Posted on 11/22/2002 4:53:23 PM PST by blam
Bush allows oil drilling on pristine Texas beach
By David Usborne in New York
23 November 2002
Environmentalists in the United States are again waging war with Republicans in Washington. This time the row is over a decision to allow an energy company to drill two gas wells in a coastal national park in Texas that is home to the world's most endangered species of sea turtle.
The federal government is to grant approval to BNP Petroleum to sink two wells in the Padre Island National Seashore, a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico that features the longest stretch of undeveloped beach in the US.
Permission was granted by the National Park Service, which is administered by the Department of the Interior. The Park Service insists the greatest possible care will be taken to respect the ecology of the island. But environmentalists believe it will put the island and the turtles in peril.
Lobbyists claim the decision to allow more exploration on Padre Island is further evidence of President George Bush's disregard for the environment in favour of allowing private companies to run riot over the American landscape in search of new energy sources.
"Energy development does not belong within our national seashores," Randall Rasmussen, of the National Parks Conservation Association, said yesterday. "People and marine life will be put at great risk in the rush to sink wells because of Bush administration policies designed to speed up drilling without careful consideration of its impact on the environment.
"Drilling at Padre Island is not about decreasing our nation's dependency on foreign sources of energy," he added. "This project is designed only to enrich energy executives at the expense of seashore visitors and endangered marine life."
The island is one of only two breeding grounds for the world's smallest and most endangered sea turtle, the Kemp's Ridley. There is concern that heavy lorries driving to the drilling sites will run over the turtles' nests and destroy eggs. The area is also popular for camping and fishing.
"The beach at Padre Island is starting to look more like a highway than a National Park," said Fred Richardson, communications director of the Texas chapter of the Sierra Club, a green lobby group.
"Most Americans believe that there are places that ought to be protected and kept for the public, but the Bush administration is out of touch with those values."
Under Mr Bush, oil and gas companies are being encouraged to drill on more than 50 sites on federal land across the US, including territory within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Geographical surveys suggest there may be as much as 80 billion cubic feet of gas under Padre Island that could take 30 years to extract and could accommodate 15 more wells.
The Sierra Club has sued the government to try to block the drilling. The group argues that by allowing large trucks to run up and down the island, the government is violating the Endangered Species Act.
I recall going down there shortly after getting out of high school. I remember a couple of girls in the surf buck naked who apparently had little prior experience with some kind of drug. Quayludes (sp?) or mushrooms I thought at the time.
Anyway, they ought to check the beach for young nekkid women. If they don't find any they might as drill something. Gas wells will do.......
Heck, it looked like a highway 20 years ago. Padre Island is way over-rated, like most things in Texas.(Uh-oh)I said "most". G.W., Texas women and Texas Freepers excepted.
Sierra Club sues Interior Department to stop Padre Island drilling
"....Ken McMullen, chief of science and resources management at the Padre Island National Seashore, said he could not comment on the lawsuit but said the park service determined drilling would have a minimal impact on the sea turtle."It was our finding, and that of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, that based on the number of sea turtles we get and the methods we use to protect the species, we don't see an adverse impact," McMullen said.
'At a legal standstill'
In the last 20 years, 11 nests were the most nests found in any one year, McMullen said. Last year, there were two or three nests.
Park service volunteers drive along the beach 10 hours every day, looking for turtles, McMullen said. Also, big rig drivers must drive at a slow speed - 15mph - with a trained escort in a lead vehicle looking out for nesting turtles, McMullen said...."
Those in Alaska are used to this kind of statement. It doesn't matter that Alaska has coastline, too, a lot of it, and almost all is undeveloped.
There aren't just 48 States anymore, but who would expect the average American to know that thanks to our public ed system.
Today media blasts new oil drilling in Alaska, too.
The free market says it's time to drill our own freakin' oil. Who, among us would like alternatives to ME weirdos having us by the petro shorthairs?
This is an old and long-running story. The Park Service determined that there would be no adverse environmental effects. There have been lawsuits. The wackos have lost on every attempt.
The fact remains that drilling causes no permanent impact, and only limited temporary impact. Temporary impacts are certainly far less than what a hurricane would cause.
I’ve spent time in Padre Island, Corpus Christi, Matagorda, Freeport, Galveston… all the way around the gulf to Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe in Florida and I can’t remember anything “pristine.” Not that they’re terrible, but there is nothing pristine there.
Maybe I’m being overly picky, but I wonder if David Usborne has ever been to Padre Island. Maybe I should write him a note and let him know that the Bush administration is trying to foul Sparkling Downtown Pasadena. Or maybe someone should invite him to the mosquito festival in the Paradise Of Clute in July.
'Twas ever thus.
And if the use of fuel cells takes off as it is appearing to do, we'll need the natural gas as fuel or a source of hydrogen.
If memory serves, we have been drilling oil wells offshore of LA and TX.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.