Kerry, Kennedy seek to ban offshore drilling
Marking Earth Day, Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts re-introduced a bill today to permanently ban oil drilling in Georges Bank.
The legislation would put off limits to oil exploration all coastal waters three miles off the Massachusetts coastline, including Georges Bank.
Offshore oil drilling emerged as a major issue during last year's presidential campaign as gasoline prices spiked at the pump. The House last September passed a bill allowing drilling as close as 50 miles to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but Massachusetts representative included a provision sparing Georges Bank.
"Massachusetts families have depended on fishing as a way of life for hundreds of years and we’re not about to let anything change that,” Kerry said in a statement. “Georges Bank is one of the most prolific fishing grounds in the world and it would be a sin to risk it all for the slight possibility of extracting a minuscule amount of oil. Senator Kennedy and I, along with our colleagues in the House, will continue to do everything we can to ensure no drilling occurs in Georges Bank now or ever.”
Kennedy added in a statement, “Georges Bank is one of the most important fishing resources in the world, and we must permanently protect it to benefit our environment, our economy and the 300-year heritage of our fishing families in the Commonwealth. I’m proud to introduce this vital legislation with Senator Kerry and our Congressional Delegation and look forward to its enactment so that our coastal resources can be preserved for generations to come.”
In announcing the bill, Kerry and Kennedy's offices said that the collective catch of New Bedford, Gloucester, and Provincetown-Chatham, all of which fish Georges Bank, is worth nearly $350 million a year.
Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts has introduced a similar bill in the House, co-sponsored by other Bay State House members.
Markey, meanwhile, today re-introduced a bill designed to decrease global warming pollution and energy use by encouraging large-scale recycling of cans, metal, plastic water bottles, and other beverage containers.
The bill would establish a national 5 cent deposit on beverage containers, but would exempt the 11 states, including Massachusetts, that have deposit programs already from the national standard for three years, or as long as they maintain high recycling rates. In 2006, more than half of the 200 billion beverage containers that could have been recycled in the United States were incinerated or littered, Markey's office said.
“Earth Day is an important reminder that it is time for America to take action to reduce its global warming pollution and dependence on foreign energy. A national bottle bill can help America quench its thirst for imported oil. We can still have carbon dioxide in our fizzy drinks, while cutting down on heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Markey said in a statement.
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Excellent idea - this will certainly help us reduce our dependence upon foreign oil.
No surprise wealthy individuals who own waterfront property would introduce such legislation. They both also oppose Cape Wind.
What is their carbon footprint?
They need to keep their mouths shut the next time we go to war defending one of our oil supplying dictatorial and backward regimes.
once again, K&K, the twin idiots.
Great. Our myopic legislative masters create barriers for domestic production while at the same time bemoaning about our dependent on foreign energy sources. Simply brilliant.
Let's see..one week we seek federal money to help the dying fishing industry..the next week we seek to ban offshore drilling because the fishing industry is so important to our economy
NIMBY. What a bunch of short sighted losers
Ah, the NIMBY brothers strike again - Senator Edward "the wind farm might be visible from my Hyannisport compound" Kennedy and Senator John "please move that fire hydrant from in front of my Beacon Hill mansion" Kerry.
Finally Kerry gets behind a project or issue that is somewhat meaningful. Does he have a house on the cape like Teddy?
Sir Ted & Mr Heinz-please consider all those out of work illegal aliens. Think of all those jobs that you could take away from Americans and hire illegals on the drills.
Are these two idiots at it again? Ban off shore drilling and NO Windfarm off Nantucket sound. Has anyone else figured out these guys are all sizzle and no steaK?
Is it true that Kerry is going to introduce legislation to bail out the Globe (in return for its many endorsements)?
They are an embarrassment to the state. When are the citizens of this state going to wake up and send these two knuckleheads packing?
We were only kidding when we said we were upset over $4 gal gas. Maybe the state could have seen some revenue from this. In addition, the fishing is actually pretty good around oil rigs. But what would our fisherman know, having fished the place out a long time ago.
So in ordetr to fulfill demand foreign companies will simply drill in their areas instead.
Interesting how Kennedy and Kerry love to talk global when it suits them but when it comes to dirilling the environment in our backyard is not the same as the coastline or desert elsewhere. Someone is going to drill and it might as well be us.
These two clowns do not want Wind Energy off of Cape Cod or oil drilling 50 miles from the coast. Most of us in Massachsetts do not have the hot air they can produce just by talking. These home grown energy makers are needed to prevent another $4.00 plus a gallon for gas. They don't care, they can afford it and keep their wonderful views witch is really the only reason they are againt anything that would help our states energy issues. They are spoiled selfish pigs that need to be voted out.
True patriots of our country and champions for us peons. How the idiots in our state continue re-electing them? I can't stop wondering.
Please..... tell The K twins to just GO AWAY!
THROW THOSE TWO PIGS ALONG WITH MARKEY, FRANK AND OTHER SUCKING OUR BLOOD TO THE DOGS. HOW MUCH MORE OF IT CAN WE AND THE COUNTRY TAKE? NO DOMESTIC OIL. NO DOMESTIC COAL. CUP AND TRADE THAT WILL QUDRUPLE TAX FOR EVERYONE ON FOOD, HEAT, ELECTRICITY, CLOSES, TRANSPORTATION - EVERITHING ACROSS THE BOARD.
THEY SERIOSLY TRYING TO KICK US BACK TO THE STOEN AGE AND DESTROY OUR COUNTRY.
SURE THEY DON’T CARE WITH THEIR MILLIONS. HOW CAN THEY FEEL WHAT WE ARE FEELING? THEY’VE BEEN SOO HIGH FOR SOO LONG.
TAKE THEM DOWN. TAKE THEM DOWN.
The 15 previous commentors have said everything I would have written myself. Unfortunately, none of us will be listened to by the state's Congressional members. Those two idiots in the Senate and Markey and his friends all have the same opinion about every single issue. Their policies just do not work! We are and will continue to suffer because of them.
How do these jokers Kerry and Kennedy keep getting elected in Massachusetts ?
Is it some kind of Irish mob thing ?
More nonsense from the green-heads. Throw them all out!
These other comments are not even worth reading! They come from cynical, uninformed people who have nothing better to do than bash our elected officials! On Earth Day especially, let's be glad that helping to preserve important ecological areas for the future is something that we can all rally behind!
If you had a brain you would know that domestic production will never come anywhere close to meeting our demand for gasoline. This is not an Obama, Kerrry, Kennedy or Frank theory, that is the truth. "Drill baby drill" if you must, but, please don't use domesic oil production as a phony political tactic. The only way out of this energy squeeze play by oil producing nations is to consume less oil by finding and or using alternative energy.
FACT: After Katrina ravaged the gulf, not 1 oil rig had a spill.
Term limits for these two is the only answer, there seems to be enough voters in Mass. to elect them no matter what they do. And further than that many good people with honest intentions seek elective office but after being there for a few years are spoilked by the system and are only iunterested in what they have to do to get re-elected. Our founders, some good and all with good intentions really did us a diservice by not instituting term limits.
Where were these two front runners when the Russians and Koreans and others set up their huge factory ships in the Grand Banks and over fished the Banks. Course those were Ted's Drunk Years and Kerry was preening for the RV camera's