In this morning's paper there is an article which i think acts as a good example of what I'm talking about(well this has more to do w/ Jeb getting re elected than with dubyah, but you'll get the point). I wonder how
this will affect national security and oil price stability. I guess blood is thicker than oil. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/politics/30BUSH.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/politics/30BUSH.html</a>
U.S. May Buy Back Florida Oil Rights
WASHINGTON, May 29 — President Bush vowed today that the federal government would spend $235 million to buy back oil and natural gas rights in the Everglades and off the white-sand beaches of the Florida Panhandle.
Administration officials said the agreement, if approved by Congress, would ultimately protect about 765,000 acres in three preserves in the Everglades, the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida said the action made sense for the environment but acknowledged that it was also likely to help his re-election campaign.
As the two Bush brothers sat side by side in the Oval Office, the president announced a proposal to pay the wealthy Collier family of Florida about $120 million for mineral rights under the three preserves, which are home to several endangered species. President Bush also announced an agreement to pay $115 million to three oil companies, including the ChevronTexaco Corporation, to buy out offshore oil and gas leases, effectively preventing drilling about 25 miles south of Pensacola.
Florida politicians of both parties have joined state voters to fiercely resist drilling off the coast for nearly two decades, setting the state apart from Gulf states like Texas, Alabama and Louisiana, which have welcomed offshore drilling.
Facing a similar outcry over the prospect of drilling near the Florida Keys off southwestern Florida, the Clinton administration in 1995 bought back 73 leases for about $200 million.
"Florida is known worldwide for its beautiful coastal waters and the Everglades," President Bush said in a statement issued after a 20-minute meeting in the Oval Office. "Today we are acting to preserve both."
Environmental groups praised the president's plan, but some said it was politically motivated.
"It's a great move for Florida, but it's essentially a $235 million campaign contribution from the taxpayer's pocket to re-elect Jeb Bush," said Philip Clapp, the president of the National Environmental Trust.
Other environmentalists said the president's decision reflected a double standard, particularly when the Bush administration has moved aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling, a policy rejected last month by the Senate.
"We hope this signals a change in the administration's approach to energy security," said Lisa Speer, a policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York.
Both Jeb Bush and administration officials said today that there was nothing inconsistent about a White House that was effectively opposed to drilling in Florida and in favor of it in Alaska.
"I find nothing ironic about it at all," Jeb Bush said. "Each one of these cases needs to be looked at in terms of the balance — to preserve the natural environment or the economic interests of a state."
Governor Bush made no effort to dispute the political benefits. Asked if his 2002 campaign would benefit from his brother's action, he replied, "I hope so."
Then he added, "But more importantly, it is good public policy, and when here's a convergence of good politics and good public policy, I don't think we should be ashamed about it."
Representative Mark Foley, Republican of Florida, said today that there was "no question" that today's action would help the president's re-election chances in Florida, which he won by only 537 votes in 2000.
The White House said the president had based his decision on community opinion.
"The president believes it is important to work closely with states and local communities and listen to their concerns," said Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman. "In Alaska, there is strong state and local community support for opening a small portion of ANWR to environmentally responsible exploration."
David B. Struhs, Florida's secretary of environmental protection, said Jeb Bush did not have to lean hard on his brother to oppose drilling in Florida.
"Let's put it this way," Mr. Struhs said. "There were 16 million Floridians all leaning in the same direction. Jeb Bush was 16 million and one."
Congressional aides said today that approval of the agreement on the Everglades was not assured, suggesting that there could be resistance on both fiscal and political grounds.
Under the proposal, the Colliers, a pioneer Florida family with vast landholdings in the state, would transfer mineral rights on about 347,000 acres that it could have explored for oil in exchange for $120 million in cash or credits for future oil bids.
The deal was negotiated between the administration and descendants of Barron Gift Collier, who used a fortune built in streetcar advertising in the early 1900's to buy 1.3 million acres of southwestern Florida that eventually became Collier and Hendry Counties. The family has over the years turned over 260,000 acres to the government through swaps, sales and donations, including the original 76,000 acres for Big Cypress. Family members have made contributions to President Bush and Republican causes but have also supported Democratic candidates.
The payment to the three companies will settle a suit brought in July 2000 by Chevron, Conoco Inc. and the Murphy Exploration and Production Company, a unit of the Murphy Oil Corporation. The companies said they were being blocked from extracting oil and natural gas from tracts that the federal government sold them in the 1980's. Two of 11 leases in a geologic formation known as the Destin Dome would be reserved for possible exploration by Murphy after 2012 but only if the state and federal governments agreed.
Longtime opponents of drilling welcomed the agreement.
"We think this is a fantastic victory for Florida's coast," said Mark Ferrulo, director of the Florida Public Interest Research Group. While he said the opponents would have preferred that all 11 leases be relinquished, he said the group could "live with" the suspension of the two leases until 2012 as long as the state had veto power over drilling.
Fred R. Gorell, a spokesman for ChevronTexaco, said the payments would allow the company to recover its expenses on the project.
"While we are very disappointed that we will not be able to develop the Destin Dome resource, this settlement address the concerns of the parties involved and reimburses us for the investment we have made to date," Mr. Gorell said, adding that his company's share of the money would be $46 million.
According to the suit filed in 2000, the companies acquired the leases for $10.5 million but spent heavily on exploration activities, increasing their investment to an estimated $100 million.
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Hmmmmmmmmmm, gotta find a different dead horse.......
