US Offshore drilling ban expires September 30th

I found an article on the environmental news network.The US off-shore drilling ban expires (this ban has been in place for 26 years) because of the current economic issue. It looks as though the Bush government doesn't want to renew this ban because the public is demanding lower gas and oil prices, especially now, because of the economic instability brought about by the current financial crisis.This lifting of the ban will obviously have major negative impacts on marine life and habitat. Sadly, this re-iterates our misplaced dependence on one resource at the expense of another. Such a vicious circle.