Drill baby, Drill!!!

Fantasy:

In his advocacy for more offshore oil drilling, John McCain has falsely claimed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita did not “cause significant spillage” and that the platforms “very successfully” survived the impact of the storms.

Reality:

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Caused 124 Offshore Spills For A Total Of 743,700 Gallons. 554,400 gallons were crude oil and condensate from platforms, rigs and pipelines, and 189,000 gallons were refined products from platforms and rigs. [MMS, 1/22/07]

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Caused Six Offshore Spills Of 42,000 Gallons Or Greater. The largest of these was 152,250 gallons, well over the 100,000 gallon threshhold considered a “major spill.” [MMS, 5/1/06]

Considering how they made this a gigantic cheer at the GOP Convention...

Hurricane Ike appears to have destroyed a number of oil production platforms and damaged some of the pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, federal officials said Sunday.

Fly-overs revealed that at least 10 production platforms were destroyed by the storm, said Lars Herbst, regional director for the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

"It's too early to say if it's close to Katrina- and Rita-type damage," Mr. Herbst said.