More on Virginia's Quest to Explore for Oil and Gas

Jane Van Ryan
Posted February 8, 2010

API is closed today due to the weather. The heavy snowfall has made travel - including commuting - to and from the nation's capital extremely difficult and even dangerous. Today, I'm working from a remote location where I have heat, electricity and connectivity, making me much more fortunate than many of my colleagues who live in areas with downed trees and power lines.

On the Internet today, I had the opportunity to read an interesting article in the Los Angeles Times, which describes some of the issues surrounding Virginia's desire to explore for oil and natural gas 50 miles off its coastline.

As the article explains, there is bipartisan support for exploration and production, but several organizations, including NASA and the Navy, are wondering whether their operations can coexist with coastal energy development.

Similar concerns have been raised about drilling off Florida's western shoreline, but a recent study found military operations and energy development can operate in the same area quite well. For more information about the study, listen to the recent podcast below.