Editorial: Safe offshore drilling?

From the Pensacola Journal:


Proponents of expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico assured us that modern drilling technology had made catastrophic accidents all but a thing of the past.


The potential for big oil spills from drilling rigs is small today, they said.


Then, late last year, one of the most modern drilling rigs in the world blew out in the Timor Sea near Australia. Over the more than two months it took to plug the gushing leak, millions of gallons of oil had spread over thousands of miles of ocean.

Well, proponents said, the rules they have to follow over there aren't as tight as the rules drillers have to follow here.

Better oversight makes for safer drilling, they said. A serious accident on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico is unlikely, and the potential for a big spill is small.

Read the full OP-ED here.