President Bush said this week that he’s all for allowing drilling rigs to enter parts of America’s national monuments, “where we can explore without affecting the overall environment.” Bush took issue with the “mentality that says you can’t explore and protect land,” explaining that “it all depends upon the cost-benefit ratio.” Environmentalists, needless to say, are alarmed at the president’s plans. The Sierra Club’s Melanie Griffin said, “Cost-benefit analysis? That’s not what national parks and monuments are about.” Meanwhile, Michigan is leading a charge to explore the possibility of drilling for oil and gas beneath the Great Lakes; Ohio and New York might not be far behind. However, four Michigan Democrats in Congress have introduced a bill to ban such drilling.
