The offshore drilling debate is center-stage in the presidential election. Both John McCain and Barack Obama originally opposed expanding drilling for oil off of the U.S. coastline, but they have since both modified their stance because, well, a whole lot Replica Tag Heuer waf111d.ba0810 Aquaracer Quartz Watch of people want to the country to do it (And the cries of flip-flopping were heard from Dems and Repubs throughout the land!). In June, McCain called for the lifting of the federal bans offshore drilling, much to the delight of many of his supporters (The chants of “Drill Here! Drill Now!”
at the Republican Convention left some thinking, Where? In Saint Paul?).Obama in recent months has softened his opposition to lifting the congressional ban on offshore drilling, though he holds a few caveats.Advocates for offshore drilling say it is safe Replica Tag Heuer wjf131h.ba0572 Link Quartz Fixed Bezel Watch and will lower fuel prices in the short term while other technologies are developed. Opponents maintain it will not affect prices for years, could have disastrous environmental consequences, and takes the country’s focus off of sustainable resources.
For the environmental side, Jeff Tollefson, of Nature, answers some questions on the potential impacts of drilling. One issue he does not address is the impact of Replica Tag Heuer ww2110.ft6005 Monaco Automatic Watch formerly undeveloped lands being tapped for oil (Economists call this a “non-use value,” the benefit to humanity of just knowing a pristine landscape is there, and, yeah, that’s as hard to calculate as it sounds). The debate on price comes down to the distinction between oil speculation and production.
