beachfront property.

Obviously, with a $24.3 billion budget deficit, anyone could have a change of heart, even dear old Gov. Schwarzenegger and as luck would have it, there’s a cute little loophole in the law. It’s called Tranquillon Ridge. Just off the coast of Santa Barbara County, the oil from a field in state waters is seeping into a federally controlled field, allowing the state to drill in that one spot.

Hooray! The budget is saved!

Hardly. The project, which would yield about $100 million a year in state revenues barely puts a dent in the deficit. Not to mention that the drilling would occur off the Santa Barbara coast, where an oil rig platform accident in 1969 spilled 3 million gallons of crude oil along the beaches. Needless to say, dead wildlife and black sand are not so good for tourism.