Inland Parker Griffith Finds Offshore Drilling Convenient
U.S. Representative Parker Griffith says he’s got a solution for America’s dirty energy crisis: Just produce more dirty energy.
Congressman Griffith says that the United States ought to open up its shorelines for lots of new oil drilling operations. “We must remove the moratorium on exploratory drilling off our coasts,” he says.
What does Representative Griffith know about offshore oil drilling? Well, he is from Alabama, a Gulf Coast state, right?
Actually, Parker Griffith represents Alabama’s fifth congressional district, which stretches along Alabama’s border with Tennessee, as far away as you can get away from the Gulf of Mexico and still be in Alabama. Griffith represents a district that’s far inland.
It’s awfully convenient for Parker Griffith to ask other Americans, who live in coastal districts, to take all the risk for the benefit of the big oil companies. The fact is that there’s quite a bit for coastal districts to fear from expanded offshore drilling. Right now, the largest oil spill in Australian history is surging out of control two months after it began. The latest technology didn’t prevent that spill from taking place, and has been powerless to stop the spill.
Seadrill, one of the companies involved in the Australian spill, has set up offices in Houston and is targeting the Gulf of Mexico for additional operations. Parker Griffith seems to think that’s just fine – but then, he’s got nothing to lose.
