I will say this much that I know to be true:
As part of the 2006 deal to put much of Florida's coast off-limits to drilling (including the Tampa Bay area until something like the year 2019), a part of the eastern coast of Florida was opened to drilling prospecting interests. No oil company has done any great amount of exploring there yet and none has done any drilling in that area to date.
If thing were as desperate as they lead us to believe as far as oil supplies, why have areas that are open to oil companies (including many many many acres of dry-land oil fields) not been fully utilized to their potential? Why open up more areas if those that were already opened (and presumably have oil under them) have not even been examined by oil companies?
Oil reserves are fairly plentiful today and supply is not any more limited than it was 4 years ago, but prices are double. Instead, speculative investors are putting all their money into funds that buy oil and trade it. Maybe the price will collapse (like housing prices did) on it's own before this off-shore drilling campaign gets enough steam.
FYI: this is from an article regarding the "urban legend" of China drilling off of Key West and near Florida:
"But U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., argued Thursday on the Senate Floor that there is no proof that China and Cuba are planning to drill for oil anywhere offshore.
"China is not drilling off the coast of Cuba," Martinez said. "Reports to the contrary are simply false. They're akin to urban legend."
Ditto on supporting wind power. And soon!
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