How can politicians be so mean to the Environment?

J.R. Tolbert of the Environmental Virginia was quite happy in his recent letter to the editor of the Virginian-pilot concerning the recent legislation supported by Virginia Senators Webb and Warner.

Supposedly our Senators voted to prohibit offshore oil drilling and exploration along the Virginia coast. So we will have to continue to import oil from far off distant lands from countries that care less about their environment then we Americans do.

The Tankers which bring us the oil will spew tons of burned hydrocarbons into the air. Fish, whales, plankton and untold numbers of marine life will be killed by the tanker directly or from its wastes. All because there is the perception that drilling for oil off the coast of the United States MAY cause harm to the environment. What we are doing now is very harmful to the environment. Plus it is hard on our pocketbook. Why do people like "Environment Virginia" and our elected politicians want to hurt our environment and our pocketbooks?


"Clean beaches Sometimes little-heralded, arcane votes in Congress affect people’s lives and livelihoods more than the ones that are easier to report. Just such a vote occurred on Sept. 24 in the U.S. Senate. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner helped save our beaches and ocean from offshore drilling damage. They defeated an effort by Big Oil and its allies to fast-track a hastily drawn Bush-era drilling plan that would have opened millions of acres of Virginia’s ocean for offshore drilling starting next year. Beachgoers, recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, hotels, restaurants and tourism businesses all along our shores can thank Warner and Webb for keeping our coast clean and ocean healthy by defeating this measure. J.R. Tolbert Environment Virginia Richmond"