Scott R. Sullivan

June 18th, 2008 by Scott

A story in the LA Times today reports that many who used to oppose drilling off the shores of Florida and California are now rethinking their position. Something to do with high gas prices.

Due to pressure from environmentalists, we have been banned from drilling for oil in our own waters. We don’t want to hurt the fishes, do we?

Never mind that we have approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

Never mind that according to Rasmussen Reports, more than 2 in 3 Americans SUPPORT offshore drilling.

But those few environmentalists keep telling us how those oil rigs will damage the ocean beyond repair.

So here are some pictures, since pictures speak louder than words. The picture above is an “evil” oil rig (Grace) off the coast of California.

Looks menacing. Look at it again. Now look below the water:

Seems like life is flourishing ON the rig. Now that I think of it, don’t we typically sink old oil rigs as artificial coral reefs? Yeah, we do!

Fish and other marine life actually FLOURISH around oil rigs for several reasons. The main reason is that it provides protection from larger, predatory animals like sharks. But there is also an ecosystem that develops, creating more food for life to flourish.

Just remember these pictures from under the oil rig next time someone tells you oil rigs damage our ecosystem. To see more photos, visit: Flickr.