Experts Expound

Experts Expound

"With gasoline at $4.50 a gallon and more increases likely, is it finally time to go to offshore oil drilling and develop new supplies?

How does this issue play out politically in California?

It is time we invaded Venezuela.

Yes, it's past time and we've let the U.S. get into the mess by not allowing drilling long before now. Meanwhile, hybrid cars are only an interim step before we have hydrogen-powered vehicles. The hydrogen car technology is there, it's just a matter of producing enough vehicles to make it fiscally worthwhile for supply facilities (hydrogen stations?) to be developed in adequate quantities. It's also a matter of making the cars available at affordable prices. That will come with mass production. Whether it's the chicken or the egg that comes first, it will happen over the next decade.

No. This issue has long been decided in California–and in a bipartisan way. Both of the most recent GOP governors have opposed off-shore drilling. Even right-winger Bill Simon, with all of his investments in energy companies, in ‘02 came out against drilling off the coast. Richard Pombo was defeated in ‘06 in what should be a safe GOP seat partly because he made the same proposal as McCain, and his district wasn't even coastal. The oil companies aren't drilling on 80 percent of the leases they already hold in federal waters. A phony, feel-better issue for McCain that will hurt him not only in California, but Florida as well and maybe even North Carolina, And, another major flip-flop, too, by the way.

It is time for drilling. The technology is far more advanced to protect against enviro damage. But public opinion in California will trail behind the rest of the country, so politically it's still a non-starter here.

Hell no. Oil companies are already making incomprehensibly huge profits. We're supposed to let them destroy our coast and make even more just because they're already gouging us and getting away with it?

No and not well.

Supporting offshore oil drilling is political suicide for a California politician, regardless of party.

California is sooo ahead of the curve. We're promoting fuel cells and alternative fuels so we wont' need to pollute our coasts.
Wouldn't be prudent. Not gonna fly. Oil companies already control great swaths of public land they aren't drilling on, and any new exploration would take years, not months.

Drilling offshore is too little too late, and it is politically a dead issue in California anyway. Developing ANWR would make sense, but only in the context of the development of alternative energy sources.

The people from whom we sought opinions:: Elizabeth Ashford, Andrew Acosta, A.G. Block, Mark Bogetich, Barry Brokaw, Morgan Crinklaw, J Dale Debber, Peter DeMarco, Jim Evans, Kathy Fairbanks, Jeff Fuller, Rex Frazier, Ken Gibson, Evan Goldberg, Deborah Gonzalez, Sandy Harrison, Bob Hertzberg, Jason Kinney, Mike Madrid, Nicole Mahrt, Steve Maviglio, Adam Mendelsohn, Barbara O'Connor, Bill Packer, Kassy Perry, Jack Pitney, Adam Probolsky, Tony Quinn, Matt Rexroad, Matt Ross, Roger Salazar, Dan Schnur, Will Shuck, Ralph Simoni, Sam Sorich, Ray Sotero, Garry South, Kevin Spillane, Rich Zeiger.

Want to see more stories like this? Sign up for The Roundup, the free daily newsletter about California politics from the editors of Capitol Weekly. Stay up to date on the news you need to know.

Sign up below, then look for a confirmation email in your inbox.

 

Support for Capitol Weekly is Provided by: