Opposition to offshore drilling may fade

BEN BLOCK:

One January morning in 1969, eight kilometers off the coast of southern California, all hell broke loose.

A drilling accident at an offshore oil rig led to the leakage of 11 million liters of oil in the nearby Santa Barbara channel. Thousands of seabirds, fish, and marine mammals were killed.

As clean-up volunteers rushed to the beach, the day's events led to the start of a new environmental movement in the United States. The nation's first Earth Day was launched one year later, and an offshore drilling moratorium was imposed in 1982.

Nearly 40 years after the Santa Barbara spill, public opinion has shifted. Drilling technology is less accident-prone, and the United States is desperately searching for domestic oil sources to combat rising energy prices.

The U.S. Congress is likely to debate an energy package this month that would lift the offshore drilling ban. It could also offer financial support for renewable energy technologies and policies that reduce fossil fuel consumption. Politicians in both chambers of Congress who previously opposed offshore drilling are now expressing support for expanded energy policies. Even Santa Barbara County supports offshore drilling.

The political showdown has forced environmental groups to decide between staunchly opposing offshore drilling or supporting legislation that furthers their wider goals in addressing the climate crisis. While most environmentalists oppose offshore drilling, some leading environmental groups may ease their opposition in favor of clean energy policies that have so far floundered in Congress.

If national organizations support offshore drilling, they risk further divisions with local environmental groups that are based along U.S. coastlines. "The leaders of local environmental groups are digging in their heels. They only want to talk about offshore drilling," said Eric Smith, a political science professor at the University of California in Santa Barbara. "Meanwhile, lots of environmentalists are saying we ought to talk more broadly and talk about what to do with climate change. We have a fight here. It reflects a fight on coastal zones around the country."  READ IT ALL