Should North Carolina allow offshore drilling for natural gas and oil?
Maxwell: It should allow both offshore drilling and windmills. In Europe, they run these windmills offshore. My preference runs more toward wind than offshore drilling, but we need energy. DePaolo: There is a legislative study commission going on, and we need to see the data before we make a judgment. Chaffee: There are an awful lot of people that say absolutely not before they really have all of the information. Most of the reserves off North Carolina are natural gas, not oil. In terms of potential benefit, were in desperate need of natural-gas delivery in Eastern North Carolina. But we also dont want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. The reason we have beaches among the top 10 in the world is because of the environment thats there. DePaolo: And its fragile. Chaffee: So you really have to study it. But the technology is not the same as it was when drilling started 40 years ago. Hodges: I consider myself an environmentalist, and I think it would make sense to allow it. Albett
