Oil Wells in the Palisades

Finally I’ve read an article that provides excellent rationale in favor of Occidental Petroleum’s proposal for drilling for oil in the Palisades. Truly it is a conflict between the haves and the have-nots. As a recipient of printed information from No Oil proponents, I am impressed by the roster of well-known personages supporting their cause. It would be fascinating to know to what extent they have contributed financially and through political influence to delaying oil drilling in this area for so many years. Obviously, so too has Occidental expended large sums and exerted influence in their attempts to gain approval.

How then, do these two factions differ in their goals? For Occidental, drilling will surely mean financial gain. For drilling opponents, it would appear to be an attempt to protect their private world against what they seem to regard as environmental desecration. Let no one be deceived! Occidental Petroleum has responded well to every contingency raised by drilling opponents, including a minimal effect on the landscape throughout test drilling, and thereafter, let alone plans for a dewatering system made necessary by these so-called “environmentalists” who have contributed to the instability of the bluffs by building atop them and maintaining their little “Gardens of Eden.”

As Robertson points out, “Los Angeles needs the tax revenues that can be generated by this project, and America needs the oil.” This surely is not just Occidental’s cause; it is also the people’s cause.

If, as may be the case, some Palisadians are inconvenienced for limited periods while test drilling and, perhaps, eventual retrieval of this vital natural resource is finally allowed, it is a small price for a few to pay for the overall benefits to be derived for so many others.

ANTHONY GRECO

Santa Monica