Hey, Slick

How big is the Gulf oil spill compared to the Shenandoah Valley? To Virginia Beach? To the pristine Eastern Shore of the Commonwealth? Google Maps helps you visualize the extent of the BP disaster. Plug-in may be required.

Drill now, spill later? Still think drilling off the Virginia coast makes sense? If so, you are a friggin' fool. We are led by fools. Cartoon from the News Leader.

A cautionary tale

The disaster in Louisiana should send red flags up for all who want to "drill here, drill now" off the coast of Virginia and other east coast states. The well is blowing out 5 times more oil than originally reported - some 200,000 gallons a day. BP, which is already receiving assistance from the Coast Guard, now wants specialized help from the Defense Department. Hope Secretary Gates is keeping tab of all the costs and will send a bill for the full cost.

Attempts to put out the fire were futile.

The rig eventually collapsed into the Gulf, but the well keeps spewing crude.

The slick is big and keeps growing as the well is pumps out 200,000 gallons per day.

The Exxon Valdez held a limited amount of crude, but since this deep well keeps on pumping and has far more oil than a tanker, the environmental and economic consequences will likely surpass, by a wide a margin, that disaster. The folks along the Gulf coast will pay the highest price, but much will get passed on to all of us. Although the White House says BP will pay all the cleanup costs... yeah, right... you can expect to pay more for that shrimp cocktail or seafood dinner. The costs will ripple through the national economy.

"Drill here, drill now." Anybody that wants oil wells off the east coast should at least agree that those doing the drilling should proffer billions up front, to be held in trust as long as the rigs are there, to cover the cleanup costs if disaster strikes again.

Stupid question

This evening (April 26) on WHSV/TV3, anchor Bob Corso interviewed retired Bridgewater College political science professor David McQuilkin on how the Louisiana oil rig explosion and pending environmental disaster might affect drilling off the Virginia coast. Boiled down to the essentials, McQuilkin said the current situation would would give environmentalists some talking points, but that over time it wouldn't have much effect on plans to drill 50 miles off Virginia Beach. While I opposed the drilling, I tend to agree with the analysis - it will be years before we are weaned from the ample tits of big oil.

The interview continued and Corso then showed his bias for crude when he commented that the last oil-related environmental disaster was Exxon Valdez in 1989 To his credit, McQuilken disputed that assertion, although without offering specifics. Corso then asked a completely moronic question (I'm paraphrasing somewhat)... Isn't off-shore drilling basically foolproof?

Huh? How completely stupid is Corso's question? We just had an oil rig explode and sink into the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven lives were lost. Over 1,800 square miles of the Gulf are covered with oil that crews are desperately trying to contain. Some 5,000 feet down, 42,000 gallons of crude oil continue spewing into the water each and every day as special submarines try to plug the leak. The vital Louisiana seafood and tourism industry is in peril. With all that, Bob Corso asks if off-shore oil drilling is foolproof. The word "fool" applies to this interview... just as the the word "foolish" applies to "drill here, drill now" of the Virginia coast. But, off-shore oil drilling, like all human ventures, is far from "foolproof."

The Answer Is Blowin' In the Offshore Wind

Bob McDonnell and other Repugs are all for off-shore oil - drill here, drill now and all that feel good (to right wing nuts) BS. The reserves are unproven, the environmental and economic risks are very high, and even if it all works perfectly, oil/gas off the Virginia coast is a short term pipe dream having minimal impact on gas and oil prices in the Commonwealth. After all, petroleum prices are set on a global market and there is no guarantee any of it would find its way to a Henrico gas station. A drop in the bucket?

Fortunately the Commonwealth, under the leadership of Democrats like Governor Tim Kaine, is looking forward to a greener future that meets long term energy needs with clean and everlasting wind power. As the Governor said in his press release proclaiming the potential of off-shore wind in Virginia:

Wind power holds the potential to create new jobs and provide cheaper and cleaner energy to our citizens without having an adverse effect on the environment. I am looking forward to working with federal, state and local officials to begin the process of making Virginia a regional leader in clean energy.

Among the groups advocating for off-shore wind power is the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. In the video, Ivy Main, the club's renewable energy chair, explains how offshore wind turbines can help replace dirty fossil fuels as the major electric power source for the Atlantic coast states.

Bob McDonnell, Republicans, and all the drill here, drill now crowd are looking backwards and consigning Virginians to a future rooted in the past. A future of more global warming. A future of dependence on oil - most of which comes from foreign sources, many with terrorist ties. Only under the forward thinking leadership of Tim Kaine, Creigh Deeds, and other Democrats (with a strong assist from groups like the Sierra Club) is Virginia going to move forward. We either begin fixing our energy/environmental future now, or we'll leave a mess to our children's children.

An axe for Saxman's bills

Delegate Chris Saxman (R-20) saw several of his bills get a well-deserved axe in the Virginia Senate yesterday. The delegate had ginned up lots of attention for a constitutional amendment to protect Virginia's right-to-work laws. Totally unnecessary - those laws are well enshrined in state law and culture. It was all grandstanding for the anti-union crowd.

Saxman also saw his bill to designate royalties from off-shore drilling go to Chesapeake Bay cleanup, transportation, and renewable energy. While CCC can support each of those goals, there is one problem - Virginia gets zero royalties because there is currently a federal moratorium on off-shore drilling. Another bit of grandstanding to kiss up to the "Drill Here, Drill Now" fanatics. The delegate's bill was ill-timed - bring it up again if/when there is off-shore drilling. It makes no sense to mandate specific spending today when future priorities may be very different.

And the Staunton delegate again cringed when his tax credits for organizations that provide scholarships bit the dust. He's been pushing some variation of tax credits/vouchers for private schools since he's been in the General Assembly. It is never the right time for public money (either vouchers or tax breaks) to support private schools (unless they meet the same SOL standards of public schools), but these tax credits at a time of severe budget shortfalls was absurd. Senator Emmett Hanger abstained - in previous years he's voted against his GOP friend.

Tonight is the night for Delegate Saxman's 15,000 home conference call for him to listen to voters. He'll probably talk about each of the kill bills to eek out a little political propaganda. Ought to be interesting to find out (not that we ever will) how many people (1) answer the phone, (2) stay on the call more than a few minutes, and (3) get a chance to ask the delegate a question. I'm all in favor of communication between the people and elected officials, but the possibility that Delegate Saxman does more listening than talking is as remote as the Dolly Sods. Bob Dickerman, the Staunton Democratic Chair, said it better in his letter to the editor.

Cross-posted at We Will RockDem.

Scrambled Eggs With Cheese

Yesterday's post about fuel prices was apparently timely - in today's DNR there is "Schools Take On Rising Fuel Costs" detailing some of the actions that will likely help deal with soaring costs: turning off buses rather than idling in lines and delaying purchases of new buses (might be safety and economy foolish in the long run). It is smart to shut down rather than idle at a construction zone or delays longer than 30 seconds. An exchange student I met told me European motorists have for years shut down at stoplights and other long delays. High prices will likely force similar behavior changes among Americans. Heaven forbid we turn off the A/C.

Delegate Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) has joined a northern Virginia law firm in which his buddy David Albo (R-Fairfax) is a partner. No, he won't be making the long commute to NOVA to practice law, they'll open an office in Salem and take in an associate to free up time for Griffith's legislative work. Griffith is House majority leader and hopes to be speaker if the GOP can hold on to its dwindling majority. The firm does have a policy against lobbying the General Assembly - guess you don't have to lobby when you have roosters in the coop.

Yesterday a Republican member of the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors was on the news talking roads and sent a not-so-subtle shot across Griffith's and other Republican delegates' bows. He noted roads are issue #1 with local governments and issue #1 with his constituents and doing nothing will be remembered in November, 2009. Wonder if Griffith, Saxman, Landes, Lohr, Cline, and others heard his clucking? Or if they cared?

What will the General Assembly do with transportation? After a day of posturing and laying out their turf, today should see some fireworks (just in time for the 4th). House Republicans will kill the governor's bill - the only question is, will it go quietly in a hostile committee or be a wild shootout on the floor of the House? Senate Democrats rightfully killed bills about using royalties from off-shore drilling to pay for transportation. At best those bills are premature since the issue is before Congress and no royalties exist; at worst blatant political posturing. There are multiple fracture lines in the General Assembly - the Senate is controlled by Democrats, the House by anti-tax Republicans; most Democrats want a statewide funding solution, many Republicans favor regional funding (aren't we one commonwealth?); and the perennial split between urban and rural legislators over how funding will be directed.

The supervisor is right - Virginians will watch as our legislators run around like chickens with their heads chopped off. Might be time for a new flock in '09.

Chicken Salad or Chicken____?

On the eve of a special session of the General Assembly to deal with Virginia transportation needs, Delegate Chris Saxman proposes using royalties from offshore oil and gas to fund road maintenance and construction. Saxman is the master of smoke and mirrors. The maestro of something for nothing. To say this idea is "ahead of the game" is generous at best - there is no game.

The state's transportation needs are here and now. The General Assembly and governor need to find common ground for a revenue stream to meet today's needs. In yesterday's post, CCC supported a tax on gas and diesel as the most honest (falls directly on those using the roads) and fairest (would be paid by both in-state and out-of-state motorists and truckers).

The delegate's proposal has nothing to do with the present needs. A federal moratorium on off-shore drilling has been in place since the Reagan administration. There is no guarantee it will be reversed by Congress. If it is, there will follow years of legal and environmental preparation before the first drill is sunk. If marketable quantities of oil and natural gas are off the Virginia coast, it will be years after that before they are brought to market and any royalties are paid to the state.

So why make the proposal now? The rabid anti-tax delegate never lets sound policy making get in the way of his agenda. This is smoke to distract from the real work of the special session. It is also presidential and senatorial politics.

When problems demand solutions we hope our leaders will rise above smoke and politics. We hope.

This proposal, made now, is chicken ____.