10 Reasons why offshore oil drilling is a BAD IDEA

Gas prices have been jumping over and under the $4 mark all summer, your grocery bills are soaring, and campaign ads are blasting you about the benefits of offshore drilling. So what's an average Joe or Jane supposed to believe? Will offshore drilling really make things better for you? What you're hearing on the news is pretty one-sided, and most reporters are talking about this issue like it makes perfect sense. Well, it doesn't. What can I say, sometimes dumb ideas get a lot of attention. That's exactly what's happening right now as President Bush has lifted the executive moratorium on offshore drilling, and Congress is being pushed to do the same. Let me take just a second to review the top 10 reasons offshore drilling is such a dumb idea: 10. Offshore oil drilling won't impact gas prices today, and it won't have a significant impact on gas prices in the future. 9. This is nothing more than a money grab by the oil companies - who are already making record-breaking profits. 8. We burn 25% of the world's oil here in the U.S., but we have only 3% of the world's oil reserves. So even if all offshore oil magically came to market today, the vast majority of our oil would continue to be imported, and we wouldn't see price relief at the pump. 7. The current moratorium was put in place decades ago to protect us from the danger of oil spills along our coastlines and beaches. 6. Burning fossil fuels like oil causes global warming, which causes stronger hurricanes, which will threaten the very offshore drilling rigs being proposed, which will contribute to even more global warming. 5. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy within the next 10 years. The billions of dollars that would be spent on offshore oil drilling just postpones the inevitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. 4. Oil exploration requires massive seismic testing - which threatens whales and dolphins. 3. Oil prices are set on the global oil market, so American oil is no cheaper than Saudi oil. We won't get a discount for oil drilled in the U.S. 2. We can't solve the world's energy problems with the same drilling that created them. 1. Renewable energy is available now, so it's time to walk away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future. Take Action >> make sure Congress hears from YOU about offshore oil drilling. Let's face it, there's really no good reason to drill offshore. More drilling is good for Big Oil, not for you and your family. We can't drill our way out of this mess - oil drilling is already at an all-time high and prices are still skyrocketing. As a matter of fact, even if we could tap into all of the energy stored in the Earth's reserves - coal, oil, and natural gas - it would equal the energy in just 20 days of sunshine. Tell Congress to look on the bright side to solve our energy crisis. It's time to invest in renewable energy and leave oil to the dinosaurs. It's time for an energy revolution. Power to the people, Melanie Duchin Global Warming Campaigner

Ways to Help Take Action Now Get the Facts Learn the truth about offshore drilling. Want to do even more? Get out there and blog, tell your friends, or write a letter to the editor. This is a war of words, and losing means increased global warming, oil spills, and beached whales and dolphins. We need YOUR help to beat back Big Oil's PR machine.