Earth Equity News

Pelosi to Offer Offshore Drilling Bill. By Tom Doggett, Reuters, August 16, 2008. "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday when... Congress returns next month... Democrats will offer legislation that could give oil companies [more offshore] drilling access... Barack Obama has changed his position and said he would be willing to consider new offshore drilling if it allowed comprehensive energy legislation to pass... John McCain also switched his position... In the Democrats' weekly radio address, Pelosi of California said expanding drilling areas would be part of a broader bill [that] addresses other energy issues. 'It will consider opening portions of the (offshore) Outer Continental Shelf for drilling, with appropriate safeguards, and without taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil,' she said, [adding that the] legislation would require oil companies to pay... drilling royalties [to] be invested in clean energy... Democrats also want to release supplies from the U.S. emergency oil stockpile to help lower gasoline prices, increase drilling in an Alaskan oil reserve that is already open to exploration and require utilities to generate a portion of their electricity from renewable[s]... In addition, Pelosi said, the legislation would seek to rein in excessive energy market speculation that many... blame for running up crude oil and gasoline prices."