Politics- Green News- Gulf Oil Spill- Bobby Jindal- Obama News

Bobby Jindal pleads with President Barack Obama  to resume deep water offshore oil drilling, citing the economic disaster he is adding to Louisiana, already taxed from the burden of the oil spill itself.  The failure by President Obama to resume deep water offshore drilling will hurt more than Louisiana, as it will also drive the cost of oil up and increase our dependence on foreign oil.

from Nola.com

Gov. Bobby Jindal urges Obama to get deepwater drilling back quickly

On Wednesday, Gov. Bobby Jindal sent the following letter to President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar regarding grave concerns about the administration’s decision to place a moratorium on deepwater drilling:

Dear President Obama and Secretary Salazar:

I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the severe economic impact of a six-month (or longer) suspension of activity at 33 previously permitted deepwater drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, including and in particular the 22 deepwater drilling rigs currently in operation off the Louisiana coast.

Already, Louisiana has suffered severe negative economic and ecological impacts from the BP oil spill. Our seafood industry is experiencing huge economic losses that have only been partially mitigated by a frustratingly slow and inadequate BP claims process. Moreover, our precious wetlands are suffering incalculable, permanent damages, while our tourism industry faces escalating losses.

During one of the most challenging economic periods in decades, the last thing we need is to enact public policies that will certainly destroy thousands of existing jobs while preventing the creation of thousands more.

The Louisiana Department of Economic Development estimates that the active drilling suspension alone will result in a loss of 3,000 to 6,000 Louisiana jobs in the next 2-3 weeks and potentially over 10,000 Louisiana jobs within a few months. If the suspension of active drilling activity continues for an extended period, LED estimates that our state risks losing more than 20,000 existing and potential new Louisiana jobs in the next 12-18 months.