Big Sky Cairn

Some Governors from the liberal coasts - whose populations expend more energy than the interior states as a result of their larger populations - have stated opposition to off-shore drilling in their back yards.

Governors in some coastal states promised to fight attempts to tap offshore petroleum reserves, citing concerns about the environment and tourism. Others agreed with President Bush’s call to lift a 27-year-old federal ban on offshore drilling but said states should decide whether to allow it.

The tree-hugger governors, pockets lined with tree-hugger dollars, are worried that a bunch of oil rigs off-shore will spoil the scenic perfection of the American coast. Here, now, with the magic of Photoshop, I give you a before and after perspective of the pristine California coast looking over the Pacific Ocean.

Imagine watching the beautiful sunset as sea gulls frolic in the waves and butterflies fliter about. You can almost smell the sea water can’t you? This scene of perfection is the Pacific Coast right now - completely devoid of drilling.

Now, steel yourself for the horrendous consequences of off-shore oil exploration. Heed this warning to click at your own risk. What you are about to see is the result of John McCain’s off-shore drilling proposal.

Ready?

Look at that. Disgusting isn’t it? What tourist would ever come to see this ruined - nay raped - environmental wasteland? Curse you Big Oil!

Okay, if you’re having trouble seeing anything in the second picture, you’re not blind. You can’t because the off-shore exploration being proposed won’t be done within 50 miles of the shoreline. So I did some math. First I converted 50 miles to 43.5 nautical miles. Then I did some algebra with that fancy equation above. Here’s the reality in cold hard math.

In order to be visible from the shore line, an oil rig would have to rise 1,381 feet above the ocean’s surface.

1,381 feet is almost a quarter mile.

1,381 feet is less than 100 feet shorter than the Sears Tower.

1,381 feet is exactly (to the foot) as high as the Jin Mao Tower.

So either these new-fangled oil-rigs are absolutely massive, or some coastal governors are really bad at math.

Yea, and some how those War of the Worlds wind farms are scenic nirvana. And those gulls and butterflies……they lie in dried piles at their base.

Hang on a minute Wiley. The people who oppose the off-shore drilling are the same geniuses who don’t understand the concept of supply and demand, and you somehow think that they can do simple arithmetic? Silly you.

If the government is going to take over energy distribution and allotments, I would suggest that we take all of the incoming oil and divide it 50 ways with each state getting the same share. That way, California and Florida can practice taking their mass transit, while we here in Montana will have so damned much of the stuff, we won’t know what to do.

Steve - we can sell our surplus to California where they are excited about $150/barrel.

[…] This is probably the biggest sticking point. The Federal Government cannot compel states to develop their own resources, and a significant portion of the coastal states are controlled by urban environmentalists worried that a drilling rig 50 miles out will spoil their pristine view. […]

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