Peter Galuszka in today’s issue of Bacon’s Rebellion provides a transcript from his luncheon meeting last week with Mr. Big Oil, or MBO as he calls him.

“Mr. Big Oil spilled the beans: Offshore oil drilling means bupkis for Virginia. He ginned up the flap here in the Old Dominion to win support for opening up California, Alaska and the Gulf where the big barrels are.”

Read the rest here.

An offshore wind project in Delaware has just passed the last major hurdle - getting the utility to agree to a contract with the developer. The legislature just last month passed the last legislation necessary to go forward.

“Delmarva Power signed a landmark offshore wind power deal with Bluewater Wind on Monday, agreeing to buy enough power to light 50,000 homes in Delaware for the next 25 years,” reports Delaware Online (”Offshore wind pact OK’d for Delaware”). Read the rest here.

And in even better news… a couple of days ago Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley in response to Bush’s push for exploration of offshore oil drilling not only condemned that push (”I think it’s dishonest. I think it’s callous. I think it’s crass.”) but enthusiastically embraced the idea of joining Delaware in supporting offshore wind.

From the Baltimore Sun:

“Maryland’s support for the turbines 11 to 12 miles off Rehoboth Beach could be crucial toward launching the United States’ first offshore wind energy project - one that potentially could produce enough power for hundreds of thousands of homes.

O’Malley’s statement of interest in offshore wind power came in response to questions at a news conference about his position on President Bush’s decision to lift an executive order prohibiting oil drilling off most of the U.S. coastline, a move that leaves a congressionally imposed ban in place.

The governor rejected Bush’s position in harsh terms - calling the argument that it would help lower fuel prices “patently false” - before volunteering that the proposed project off the Delaware coast is “one offshore effort I would like to go in on.”

So the next logical question… where’s Governor Kaine???

It’s also interesting to note that both the mayors of Ocean City (MD) and Rehoboth (DE) join Virginia Beach’s Mayor, Meyera Oberndorf, in opposing offshore drilling.

Ducks Unlimited, the “world’s largest (700,000 members) and most effective private waterfowl and wetland conservation organization”, joined with the Wildlife Management Institute and other conservation groups (to include Trout Unlimited and the Isaak Walton League) in producing a new report entitled, “Seasons’ End: Global Warming’s Threat to Hunting and Fishing“, in which they detail the impact of global warming on fish and wildlife and the future of hunting and fishing in the U.S.

Especially alarming for us in Virginia is global warming’s potential impact on saltwater and freshwater fishing - an $1.23 billion industry in Virginia. Read the rest of this entry »

At 1:23 am this morning, Virginia’s State Senate voted 16-18 against Delegate Saxman’s Offshore Drilling Bill (HB6006). It was one of the last votes before they adjourned sine die at approximately 1:40am this morning.

The bill did, however, pass through the Virginia House of Delegates on a 56-39 vote early evening yesterday. Perhaps most stirring in the House floor debate were remarks from Virginia Beach’s own Delegate Joe Bouchard. Read his speech on the flip. Read the rest of this entry »

Virginia’s General Assembly again considers an offshore drilling bill (HB 6006) today, July 9, as it gathers again to discussion transportation, this time offered by Delegate Chris Saxman. A similar bill patroned by Senator Frank Wagner was defeated by the Democratically controlled State Senate. In the Republican-led House, however, this bill has already been reported out of committee and is headed to the House floor.

“Drilling off the Virginia coast is not a solution; it is much ado about nothing“, said Glen Besa, Virginia Chapter Director of the Sierra Club. “There is no quick fix to a problem that has been ignored this long. It would take at least 10 years before we’d see any of the little oil that is projected to be out there. And it does nothing to reduce our dependence on oil when the U.S. has only 3% to 4% of the world’s oil reserves and we use more than 20% of worldwide production. Continuing to rely on oil also ignores the reality of global warming and the problem of sea level rise along our Virginia coast.”

Read our entire press release below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »