Better to Drill Than To Spill

The Washington Examiner today pointed out on page 17 that thanks to advances in drilling technology, it’s now far safer to drill for oil off our coasts than to import oil from distant countries, since “far more oil is spilled by tankers bringing oil from abroad than is spilled by offshore rigs or by the pipelines from those rigs.  Not even Hurrican Katrina caused any spills in the Gulf.”  Thus, opponents of offshore drilling need “a refresher course in the relative safety of drilling technology.”  Drilling is also better for the environment than other chimerical attempts to achieve energy independence, like federal subsidies for corn-based ethanol, which contribute to environmental devastation, high food prices, and world hunger.