SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday withdrew his support of a plan to expand oil drilling off the California coast, citing the massive oil spill that resulted from a drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
The announcement assures that no new drilling will take place off the state’s coastline in the foreseeable future because Schwarzenegger would have to include the drilling proposal in his May revision of the state budget.
Speaking at a news conference near Sacramento, the governor said television images of the oil spill in the Gulf have changed his mind about the safety of ocean-based oil platforms.
“You turn on the television and see this enormous disaster, you say to yourself, ‘Why would we want to take on that kind of risk?'” Schwarzenegger said.
The Republican governor had proposed expanding oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara County to help close the state’s $20 billion budget deficit. Democrats last year blocked a similar proposal, but Schwarzenegger renewed his support this year, saying it was a reliable way to increase revenue as the state grapples with an ongoing fiscal crisis.
Schwarzenegger now aligns himself with the rest of the Leftist Defeatists whose lives revolve around ZRT (Zero Risk Taking) — because someone might acquire a splinter and sue.
Let me attempt to put some things into perspective, Governor Schwarzenegger:
Fornicalia is not just competing with itself for jobs and economic survival, it is competing with other states. States whose tax structures and regulations are much more favorable, in general, to business.
Further, Fornicalia is not just competing with itself and other states in the union, it is competing with the rest of the world, economically. And the rest of the world, trust me, doesn’t much mind encompassing some risk in their business ventures. Fornicalia used to be the fourth largest world economy. It is now the eighth largest and falling. Under your stewardship, sir.
With Mr Schwarzenegger’s mindset, for example, one should not fly. Ever again.
Specifically, tens of thousands of aviation accidents have occurred since the beginning of flight, with — literally — thousands of persons killed as the result of stepping into, now, a thin aluminum or soon to be composite tube.
In 1977, the Tenerife disaster killed 583 people in only one incident, involving two aircraft.
In 1985, involving Japan Airlines Flight 123, 520 people were killed aboard a 747 following an explosive decompression. This was, to date, the highest loss of life resulting from a single aircraft event.
With Mr Schwarzenegger’s logic there would be no more flights.
Instead, in direct contravention of his so-called “logic,” aircraft are getting even larger and able to carry more passengers than a Boeing 747. The Airbus A380 has the “socially responsible” capability to carry, in a standard configuration, 555 passengers — or up to 853 passengers in an “all economy” variant.
With Mr Schwarzenegger’s logic there would be no more petroleum tankers built or utilized following the Exxon Valdez accident.
At 987 feet long and 30,000 tons empty, the Exxon Valdez is a midget compared to new oil tankers.
Now, the ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) Jahre Viking tapes in at 1,503 feet long and 565,000 tons laden.
With Mr Schwarzenegger’s logic we should never step foot into another car, considering — in the US alone — roughly 45,000 persons die in vehicle accidents per year (that’s about one “Vietnam” military action per year). Roughly 115 people die in car crashes daily.
With Mr Schwarzenegger’s logic France should totally abandon its nuclear electrical generation grid.
Mr Schwarzenegger has, in truth, no logic whatsoever.
Let me go one point further, if you will but humor me for another paragraph or three:
Yahoo News came out recently with the 20 most “economically stressed” counties in the nation.
Of those twenty, TWELVE were just in Fornicalia. To wit:
By The Associated Press – Mon May 3, 8:50 am ET
Here are the 20 most economically stressed counties with populations of at least 25,000 and their March 2010 Stress scores, according to The Associated Press Economic Stress Index:
1. Imperial County, Calif., 31.27
2. Merced County, Calif., 28.29
3. Lyon County, Nev., 27.96
4. San Benito County, Calif., 27.26
5. Sutter County, Calif., 26.41
6. Yuba County, Calif., 25.8
7. Stanislaus County, Calif., 25.46
8. Iosco County, Mich., 24.89
9. San Joaquin County, Calif., 24.78
10. Nye County, Nevada., 24.19
11. Lapeer County, Mich., 24.03
12. Cheboygan County, Mich., 23.89
13. Luna County, N.M., 23.82
14. Lake County, Calif., 23.78
15. Kern County, Calif., 23.62
16. Tulare County, Calif., 23.17
17. Madera County, Calif., 23.04
18. Fresno County, Calif., 22.72
19. Clark County, Nevada, 22.65
20. Boone County, Ill., 22.59
These, dear Governor Schwarzenegger, are called CLUES.
BZ
Being born and raised in Alaska, alive and well during the Oil Pipeline boom, it frustrates me to no end to watch our politicians “refuse” to mine our natural resources. We have the oil, some of the largest deposits in the world…but…like you said, someone might break a nail and sue. When are we going to wake up?
Maria probably threatened to withhold whoopie in the bedroom if he didn’t see things her way. For somebody with so much muscle mass, he sure does have a tiny little spine.
DeanO: lack of logic frustrates EVERYONE!!
PCC: I submit that, once slapped, he has NO spine.
BZ
Arnold-
What if I too want to drive around in my H1 Hummer?
Like you, I’m gonna need lots and lots of fuel, dude!
And 25 men die in a WV coal mine accident… notice the outrage over the death of humans as compared to wildlife?
No energy source comes without its impacts – solar requires acreage that could be put to other uses and wind kills birds by the thousands… mind you cats kill birds by the millions annually… there is no such thing as ‘risk free’ energy, and I am sure that even polywell fusion has its drawbacks.
CA is in a self-created mess. No one put a gun to voters heads to force them to vote for those who were so very willing to tax away prosperity to ‘help’ the poor… one of the places on earth with the greatest natural wealth imagineable, from oil to gold to farmland, and the politicians have made it so safe that no one can afford to do anything and much of the use is prohibited.
Then you get public service unions (why do we have those?) that have folks that can retire early, get great benefits, get high wages and produce not a damned thing worth selling to anyone.
What CA is headed for is not a cliff but a brick wall. Soon the birthplace of high tech, the innovator of aerospace and the concentrator of entertainment will be stone, cold broke. With no credit available. And the jobs and productive citizens fleeing the State unwilling to be taxed to poverty.
CA was once the Golden State. Now it can’t even pass itself off as iron pyrite as even that has some value.
AJ: “CA was once the Golden State. Now it can’t even pass itself off as iron pyrite as even that has some value.”
Politicians stray far from trying to change social mores and values. A valueless society simply wants a larger check written to themselves every year, and stacks the deck with politicians whose history and stated future is to keep those checks for Free Cheese coming.
BZ
See this is one of the biggest reason this election cycle is so important. Arnie became governor because he positioned himself a conservative, at least more conservative than the asshat he replaced. It wasn’t long before the Kennedy hand up his ass went to work. And now the brain washing is complete.
He’s been swinging WAY left on the biggest issues..Regulations, taxes, gun rights, and now enviro…
NOW we got Meg running like he did, I was saying FK em all until McClintock came out in support of Poizner. I’ll be voting for him, and NO incumbents in the Kommifronia election.