Even if most of the present danger comes from existing, badly maintained platforms, it might still make sense to ban new drilling if one expected new drilling to eventually overtake current drilling in dangerousness.
Given the political power wielded by companies interested in drilling (not just BP), I don’t believe Congress would either want or be able to institute a permanent ban. They are far more likely to spend their efforts on legislating and enforcing stricter security standards on both old and new platforms.
Even if most of the present danger comes from existing, badly maintained platforms, it might still make sense to ban new drilling if one expected new drilling to eventually overtake current drilling in dangerousness.
But they say it’s a temporary ban...
Ah. I didn’t know how long the ban was.
Given the political power wielded by companies interested in drilling (not just BP), I don’t believe Congress would either want or be able to institute a permanent ban. They are far more likely to spend their efforts on legislating and enforcing stricter security standards on both old and new platforms.