asshole: Bachmann suggests drilling in the Everglades, 'responsibly' #p2 #tcot plutocrat / theocrat anything you wont shill for a buck?

from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/29/1011700/-Bachmann-suggests-drilling-in-the-Everglades,-responsibly?via=blog_1

Talking to the Associated Press Sunday, for one brief instant Michele Bachmann almost sounded reasonable about energy needs, saying:

The United States needs to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy and more dependent upon American resourcefulness.

Then she kept talking:

Whether that is in the Everglades or whether that is in the eastern Gulf region or whether that is in North Dakota, we need to go where the energy is. But, of course, it needs to be done responsibly. If we can't responsibly access energy in the Everglades, then we shouldn't do it.

To Bachmann, then, American resourcefulness doesn't mean developing new forms of energy or becoming a world leader in existing clean energy technologies that can be accessed here. It certainly doesn't mean finding ways to cut our energy use. No, resourcefulness means doing the same thing we've been doing—drilling for oil—just in more places. Just, you know, responsibly. Whatever that means to Michele Bachmann.

Let's settle this right here and now: We can't responsibly access energy in the Everglades.

There are a few things to stress on that front. Kate Sheppard at Mother Jones points out:

"No one wants to hurt or contaminate the earth," [Bachmann] continued. "We don't want to harm our water, our ecosystems or the air. That is a minimum bar." But Bachmann wants to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency. So it's not entirely clear who would be charged with ensuring that we are protecting the environment in our bid to drill in the Everglades and any other part of the US.

Additionally:

Jerry Karnas, communications director for the Everglades Foundation, says that drilling in the Everglades wouldn't even be economically viable, as there really isn't oil within Everglades proper and the little oil available in surrounding areas is of a very low quality.

"As time has worn on, the Everglades has begun to encompass other areas, including Big Cypress Preserve," says Karnas. "In 1972, there were some historic mineral rights retained by the Barron Collier family, and today, it is nothing more than a very, very small operation where the company drills for meager amounts of oil that are of a very low quality."

It's a delicate balance, going for the hard-right vote while seeming "serious" to the traditional media. Apparently suggesting "responsible" drilling for oil in a place where there's basically no oil and no way to drill responsibly is the balance Bachmann is comfortable with.