http://minnesotaindependent.com/4558/oil-crisis-leads-to-calls-for-offshore-drilling-in-the-great-lakesBy Tom Elko 6/30/08 12:57 PM
Republican politicians across the country, led by Sen. John McCain and President George Bush, began calling for offshore drilling as a solution to high gasoline prices, often despite their prior positions. No surprise then that Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., became one of the more vociferous proponents of offshore drilling as a co-sponsor of the "No More Excuses Act."
"Offshore exploration of oil and natural gas will be very helpful in the short term to resolve our energy crisis, and I also understand that alternative energy solutions are the future," Bachmann wrote on her blog. "But living in the here and now, we need to take all steps within reason to help drive oil costs down."
Taking all steps within reason, at least Bachmann’s version of reason, could lead drilling for oil and natural gas in the Great Lakes. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates 4.3 million barrels of oil and 5.23 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie beneath the Great Lakes Basin.
In 2005, a bipartisan congressional vote permanently banned drilling in the Great Lakes. Canada did not follow suit, and currently allows for slant drilling from onshore. Congress can lift the ban at any time, so many in the region are on high alert.