The Political Game of Offshore Drilling

Last week, President Trump proposed a plan that would open up the Atlantic Ocean along the east coast to exploratory oil drilling. This is the next push by the Department of the Interior to deregulate and reverse Obama-era energy regulations. Under Obama, 87% of the United States� coast was off limits to oil drilling (the Gulf Coast and northern Alaska were open). The proposal put forward by President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke would open up a portion of the East Coast extending from Florida to Delaware to offshore drilling.

            As expected, the people living in the states that would be affected by this proposal were not happy, including pro-Trump politicians like Rick Scott in Florida. In South Carolina, both Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott were skeptical of the plan and Mark Sanford was strongly against it. This is one of the rare incidents where there is bipartisan backlash on an issue. If you had no knowledge about politics and researched this issue, you would think that Mark Sanford and Jim Clyburn were in the same party. Sanford tweeted, �Every single coastal municipality in South Carolina - and over 140 coastal municipalities on the East Coast - have formally opposed offshore drilling development. The Trump Administration's proposal completely ignores local opposition,� in response to the proposal.

 Clyburn tweeted, �If the President will not change course, Congress should act swiftly to block this dangerous expansion of offshore drilling.�

Florida Governor Rick Scott, who I previously mentioned, met with Ryan Zinke at the Tallahassee airport on Tuesday and announced that Florida would be removed from the list of states open to oil drilling. Zinke stated that, �Florida is obviously unique,� as a reason for it being removed from the list.

Following this meeting, other governors from the states affected by the proposal have asked to meet with Zinke, including Henry McMaster from South Carolina. McMaster was slow to come out against the plan and was criticized for it by Mark Sanford. Will Zinke provide the same clearance to McMaster as he did to Scott? Will Zinke provide that clearance to Democratic governors such as Roy Cooper of North Carolina?

Everything about the Florida pardoning did not seem right. The meeting was held in an airport and lasted less than twenty minutes. Scott used to be in favor of expanding oil drilling and only recently flip-flopped on the issue. Scott, who is running for the Senate, was called out by his opponent for orchestrating this event and creating a �political stunt� to garner votes. Senator Bill Nelson, the incumbent, said, �I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida's coast and four days later agrees to 'take Florida off the table?' I don't believe it.�

A certain key Trump property is also located on Florida�s coast: Mar-a-Lago. That probably had an effect on Zinke�s decision on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to South Carolina. McMaster is running for reelection this year so Zinke might grant his wish and talk him up. The states with Democratic governors might not be so lucky which is just a tad bit corrupt. Our coastlines have become part of a political game.

In South Carolina, it�s important to point out that the majority of politicians on the coast are overwhelmingly against offshore drilling while some politicians in the upstate and midlands are for it. Congressman Jeff Duncan (from the upstate) voiced his support saying, �Gov. McMaster has every right to advocate for what he believes, but unlike Florida which has largely been opposed to exploration off their coast, the issue has considerably more support in our state.� Duncan also applauded Trump�s decision last week on Twitter.

The biggest takeaway that I got from this issue is that the people who would be affected by this plan are against it. On the other hand, people far away from the places where this policy would take hold are more willing to support it, especially in majority-Republican regions such as the upstate. This is not unique to the issue of offshore drilling. The biggest proponents of the border wall are people living in states that are not on the border of Mexico and are not affected by illegal immigration. The majority of people who were in full support of building the Keystone pipeline do not live in North Dakota. Only 34% of Caucasians believe that policemen are too quick to use lethal force while 82% of African-Americans feel the same way. African-Americans are overwhelming the victims of police brutality. People form different opinions on an issue when they directly face the consequences. We lack empathy when an issue�s outcome will not have an effect on our lifestyle. That�s all for this week.