Earth Equity News

House Votes to End Offshore Drilling Ban. H. Josef Hebert, AP, September 25, 2008. "The House, responding to growing public demand for more domestic energy, voted Wednesday to end a quarter-century ban on oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, giving Republicans a major victory on energy policy. An extension of the ban for another year was left off a $630 billion-plus stopgap government spending bill that President Bush had threatened to veto -- possibly shutting down the government -- if the anti-drilling measure were included. The bill was approved 370-58 and now goes to the Senate, where it is likely to be approved within the next few days, also without the drilling ban. The decision to avoid a fight with the White House over offshore drilling marks a major shift by Democrats on energy policy and a reflection that the GOP argument for more domestic energy production had found a support among voters this election year, even though coastal states long have worried that offshore drilling might cause spills, soil beaches and threaten their tourist businesses."