I'm not saying all areas should be drilled but for instance the remote tundra in Alaska that only a handful of people ever visit might be a better option than drilling a mile down in the Gulf where an accident can have horiffic environmental and economic damages for both the wildlife and for millions of Americans.

Until we come up with a better solution to fossel fuels we will continue to drill for oil. It would be far better to do it in areas where the accidents aren't biblical in proportion because it's near impossible to stop them once they start.

I recived these in a email today,.Say Gulfshores

It doesn't make any sense to wreak havoc in those pristine areas, regardless of how many people visit them, to drill for oil reserves that will supply such a small percentage of our needs.

call me a treehugger, but think about what if the developers had won the war to develop Yellowstone. same thing. buy the friggin oil from the arabs.

Rob, those pix are sickening. And it's only the beginning. Damn.

Come on Jay, mission accomplished? Really? The newest estimated from the US Gov't is that there could be anywhere from 35k to 65k barrels of oil per DAY still spewing into the Gulf and you want to raise a victory flag. I would say the most important mission at this time is to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf, and that mission is far from being accomplished. If you ask me, that is the only mission that should count right now and that is where all of the efforts should be concentrated.

The $20B set aside will not be enough in the end...did you notice BP's stock went up when they essentially announced they were going to take a $20B hit? I wonder why....? I see this as the Administration negotiating a # that in the end will most likely fall far short from the real cost of this disaster (which you also alluded to). I would not call that mission accomplished. In the end I hope BP will (and has the resources to) step up and do the right thing and cover ALL of the costs associated with this disaster.

Actually, the ban on additional drilling was put into place years ago by Bush 41, and had been supported every year continuously through 2008 by every Governor and Legislator in the Gulf States. 2008 was a particularly bad year for politicians due to the high cost of oil and gas, so they told people what they wanted to hear then. Generally speaking, before 2008, most Republicans (and Dems too) in the Gulf States, said the risks to their economies and livelihoods were far greater than the minimal benefits.

Obviously, this was music to the environmentalist's ears. Some of the smart ones actually had reasons for supporting the ban.

I think he was talking about when Bush said that about Iraq.

50 years ago they had to wreak havoc into order to get the oil out on land. That is no longer the case. I'd take te risk of drilling a 1000 ANWR's rather than what has happened in the Gulf. It seems like you would rather not a single well be drilled in the US. It sounds nice for the environment but that industry supplies a lot of jobs to Americans who need work.

So you are saying the reason we can't drill in ANWR is because of Republican Governors in Southern States - because that is the point I was making - it's better to drill on land in places like ANWR instead of way out in the deep Gulf where the cost is too high if something goes wrong.

I'd agree with you on ANWR. I'm sure many would feel good about it. Most overestimate the impact of such drilling, both environmentally, and from a supply standpoint. ANWR is a puddle compared to other sources. There are opposing interests involved in many of these things. First, people think more supply = cheaper oil. Not so anymore. Our two largest suppliers of foreign oil for many, many years, became Mexico and Canada. When oil got cheap, the Canadian boom was stifled for a bit.

Much the same argument for refineries. You'd have to be a complete idiot to build a new refinery nowadays. Many didn't see this.

At any rate, I'd say open up ANWR, and appease the people.

I think he was simply stating that Obama isn't the only president to be optimistic and lie (by saying it will be stopped next week). Mission Accomplished is what GWB said not long into the Iraq War that is still ongoing.

That said, IMO he's being disingenuous.

To blame this current spill on Bush is, IMO, utterly ridiculous.