Thanks to lieutenant governor candidate
Jon Bowerbank for this statement, which he issued this morning under the headline, "Bowerbank Takes Strong Position Against Offshore Drilling Plan: Now is the Time for New Solutions to Our Energy Crisis."
"Drilling off Virginia's coast is a backwards way of solving our energy problems. It will not produce enough oil to change our energy situation significantly; I do not believe there are commercial quantities of hydrocarbons off the Virginia coast; it will potentially irreparably damage an internationally recognized environmental habitat; it poses challenges to our national security training capabilities; it will garner no revenue for the Commonwealth of Virginia unless a new law is passed by Congress, but rather it will threaten tourism income at a time when we can least afford to lose it.
"We need to invest in new energy solutions that can reduce our dependence on oil and create jobs in Virginia while helping our environment. In the meantime there are 68 million acres of leased land available for energy extraction that are not being used by oil companies. Rather than expand the area available, companies should be using these previously leased areas. I urge President Obama and Secretary Salazar to halt the Lease Sale 220 proposal and not hurt Virginia's economy and environment. We should be looking forward for solutions to our energy crisis," Bowerbank said.
Great statement by Jon Bowerbank. Now, I'd very much like to see similarly strong statements from other candidates for LG this year. Meanwhile, it's nice to see that at least Jon Bowerbank "gets it" on offshore drilling as posing a threat to the economy, national security, the environment, while offering essentially no "upside" potential for Virginia. This really isn't that complicated...
