3 West Coast governors oppose new offshore oil drilling

The Los Angeles Times

Staff reporters, Kenneth R. Weiss and Michael Rothfeld, discuss the cross-party, West coast governors' plan to restore

• West Coast governors urged the federal government Tuesday to keep new oil drilling rigs out of their waters and to spend more money on programs to restore the health of the Pacific Ocean.
• The 116-page document outlines ambitious goals for cleaning up coastal waters and beaches, restoring fisheries, preparing for rising sea levels and developing projects that harness energy from waves and tides, among other topics.
• The governors' plan, nearly two years in the making, was born of frustration with the federal government's failure to follow the advice of two national commissions that detailed how to address such threats as over-fishing, coastal development and polluted runoff.
• That pledge put West Coast leaders in direct opposition to President Bush and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who have pushed recently to open new undersea fields to drilling.
  

The Los Angeles Times

3 West Coast governors oppose new offshore oil drilling
By Kenneth R. Weiss and Michael Rothfeld
July 30, 2008

SACRAMENTO -- West Coast governors urged the federal government Tuesday to keep new oil drilling rigs out of their waters and to spend more money on programs to restore the health of the Pacific Ocean.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, joined with Democratic Govs. Ted Kulongoski of Oregon and Chris Gregoire of Washington to reaffirm their opposition to opening undersea oil fields to new drilling, as part of an elaborate action plan for preserving coastal waters.

The 116-page document outlines ambitious goals for cleaning up coastal waters and beaches, restoring fisheries, preparing for rising sea levels and developing projects that harness energy from waves and tides, among other topics.

"We are united ecologically, and now we are also united politically with Democrats and Republicans here working together and with one powerful voice," said Schwarzenegger, flanked by images of the two other governors beamed in via satellite.

"A healthy Pacific is vital to each of our states," Schwarzenegger said. "Our fishermen depend on it for their livelihood. The coastal cities and towns depend on it for recreation and for tourism. And we all enjoy its calming beauty.

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