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.

HB 6006 Oil royalty to fund transportation:
“MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”

“High gas prices are a problem 50 years in the making with the powerful oil industry continually blocking all attempts to reform our transportation system and the fuel it runs on,” said Glen Besa, Virginia Director of the Sierra Club. “With two oil men, President Bush and Vice President Cheney, in the White House the past seven years, the oil industry reached the pinnacle of its power and what is the result? $4 per gallon gasoline with no end in sight,” said Besa.

“Drilling off the Virginia coast is not a solution; it is much ado about nothing“, said Besa. “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.”

“There are more than 68 million acres onshore and off shore that are already being leased by big oil companies, but not in production—places where they could start drilling tomorrow,” added Eileen Levandoski, Sierra Club’s Hampton Roads conservation coordinator. “We don’t need to open new areas, especially not our coastal areas in Virginia where our local economy risks losing so much.”

“Virginia legislators need to recognize that runaway sprawl with ever longer commutes in gas guzzling vehicles make no sense in an era of $4 gasoline,” said Besa. “Real transportation reform can address a number of related problems of which high gas prices are a symptom. Our legislators can support smart growth initiatives that give Virginians the choice of shorter commutes and expanded public transit like the Metro Rail in Northern Virginia and DC. They can also support the Clean Car initiative under the Clean Air Act that some 17 states have adopted that will give us more efficient vehicles.”

“People are hurting, and what is needed right now is bold leadership that can reduce our demand for oil and develop alternative fuels,” said Besa. “Drilling off our coast may sound like a solution, but it only makes our problem worse. “
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Click here for our ten reasons why offshore drilling for even just natural gas is wrong for Virginia.

Contact your House of Delegates representative today! (Click here for contact info.) Tell them to vote no to Del. Saxman’s HB6006 Offshore Drilling bill.