Schwarzenegger refused to offshore drilling after reporting the oil slick

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has abandoned plans for drilling new wells on the continental shelf, according to Associated Press. By this decision, the governor came after he saw a television report on the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico and its adverse effects on the ecological situation in the region.
Schwarzenegger explained that his previous plans to develop new fields have been based on these studies, however, after a recent oil spill, he realized that was not prepared to take risks associated with drilling on the shelf. Meanwhile, supporters of the development of new fields argue that oil spilled on the ground of the floating platform, while the project, which decided to abandon Schwarzenegger, called for the construction of fixed platforms.

Earlier, the governor insisted that mining can help to overcome the deficit of the state. In 2009, the Democrats of the Legislature in California blocked the bill on offshore drilling, but in 2010 the Governor again made such a proposal in the State Senate.

An oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana took place on April 22, two days after the explosion at the station Deepwater Horizon, which resulted in the deaths of 11 oil workers. An oil slick quickly began to grow in size. According to recent data, for one day in the Gulf follows a few thousand barrels of oil.

In the area of disaster are working to eliminate its consequences, but the spot continued to approach the coast of the United States. Damage from the incident specialists estimate of the amount to seven billion dollars.

President Barack Obama blamed the spill on the company British Petrolium. Decree of the President of drilling new wells in the U.S. offshore is prohibited until the completion of investigations into the causes massive leakage.