On Tuesday, Sen. Robert Menendez made the dramatic, if obvious, statement that New Jersey’s multibillion tourism industry would be put at risk if the Obama administration allows oil companies to drill in the Atlantic Ocean. The press conference, with Rep. Frank Pallone and Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, took place on the beach at Belmar, underlining the value of summer tourism to the state’s economy
The politicians were once again reminding us of the folly of the U.S. Department of the Interior proposal from last January to open a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean between Virginia and Georgia to offshore drilling. The administration believes that such drilling would help reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and create jobs. That is the same line that the oil industry lobbyists tout, predicting that such drilling would create nearly 280,000 new jobs nationwide and add 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day to U.S. production.
Big deal.
The Obama administration has said it is pursuing a wide-ranging energy policy that calls on the nation to develop both alternative sources from wind and solar and continue to drill for oil and natural gas. So what?
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