Letter from J.R. Tolbert, Richmond, Va.
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I am writing in response to Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s desire to drill off the coast of Virginia. Mr. McDonnell’s arguments in favor of drilling make claims to thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to the state. These claims are tenuous at best.
On the subject of jobs Mr. McDonnell cites a 2005 “study” that claims more than 2,000 jobs would be created by drilling operations. The fact of the matter is that, as cited in the Dec. 30th Wall Street Journal, the author of this report did not consider any Virginia specific data and only looked at examples in Louisiana and Canada.
Furthermore, Mr. McDonnell does not seem to take into account the possibility that Virginia’s tourism industry would take a hit from impeded viewsheds or a possible oil spill. Mr. McDonnell is correct that we need to look for ways to create jobs in the commonwealth, but risking existing jobs for unproven new jobs is not the way to go about revitalizing our economy.
J.R. Tolbert is an Environment Virginia Advocate.
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