Environmentalists will rally in Solana Beach tonight to oppose offshore oil drilling. They are worried about a U.S. Senate bill that would open some of the Gulf of Mexico to drilling. KPBS Radio's Andrew Phelps has more.
The legislation does not mention California, but Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein worry it could open the door to drilling off the state's coast.
The Senate bill opens two pockets of the Gulf of Mexico to oil development. But it also renews a drilling ban on all other waters. Supporters of offshore drilling say it would lower soaring oil prices by boosting supply. Bill Collins is the Save Our Coast coalition coordinator. He says it's just business as usual.
Collins: "The oil companies have seen an opportunity with high gas prices to try to make this into a populist issue, as though somehow this is going to you know relieve the prices that we pay at the pump, which is absolute nonsense."
The coalition is concerned that San Diego's waters would be vulnerable to drilling in the future. For KPBS, I'm Andrew Phelps.
