A letter in the Houston Chronicle expressing concern over revenue losses due to increased scrutiny isn't anything unusual. Even if the letter goes on to say that litigation by cities and businesses asking for compensation is, itself, a risk. Okay, a little tasteless, but not vulgar.
But going on to claim that laws like the Endangered Species Act, or the Clean Water Act are also to blame? That's a little over the top, even in Houston.
Doing all that, and citing your position as a representative of an overseas oil company, that takes a certain amount of chutzpah.
Readers with delicate stomachs, high blood pressure, or sharp objects within reach are cautioned to consider reading another diary. Stomachs will empty and cuss jars will fill.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Moratorium and litigation
may stall drilling for years
By GALE NORTON
Aug. 11, 2010, 7:36PM
Will one-third of U.S. oil continue to be produced offshore? Political forces at play in the aftermath of BP's disastrous oil spill make it increasingly doubtful. Failure to consider the full effect of proposed laws and moratoria, as well as the operation of existing laws, could jeopardize thousands of jobs and further damage the Gulf Coast economy.
Wait a minute. Gail who?
Norton was secretary of the interior from 2001 to 2006 and a Royal Dutch Shell attorney from 2007 to March 2010.
You have got to be kidding me.
Gail Freaking Norton, Colorado's version of Ken Lay. The Bernie Madoff of the environment.
Yes, the last time you thought about her was after she quit, leaving a trail of ooze the size of an oil slick. You probably assumed she'd finished using the American landscape as a litterbox.
Oh no. Not even close. After a quick breather, she was put on the payroll of an oil company. It is only, surely, a complete coincidence that the company is the same one that got a deal on oil shale development which stunk so hard that the FBI is investigating it.
Why aren't people in the streets with pitchforks and torches? It's as if the citizenry has lead poisoning or something!
Oh.
Before being named Interior Secretary in 2001, Norton was senior counsel at Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber, P.C., a Denver-based law firm. The firm was listed with the U.S. Congress as a lobbyist for NL Industries, formerly known as National Lead Company.