Pro-Offshore Drilling in Santa Barbara

Many argue that the 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, gave rise to the modern-day environmental movement. That spill certainly was the genesis of the current ban on energy development covering large U.S. offshore areas, as well as on many federal lands, such as ANWR.

But that spill happened four decades ago, and the oil industry obviously has changed dramatically in terms of the technology used to drill for oil. Quite simply, it’s safer and more efficient. This reality may be starting to seep into the energy debate.

Indeed, consider what happened on Tuesday, August 26, in Santa Barbara, California, as reported by the Los Angeles Times:

A divided Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday in support of offshore drilling, after an impassioned daylong hearing in which this year's record gas prices trumped the memory of a disastrous oil spill.

By a 3-2 vote that broke along geographic lines, supervisors agreed to send a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to change state policy and "allow expanded oil exploration and extraction" off the county's coast…

"Unless you arrived here on a horse or walked or rode a bicycle, you are part of the oil industry," said Supervisor Joni Gray before voting in favor of the measure. "All we're doing is asking the state to reexamine their stand on abandoning any kind of offshore drilling."

If that can happen in Santa Barbara, perhaps Congress can wake up to the economic and technological realities of energy in the 21st century.

Raymond J. Keating
Chief Economist
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council