Drilling "Not Worth The Risk"

Calling the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico an "unmitigated disaster," Senator Sanders states that offshore drilling is simply too risky and cannot lead to energy independence as its supporters claim.

"[W]e must learn that with any risky technology, whether it is offshore oil drilling or nuclear power, it is not good enough to be 99% safe. One event can have a calamitous and irreversible impact. If there is a lesson to be learned from this disaster, it is that Congress must end that policy. There must be no new offshore drilling. Not now, not ever.

Offshore drilling simply does not achieve the goals that its advocates claim, and it is not worth the risk. If we are serious about wanting to break our dependence on foreign oil and move to energy independence; if we want to lower the cost of energy; if we want to combat climate change and cut greenhouse gas emissions; if we want to create millions of new jobs – then more offshore drilling is not the way to go."

Sanders is introducing legislation that would ban new offshore drilling and increase fuel efficiency standards, arguing that boosting efficiencies would save more than double what is imported from the Persian Gulf.