# Dang, I think I have to support offshore drilling in California **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 25, 2008, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485 "2008-10-25T06:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/21 "2008-10-25T17:40:16Z")
I don’t know why they can’t put a cheap facade on those rigs. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/22 "2008-10-25T17:54:12Z")
Drilling offshore technically helps, but it’s not the best solution. I think Paul Krugman illustrated the idea best. He said that asking for more oil now is the same as if a company in 1989 wanted to their offices to type faster and started screaming for more typewriters. Sure more typewriters will help the problem, but is it a good solution when we are on the verge of a computer revolution? So why support offshore drilling instead of clean energy? Remember that the stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones. It ended because we figured out how to work with bronze. The oil age isn’t going to end when we run out of oil. It will end once we figure out how to use clean energy. So instead of asking for more typewriters, ask for the computer. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/23 "2008-10-25T17:59:06Z")
It won’t help [much](http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/oil-offshore-drilling-graph-us-consumption.php). ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/24 "2008-10-25T18:01:39Z")
The best way to make people stop driving is to make gas expensive. Drilling for more oil will ahe the exact opposite effect. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/25 "2008-10-25T18:05:33Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > I don’t know why they can’t put a cheap facade on those rigs. Yeah, I’m sure there’s lot’s of ways to make it [blend in](http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/squeegee64/DSCN0683copy.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/26 "2008-10-25T22:40:33Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > On the question of whether it’s more efficient to produce and refine oil in the US, the answer is, it doesn’t matter one whit. It is a global market. Nobody cares where they get their oil and gas from, so the cost of buying a gallon of home grown gas are exactly the same as buying oil from the furthest reaches of the Earth. Is that true for food as well? Is it really just economics that makes drinking Italian seltzer water in Los Angeles seem so absurd? Does it really make no difference if we send chickens to China for processing and then ship them back again as frozen strips? Much of the economy that we’re so concerned with sustaining is churn built upon this kind of blind allegiance to the idea that the cheapest solution is the best one. Quality, privacy, ethics, even ideals of freedom, are yielding to the lure of cheaper goods available at Target. But I do fully agree that the only really ethical choice is to make some changes in our energy consumption habits. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/27 "2008-10-25T22:56:44Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Yeah, I’m sure there’s lot’s of ways to make it [blend in](http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/squeegee64/DSCN0683copy.jpg). Funny! But seriously, they’ve tried. [http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2387929-Artificial\_island\_with\_oil\_rig-Long\_Beach.jpg](http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2387929-Artificial_island_with_oil_rig-Long_Beach.jpg) > **[Stock Photography - Search 45.4 million Stock Photos, Stock Footage Video...](https://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/GLW/GLW009/gwz10316.jpg/)** > > Fotosearch Stock Photography and Stock Footage helps you find the perfect photo or footage, fast! We feature 45,500,000 royalty free photos, stock footage clips, digital videos, vector clip art images, clipart pictures, background graphics, medical... [http://www.longbeach.gov/images/Grissom03a.jpg](http://www.longbeach.gov/images/Grissom03a.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/28 "2008-10-25T23:04:25Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > I don’t know why they can’t put a cheap facade on those rigs. They actually do. There’s a place they drill just south of Santa Barbara that looks like an island. If you plop yourself down on the road just south (well, east) on google street view you can see it as the fuzzy island with palm trees. [Link](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.358521,-119.438692&spn=0.004933,0.006909&t=k&z=17&layer=c&cbll=34.356317,-119.439105&panoid=uWdQnITeqYjHjXwEP-ja-A&cbp=1,211.53185239433503,,2,2.092329394873212) It doesn’t look like much in that picture, but here’s another shot from Dan Merkel. No direct link. Go here and scroll to the far right on the bottom. It’s the fourth picture from the right: [Dan Merkel Galleries](http://www.danmerkelmedia.com/gallery/collection-premier-collection-2.htm#) The palm trees are fakes. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/29 "2008-10-25T23:09:22Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Funny! But seriously, they’ve tried. > > [http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2387929-Artificial\_island\_with\_oil\_rig-Long\_Beach.jpg](http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2387929-Artificial_island_with_oil_rig-Long_Beach.jpg) > [Stock Photography - Search 45.4 million Stock Photos, Stock Footage Video Clips, Royalty Free Images, and Illustrations](http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/GLW/GLW009/gwz10316.jpg) > [http://www.longbeach.gov/images/Grissom03a.jpg](http://www.longbeach.gov/images/Grissom03a.jpg) Actually, it is those Astronaut Islands I was thinking about when I posted about the facade. Why not apply the same principle to the big rigs off Santa Barbara? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/30 "2008-10-25T23:21:38Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > They actually do. There’s a place they drill just south of Santa Barbara that looks like an island. If you plop yourself down on the road just south (well, east) on google street view you can see it as the fuzzy island with palm trees. [Link](http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.358521,-119.438692&spn=0.004933,0.006909&t=k&z=17&layer=c&cbll=34.356317,-119.439105&panoid=uWdQnITeqYjHjXwEP-ja-A&cbp=1,211.53185239433503,,2,2.092329394873212) > > It doesn’t look like much in that picture, but here’s another shot from Dan Merkel. No direct link. Go here and scroll to the far right on the bottom. It’s the fourth picture from the right: [Dan Merkel Galleries](http://www.danmerkelmedia.com/gallery/collection-premier-collection-2.htm#) > > The palm trees are fakes. Oh yeah. Forgot about that one. I used to ride my bike by there on PCH and 101 from Ventura to Carpenteria and back. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/31 "2008-10-25T23:22:19Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Yeah, I’m sure there’s lot’s of ways to make it [blend in](http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/squeegee64/DSCN0683copy.jpg). That gull sure looks happy to see _someone._ ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/32 "2008-10-25T23:29:43Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Funny! But seriously, they’ve tried. > > [http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2387929-Artificial\_island\_with\_oil\_rig-Long\_Beach.jpg](http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2387929-Artificial_island_with_oil_rig-Long_Beach.jpg) > [Stock Photography - Search 45.4 million Stock Photos, Stock Footage Video Clips, Royalty Free Images, and Illustrations](http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/GLW/GLW009/gwz10316.jpg) > [http://www.longbeach.gov/images/Grissom03a.jpg](http://www.longbeach.gov/images/Grissom03a.jpg) Huh, that’s not too bad. I guess a fake “hotel” looks better than a rig. Not a whole lot IMHO, but better. > [@Bearflag70](#): > > here’s another shot from Dan Merkel. No direct link. Go here and scroll to the far right on the bottom. It’s the fourth picture from the right: Dan Merkel Galleries Hmm, the fourth photo from the right looks like [this](http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/squeegee64/Scan07-after.jpg). I must be misunderstanding your instructions. I did find one photo on Flickr of an Astronaut island, [here](http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoshanah/22936054/). You know, I thought of an even more uniquely Californian facade than the others; here’s my [prototype](http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/squeegee64/DSCN0683_smil.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/33 "2008-10-26T00:02:02Z")
Perhaps the day is not far off when the Saudis will be able to buy California with their oil money, and then they can decide for themselves whether or not to drill there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485/34 "2008-10-26T02:56:41Z")
In the 1950s, the Eisenhower administration’s oil policy was, “Drain the rest of the world first.” Maybe we should sit on the oil for a little while longer. I’m guessing that an oil spill in California would lead quite a bit of lost revenue for tourist businesses and fishermen. If the oil companies are willing to commit to paying multi-billion dollar fines if crude were spilled (via an escrow account), I might think about such a proposal. I suspect though that there are lower lying fruit to be plucked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-i-think-i-have-to-support-offshore-drilling-in-california/469485.md?page=1)