In short, the WSJ Opinion page takes the deeply misleading pro oil-drilling talking point that was recently circulating throughout the Louisiana blogosphere-- that there were no "major" Gulf oil spills after Katrina and Rita-- and turns it into outright falsehood. The WSJ states:
Democrats are going to have to grow up. The oil-rich areas they want to leave untouched are accessible with minimal environmental disturbance, thanks to modern technology. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita flattened terminals across the Gulf of Mexico but didn't cause a single oil spill.
Actually, there were at least 146 reported spills in Federal waters after Katrina and Rita, totaling over 700,000 gallons, the equivalent of seven "MAJOR" spills. Here are 43 satellite pictures of giant oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico after Katrina, stretching for scores of miles.
Worse, EIGHT MILLION gallons spilled out of Louisiana oil facilities after the storms. (The famous Exxon Valdez spill totaled 11 million.)
How is this not causing "a single oil spill"?
The WSJ tells Dems to "grow up". Well, I'd like to tell the WSJ to
Stop lying about the environmental disaster that occurred along Louisiana's coast in order to further your narrow energy agenda!! Stop diminishing the risks we take on behalf of the country!
The WSJ piece concludes by implying that John McCain needs to support coastal drilling or he'll lose the election. This is comically stupid. If McCain supports drilling, he'll lose Florida, and he can't win the election without winning Florida.
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Labels: coastal loss, health, oil, weather
